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I probably should've posted this in "GTO Racing," but what happened yesterday evening ended so quickly, I'd argue that it couldn't really be considered "racing." Besides, I'm a 40-something father of two. I don't race.
Usually.
I was headed to the gym after work, slogging eastbound through traffic on a major suburban thoroughfare, when I arrived at a red light. I was the second car back, looking at the back end of a last-generation Mustang GT convertible. There were three lanes of traffic, and the Mustang and I were in the curb lane. I could see a woman with a big ol' head of hair in the driver's seat.
I'd been driving in that zombie-like, bored commuter mode on account of the heavy traffic, but the prospect of getting to the head of the column at long last must've awoken me. Surprisingly, when the light turned green, the woman in the Mustang didn't move very quickly. That was irritating. I didn't intend it to look like a challenge, but when she finally edged far enough ahead to allow me to change lanes and pass, I did.
I was on empty road nearing the next traffic light when I was surprised to hear the Mustang to my right, coming down from overly high, attention-getting revs. The Mustang zipped past, then stopped abruptly at the light. Hm.
I pulled up next to the young woman and ignored her at first. But she made it known she wanted to give it a go. She revved her engine repeatedly and did a few of those stop-go-stop-go jerks that made her car bounce. So I looked right at her, a bemused expression on my face. An attractive Latina straight from the set of The Fast and the Furious, she was all seriousness. I raised my eyebrows and made a little frown with my mouth, as though I'd just tasted a new dish and pronounced it moderately interesting.
I'll confess, my heart sped up. I checked my mirrors and looked everywhere. I could just imagine us taking off right in front of one of Mesa's finest (one of whom is a friend of mine, and would find my arrest hilarious). The coast was clear, but the intersection wasn't. We had to wait for the stream of oncoming vehicles turning across our path in response to the left-turn arrow--the last of which, as fate would have it, was one of those giant, bus-sized luxury motor homes.
Sure enough, when the light turned green Mr. Motorhome hadn't quite finished his turn. Realizing my path would be clear before the Mustang's (she was to my right, remember), I wondered if the girl would give up on the idea of racing. Conditions weren't fair. So I sat there a beat to see what she'd do.
She nailed it. As soon as the motorhome was out of the way, she was off and nearly across the intersection before I even got moving. But I made up the distance and put her behind me so quickly that even I was stunned. The GTO was still pouring on thrust as I grabbed third gear, at which point I was so far ahead of the Mustang that I let up, finished shifting up through the gears and settled down. I moved over to the left lane (I had to turn left in a mile or so) and cruised along.
Next thing I knew, the Mustang whizzed by, got into my lane, and made a U-turn at the first curb cut it came to. The girl hadn't even needed to go this far! She'd proceeded eastbound merely to race me!
I figure she's probably sitting somewhere today with a bunch of friends saying, "You should've seen it! I'm tellin' ya, it was the fastest Chevy Cavalier I ever saw!"
Usually.
I was headed to the gym after work, slogging eastbound through traffic on a major suburban thoroughfare, when I arrived at a red light. I was the second car back, looking at the back end of a last-generation Mustang GT convertible. There were three lanes of traffic, and the Mustang and I were in the curb lane. I could see a woman with a big ol' head of hair in the driver's seat.
I'd been driving in that zombie-like, bored commuter mode on account of the heavy traffic, but the prospect of getting to the head of the column at long last must've awoken me. Surprisingly, when the light turned green, the woman in the Mustang didn't move very quickly. That was irritating. I didn't intend it to look like a challenge, but when she finally edged far enough ahead to allow me to change lanes and pass, I did.
I was on empty road nearing the next traffic light when I was surprised to hear the Mustang to my right, coming down from overly high, attention-getting revs. The Mustang zipped past, then stopped abruptly at the light. Hm.
I pulled up next to the young woman and ignored her at first. But she made it known she wanted to give it a go. She revved her engine repeatedly and did a few of those stop-go-stop-go jerks that made her car bounce. So I looked right at her, a bemused expression on my face. An attractive Latina straight from the set of The Fast and the Furious, she was all seriousness. I raised my eyebrows and made a little frown with my mouth, as though I'd just tasted a new dish and pronounced it moderately interesting.
I'll confess, my heart sped up. I checked my mirrors and looked everywhere. I could just imagine us taking off right in front of one of Mesa's finest (one of whom is a friend of mine, and would find my arrest hilarious). The coast was clear, but the intersection wasn't. We had to wait for the stream of oncoming vehicles turning across our path in response to the left-turn arrow--the last of which, as fate would have it, was one of those giant, bus-sized luxury motor homes.
Sure enough, when the light turned green Mr. Motorhome hadn't quite finished his turn. Realizing my path would be clear before the Mustang's (she was to my right, remember), I wondered if the girl would give up on the idea of racing. Conditions weren't fair. So I sat there a beat to see what she'd do.
She nailed it. As soon as the motorhome was out of the way, she was off and nearly across the intersection before I even got moving. But I made up the distance and put her behind me so quickly that even I was stunned. The GTO was still pouring on thrust as I grabbed third gear, at which point I was so far ahead of the Mustang that I let up, finished shifting up through the gears and settled down. I moved over to the left lane (I had to turn left in a mile or so) and cruised along.
Next thing I knew, the Mustang whizzed by, got into my lane, and made a U-turn at the first curb cut it came to. The girl hadn't even needed to go this far! She'd proceeded eastbound merely to race me!
I figure she's probably sitting somewhere today with a bunch of friends saying, "You should've seen it! I'm tellin' ya, it was the fastest Chevy Cavalier I ever saw!"
