Danny Violante's '93 Civic SINobody's condoning it, but street racing's long been a factor when it comes to customized cars. When American soldiers returned home after World War II armed with the technical know-how to turn everyday cars into competitive performers, an entire network of car builders emerged with an out-of-the-box mentality and a thirst for progression. Soon, the dry lakebeds of Los Angeles played host to heads-up racing, which served as the beginnings of many Chevy vs. Ford rivalries. Abandoned airports also lent themselves to quasi-organized racing that eventually spilled into the streets, becoming a staple of American culture. More than four decades later, the torch was passed on to a new competitor, one that relied more on technology and power-to-weight ratios than big-block muscle. Southern California's carbon-copy business parks ultimately replaced the lakebeds and abandoned airports, and similar activities spread throughout the country. This new phenomenon brought with it an entire subculture that helped spawn a multi-million dollar industry. But all was not perfect. Suspended licenses, impounded cars, accidents, and fatalities have always loomed as the black cloud above street racing's head. With many cities implementing zero-tolerance laws and unfair profiling, some enthusiasts' confidence, not to mention comfort, levels dropped. As a result, concluding that street racing is dead wouldn't be entirely outrageous. It's wrong, but not outrageous. Indeed, street racing is alive, albeit not as common as it once was. The spectator sport that it was during much of the '90s has been reduced to small gatherings of hardcore speed freaks that meet at discreet locations for impromptu battle.
Many will deny participating in such activities, but Danny Violante makes no qualms about where he got his start with Hondas. "I was a sophomore in '98 and I went to the races and saw this hatchback out there smoking everyone and taking their money. I fell in love with racing. I dropped a GS-R in my Civic and I was out there every weekend until like 3 a.m., it was so much fun back then before all the dumbasses started going and ruined it," Danny says. His newfound love would come at a high price though. Over a short time period, his license was suspended no less than three times. Despite the driving revocations and countless stories that are simply too sketchy to repeat (think: high-speed chases), Danny is indeed fortunate that things turned out the way they did.
Over the years he's managed to buy, build, and sell several project cars that found themselves in the midst of numerous street encounters. Danny says, "I remember setting up a race against a couple of Skylines one time, but when I showed up and they recognized my car. It was all over. They knew my car was way out of their league and they pulled out of a money run. After that it was getting really tough to find anyone willing to race me so I parted it out and made most of my money back." However, Danny couldn't stay away forever, and four years later he was back at it again, this time purchasing a less than desirable '93 Civic Si. "It looked really bad, my buddy Jason from Sonic Racing tried to convince me to forget about it because it looked like garbage, but I knew from my past Civics that this one had potential." Despite the hesitation, Danny brought the car to Southern California's Jerry Built where the engine bay was stripped and prepared for paint and a fully built B-series monster. The car was then scheduled for a dyno tuning session with nearby Do It Dyno's Bubba. With his magic touch, Bubba caressed nearly 650 whp and more than 370 lb-ft of torque out of the B16A, a staggering number for such a lightweight street-driven hatchback. With the power equation out of the way, a custom paint job was followed by a chance encounter with Nastie Garage's Nate, who helped tuck and manage the engine bay for a spotless appearance. "I wanted the car to look as good as it ran, and the paint job was a must. I met Nate at the Norm Reeves Honda event and he offered his wire tucking skills. The old school TEs just finished it off. I only wish the engine had held up. It ended up blowing and I decided to go to RS Machine for a new build. Good thing I did," Danny says. A good thing indeed-his best run to date took place at a Sacramento event where he managed to click off a solid 10.7-second pass at 135 mph. Not bad for a street car that once looked as though it was destined for the junkyard. Next up for Danny is a full race car that's got its sights set on the 9-second mark.