Speed Demons #5

Veteran driver Ben Waggner rescues a battered Ferrari destined for the junkyard and christens her "Old Ironsides," convinced the aging racer has championship potential despite her reputation for bad luck. With help from Laura, a young woman whose late father once drove alongside him, Ben rebuilds the car piece by piece and enters her in the Indianapolis Classic—but first he'll have to prove to his skeptical fiancée Dana, her father Carl Burr, and everyone else at the track that this "jinx bucket" belongs in the winner's circle. Through five hundred laps of near-disasters and hairpin saves, Ben and Old Ironsides push toward the finish line with everything on the line.

A high school kid named Chick Mollet crashes the family car and ends up helping the owner, Dave Orden, repair it—a chance encounter that launches him into the world of midget car racing. As Chick learns to drive and tinker with engines under Dave's mentorship, he discovers a real talent for both, and by season's end has traded his average student life for racing victories and a shot at engineering school. It's a solid story about how one accident can steer you toward exactly where you're meant to be.

In "Big Deal at the Wheel," Fred Norton runs a stock-car team, but his abrasive attitude has driven every driver away—until he’s forced to find a rookie willing to take the wheel. With tempers flaring and the track waiting, can he find someone bold enough to race for him, even if he’s not exactly the easiest man to work with?

In "Getaway," Hank Lanson stumbles upon a bar robbery and tries to intervene—only to be knocked out. Later, during a motorcycle race, he recognizes one of the robbers among the competitors. After winning the race, Hank watches in shock as the same man steals his prize money, setting off a high-speed chase that turns into a desperate pursuit down open roads.

In "Foreign Flash," Red Alderson, a determined racer, swaps his damaged car for an old Miller loaned by Tim Wood, just as French racing star Rene Larouge arrives in the U.S. seeking victories on American tracks. With ambitions on the podium, Rene secretly tries to undermine Red’s chances, turning the raceway into a battleground of speed and cunning.