Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

We're not L.A.

But still no more burnouts in the La Costa parking lot

William Sine (second from right) and friends
William Sine (second from right) and friends

Every Thursday night at the La Costa Town Square shopping center, a scene from the 1950s and 60s boulevard car cruses repeats itself. Instead of slow street cruising, 200 car enthusiasts park, hang out, talk cars, and maybe tailgate with pizza and hip hop music.

On May 3, the crowd of 200 came for the La Costa Cars and Pizza Club in front of the Project Pie restaurant, at the corner of Rancho Santa Fe Road and La Costa Avenue.

The crowd roamed, checking out about 100 vehicles, from $100,000 production cars down to a ‘65 Chevy pick up truck and an old VW Bug. Most of the cars were smaller foreign — BMWs and Honda Civics.

The Carlsbad group were under 30, not a lot of F words flying, and respectful of the law.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“L.A. has no respect for authority,” said Brendon Recchio of Temecula, “They [street racers] shut down intersections, highways, and parking lots.” “They’re dangerous,” said one bystander.

Under the eye of a Carlsbad police unit cruising through the lot, “They’re out here to support us. We’re very strict with behavior,” said William Sine of Vista.

“We all have a common interest, promoting a passion for cars,” said Sine, as he showed off his 2008 BMW 325i with a swooped up 500 horsepower motor. Reccchio’s 2014 stock Mustang had only exhaust modifications. “But it sounds really good,” said a friend.

Sine pointed out the high schoolers usually start with a $500 fixer-upper. “As one becomes an adult, they have more money,” said Sine. Sine says he’s spent $21,000 on his Beemer.

The club has been around since 2015, but dwindled down to a few cars last year because of police crackdowns on burnouts in the parking lot and street racing out of the shopping center.

Sam Mayorga, of Carlsbad, took over organizing the club last August. He got permission from the center’s three restaurants to park in front of their stores, sponsorships with discounts on food for club attendees, and worked with the police.

“We want a positive image,” said club member Sine. They’ve banned shows-offs that want to rev up engines.

Organized races are held at SDCCU, hosted by racelegal.com.

Car lingo for the casual visitor;

Stance Cars — “It sits pretty, but that’s about it,” said Sine. Expensive, looks good, but can’t out-race most of the modified small foreign cars in the lot.

Drift Cars — They race on the SoCal tracks, or do autocross on a set course at SDCCU Stadium. And yes, they do drift around corners just like in the movies.

Street Cars — Totally street legal, drive-to-work cars that go fast in street racing drags.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego's Year-Round Sunshine: Creating a Patio for Every Season

Next Article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island
William Sine (second from right) and friends
William Sine (second from right) and friends

Every Thursday night at the La Costa Town Square shopping center, a scene from the 1950s and 60s boulevard car cruses repeats itself. Instead of slow street cruising, 200 car enthusiasts park, hang out, talk cars, and maybe tailgate with pizza and hip hop music.

On May 3, the crowd of 200 came for the La Costa Cars and Pizza Club in front of the Project Pie restaurant, at the corner of Rancho Santa Fe Road and La Costa Avenue.

The crowd roamed, checking out about 100 vehicles, from $100,000 production cars down to a ‘65 Chevy pick up truck and an old VW Bug. Most of the cars were smaller foreign — BMWs and Honda Civics.

The Carlsbad group were under 30, not a lot of F words flying, and respectful of the law.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“L.A. has no respect for authority,” said Brendon Recchio of Temecula, “They [street racers] shut down intersections, highways, and parking lots.” “They’re dangerous,” said one bystander.

Under the eye of a Carlsbad police unit cruising through the lot, “They’re out here to support us. We’re very strict with behavior,” said William Sine of Vista.

“We all have a common interest, promoting a passion for cars,” said Sine, as he showed off his 2008 BMW 325i with a swooped up 500 horsepower motor. Reccchio’s 2014 stock Mustang had only exhaust modifications. “But it sounds really good,” said a friend.

Sine pointed out the high schoolers usually start with a $500 fixer-upper. “As one becomes an adult, they have more money,” said Sine. Sine says he’s spent $21,000 on his Beemer.

The club has been around since 2015, but dwindled down to a few cars last year because of police crackdowns on burnouts in the parking lot and street racing out of the shopping center.

Sam Mayorga, of Carlsbad, took over organizing the club last August. He got permission from the center’s three restaurants to park in front of their stores, sponsorships with discounts on food for club attendees, and worked with the police.

“We want a positive image,” said club member Sine. They’ve banned shows-offs that want to rev up engines.

Organized races are held at SDCCU, hosted by racelegal.com.

Car lingo for the casual visitor;

Stance Cars — “It sits pretty, but that’s about it,” said Sine. Expensive, looks good, but can’t out-race most of the modified small foreign cars in the lot.

Drift Cars — They race on the SoCal tracks, or do autocross on a set course at SDCCU Stadium. And yes, they do drift around corners just like in the movies.

Street Cars — Totally street legal, drive-to-work cars that go fast in street racing drags.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
Next Article

Filmora 14’s AI Tools Streamline Content Creation for Marketers

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader