Years ago, I was a sixteen-year-old go-kart driver who was crazy about cars. While most teenagers my age were learning how to drive, I was setting records across various race tracks. I had learned how to drive on go-karts at a young age, which later translated to me being highly skilled on a race track. I could drive anything with four wheels, but the one thing I wanted more than anything else, was to own my very own car. My parents had never been rich, they barely made ends meet and this was purely due to the fact that they were lazy and did not really care about anything in life, this really motivated me to become a successful race car driver for a world-class team one day, because I did not want to be a failure like my parents. I knew that with hard work and dedication, one can accomplish anything in life.
Although I had access to various cars at the local race track, I could not wait to drive my very own car all over the country. the race track cars were only eligible for the track and hence not street legal. My best friend Daniel's father owned the race track and eight extremely fast, well-maintained cars that he rented to professional drivers for practice sessions. He had always been very fond of me and had told me on numerous occasions that I will be a world champion one day. My girlfriend at that point, Kelsie owned a brand new Mazda Rx-8 and she was one of those girls who knew how to drive and maintain a car. That was one of the reasons why I was crazy about her, while most girls preferred driving a car with an automatic transmission, Kelsie only opted for cars that had a manual transmission, as she claimed that stick shifts are more fun. Back then manual transmissions were indeed very thrilling, especially on the track.
In case you are wondering, I did attend school and my grades were up to par with all the nerds in my classes. Apart from going to school, I spent a large portion of my evenings at the local gym where I practiced mixed martial arts. We did everything from jiu-jitsu to kickboxing. I knew that my parents would not be able to help me financially with anything in life and thus I wanted to learn all sorts of skills to make up for such a deficiency in my life. As the days went on, I was greeted by some good news from my friend Daniel. He told me that his father was hosting an inter-city drag racing championship at his race track. Drag racing is fairly simple, cars race in a straight line up to a distance of 400 meters and whoever crosses the finish line first wins.
Daniel also told me that the winner would receive a special prize, and that special prize is a brand new BMW M3! I could not believe my ears, for once in my life I had a chance to achieve something truly special, something that would otherwise take me years to buy on my own.
The next morning Daniel picked me up in his Ford Mustang and we drove to the track to get registered for the competition. I could see Daniel's father jumping around in his office all hyped up. That man loved cars and racing as much as I did, there were times when I wished he was my dad, life would have been so perfect if I had been born into that family. Nonetheless, I proceeded to register myself for the race, the only problem was, all the other participants had their own cars for the race whereas I would have to drive one of Trevor's cars. Both Trevor and Daniel immediately informed me that I would be driving their Toyota Supra, which currently holds the quarter-mile record on their track. Upon hearing this, I started jumping with joy as that car was truly something special. A few years ago, Trevor built the Supra with his late father who was also a highly accomplished mechanic. They set various records together and were one of the best father and son teams out there. I thanked Trevor and promised him that I would try my best to win that BMW.
In the weeks leading up to the race, I spent most of my time on the track with the Supra doing test runs while Trevor and Daniel tuned both the Supra and the Mustang, based on the quarter-mile times we were posting during our test runs. I knew for a fact that Daniel and I could end up racing each other at some point in the competition, but I was well prepared to take him on. No words can describe the emotions a driver feels behind the wheel of such a powerful machine, driving requires skill, talent, and a mature mindset. After our final practice, Kelsie's mother, Lilly took us all for sushi at the local Chinese Restaurant.
The following day I woke up early and rushed to the race track to perform the final checks on the Supra. I had to make sure the car would perform just right and hence performed a dyno run, checked the nitrous oxide tanks, tires and the onboard computer. Everything seemed to be running just fine, which eased my nerves a little as the next time I would see the Supra would be on race day. Kelsie picked me up shortly after I was done working on the Supra and we went to the cinema for a romantic date. She told me that I could win myself a brand new car and that she believed in my abilities as a race car driver. Having her support me throughout my career as a young race car driver really helped boost my confidence and I was determined to make a name for myself in the big leagues. In all honesty, winning that BMW M3 would drastically change my life and I could not wait for the races to start.
Finally, race day came along on a bright sunny Saturday morning. I along with Kelsie and her parents drove to the track in her dad's Range Rover. The weather was perfect for racing, as dry clear conditions would allow the cars to launch and perform at their best. All the drivers were given a number and matched randomly with their opponents for round one via a computer program. My first opponent had a Mazda RX-7, I was determined to put a few car lengths between us. Daniel's neighbor Bob was up first against a Honda Civic in his Chevrolet Camaro, the race ended in Bob's favor who beat the Civic by a bus length. After waiting for about twenty minutes, it was finally my turn to race. Both my opponent and I rolled up to the starting line, Kelsie came over and kissed me on my cheek and wished me good luck. After both the cars were lined up, we waited for the lights to turn green. Within seconds we were off, the Supra launched like a dream, the sound of its turbocharged engine made my heart race as I shifted into second gear. At this point, my opponent was a good car length behind me, as I went up into third gear the Mazda had fallen further behind. The Supra was almost doing two hundred miles per hour at this point with the nitrous oxide boosting its performance, a few seconds later, both cars crossed the finish line. The first race was over, I had beaten the Mazda RX-7 by two bus lengths, all my friends ran over to me and were jumping with joy, Kelsie jumped into my arms as I hugged her tightly. Trevor gave me a thumbs up and said stay focused.
Daniel was up next against a Nissan 350Z, unfortunately, Daniel stalled at the starting line and was eliminated from the standings. I went up to him and consoled my weeping friend, Trevor came running towards us and told me to win this competition for both of them. As the races zoomed by, I moved up the rankings, beating three more rivals until only two racers were left. A Dodge Charger owned by this rich man who lived down the street and me, a middle-class sixteen-year-old who could not even afford to buy himself a plate of sushi, let alone a car. This was truly the moment that could change my life forever, winning that BMW would set me up for life, a few scouts from the Mercedes Benz Formula One racing team were also in attendance and they had requested Trevor to introduce me to them after the final race. I could not let this moment slip away from me, not now, not ever, this was it, the day I had been waiting for since the past sixteen years, it was finally here staring me in the face.
I could see the smug look on my opponent's face as we approached the starting line, the crowd was cheering for the both of us, Kelsie hugged me tightly and whispered the words "good luck" into my ear. We lined up perfectly and waited for the lights to turn green. My heart was racing, my palms were sweaty and my knees felt weak, but I was not going to let this man beat me, not today. Within seconds the green lights lit up and we launched our cars like two men on a mission for success. The Supra roared with all it's might as I floored the gas pedal, the Dodge was right by my side, I shifted into second and so did he, I was not ahead of him but nor was he ahead of me, we were going side by side. I shifted into third gear and pushed on the nitrous oxide button as hard as I could. The Supra's engine let out a demonic roar that sent birds flying from nearby trees, the Dodge started falling behind. He just did not have enough horsepower under his hood to keep up with the Supra. I crossed the finish line in first place and managed to change my life forever.
