A Sunday Drive by Greg Lyle (ebook reader browser txt) 📕

A SUNDAY DRIVE

He eases the wheel left to straighten the machine as he turns onto the straight. He hammers the throttle. ---

---The exhaust roars and the chassis twists straining to contain the monster threatening to rip loose from its’ mounts under the hood. The machine squats to the rear as weight transfers from front to back forcing the rear tires into intimate contact with the pavement. The rubber folds around the individual gravel components griping them from all exposed sides. Suddenly whole groups of rubber molecules are ripped free of the bonds with their neighbors releasing energy as screaming sonic waves and heat. The rubber is left smoldering in the road.

The nose of the machine rolls right and rises against the horizon. The steering becomes light and unresponsive requiring large inputs to correct for the wildly wondering rear tires as they slide along two paths of molten rubber slick as freshly spilled oil.

Things are happening fast. Dozens of dynamic variables are racing through the structure with each second. Hundreds of individual parts create forces that stress attachment points. In many places the structures are literally strained near the point of explosive failure.

The inertia of every cell in his body resists the acceleration as the seat rips forward under him. All of his senses are afire and in tune with the wild beast that’s screaming all around him. His inner ear is disturbed as the machine yaws left. He feels a force pushing his butt right and his eyes follow the horizon across the windshield. He hears the rear tires complain at being ripped apart and smells the aroma of their demise. He can taste the fumes of the beast as they excite his buds.

He reacts without thought smoothly twisting the wheel right to correct the yaw, and lifts slightly from the throttle to arrest the rear wheel spin. He is rewarded with a sudden surge of forward thrust as the rear tires hook up and begin to pound the monsters torque into the pavement. The metal of the rear axles twist straining their atomic bonds. Many bonds succumb to the force and break forming micro-cracks as the axles resist the monsters rage. The portion of the axle that extends beyond bearings bend as the rear tires thrust the machine forward.

A bright amber glare from the panel strikes his eyes warning him the monster is 200RPM from explosive destruction. He simultaneously depresses the clutch, lifts the throttle, and pulls the shifter from 1st to 2nd. He drops the clutch and nails the gas. The tires complain with a scream, but they have a little heat in them now and they quickly grip the road with only minimal help from his right foot. The skillfully selected gear ratio drops the monster into the bottom of its’ power curve, and the tires pound the aggregate out of the pavement with no mercy.

The car is being propelled forward at a ferocious rate, and a huge butterfly is loose in his belly. The butterfly is being fed by the physical forces he is experiencing and by the raging mental processes racing through his brain. He is not scared, and he will not lift until the only option is death it self. The sensation is primal beyond sexual excitement. It’s powerful fearful competitive rage! It’s a feeling of victory the seduction of no woman can ever match.

The 2/3 shift is complete and things are getting very serious as the speed rages beyond 100. His sensation of speed and time are compressed due to his racing mental activity. The scenery seems to crawl by as he scans the road far ahead searching for the land mark that determines the point beyond which a mistake will result in pain.

At the O in the sign for JOE’S GARAGE he smoothly shifts his right foot from throttle to brake applying aggressive force to the peddle. The brake pads, driven by hydraulic force, bite into the wildly spinning rotors and begin to give their lives converting kinetic energy into light, and a super heated blasting cloud of residual dust and metal particles. Weight transfers to the front tires and drives them into brutal contact with the pavement. He is thrown forward and the belts dig deeply into his body as they restrain him. He inputs small corrections to the wheel forcing the beast to maintain a straight path. The lightened rear tires threaten to lock up, but he senses this and modulates the braking force with his big toe forcing the tires into compliance.

While maintaining heavy braking force he simultaneously depresses the clutch and rolls his right foot towards the throttle which is purposely positioned so he can operate the brake and gas at the same time. He gives the throttle a sharp stab to match 2nd gear engine speed to road speed. Failure to match engine speed will result in rear wheel lock up and send the machine spinning out of control and into the greedy grip of the Grim Reaper.

