Drag Racing: Dean Shaw silenced? Part 2

Author : cmunroe

For unfathomable reasons I was at the ‘entrance-end’ of the track, close to the main road. A few minutes earlier, when I was at the announcer’s tent, I overheard someone being informed that Adrian said it would take him some time to get ready. I also heard CVM TV being summoned, repeatedly. But, like a rookie detective, I ignored the glaring clues! I was not my usual clairvoyant-self!

So, there I was languishing at the entrance, when my ears caught the – “This is the eight seconds finals” – announcement. If I was uncertain of the announcement’s accuracy, audible confirmation was provided by the rumbling, snarling duo – the V8 monsters! Considering my distance from a viewing area and the realization that I would possibly miss the most significant race of the current drag racing era, my reaction could be aptly described as panic!

Dean Shaw

I was caught in a net of ‘fast cars’ that were parked – at attention – close to the entrance. So when Adrian and Dean informed their machines that judgement day had arrived and the hysteria of speed was about to unfold, I was nowhere near an appropriate spectator-spot. Thankfully – fit as a fiddle -  defines my physical state and I improvised. A turbocharger with two boost settings was employed for my legs and my brain did the rest. I could have entered the 12 seconds class!

Assisted by the pre-race drills done before staging, like a hand in a glove, I was able to ease into my preferred vantage point. As the Camaro and the Mustang engaged in their psychological warfare and completed their posturing before staging, gigantic waves of interest inundated Vernamfield! Smart-phones held head-high, conveying photo or video-mode, became the new dance! Palpable excitement reigned, but something was amiss.

BadBreed

Typically, when the BadBreed Mustang approaches the start-line, surgical precision is on display. There is an atmosphere of order, thoughtful planning and accurate execution as the  procedures which ensure that the red projectile travels the intended path, at the predetermined speed, are completed. But, prior to Drag Challenge #2, the team operated without valid competition.

Dean Shaw’s machine hit the qualifying mark earlier and as it got dressed for battle in the left lane, judging by its sonorous notes,buck-wild stance and Riverton-fire burnout, it appeared rather intimidating. Did this unsettle the BadBreed crew? In the burnout box, the usual tire-shredding, ‘warm me till I am sticky’, confetti-type  burnout, we have grown accustomed to from the BadBreed Mustang – like money in my pocket – it was absent! When Adrian reversed, to possibly attempt another burnout or reposition the machine – Nantwi Coke – an imposing figure, was either displaced by the beast or he stumbled, but something happened.

Dean Shaw’s machine.

Were we seeing jitters? Were they uneasy? Were they perturbed? Were they unsettled by the raucous Camaro? I didn’t have time to complete the analysis. The answers were approaching rapidly. The machines were in position. The revs aimed for the clouds, the ‘tree’ came alive – lights on both sides – the countdown began!

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer

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