Miami Beach, late afternoon.
If Miami was famous for anything it was the beach. One of the busiest tourist spots in the world, Miami receives upwards of over a million travelers during the holidays. The hotels were first-class as well as most of the company here. Sand, sun, surf, swimsuits, what else could one want?
"Speed," said Alex. "That'll probably be what will decide the race."
"Well, if it's a question of pure power," said Suki, "Then I doubt any of the other competitors can touch you."
At that moment, Alex and Suki were hanging out together at the beach enjoying the setting sun. Alex was dressed modestly in a pair denim shorts, sandals, and a really tacky-looking shirt. Suki, by contrast was wearing a bright red designer two-piece with a floral-decorated, slightly transparent, sarong covering most of her lower half.
Alex's shift at his job was over and now he had about 8 hours to go before the race starts. He came to the road where the race was designated to scope out the place while he could. Jimmy was right. 6.5 miles of straight road. There were only two corners and that was going down the exit and turning left on Biscayne and the other was another left turn exiting Biscayne and back on to I-195. Straight down and back.
It wasn't the classic drag race but it was pretty similar and much longer. The car's top speed will be the key to winning the race. Alex was starting to think that maybe he should've had his stereo removed after all.
"Power isn't everything," continued Alex. "He has a supercharged V8 and that usually gets up to its power band faster."
"But your engine is torquey while his is peaky and this race is all about maintaining a high power band."
"I can maintain high power even with a peaky engine. What I worry about most is the other races. The race will be six of us and having a flexible engine may be safer. And like I said, he can probably reach his peak power faster than my V6."
An engine that is considered "torquey" means that the engine is tuned to have a wide range of power over the gears. This means the engine is tuned that it can maintain its peak power through the revs much better than a "peaky" engine. The advantage is this type of engine is that the car maintains a more constant level of torque over a wider range of RPM and thus maintains top speed much easier without putting too much stress on the engine and the driver's skills.
A "peaky" engine is the opposite. It is tuned to have high power and a narrow band. This means that the car can only achieve its peak power on a small range on the RPM's. "Peaky" engines are harder to use in motor sport since they require the driver to constantly shift gears to keep the engine at that optimum power band through the revs. And usually, missing the narrow power band even in higher revs will cause a drop in torque and power.
Alex preferred keeping his engine "torquey" because it allows him to be more flexible in a race. He can maintain acceleration better and that usually means better handling and faster cornering. It also allows him to be better prepared for any and all surprises that pop-up during a race which happens quite often. And, as he said, it's also more ideal for his twin-turbo V6.
Although he does sometimes tune his engine for specific races. For a straight-up drag race, He usually does tune his engine to be peakier in characteristics. At its highest level his engine can achieve, with the wastegates fully opened and the ECU set just right, is around 700 bph. But when he keeps the engine flexible, he usually has a peak power of around 600 to 650 bhp which is more than enough for most races.
At the moment, he has tuned his engine to around 640 bhp and he is assuming that the weight difference between his car and the rest will make all the difference. He has seen the profile of the other drivers and their cars. Bull's Mustang GT alone is more almost twice the weight of his Silvia S15. The rest weighed less but in terms of power they didn't seem to compete that well with the Mustang and the Silvia.
"The way I see it, it'll come down to weight difference."
"And you have the advantage in that department."
"And as back-up I always have my nitrous system ready. I won't go as far as to say this race is in the bag but, the odds at least look good."
"Don't you have to worry about the other racers?"
"Should I be?"
"And couldn't hurt to have a little info. And I happen to know these guys."
"Ok, then. Shoot."
"OK here's what I know about the other four racers. The first guy is David. He drives a supped up Ford Focus that runs at about 400 horses. Not that much power but his car's not that heavy. He likes to be the one off the line first and block those behind him. He usually does this by using his nitrous kit early."
"Classic maneuvers. But with five other cars to deal with he might find his hands full."
"Probably. Next up is a girl named Paula. She drives a lightly tuned Mazda RX-8. It's equipped with top of the line mods from Mazdaspeed and it's also pretty light. Lighter than your car actually. But lacking in power. Apparently she likes to keep her motor NA."
"She'll probably aim for the two corners as her best bet for winning."
"Up next is a guy named Dean. Aside from Bull, he's who you gotta look out for. He drives a Dodge Viper SRT10 that's packing serious power. Although really the only mods to this car is a new Borla exhaust and some custom wheels. Everything else is stock. Still he might give you some trouble on the straight so watch out for him."
"Got it. What about the last guy?"
"The last guy will be OJ."
"The driver of that red RX-7?"
"Yeah, him. You've seen him and his car around the shop, right."
"Yeah. Dude's got a decent tuned engine. I think he pulls about 400 hp with that single-turbo rotary of his and his car is pretty light. But his nitrous system is what I'm worried about. Guy's always got like a huge tank of the stuff replacing his back seat."
"He's been on a decent winning streak with those. He's learned to use his nitrous to give him some extra boost on short straights and long corners. It's a pretty good technique actually. He's also VENOM's best customer. He's modified his car with a VCN 1000 computerized nitrous system and high flow fuel pumps and injectors. He may be pulling 400 most of the time but when he turns that system on he can beat even you in terms of peak power."
"Well, my car is more than just power."
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Hours later.
The time for the race was almost near. A crowd was already gathering around the nearby area and a party was starting. At a nearby parking lot close to where the race will actually start, people have turned up in their cars and a party atmosphere was quickly building. Less than an hour before race time, the racers are taking this last moment of relaxation to collect themselves. Or in OJ's case, phone numbers.
"Hey there pretty chicka," said OJ to a fit-looking woman sitting on the hood of her Mazda RX-8 parked next to his car. "Look, I just wanna say that no matter how this race turns out, I won't be having any bad feelings for you senorita."
"Oh I see," said the girl. "That makes me feel better…knowing you're not gonna hate after I win and you lose."
"Oh ho ho ho, kinky. OJ likes it. Of course we can all dream can't we?"
"You can dream of this," she lightly slaps her butt, "as I pass you and leave you in my dust."
"Fair warning chicka, my car is not just good looks."
"Well, neither is mine, idiota."
By then Suki walked up to the two looking rather exasperated. She had changed out of her two-piece swimsuit and put on a more comfortable but only slightly less revealing one piece designer dress and-knee high boots with assorted jewelry around her neck and wrists.
"Careful girl," said Suki to the RX-8 driver whom she knew to be Paula. "This guy's got a mouth as big as his exhaust but cajones as big as his sparkplugs."
Paula giggled a bit. OJ looked annoyed. "Hey, hey, you you got to be hatin' me, girl?"
"Instead of picking up numbers, why don't you spend your time preparing for the race? Considering your competition you have plenty to worry about."
OJ grinned confidently. "If this is about your new boy, Alex, then I got nothing to worry about from him. Why don't you stop underestimating me and overestimating him already, chicka? On the streets anything can happen. Plus, I've gotten a lot better since that gringo left town."
"Alex is a whole new game for even you OJ. Plus I'm not Just talking about him."
"Oh, you mean the yankee in the 'stang? Don't worry, girl, I can definitely take him as well."
"That's what Joaquin said and look where that got him."
Suki started to walk away leaving behind a rather irked OJ. Despite having heard that from Suki and being slightly annoyed by it, he had not lost any of his confidence. Yes. If there was one thing that he could be proud of it was his confidence. OJ was known to be brash and rude for the most part. Some people would call this an overinflated ego. It's a little bit like that by OJ calls it something else. He called it his pride.
You need pride, OJ would tell people. Not just in racing but in any competitive sport, legal or otherwise. It's his pride that keeps him going and earns him the respect he has not just from others but from himself. You have to believe in yourself first and foremost, he would say. Without pride, what will you aspire for? What are your dreams and how can you achieve them? Pride give you meaning, purpose and most importantly, a place in the world where, as long as your pride hold, one will stay firmly. Without this place in the world, you are unrecognized, non-existent. This is what OJ believes.
"Hey wait!" called that girl Paula.
Suki stopped and turned as Paula walked up to her. "What's up?"
"You know that guy in the S15 I'm supposed to race right?"
