Hot Rod Racers #9

Andy Brill loses his ride with hothead sponsor Gus Klein after a bad start costs them a race, then gets a second chance when fellow driver Johnny Marsh offers him the use of his own hot rod for G/SA competition. With some smart modifications and newfound confidence, Andy transforms himself from a washed-up also-ran into a real contender—but his comeback path leads straight to a showdown against Klein himself in the regional championships. It's a solid underdog story about redemption on the drag strip, complete with the kind of grudge match that makes for great racing.

A young engineering student rebuilds his drag-racing dreams in an unlikely package—a compact Chevy II hiding a massive 427-cube engine under its hood. When his skeptical father takes a test drive before the regional championship, the "Little Giant" proves that sometimes the smallest cars pack the biggest surprises.

When nearly a thousand horsepower is spinning the slicks at the dragstrip's starting line, visibility becomes a real problem—so this feature walks hot rodders through proven modifications that separate winners from also-rans. From exhaust management and hood-pinning safety devices to tire pressure tricks, suspension tuning, and backup parachutes, "Strip Tips" breaks down the essential upgrades and driving techniques that shave milliseconds off your elapsed time. Whether you're wrestling a rail job down the 1320 feet or hunting that top eliminator trophy, the combination of good launch traction and high-end RPMs is what counts.

When a motorcycle club called the Sierra Bears draws heat from their small California town for their reckless riding, one member's dangerous behavior threatens to get them all banned from town limits. But when an injured truck driver becomes stranded in a remote ravine, Ray Delaney and the Sierra Bears get their chance to prove that their bikes—and their skills—might be exactly what's needed to save a life. This 1966 story shows what happens when a community learns not to judge a book by its cover.