Tow balls are for towing! There, I said it, and I feel much better now. I know many people think about this at every show, but somebody has to stand up and say something. It has become a big trend to grab anything in the shop, weld it to the bottom of a frame or bumper, and then drag it until it burns off or goes flying off. The big problem with this is sometimes these tow balls fly into other cars or trucks. It's not only ridiculous looking, it's really unsafe, too.
What happened to the old days, when only trucks that really laid low were the ones that threw sparks? When I first started in the scene, dragging was reserved for the truly low and sometimes just plain crazy. These days, I've seen trucks static-dropped with air shocks in the rear and "cheater bars" on the back, which were used for dragging competitions. At a recent show, I saw a truck with a body kit that had about four tow balls mounted beneath the rear bumper. Even worse, I've seen fabricated stilts on the bottom of trucks that are just plain ridiculous looking.
In my opinion, this has to come to an end. We're making ourselves look bad. Dragging should be reserved for those people who have the guts to do it right, and do it as safe as possible. Let me tell you that I love dragging. I love the way it looks, and I love doing it. But I, for one, refuse to destroy my truck. I don't think it's cool to rip my roll pan off at every show. If my truck couldn't handle a little drag, then I just wouldn't do it. We're in a sport where keeping up with trends is a must. But dragging is not a must. Why not concentrate on looking sharp while cruising the streets rather than tear up our trucks every opportunity we get? I'm not saying that dragging isn't cool, but dragging for five miles at a time isn't necessary.
The first time I ever saw a truck drag was in '97, when I left a Forbidden Fantasy meeting. The guy who was doing the damage was Rick Mullins, in his '87 Toyota longbed with air shocks on all four corners. He laid it out for about 20 seconds and showered the caravan in sparks. That moment changed my life because I knew that I wanted to be that low. But, back then to see a spark show was the rarest moment at any show or cruise. Now it has become as normal as a bikini contest. But let's all stand back and realize that we need to be safe about it, and do it with some class. If destroying pavement can even be done tastefully, at least let's do it with some frame or some body-the way it should be done.