"Yeah, you can say that."
"I've been hearing stuff about him. I heard he's really good. I want to hear from someone who knows him a little more personally. Is he really that good? Can I beat him?"
Suki smirked. It's only been a couple of months since Alex entered the race scene in Miami and he's already this popular. "Well, I can't really say for certain if you can beat him. I haven't seen how good you really are. And like OJ said this is the streets and you just don't know what will happen."
"Then can you tell me anything?"
"Let's just say…don't expect things to go as you think they'll go. A guy like Alex…has a tendency to surprise people."
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Ten minutes before the start of the race.
This was it. No more delays. With 4,500 dollars buy-in from each of the six racers that made 27,000 dollars on the line. Winner-take-all. Alex liked these kind of races because those taking part don't stand to lose relatively much but stand to win real big. However the race itself was something he wasn't so crazy about. Most people think that a straight line race like this is the easiest kind of race. And it kind of is. You only have to dive in a straight line for most of the race. But despite being one of the simplest types of races it is also the most dangerous.
You see it on TV all the time. Thos shows which feature stunning home videos of spectacular accidents and disasters. Some of those videos shown are often from professional drag races. Anyone who's ever seen a professionally tuned drag racer experience an accident while going at speed will know what kind of dangers even the simplest looking races could have even in a closed course that was built with safety barriers and had paramedics ready, as well cars designed to keep the driver alive even during 200 mph crashers.
This race was nothing like that. This was a street race. Worth noting is the fact that this race is over six miles of nothing but straights with no barriers separating the cars that will have to average about 160 to 180 mph throughout the straights to put up a decent chance of victory. Throw in the unpredictability of the other races and the environment of the road (civilian cars and the like). All that with an almost complete lack of safety precautions. This was clearly a race that wasn't for the weak-willed.
The racers will start in a grid formation of 3 rows with 2 cars each. Bull in his Mustang GT and David in his Focus are on the first row. Paula in her RX-8 and OJ in his RX-7 are on the second row. Dean in his Viper SRT10 and Alex in his Silvia S15 are on the last row.
Bull was the first t line up. He parked his Mustang GT an inch behind the white line on the road. He watched in his rear view mirror as the other cars were coming. He spotted Alex's Silvia among them. He grinned with a hint of both excitement and malice. He decided then and there that this guy would not finish this race with both legs working.
Alex was slowly driving his car to position and spotted Bull already at the line. He knew he had to settle this tonight. He couldn't help but feel that Bull might pull something sneaky. They always do, these guys who are too desperate for a win. Too desperate for a taste of glory. He briefly recalled Jimmy's first race with that guy. He knew he had to keep his wits about him if he planned to survive.
The other racers started to get into position as the organizers of the race started calling on them. There was a crowd gathering around the starting line cheering as the cars went into position. Many of the people in the crowd weren't just audience members however. Races like this are like the derby. Everyone has a favorite they want to put their money on. And that's what some race organizers come after. Somewhere in the crowd was Suki eagerly waiting for the race to start.
"Yo!" called someone from behind her. She looked back and saw Tej, Jimmy and Rome, coming to join her near the start line.
"I was wondering when you'd get here," she said. "Race is about to start."
"Those look like some stiff completion out there," said Rome. "Are you sure your boy can do this?"
"Who knows?"
"Not exactly a confidence builder, are you?"
"The race will go as the race will go. Anything can happen. All we can do is hope for the best."
Across the bridge stretching over the water, several people in parked tuner cars were speaking over cell phones and preparing their cameras for a live broadcast that will be picked up by others through Wi-Fi. At the very end of the track parked close to the intersection of Biscayne was a dude in a truck with a police scanner. While his friends were setting up fake roadblocks to stop any unlikely traffic he listened to the scanner as a dispatcher reports domestic violence call somewhere in the suburbs. The driver smiles knowing this will keep the cops busy for a while. The area was pretty clear then. He calls his buddies to tell them the road was clear.
The party was about to begin.
