What a great day for going south on a road trip. The sun is out, the outside temperature is 73 deg, the truck has a full tank of gas, and is performing great. Traffic is light as mile after mile goes by with no accidents or incidents. I'm also doing my part in killing all of those suicidal bugs who want to take my windshield head on.
As I roll through town after town, I get to thinking of how lucky I really am. I'm listening to my favorite tunes on my iPod, and the family is in great health. No worries today! As I pull through some of the towns south of my hometown, the divided highway is long and straight with a stop light here and there. Don't know why these lights are there? I was about to find out.
It was at one of these stop lights that a Dodge Ram "Hemi" truck pulled up along the side of my truck. I casually look over and see that it's painted Dodge racing orange with billboard size black lettering announcing to all the world that this is not just any truck. Oh no, this was a Dodge Ram Hemi truck. It was clean and I could tell the owner took good care of his truck, with the shiny rims and glimmering paint job.
I checked the signal and it's still red, and I continued to wait out the light. It was then I heard that all to familiar sound of an engine being revved up. I lowered my limo tinted passenger window to hear the exhaust note and take a quick look at the young driver. Yep, he gave me the smile and nod of the head. He wanted to race. What to do? Risk a ticket? Risk an accident? Get beat and then suffer the "embarrassment"? I know I can't tell the difference between one year to another of those Dodge trucks. If this was one of those "first" generation trucks (2001-2008 or so) it had the same advertised horsepower of my truck with 345 ponies, but was a little lower on the torque rating from the factory at 375ft/lbs vs my 380ft/lbs... And as any racer will tell you, torque is what wins on the street! I know, what your thinking, it's only 5ft/lbs! Yeah, not much of an advantage. But still an advantage in my mind. Then again, this could be one of those "second" generation trucks (2009-present) with a monster 390HP and 407ft/lbs of torque... What is a person to do??

Now my truck is not "stock". With a Diablew tune, Volant CAI, and Corsa cat back exhaust system, who knows what my horsepower and torque numbers really are... Alright then, time to find out I said to myself.... Lets roll the dice! I rolled down the window a little more, and gave the young guy a nod and a finger pointing forward. (I know what you thought I was gonna do with my finger - wink, wink) We sat there waiting out the light. He continued to rev the engine, while I turned the A/C off, brought the rpms to about 1,000, looked around for the boys in blue, and we both waited out the light.

We didn't have to wait long. The light turned green, and both engines started to roar. I could hear his engine rev up, and heard his right side tire spinning. He wasn't moving forward as fast as I thought he would. As for me, the computer kicked in with the traction control to limit my tires from spinning. But this intervention always leaves the impression to me of a bog off the line. The truck finally caught itself halfway through the intersection, as the Dodge truck was pulling past me by half a truck length. Oh no, I thought... I took this challenge with the wrong truck and driver. Too late to turn back now...

But as every time before, right after the bog, comes lightning. The computer and Diablew's tune kicked in, and all I have to do is hang on and drive straight. Keep it on the asphalt I was thinking, as the engine revved to 5,600 in first gear. The Dodge Hemi's lead began to shrink. 2nd gear comes in hard, and the rpm's continue to climb back to 5,600. I could hear the Dodge Hemi's shift slip a little as his truck stalled for a moment. Then in a flash, the Hemi starts to pull. But it's too late! I've already pulled a half a truck ahead with the strong second gear run. Bang! My truck shifts into 3rd gear, and the rpm's continue to climb back to 5,600... I can now see the Hemi is back by my rear bumper. But I keep the hammer down. As the rpm's cross pass 5,600, the speedo shows 115mph... Wow, 115mph and the truck is still pulling hard. Thanks Lew!!! I look in my rear view mirror, and the Hemi is fading fast. From the looks of it, his truck seems to be slowing down, or maybe his computer is limiting speed. Either way, he's going to see what a Chevy small block can really do! I keep the hammer down as the rpm's pass 4,500 in 4th gear. Speedometer is buried. No telling how fast I'm going. But the Hemi, is way, way back now!! Time to get off the hammer. The truck easily settles back down, and in little to no time I'm back at 55mph. Whew..

No boys in blue, no mechanical sounds coming from my truck. Everything looks good. Water temps, oil pressure, volts...

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When men become boys and Time stands still....

