First and foremost, I want to express my sympathy for both families involved in this tragedy. Second, I want young racers to understand that 1. Always wear your seatbelt, and 2. Never drink and drift. The purpose of this post is to help make young street racers aware of their mortality and hopefully inspire them to race more safely.

Yes, Nick Hogan is at fault for recklessly piloting his Supra on a public road and so is Hulk Hogan for supplying his underage son with alcohol. And I can’t help but think, John Graziano would be in better shape than he is now, had he been wearing a seatbelt.

Street racing and drunk driving claim the lives of thousands of would-be racers and innocent victims every year. The last thing a true racer wants to happen is wreck their car or hurt someone else. This tragedy is an example of how one stupid decision, driving drunk, can change your life and those around you forever. Hogan and Graziano had bright futures ahead of them and now one is in jail and the other imprisoned inside his own body.

It’s easy to look around the world and see heartbreak and misfortune at every glance, but many tragedies like this one, can be avoided with a little self-control. Life is about making decisions and living with them. I’d be a hypocrite to say ‘don’t ever race or drift on the street,’ but do so in the safest environment possible – even better, race at the track. Traffic tickets are expensive and lives are priceless, so use your head and represent street racers and drifters in a positive fashion.