Chapter 1: Drag Racing, Ep. 3
On April 14, 2021, The Commercial Appeal published a longform article about the car culture in Memphis, written by investigative reporter Daniel Connolly. For Chapter 1, Episode 3, Connolly joined the markup by mediaverse to discuss the challenges of reporting on the city’s car culture and more.
As more incidences of reckless driving seemed to occur, Connolly’s objective was to take an indepth look at some of the forces impacting the trend. An excerpt:
“But demand for fast, powerful vehicles is strong in Memphis, and some sports car owners don’t appear to accept limits.
In recent months, Memphis crowds have gathered at unauthorized car shows in parking lots where drivers perform burnouts, sending up clouds of smoke from spinning tires. Other times, the cars drive in tight circles, sometimes barely missing spectators.
In one notorious case on Jan. 2, a group of drivers blocked interstate traffic so other drivers could drive around in donuts.
More frequently, drivers race down local highways at extreme speeds. State and local authorities are trying to stop them.”
