Watch a Cop Car Race an ATV, and Lose

I fought the law and...I won?

03:10

Jonathon Klein

By: Jonathon Klein

Sep 20, 2024 at 8:03am ET

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Listen, we've all been there.

We've all been at a stop light when a cop pulls up next to you and your first instinct is to freeze, pretend everything is all right, and try your hardest not to get pulled over for something you absolutely didn't do two miles back. We've also had the second thought. The intrusive thought. The thought that says, "I can take him." and then just pound your foot to the floor, or pin your wrist all the way back, and drag race the copper to the next light.

Now, if you did that, you'd likely be going to jail, your vehicle impounded, and facing a hefty, hefty fine. But every so often, that exact situation occurs and it's perfectly legal. How, you might ask? Well, from time to time local police departments send off-duty cops and their squad cars to the drag strips for "Beat the Bacon" type events where you, yes you, can drag race the police.

Mostly, folks bring cars or motorcycles. But every once in a while, someone brings something...weirder. And in the case of the above clip, someone just so happened to bring an ATV to one of these events.

Check it out.

Yes, your eyes don't deceive you. That ATV just smoked the cop car in the quarter mile. Now, it's sorta not hard to believe given the quad in question looks to be a semi-modified Yamaha Banshee, which are known to be quick as all hell. Likewise, it appears to have street-ish tires on it, and on the prepped surface of a drag strip, that thing is going to take off like a rocket.

Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't do a small wheelie when it hooked.

What do you think?

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I will say, the cop car—a Ford Explorer Interceptor—gets a good launch with its all-wheel drive and twin-turbocharged motor. But that thing weighs so much. Like it's probably six- to eight-times the weight of the Banshee.

The resulting times are thus: Yamaha Banshee with a 15.89 at 71 mph; Ford Interceptor with a 16.00 at 87 mph. So while the Banshee won, the Ford cop car was reeling him in. Not sure what to take from that, but if you were wondering if an ATV could out drag a cop car, there's your answer.