Back at the starting line, all cars were in position. The crowd cheered as the racers, mostly OJ, revved their engines loudly. The race starter was one of the young girls from the crowd who walked out onto the middle of the road. She stopped right in front of the start line between the two lead cars. She raised her arms up into the air and the crowd cheered on. Somewhere in the crowd, Suki swallowed nervously as she got her cell phone ready to hack into the live broadcast. The race starter girl dropped her arms towards the ground.
Less than ten seconds later, all six of the cars were nowhere to be seen.
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On I-195.
Half-a-mile down the road the cars started to disperse a bit. David in his Focus took an early lead when he hit his nitrous and sped off into the distance leaving a gap of about five car-lengths between him and the runner-up, Bull in his Mustang GT. Bull watched as David's Focus speed away ahead of him and quietly scuffed to himself criticizing the amateurish move.
"You're no challenge," he said then looked at his rear view mirror. "C'mon. Where are you pizza boy?"
A couple of car-lengths behind Bull, Paula and OJ were having their own small battle with their rotary powered machines. Paula had a slight lead over OJ who was easily keeping up with her. She darted her eyes back and forth from the road to her instruments which read that they were going at about 140 mph already. That was worryingly close to her RX-8's top speed so early in the race. Even though she planned to take the race in the two corners she wondered if that was gonna be enough.
OJ in his RX-7 let Paula have this little lead of hers knowing that he could easily pass her when he wanted. He instead chose to concentrate on the other two Racers ahead of him. Bull's Mustang GT was still in sight and not that far ahead. David's Focus worried him as that was barely visible in the distance. He decided to make his move then and there.
"Time to makle some money, baby!" he said to himself.
He flipped a few switches on his dashboard which turned on his all-important nitrous system. He watched as the gauges on his dash hissed to life and showed full tanks of nitrous. He had about three tanks full in the back seat and was planning to used all of it to win.
He pressed the red button on the steering while and his car jetted ahead, much to Paula's surprise, bringing his car up to 160 mph. OJ's RX-7 quickly caught up to Bull and was breathing down the Mustang's bumper. Oj steered to the side and started to pass Bull on the right. Bull saw this.
"No way, José," said Bull as he turned the wheel suddenly to the right.
The Mustang's front bumper managed to clip the rear bumper of the RX-7 as it was about to pass. OJ was caught off guard as his car was thrown into a fish-tail. He instinctively let his foot of the gas and started pumping the brakes a bit. He managed to control his steering wheel and bought himself back into a straight line but not before he was completely passed by Paula, Dean, and Alex. In an instant he fell to last place.
"Hijo de puta!" cursed OJ.
Meanwhile Alex in his Silvia S15 and Dean in his Viper SRT10 were facing it out. From the start of the race the Viper maintained a lead over Alex who made seemingly several attempts at passing by weaving from side to side while the Viper simply followed and got in his way. Inside the Viper, Dean was laughing at Alex's pathetic attempts to pass him.
"Is that the beast you can do pal?!" said Dean as he shifted up a gear.
In the S15 Alex grinned confidently. He recognized the moment the Viper shifted gears when a brief burst of flame came from the exhaust. That was the moment he waited for. Alex turned the wheel right slightly enough to make it look like he was going right. At the sign of the first motion, Dean maneuvered his Viper to block Alex but the S15 suddenly veered to the left.
Alex saw that he was clear and made his move. The trick was Alex kept his engine at a high gear and in low revs while keeping up with the Viper. During his opportune moment, Alex quickly shifted down and allowed his engine to get to that peak power very quickly. With a sudden and unexpected burst of acceleration, the S15 rocketed past the Viper and into 4th place. The Viper was still trying to get to its own power band and thus was unable to keep up with the sudden acceleration of the S15.
Dean was forced to watch as Alex sped off into the distance out of his reach. "Dammit!"
His mind was quickly brought back to the matter at hand when he spotted OJ's RX-7 quickly gaining ground on him. He tried to Block him off but OJ was better than that. Dean, compared to everyone else, was the most inexperienced racer in the race. OJ saw through this move quickly and was easily able to devise a plan to pass Dean.
