Niagara Small Engine

Niagara Small Engine
When I was 16 years old I used to hang around at Niagara Small Engine listening to Ted the owner tells stories about his drag racing days. It was fun to pass the time for somebody who wished they could have been around when drag racing on the street was the norm. He used to laugh and say that I was born too late. One of my favorite stories was about how one of the guys used to bet people hundred dollar bill that he tacked to the dashboard. Each challenged them to reach that $100 bill as he accelerated the car from 0 to 60 miles per hour. He laughed as he squirmed in the seat and struggled to reach forward but they just couldn't get their hands on it because the G. force pinning them tightened to the upholstery.
Ted was always full of stories are never forget the story about the guy who claimed he could make his 69 Dodge Challenger do a wheelie before he left the parking lot of Carol's restaurant. The challenge was on. It's time for a little background on this story. Carol's restaurant is now called Burger King and the parking lot was very small in those days and when you left the parking lot you're out into Main Street eight have to make a quick left-hand turn so you didn't get plowed by another car. That was not the type of challenge someone would take lightly, so the bets were high and the BS did fly. When the money was laid down he fired up the challenger in back it against the fence against at the back of the parking lot, it was so tight the fence was stretched out, nearly ready to give way. The reved the engine, the tires were screaming when he rammed it into first gear. Smoke started to build the car leaped forward as if launched from a cannon. He slammed it back into second the wheels broke free once more and he was nearing the sidewalk just as the front wheels took to the air. He crossed the sidewalk on two wheels in into the street just as a traffic light changed to green. There wasn't time to take a breath as he jammed the brakes drop the wheels to the ground hard enough the suspension bottomed out. He ripped the wheel to the left and punched the gas once more gravel started flying the rear and came around and all you could see was a blur of taillights peeking through the smoke. But the oncoming cars were about to overtake the intruder. Once again with lightning fast reflexes he yanked it shifter back in the second dumped the clutch and screamed down Main Street with a grin on his face because he just took the money and ran.
I love the old drag racing stories perhaps that's why it hung around so long that I became a mechanic myself and soon I joined the Air Force to become an aircraft mechanic.