The EPA is back at their old tricks of using subversive methods in order to push their ideological agenda onto the backs of hard-working Americans. The EPA has proposed a new rule that would make it illegal to convert a car’s emissions systems that differ from the original stock. The EPA and their mantra of unchecked and overreaching authority have decided to propose this rule, in clear defiance of exemptions within the very law they base their authority on. Dale Earnhardt must be rolling in his grave.
The proposed rule will give the EPA new expansive authority to regulate and oversee vehicles used only in competition, racecars. The rule states, “Certified motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines and their emission control devices must remain in their certified configuration even if they are used solely for competition or if they become non-road vehicles or engines.”
For any red-blooded American, it’s obvious that an amateur driver isn’t able to afford cars driven in the Daytona 500, so they convert their own to start their career. Clearly the desk bound EPA bureaucrats in Washington are less in tune. This massive EPA overstep will only dent the dreams of the amateur racer, not the amount of pollutants in the air.
Racing has been in the blood of Americans for over 75 years, with historic victories at the Indianapolis Speedway, the mecca of racing. From the famed racers like the war hero Eddie Rickenbacker and Mario Andretti, to the origins of NASCAR during Prohibition, have been huge creators of both well-paying jobs, tremendous revenue for states and localities, and a great source of entertainment.
In the United States alone, there are over 1,300 motorsport tracks that are used for both professionals and amateur. This regulation will cause great harm not only to amateur drivers at the start of their careers, but will also hurt the manufacturers and customizers of racing parts as well as those who work ancillary professions like concessions, advertisements, and other activities found at the racetrack.
As per usual, the EPA continues their ideological crusade against hard-working Americans, they must have thought it would be fun to target one of their traditions. The EPA should hit the brakes on this rule, and put their agenda in reverse.