Just like Alex, OJ feinted to one side, Dean's left, and let Dean follow it. Dean took the bait again and OJ simply moved to the right and used the advantage of his abundance in Nitrous to give him a quick boost that allowed him to pass. As OJ was passing him, Dean got really panicky at that point and tried to turn things around. Dean sharply turned the steering wheel to his right in hopes of maybe bumping into OJ's RX-7. However, OJ had already cleared him and Dean found himself driving right into the guard rail of the bridge.
Dean tried to save himself but it was too late. His Viper's front bumper smashed right into the guard rail at over 160 mph and the whole car bounced back and spun multiple times all the way across all the lanes and finally came to rest on the farthest lane to the left. The engine had stalled and Dean, for the most part, was too stunned to operate his vehicle. He was out of this race.
OJ glanced at his rearview mirror to confirm the crash. He shook his head disappointedly. He was expecting more from his fellow competitors. He thundered on, gaining ground on the rest of the pack. Meanwhile, Alex had caught up with Paula. The young lady racer saw his S15 rapidly approaching from her mirrors. By now, the racers have passed the halfway mark on the bridge.
"Looks like the word on the street was true," she said to herself. "This guy is pretty good. But let's see you keep up."
Despite being moderately powered, Paula's RX-8 was nothing to scoff at. That car has brought Paula plenty of victories in the past and she aimed to get another one here. It's light weight and maneuverability is the RX-8's biggest advantage and even in a straight line race with minimal corners like this that's worth something. Unlike Dean, Paula was not an amateur and she knew how to block an opponent as Alex was soon finding out.
Alex went for several feint turns just to see what the RX-8 can do. She met him for every movement of the steering wheel. Alex smirked. "Girl's got game, I see."
Alex hanged back a bit and let her lead. It was still early in the race to be making brash moves. OJ has learned this as well as he seemed to have hanged back a bit content in staying in last place for a while. That maneuver he tried with Bull was still very fresh in his mind. He needed to wait for a better opportunity.
Up ahead, Bull was keeping his tight 2nd place in the standings. He generally ignored what was behind him at the time though he did notice the Viper's crash much to his satisfaction. For now he focused on the guy ahead of him. David's Focus was starting to come into view again, the effects of his early nitrous boost fading fast. Soon enough, it was well within reach.
"Knew you wouldn't be too hard to chase down," said Bull with a wry grin. "Guess that boost was all you had. Now you got nothin' huh?"
He shifted up to his Mustang's top gear and accelerated to 180 mph. He accelerated so fast that he caught David by surprise when the Mustang GT bumped his Focus' rear bumper. The sudden jolt caused David to momentarily loose his wits and control of the car. His Focus started to swerve violently but this was quickly remedied by his car's FWD.
Bull in his Mustang GT grinned. He accelerated again and bumped the Focus slightly harder, not caring whether he was denting his own car (he figured the prize money would more than pay for damages). David was jolted again and nearly spun out. He was getting awfully nervous. In desperation he tried pushing his nitrous button again but since his tanks were empty nothing happened.
The Mustang accelerated again this time hitting the focus hard enough that the rear bumper flew off. David was too panicked and too jolted to gain control and he soon violently spun out. David's Focus ended up hitting the guard rail and the momentum sent the car sliding right up against the metal guard rail sending sparks flying everywhere as metal rubbed metal. He eventually came to a rest just before the exit ramp to Biscayne.
"Two down…" said Bull.
The four remaining racers stormed ahead for the exit ramp to the first of only two corners in this race. By now, Bull was in the lead and Paula in her RX-8 was a close second followed by Alex in is Silvia S15 and then an increasingly nervous OJ in his RX-7. OJ was sort of expecting to see a crash maybe ion the later half but witnessing two before the mid-point of the race was getting to him.
They reached the corner of the exit. Bull slammed hard on the brakes and aimed for the inside of the corner. He experienced a little oversteer and slid a bit towards the outside. This was the angle Paula was looking for as she aimed for the inside of the corner and putting her faith on the high grip of her tires. The RX-8 and the Mustang nearly kissed bumpers as the RX-8 took the lead from the inside. Bull noticed and applied more power to correct his slide. Paula shifted up a gear and tried to put some distance between her and Bull.
