“We want to get you comfortable driving it and the Ford Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV. The Ford was designed to be an off-road pickup truck that Hennessey modified to create a high-performance SUV. Since we had the track, Fritz said it gave us the chance to familiar with its handling capabilities as well as those of the Demon,” Chuck explained.
Because the SUV’s suspension was designed for off-road, it had a comfortable ride. I got behind the wheel with Chuck as my copilot. The Ford Hennessey VelociRaptor was no slouch in the power department. The previous owner had them put in a twin-turbo supercharger setup, which they tuned so it pushed the 6.2-liter V-8 to 1032 horsepower.
I quickly discovered that Chuck knew a bit about defensive driving. Not just the boring stuff, but how to negotiate your way out of trouble. I figured we would have to replace all four tires after he taught me how to do power slides with this beast. I was glad that he did because it let me know exactly how far I could push it before the tires would break loose. As we continued, I started to feel a lot more confident about driving it. It was longer and heavier than the Demon and had a higher center of gravity. While not as quick, it was still better-performing than most anything else on the road.
While I drove the VelociRaptor, Brook had gotten behind the wheel of the Demon. I chuckled when I saw her start to back it up, and the wheels broke loose. You just didn’t understand the power unless you drove it. I was glad I hadn’t taken Hennessey up on their offer to beef up the engine on the Demon. That would have been insane. The Demon was already more car than anyone needed. With yet more horsepower, I could see myself dead.
While Chuck checked me out on the VelociRaptor, he told me that Fritz had worked with my parents and Peggy earlier in the day. Of course, he and Paul had taken turns driving in the controlled environment. This gave everyone a chance to push the cars and not worry about running into anything.
Finally, it was my turn to drive the Demon. Fritz didn’t know that I’d secretly terrorized the local country roads and had a fair understanding of what it could do.
“Take it out easy until you get a feel for how it handles,” Fritz advised.
I grinned at him, and he muttered, “Oh, shit,” as I gave it gas. The Demon rocketed down the tarmac. I think Fritz about had kittens when I put it into a power slide to fly around the corner and then sent us screaming up the other runway. Fritz planted one palm on the dash and the other on the roof.
“I think you should let me drive from now on,” I suggested as we weaved in and out of the cones.
“I’m not sure you’d be safe in normal traffic,” he said.
Fritz cringed when I slammed on the brakes, causing the wheels to smoke. I appreciated that Dodge had upgraded the brake package over my previous car. It also helped that we had racing-inspired seat belts to hold us in place.
“Sorry, I wanted to see how good the brakes are,” I explained.
“Next time, warn me.”
I grinned, which caused him to shake his head. I didn’t feel sorry for him because the whole purpose of today’s exercise was to test our limits in the cars. Only with that knowledge could we use their full potential. I learned that I loved fast cars. I was a very happy boy.
◊◊◊
On the ride home, I received my second surprise of the evening.
“My dad says that you have to come to our house for dinner tonight,” Cassidy told me.
“I think my mom made dinner,” I said.
“He’s afraid that your dad can’t cook,” Brook translated for me.
“I’m trying not to be rude,” I said pointedly to my girlfriend.
Cassidy’s expression told me I had reason to be concerned. Then she compounded the issue.
“Paul, can you drop me off at Brook’s, please?”
“You’re not eating with us?” I asked disbelievingly.
“Suck it up, you big baby,” Brook said.
“He makes spaghetti with ketchup,” I complained.
Brook looked at me in disbelief.
“He really does,” Cassidy confirmed. “You’re lucky I’ve broken him of making it with hot dogs.”
Brook shuddered. They gave me no sympathy and dropped me off.
When Coach Hope opened the door, I smelled pizza. He looked curious at my obvious relief.
“What’s that look for?” he asked as I came in.
I spotted Ty, Wolf, and Tim in the living room.
“Cassidy said you were making spaghetti with hot dogs.”
He laughed.
“That brings back memories. When you’re broke and have to feed two kids, you use whatever you have. It wasn’t that bad. I only made it for them because they would ask for it.”
I greeted the guys, and we sat down at the dining-room table. Coach had ordered Papa Del’s. They had a party-size deep-dish pizza that would feed even this group. A couple of slices were more than enough. I felt good when I saw he’d also gotten a large Italian salad so I could at least say I ate something healthy. Not that pizza didn’t hit all the food groups.
Once we had something to eat, Coach Hope explained why he’d invited us all to dinner.
