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2 arrested in drag racing incident

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GASTON COUNTY, N.C.-- Two men landed in jail early Sunday morning, after state troopers say they were drag racing on Interstate 85 in Gaston County.

Trooper KL Cornwell said he was making his regular patrols on the interstate near the Lowell when he got slowed up by a rolling roadblock of souped-up Hondas -- "The kind you see in the movies, ‘Fast and the Furious’," said Cornwell.   The 2001 movie with Vin Diesel is about street racing in cars with engines modified to go fast.

Cornwell said the cars were blocking all three northbound lanes of I-85 near exit 23.  Two black Hondas were in the left two lanes, and a silver “flag car” was in the right lane.  Cornwell said the driver of the silver car had his arm out the window to cue the other two drivers to race.  That driver dropped his arm, said Cornwell, and the other two cars took off.

Brandon Best is arrested for drag racing down I-85

Cornwell took off after them.  “I activated blue lights and sirens when they reached 87, to try to get them stopped before they got hurt or hurt someone else,” he said.

One of the racing cars and the "flag car" pulled over, and the others took off.  Cornwell arrested 19-year-old Brandon Best of Gastonia, who he said was driving with a revoked license.  Best is also charged with speeding, careless and reckless driving, and resisting arrest.  He was taken to Gaston County jail and placed under a $45,000 bond.  The other driver's name was available Sunday night.

Although Cornwell said this is the first drag racing incident he's witnessed, the crime is getting more popular.  He pointed to three other arrests for "speed competition" -- drag racing's formal name -- this weekend.

"It seems like a lot more charges are coming out for the speed competition," said Cornwell.  He attributed some of the popularity to the Vin Diesel movie, which has already spawned sequels.

Cornwell said the illegal hobby is dangerous to not only the drivers, but others who aren't part of the game.

"When you have the vehicles that are racing, they're not really paying attention too much to what they're doing," said Cornwell.   "A vehicle entering onto the interstate with no clue what's going on could become a victim of a very serious collision."