Meanwhile, OJ was trying to move up a place in the standings. He applied some boost with his nitrous and over took Alex in his S15 just before the corner. OJ did a Scandinavian flick and put his car into a drift around the corner.
"How do you like that, esse?!" haha!" exclaimed OJ.
"Too wide, pal," said Alex. The S15 quickly moved to the outside, turned sharply inward and intersected the RX-7's line across the corner. Using precise throttle control, Alex was able to drift around the corner and end up in front of OJ again, much to OJ's irritation.
Bull had about 500 feet before the next corner came up. Ha had to get rid of the girl before they made the turn. Bull gunned his engine and once again rammed the person ahead of him. The RX-8 was violently shaken from the impact. Paula almost lost of control of steering wheel for a moment there. As soon as she regained her composure she looked at her rear view mirror just in time to see Bull charge at her again.
The impact was much stronger this time and Paula wasn't able to stay composed. She accidentally jerked her steering wheel to the right and spun out the RX-8. Bull turned left to avoid the out of control RX-8 and retook the lead a short distance from the next corner.
Alex was surprised when he found himself coming up against the RX-8 which was going awry just as they were about to reach the next corner. He reacted fast by letting up on the gas a bit then steered to the right violently, clearing the RX-8 by mere inches. He then quickly steered to the left and applied power putting his Silvia into a wide drift that put him in a good position to enter the corner.
OJ came up and took the much clearer right part of the road and didn't even come close to Paula's RX-8. He soon cleared the corner as well and was back onto the final straight.
"Damn you Bull, you bastard," said Alex. "So that's your game, huh?"
As Alex and OJ sped on through the exit and back up onto I-195, Paul somehow managed to regain control of her car and brought it back her intended driving line. She cursed loudly at her luck as she turned at the on ramp and went to the final straight. She knew by now her chances f winner were next to none.
Bull was still maintaining a tight lead with Alex now in 2nd place, OJ in 3rd, and Paula in a far 4th place. A situation OJ was definitely wanting to remedy. "Don't think you can try those moves on me, gringo!" he said.
He suddenly moved to the farthest lane and once clear activated his nitrous systems again. He went from 120 to 160 mph in the blink of an eye. Alex was slightly caught off-guard when he noticed OJ creeping past him and headed straight for Bull. Bull noticed this move and was anticipating it from the start. He figured OJ to be just the type to make this kind of move.
"Back for more, 'ey paco?!" said Bull with an excited laugh. As OJ approached Bull quickly moved in to block him. OJ was forced to back off and hit his brakes otherwise he would risk hurting himself and his car. OJ ended falling way behind.
"Now," said Alex as he saw what a wide opening he had. He moved to the farthest lane away from Bull and OJ. Before either of the two drivers could notice him, Alex shifted up a gear and activated his own nitrous system. His Silvia S15 accelerated past 170 mph thanks to the extra boost of the nitrous and was soon ahead of the pack.
"What?!" exclaimed Bull as he noticed Alex's Silvia pass him on the far side of the road. "That son of a--!"
Bull shifted up and accelerated but found it hard to try and keep up with the S15. He seemed to be having trouble reaching his power band. Alex saw this on his rear view mirrors and smirked to himself. Looks like he did decide to tune his engine to be peaky, thought Alex. He shifted up again to top gear and brought his car to an almost untouchable 185 mph.
Bull was now very angry. He decided to go with his own nitrous kit. Only through that would he be able to catch up with Alex now. Of course, he wasn't planning to actually pass Alex yet. Bull's mustang mustered all the power it could pull out. Soon enough the Mustang was nearly bumper to bumper with the S15. Alex noticed and braced himself for what he knew was coming.
"Time to pay you back, pizza boy!" exclaimed Bull as the Mustang rammed into the S15 hard.
This wasn't the first time Alex had to duke it out with a "rammer." He's dealt with them before. The best anyone can do is simply speed up and get a grip on the steering wheel and hope you can get away from the guy. If that doesn't work, sometimes it would be better to just let the guy pass. But this was an opponent Alex couldn't let past him. He needed to kip his grip firm and wait this out. To do so, Alex gripped the sides of the wheel and pushed against it in order to flatten his back against his seat. He also rested his head on the seat so that if he gets rammed again his head won't shoot backwards. He also braced his left foot on the floor under the clutch pedal. He was now in as stable a position as he could get.
