What a Rush

Not everybody likes that idea, though. For one thing, some aficionados fear that if computers were used during races and to maintain the cars, competitiveness would be compromised, because the teams with the most money would be able to afford the best technology. "What good would it be if you could afford computers and nobody else could," says Tim Richards, crew chief of Bud King Racing, owned by Anheuser-Busch. "Competitors would disappear."

After several runs, Frank Hawley's black Super Comp dragster still scared me, and I was lifting the throttle too soon. After a few more abbreviated runs, Hawley cleared me for the full quarter mile. An experienced driver offered me a few tips, and I was committed. The burnout was fun: full throttle, spinning tires, blue smoke. I rumbled up to the starting line, waited. The green signal came-and this time I resisted the strong urge to ease up. After the violent, head-banging first 200 feet, I used all 700 horsepower straight down the line. This was fun. The skinny bicycle wheels on the front of the car fidgeted like insect antennae as I streaked past the finish line.


I had done 154 mph. Not bad: Hawley said the car would only do 158. But I still had one more run to do and I kept thinking about what that other driver had told me. He had nailed the naked recklessness of this sport. "Drive it like you stole it," he said. "Drive it like you're trying to break it." n



Ted West is a freelance automotive writer living in the New York metropolitan area. He is working on a novel about professional racing.