CALIFORNIA

Two by two the fuelers blew holes in the night air, until it was time for the Speed King car to take its turn. The guys pushed the car into the staging area and at the starter's command, slammed the gear drive of the starter motor against the crankshaft of the big block power plant. The engine complained with cranky growling, like they all do, and then exploded into life with an angry rumble. The crew gave a collective, if inaudible, sigh of relief as the engine caught, and immediately began checking for leaks. These big motors could be balky, unpredictable, and sometimes just plain obstinate. Everything about them was stressed to the max, and sometimes just getting them to fire up was a major hurdle. Loren stared down the track, then looked up at Doc as he put his head in the cockpit to check the gauges. He nodded his head and patted the top of her helmet. She gritted her teeth behind the flame­proof protection of her helmet and performed the burnout in the usual fashion. She brought the car to a stop and waited to be guided back to the starting line. One of the crewmen ran by her and stood in front of the car with his arm out. She reached down between her legs and lifted the reverse lever and guided the car backwards at a slow idle under his direction. Doc was waiting for her at the starting line.

Doc reached down into the depths of the motor and switched the computer from a burnout mode to full race. He looked the engine over carefully, then moved up to the cockpit and checked the gauges again. Then he looked into Loren's eyes through the visor of her full-face helmet. She blinked several times, knowing that he couldn't see much through her flameproof mask. He checked her belts and studied her for a minute, then he gave her a quick thumbs up and stepped back out of the way. She tried to empty her mind of everything except the Christmas Tree, but beneath her mask her jaw was trembling.

She crept the car up to the starting box until the top light blinked on. She tried her best again to clear her mind and moaned a quiet prayer for protection. She wasn't sure who she was praying to, but right now it didn't matter. She was the most frightened she had ever been in her whole life. The adrenaline was shooting through her veins like a big wave rolling in on the north shore of Maui, threatening to engulf her and throw her down on the sharp coral. She moaned out loud inside her helmet. Nobody could hear even if they cared, she thought. She willed herself to concentrate. If she didn't she could easily make a mistake that could kill her. She physically squeezed the fear to the back of her throat and remembered to unclench her jaw. The vibration of the car at speed could cause her to chip her teeth.

Finally, the Christmas tree became her total focus. She inched the car forward until the lower staging light blinked on. She brought the throttle up, holding the brake lever in her left hand. The lights went amber, and then the bottom one went green. By the time the green was showing, Loren was gone in a split second reflex. A half a thousandth too soon and she would have red lighted, which would have meant an expletive filled, finger pointing harangue from Doc. She had to be dead solid perfect, and indeed she was. She slammed back in the seat as the clutch hooked up and the front end of the car lifted slightly. It rolled in on itself like a large bicep as the big tires in the rear expanded with centrifugal force and gripped the pavement. As the chassis flexed and began to unwind it forced the wheels down, making contact with the pavement even more solid. Small bits of rubber flamed off the tires in blue smoke. At the hundred-foot mark, the car was in full song with eight feet of pure blue orange flame shooting from each of the exhaust headers into the night sky.

The world went into slow motion for Loren. She could tell immediately that the car was hooked up and that this was going to be some run. The engine continued to scream as the sophisticated five-disc clutch system engaged plate-by-plate, transferring more power to the wheels.

Loren saw the finish line sucking her to itself like some huge vortex in a science fiction movie. Then, when the car was at the peak of the run, at top acceleration and maximum stress, the blower belt kicked off as the crankshaft broke and blew the side of the engine block out in a tremendous ball of flame and debris. The explosion instantly shredded the right rear tire and the car slewed sideways in a sickening lurch just the other side of the timing lights. Loren tried to pop the chutes, but they had already opened of their own volition, slamming her forward in her belts. She immediately took her hands off the steering grips, knowing that it would be useless to try to steer this out of control monster. She hunkered down as low as possible in her seat and held on waiting in sheer breathless terror for the car to stop. As the tire shredded, the chutes kept it upright and semi-straight as it slid down the shut off lane in a shower of flame and sparks. At one point it tipped up, and Loren screamed in fright, thinking it was going over, but the drag of the chutes brought it back down and it gently turned sideways across both lanes and then came to rest against the wall. Fortunately, the car in the other lane had engine problems off the line and was well behind the Speed King car when it blew. The NHRA Safety Safari crash truck was already in motion before the car came to rest.

At least it stayed upright, thought Loren, as she fought to catch her breath. As soon as the car stopped, she could smell the hot oil and literally tasted it in her mouth. She did a quick mental check of her physical condition and decided she was okay. She popped her belts and started climbing out of the car. She stood up in the seat and then collapsed into the arms of the first safety worker to reach the car. Her tears wet the inside of her flameproof mask as she tried to get her breathing under control.