Alex figured that bumper of his wasn't gonna last much longer. He could tough this out until the end.
Bull reeled up and rammed into the Silvia once again. The Silvia jolted a bit but ultimately stayed in a straight and narrow. Bull tried again, squeezing out a jet of nitrous into his engine and ramming the S15 which again failed to budge that much. The punishment to his front bumper was starting to show as the flimsy material had already broken off its hinges and was hanging just barely.
Bull couldn't see this and even if he could he wouldn't care too much. He pressed the nitrous button on his steering wheel and once again rammed right into the back of the S15. Alex stayed vigilant and refused to lose control of his car. With that, the Mustang's front bumper was hanging on by its last bolt and so was the rear bumper of Alex's S15.
"C'mon dude," said Alex quietly to himself. "You can do better than that can't you?"
With only a mile left until the finish line, Bull was on his last nerve. The other two were practically out of the running now and it was either gonna be him or Alex. He had to do something and he had to do it then and there. He had no time left to waste.
This time he emptied his nitrous tanks and rammed full-speed into Alex's rear. For a second there Alex almost lost control but he hanged on just enough to keep the car going straight. All he really lost was his rear bumper which fell off from the impact of the crash, almost at the exact same time that the Mustang's front bumper fell off it's last bolt. The two large pieces of fiberglass bounced off the road and while the rear bumper of the S15 went up, the front bumper of the Mustang went down.
The rear bumper flew up and over the hood of the mustang, smashing the front windshield. At the same time, the front bumper went under the Mustang and bumped into the rear wheels causing them to violently jolt upwards. This combination was enough to completely throw the Mustang, and its driver completely out of whack. Bull wasn't able to react in time when his car suddenly slid sideways. While sliding the momentum caused his car to tip to the side and soon Bull found himself in an airborne car.
The Mustang flipped half-way then hit the ground with its roof, bounced off the pavement, and was carried over to two more flips by its own momentum. It finally came down crashing back on all four wheels then spinning out slightly, coming to rest in the middle of the road. The two cars behind Bull, OJ and Paula, narrowly avoided crashing into the wrecked mustang as they caught up.
Inside, Bull was all alive but not exactly fully conscious. However he had enough brain power left to determine that the race was over.
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Back at the finish line.
The crowds have been cheering on as they continuously watched the action on their Wi-Fi connections. But now, as the sound of a rapidly approaching V6 can be heard, they all turned away from their video devices and watched as Alex's S15 crossed the finish line then braked hard, kicking up a cloud of smoke. Alex quickly jumped out of his car and raised his fist in victory.
A crowed gathered around the Silvia in a blink of the eye. Just then, the RX-7 and the RX-8 came in and crossed the finish line, though in a slower, less flashy manner. Still, those two runner-up cars were met with applause and cheer. Paula and OJ slowly stepped out of their cars. Both watched as the crowd continued to congratulate Alex then they turned their sights to each other across the roof of their cars.
"No bad feelings?" asked Paula.
OJ simply looked away, sighed in exasperation, looked back up at her, smirk slightly, and shrugged his shoulders. Paula seemed to have understood the gesture and nodded back at him with a slight smirk of her own. She then looked back towards the man that beat her.
"He really is full of surprises," she said quietly to herself.
Meanwhile Alex was soon met by Suki, who forced her way through the crowds and managed to hug Alex tightly from behind.
"You did it!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe it! You actually won!"
"Can't believe it?" said Alex. "You mean you doubted me? I must be losing my charm."
"So, What are you gonna do with all that cash, boy?"
"Well first, I'm gonna see to that bumper I just lost. And then after that...Tell me, you like eating Italian?"
Suki smiled at him. And gave him a quick peck on the lips before pumping up the crowd a bit more. In the middle of it all, the only thing Alex could think of was how good it was that he picked to go to Miami.
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Author's note: Here's one story arc done. The next one will come soon. There's plenty more in stored for Alex and the gang so keep an eye out. In the meantime, pls R&R!