Teenage Hotrodders #4

Rick Roberts is leading the Grand Prix at Reims, France with championship points on the line—until his brake pedal snaps off on the final lap, forcing him onto a treacherous escape road and putting his victory in jeopardy. Battling brake failure through dangerous corners and the Italian champion Bongiovi's fierce comeback, Rick must rely on pure nerve and his car's raw power to stay in contention. Back at the pits after the race, a shocking discovery reveals the truth behind the mechanical failure.

Two would-be hotrodders—Joel Mathews and Motors McHorn—apply to join the Rod Masters club, but their backgrounds and attitudes couldn't be more different. While Joel impresses with his custom T-Bird and professional craftsmanship, Motors is an eccentric dreamer more interested in fantasizing about drag racing than the work itself. Club president Scot Jackson proposes a 30-day probation period to fairly evaluate both applicants, but as the weeks unfold, surprising truths about each candidate emerge that challenge the club's first impressions.

Two hotrodders with identical cars—Cal Cornwall with a stick shift and Bill Franklin with an automatic—settle their long-running argument about which transmission is faster with an illegal race on an unopened stretch of highway. As the two cars tear down the bypass with their friends cheering them on, the competition heats up in ways neither driver expected.