God was with me. Me and LS-1 almost crashed.

[Mercury]

God was surely with me Tuesday. I've had some close calls while racing when I first started doing it years back. Most of them didnt really indanger me or anyone else. I've been thankfull and thank god for such.

Tuesday, for the first time, racing put me in a place that I could almost see the face of death. Now, I never fooled myslef into thinking I'm invicible, but I learned recently that I have became a little to comfortable with my luck. I'm still shaken up. I wont stop racing, but I'm looking at it through a renewed perspective.

On the way to work, I was going down Cliffdale Rd. Half way to work. Not a cloud in the sky, my surronding were bathed in sun light. My mind was on Marya, I had just made arrangements to have flowers and ballons delivered to her work place for Valentines day.

Red catches my eye, it always does. Its in the form of a LS-1 Z-28. He was cruising beside a new V-Tec Prelude. Talking to the guy.After about 2 miles of curising 10 miles below the limit while these two cruised side beside shooting the breeze, I became Irrate. I fell back, and down to 25 MPH, then dropped it in Second, and Nailed it.

Yep, as I expected they heard me. The guy in the Z looked back and saw me. We caught an light, and the Prelude at the last minute moved over behind the Z to give me a lane next to the Z28. From observeing the Z earlier, I came to the conclusion that it was an auto.

The guy reved, normal racing fare. He looked back at his freind behind him and gave him the thumbs up.

Like I have so many times before, I scanned the area looking for cops or potential hazards. None. I readied myself. Shifter in hand, pulse quickining, gaze on the swaying light. I was ready.

The light changed. I was untop of it the nano second it changed. I spun for a brief moment. He did also. I hooke a second before him. I puleed on him about a car length up to 60 MPH. Car lenght as in about 8 feet between front and rear bumpers.

At about 100 he pulled his nose to my rear bumper. He shut down. Then I did. We caught another light together.

He was obviously wanting a second round. He began lurching foward and jumping it. I was more than happy to oblige. Show him up again infront of his Little Prelude buddy.

Same scene diffrent light. But this time, the right lane he was in, ends. ITs inbetween a quarter mile, and eigth of a mile stretch. So if he wanted to get over, he was going to have to pass me.

The light changed, and we both hooked. I had the quicker reaction time again. This time he stayed like a foot behind my rear bumper. We were approaching 90 MPH, and he was falling a little further back. I looked over to my right for a split second to see where he was. I was shifting getting ready to shift into fourth when I looked straigh ahead.

In that split second, a brown blur came out of nowhere and shoot infront of us, taking both lanes. We were right on top of him. WIthout even thinking, I hit fourth, let off the throttle just the littlest bit and swung the car into the dead lane to my left (Which is only 3 feet wide area seperating lanes of traffic. I was a mere two feet from slamming into his rear, and when I shoot over to pass the Brown Chrysler MiniVan, I was a mere inches from his side. Anycloser, I would of broken my mirror.

I heard brakes lock up. My mind was racing, I thought it was the slew of cars coming down the other lane towards me. It wasnt. It was the Z28. He shoot over and had ttwo wheel on the grass. My mind raced.

I thought about how he's in bad shape, having the car half off and half on the road at those speeds is dangerous. I watched him for a moment as my brain was doing all kinds of things at a rate I didnt even know it could. I watched him begin to swerve.

Then as I passed the van, I felt my rear start sliding, and wander into oncoming traffic.

Everything stopped. My heart, the cars, Time. It all Froze except for me. Or so it seemed. No sounds, no movement, just everything seemingly frozen in place. I countered the swerve and came a just a few inches from knocking mirrors off cars heading the other direction.

The car reacted, but to much. The car wandered towards the shoulder. This time, my sense of sound came back. I heard tires squealing. Mire tires. Coming dangerously close to the shoulder and grass. I got the rear to react and straighten out.

My Nostrils flared as I took a burst of shallow breaths. I looked down at my speedo. 100 MPH. In my rear view I made out a red Z28 through the clouds of dirt and dust we both kicked up.

Then I noticed my heart pounding in my chest with a force that I have never felt before.

Believe it or not, the first thing that came to mind was, while looking back in the rear view mirror at the Z28 was "Glad you made it buddy, didnt think you were gonna there for a while." Then I thought about myself.

I got to work and was rather quite. I said a prayer, as I always do at night, but this one was alittle longer than the others.

I commend that guy in the Z28. Thats was some serouis driving on his part to save that car. My hats off to him.