Bikes & Cars...

This weekend, May 31-June 1, a couple dozen electric drag vehicles will take the track in Washington, DC, at the Power of DC event. (Get it? DC, like the town and the direct current that powers the cars. So clever.) Mason Dixon Dragway, a quarter-mile NHRA drag strip, will provide the pavement where the racers can burn rubber.

Power of DC is sanctioned by the National Electric Drag Racing Association, which means anybody with a blazing-fast car or bike can set an official record. Shawn Lawless of Youngstown, Ohio, for example, will be bringing his NEDRA record-setting electric motorcycle, AGNUS, to the event. On March 28 this year, he ran the quarter mile on the bike in 10.881 seconds at 115.97 mph.

Lawless will also have Juiced Up, his 240-volt electric "rail," as the pointy-nosed drag cars are called, at the event. John Mogelnicki plans to bring his 288-volt Electrolite Roadster from Detroit, and West Virginia University will have its Formula Lightning open-wheel racer on hand.

If you're into green speed, Wired recently did a round-up on its web site of the fastest eco-friendly cars, including the Tesla electric supercar at 130 mph. The wind- and solar-powered Venturi Eclectic, while certainly green-powered, clocks in at a poky 31 mph. Any car on the track this weekend in DC could outdo that little guy.