CHAPTER 1

Friday night - 1965

It was Friday night in the heat of summer. WoodwardAvenue, the very first paved road in America,was jammed with hot rods, muscle cars, jalopies,junkers, beaters, as well as beautiful new cars andsome new cars that won't even hit the showroomtill next year. This is the motor city world of Detroit,Michigan in 1965.

Four lanes each way with a large median betweenfilled with trees and bushes, Woodward heads northfrom downtown Detroit for 30 miles to Pontiac. In thenorthern suburbs of Ferndale, Royal Oak, Birminghamand Bloomfield hills, where many auto execs and theirfamilies live, Woodward has a light every half-mile.

Peppered along a fifteen-mile stretch through thosesuburbs and more, there's a slew of drive-in restaurantscomplete with roller-skating waitresses, vanilla shakesand actual burger wars. On Friday and Saturday nights,Woodward is `American Graffiti' times a thousand andhas a bad-boy reputation as the biggest illegal drag-stripin the world.

It seems as if everybody is racing especially Johnnie,a good looking teen wearing a wild Hawaiian shirt, inhis 1957 souped-up red Chevy convertible, and hisrival Drake, a teen with swept back black hair wearinga white T-shirt and a black leather vest, in his custom'51 Mercury. They, along with thousands of other hotrodders,love to cruise the drive-ins, listen to rock `nroll on the radio, grab some burgers and drag race in-betweenthe lights.

It's Friday night and Johnnie and Drake are alwaysout cruising Woodward and drag racing anybody thatwants to race, which is an amazing amount of nicefriendly law-breakers.

During a spin through the Totem Pole, a primedrive-in restaurant on Woodward, Drake and Johnnierun into each other and argue over a girl they bothwant to take out.

This hatred is not new, they've argued, fought andtaunted each other for all of their life. In seventh grade,they both ran for class president. In a debate theyactually got in a fist fight and the only other personrunning for president that year won out of default.In ninth grade, Drake slipped some dog poop ontoJohnnie's seat just before he sat down on it for an hourbefore he smelled something wrong. In eleventh gradeJohnnie slipped some laxative in Drake's drink at theprom and consequently had a very crappy time. Intheir senior year they were both expelled over stupidthings they did to each other and their hate grew.

That Friday night, they had already drag raced eachother two races and each had won one, so they weretied. On the race Drake won, Johnnie complained thatDrake was cheating by taking off before the light turnedgreen. They were especially pissed at each other andthey both wanted good-looking Sue, a regular at theTotem Pole.

With these two fanatical bitter and hormonally radioactiveteens, fist fights are not enough. For them, itcomes down to a final decisive drag race challenge towin the rights to Sue, but also to prove exactly who, orwhich car, is `King of the Road.'

At the stoplight at 13 Mile Road and Woodward, acrowd of teens that hang at drive-ins, wait for Johnnieand Drake to show up for an announced grudge race.The object of the race, Sue, a stunning young girlaround 18 years old and a couple of her good-lookingfriends, lean on a gorgeous '66 Mustang that belongsto Vick, well, actually Ford. Vick's father is a Ford execand frequently they allow execs to drive home a demoof next year's car, as a perk.

"I love this car," spews Sue, who's always looking forsomething, or someone better.

Vick shrugs, "Mustang. My Dad says it's gonna behuge."

The roar of high output engine power overwhelmsthem as Drake shows up at the light. Another eardeafening engine growl enters the scene as Johnnie,in his convertible rolls up to the light. Nobody can talkbecause of the engine rumbles and revs.

Johnnie and Drake show immense hate for eachother in non-verbal means; they face off and give eachother various versions of the infamous `fickle finger offate.'

They rev their engines; the gas fumes burn theirnoses and everyone else's. The light on the side turnsyellow—a warning sign that the light will change withinseconds.

Kids are screaming, "Go-Go-Go-Go!" The lightturns green and the two hot rods jump out with tiresscreaming for mercy.

They roar down Woodward, bumping each other.Neck and neck they go, faster and faster.

From out of nowhere, a police car pulls out and blocksthe road. Drake and Johnnie slam on their brakes. Thecars screech their tires as they slide closer and closerto the police car. The cop driving and his partner bracethemselves for a crash.

The two hot rods slow their slide and end up barelybumping the police car. Everyone is relieved.

Johnnie and Drake jump out of their cars and attackeach other.

Drake spits as he yells at Johnnie, "You jerk! Yourammed my car!"

"What? You smashed into me when you saw me pullahead."

"You weren't pulling ahead. If anything you werefalling behind!"

The boys hit each other bloody until the copshandcuff them.

Drake sneers at Johnnie, "Some day we're gonnafinish this race, I swear to God. If it's the last thing Iever do in life."

Johnnie responds, "Any day, Bozo. I'll be readywilling and able. I'll squash you like the bug that youare. I don't care how long it takes, I'll be waiting."

At 13 Mile Road, the kids strain to see whathappened.

Sue turns to Vick. "What happened?"

Vick shrugs, "Cops gott'em. They're in some deepdoo-doo now, man."

Sue without hesitation and with a very sexy voice,"Can I have a ride in your new Mustang?"

In 1965, during the enormous drafting of young meninto the Army, Judges were able to give alternativesentences for juvenal delinquency. Given a choice bythe Judge of either extended jail time or joining theArmy, Johnnie and Drake choose Army, and off toVietnam they go.

Because of life's way of changing and either pushingus or leading us, we take different paths and hopefullytoward something we want to accomplish—sometimesnot. Johnnie and Drake came home from a foreign warto Woodward's drive-ins all closed, the cops becamemore vigil, and nobody liked Vietnam Veterans so theykept quiet about it.

Woodward's hey day ended and Johnnie's life wentone way and Drake's went another. Get married, kids,mortgage, 40 hours of work repeated yearly, retire. Notonce in fifty years had they run into each other.

In 1995 the magic years of Woodward was broughtback when a guy named Nelson House and a group ofnon-profit volunteers hoped to raise money for a soccercharity. They looked to relive and recreate the nostalgicold days by having a `classic car' festival.

They hoped 25,000 people would show up. 250,000people showed up for what they called, `The WoodwardDream Cruise.' Over the years the Cruise grew andgrew and grew.

Amazingly, today's Dream Cruise attracts one and ahalf million spectators annually, who line Woodward'ssidewalks with lawn chairs three deep for over twentymiles, to see a non-organized parade of over 40,000classic cars and hot rods.

During those years, Johnnie and Drake just steppedback and lived life. You wouldn't think anyone could holda grudge for that long, especially over such a silly thing.But they stewed and percolated. Sometimes, each intheir own way, would lie awake for hours thinking aboutwhat would happen if they ever ran into each otherand their blood would boil, raising their blood pressure.Nightmares were always about losing the race to...