With engine and road speed matched he pulls the shifter into 2nd and releases the clutch. He maintains light brake pressure to keep the right front tire planted in the pavement, and turns the wheel left aiming for the corners apex. The chassis rolls as weight transfers away from the turn. The springs compress and the roll bars twist as they drive the weight onto the outside tires. The tires howl for mercy as the side walls distort and the slip angles increase generating the centripetal force that pushes the machine left. His momentum continues to pull him forward as the machine moves left dragging him with it. The lateral supports of the seat thrust into his ribs and right leg. The shoulder belts bite into his chest as they pull him left. He allows his body to relax into the seat and belts and they cradle him as a mother would a frightened child. The forces of two gravities crush him into the seat. When the left front tire just brushes the curb at the apex he shifts from brake to throttle and begins to smoothly apply the gas.

The machine accelerates and the right rear tire feels the pressure. It squeals in pain as it looses grip causing the machine to turn hard left. With the reactions of a cat he snaps the wheel right to catch the rear end and stop the spin. He then applies smooth throttle to maintain the tire slip angles keeping the car in a slight over steer attitude. The car drifts away from the apex, all four tires sliding. As the exit of the corner approaches he achieves full throttle. The machine slides out towards the edge of the road beyond which lies the Reapers’ domain.

This is just one of 575 corners he will face in the next hour. He is a race car driver, and life couldn’t be better.




1

The wheel spin at the start was a mistake. It has allowed the Corvette that started to his left to get away. He is only just able to hold off the two Camaro's that started behind him as he races out of turn one. He gets a good run off the turn, and the two Camaros fall behind, slowing each other as they racing for position.

The Corvette driver aggressively drives far to deeply into turn two, a 90 degree right, and locks up the right front tire when the driver turns carrying to much speed for the cold tires to handle. The Vett pushes up a lane in the turn and misses the apex. This will compromise the Vett's speed off of the turn and result in a lower terminal speed down the next straight. If he can hit this turn he can get a good run down the next straight and make up time he lost at the start.

He hits his braking mark for turn two and smoothly turns right towards the apex. The tire temperatures are coming up nicely and they are beginning to develop full grip. He’ll have about ten laps of maximum performance from the tires before the strain and wear causes them to fall off. He has a choice: push hard early to get track position while the tires are good, or be patient and preserve the tires for consistent performance through out the fuel run. The driver of this Vett doesn’t make many mistakes so he decides to use some tire now to take advantage of this mistake.

The Vett pushes up half a lane and is forced to slow to regain grip. It then turns sharply right and diamonds the corner for a late apex. This will allow it the best exit speed possible given the mistake the driver made under braking. Turning behind the Vett he hits a perfect apex and is able to get the power down early. The Vett cuts across his nose from left to right chasing its' compromised late apex as he drifts left towards the outside at the exit of the right hander.


They drag race down the straight slamming through the gears. The Vett is about two feet ahead and is straddling the center of the road putting up a block. He got a good run off turn two and has a slight speed advantage. He presses the issue by hugging the left side of the track and they make slight right front to left rear contact as he begins to over take the blocking Corvette.

Having a firm grip on the big picture and realizing the Mustang has beaten her off turn two the Corvette driver moves right to give racing room. From frustrating experience in her past she knows the first rule of racing: “In order to finish first, first you must finish.” The Mustang driver is intent on capitalizing on her mistake. If she fights for turn three, a tight left 180 degree hair pin, with this disadvantage she is likely to crash them both out.

Having raced the Corvette’s driver many times before he is able to predict what she will do. She is a fast, smooth, skilled driver and she doesn’t take risks that can throw away a race in the early stages. As expected she abandons the block and moves right to get set up for turn three. Now that he has pulled his nose even with her left rear he moves right with her so he can have as wide an entry as possible into the next turn. They are only inches apart and he can hear the scream of the Corvettes engine in concert with his own as they race towards the braking zone for turn three.

Turn three is an ideal place for an inside pass, because of the set up required for turn four. There is a very short straight that leads into turn four which is a flat, wide, and sweeping right hander. Turn four can be run flat out allowing the driver to carry a lot of speed onto the long back straight away. But to do so the entry and apex for turn four must be perfect. This requires a very late apex in turn three and hugging the inside of the turn at the exit to position your self for the proper line into turn four and the shot down the back straight.

When passing in a corner both cars give up time because