Let me set the stage. It's a relatively warm Michigan winter day, 45degF. The sun was out, the skies blue and high cirrus clouds float gently across the sky.
I'm headed south. Going to the hospital where my mother-in-law is staying. Some decisions have to be made, but I don't want to think about that now.
I'm going to enjoy my ride. My truck is a 2005 Chevy Silverado. It's cruising along at 77mph, and I'm listening to my favorite songs on my ipod thru my radio.
No worries and no cares right now. Oil pressure, Water temps are good. 3/4 tank of gasoline, and the exhaust note in a soothing rumble. Just barely audible.
No traffic, no wind, no bad weather. Just me and the highway. Life is great...

After about 25 minutes of a man in his own thoughts, I spy another truck powering up unto the highway. Yep, he's on it. A small puff of black smoke out the rear
dual exhausts. Those exhaust tips are huge. Must be a Chevy Diesel HD2500. I ease over to the fast line on this two lane highway to let him roll on. As he rolls up onto the road, we level off. I look over, and he's checking out my truck. Man that feels nice. He's a younger guy, with a green John Deere baseball cap on his head and plaid shirt.
He slows a bit, looks over at my passenger window and motions with his hand. I roll down the window, and the cold air immediately blasts its way in. He motions again.
He wants to run my truck. What to do???

A man would smile, wave him off and ease back behind him on the highway....
A boy gives him a grin and a nod of the head to acknowledge he's on...

A man thinks of the consequences. Death, or worse. A life in a wheel chair or hospital bed. And all that physical pain! And what about the police?
Tickets, jail time, suspended license and possibly a lawyer. What if the truck blows up? The expense of repairs, and having to thumb my way to work for awhile.
And what about the family? How to explain these actions to my daughters? Forget about explanations to the wife.
6 months of no sex, or worse! Those steely eyes always grinding you for doing "that" stupid thing.

A boy thinks of victory. The satisfaction of matching skills with Mr John Deere. Is my truck good enough, hell, am I good enough??
Consequences are the last thoughts on this boy's mind.
But what if I loses? No way! This is my truck, my time!

The decision is made. A quick nod of the head, and point to where we are going to go.... South young man, south...

We line up the trucks. I check the gauges. 80mph and 2,300 rpm. Water temps, good. Oil pressure, good. I set the in dash timer on my truck. A quick look around. No traffic in front of us. Some cars behind us. No police. Highway is straight and smooth. Left hand at the 10 o'clock position.Right hand at the 2 o'clock position. I'm ready...

Mr John Deere blasts his horn once. I'm getting nervous now! The exhaust notes are in sync now. Wind noise, and cold air blasting in, through the open window.
Mr John Deere blasts his horn the second time. One more to go. Don't jump the gun. One last check of the gauges. Everything looks good. I hope it stays that way...
Mr John Deere blasts the third and final horn. Off we go. Hands are tight on the wheel. The exhaust note is roaring now. Truck is taking over the mechanical issues. I just have to hold on. Tranny down shifts as my foot slams to the floor. Engine revs to 3,200 rpm and starts its climb to the sky. My speedo starts running down to my right leg.

Engine rpms stop climbing at 5,700. My programmer is working great! Wow, 100mph!! My truck has eased forward about a half a truck length. Hold on now. Shift is coming.
engine rpms drop to 3,000, I think. Too much going on. Check gauges, check gauges. Everything looks Ok. Check mirrors. Nothing on the left. Cars behind me are getting smaller.
Mr John Deere is still holding tight on the right hand side. He's moving backwards now. I'm winning!! OMG! I don't know my speed. Speedometer is useless. 120mph long gone...

Tach keeps climbing. 4,000, then 5,000rpm. That's it for me!! Mr John Deere is two trucks back and reading my license plate. My heart is really thumping now. Roll that damn window up! Exhaust note starts to return to a rumble, from a jet roar. Whew... I made it. Truck is still running. I'm still alive. No police, yet... Gauges check out ok... Mr John Deere, rolls up on the right. He nods, waves and gives me a big grin... He must be thinking the same thing as me. We both made it.

Quick check the timer. 11 seconds. 11 seconds?? That's all it took? All that thought, all that checking completed in 11 seconds. I don't think I can take that again. Naw, I was just kidding..

Time to go home, count my blessings, and know that today the little boy in me came out of the man. Now to make sure it doesn't happen again, for a least awhile... wink,wink...