Hot Rod Racers #13

Young racers Clint Curtis and Gary Golden have each dominated their respective soap box racing classes, and now they're set to face off in a high-stakes championship run that could go either way. With both drivers hungry for the title, this heated final showdown promises all the thrills and tight competition that define soap box racing at its best.

A young stock-car racer haunted by the dangers of high-speed driving—and branded a worrier by the other drivers—prepares his machine for a qualifying race at Country Park, wrestling with whether caution is cowardice or smart racing. When a reckless rival challenges him both on and off the track, Richie Moore has to decide if his careful approach will hold him back or carry him through the feature race.

Collins had his Dodge Hemi primed for the Southern 400 Classic, but a week before the big race he enters a local competition to stay sharp—only to have Pike Ruggles, the reckless driver known as "the Spoiler," deliberately wreck him on the track. When Collins discovers his car is still drivable, he turns the tables on Ruggles, chasing him relentlessly until the Spoiler abandons the race entirely. Now Collins has a new edge heading into the Southern 400, but not quite the one he expected.

Rick Roberts dismisses superstition—until a near-fatal spin during time trials at the Grand Prix of France forces a reckoning. His crew can't understand his sudden fear, but Rick knows better: sixty years ago, his grandfather Pat Roberts crashed and died after encountering a black cat on a dangerous mountain road, and now, on the anniversary of that tragedy, Rick is convinced history will repeat itself. As he wrestles with whether to compete tomorrow, more details emerge that deepen his dread—but you'll have to tune in next issue to learn what fresh horror awaits him on the track.