Hot Rod Racers #8

Pete Widdell's got a scoring point to prove after a spoiled rich kid named Lyle Rowden III disrespects his mechanical skills—so Pete decides to build his own drag racer from salvaged parts and Ellen Fane's help, then challenges the cocky Corvette owner to a match race. With ingenuity and know-how against deep pockets and horsepower, Pete discovers that raw speed isn't everything when the lights hit green at the quarter mile.

Johnny Arl's been bested nine times on the dragstrip by Gil Hewlitt's faster machine, and when Hewlitt rubs salt in the wound with his usual arrogance, a fight breaks out—one that ends with Johnny humbled again. But winter's coming to the backroads, and Johnny sees his chance for revenge on ice and snow, only if Kate will lend him her Saab.

After three years in the Army, Larry Craig returns to his quiet hometown hoping for peace—but finds himself the target of local hotrodders Mo Moshik and Tiny Tom, who mock his newfound caution and restraint. When a confrontation at the stock car races escalates into a challenge, Larry accepts a racing proposition that will finally let him prove himself behind the wheel and settle matters once and for all.