....sort of a kill story,and even though there is no Buick envolved it is very true and I remember it like it was yesterday.It was 1974 and I'm in my last year of High School.I was working the late shift as a bus boy at the Apollo Diner on Merrick Ave. in North Merrick,which is still there and L.I. guys probably know of it.Anyway it's around midnight,my shift is about over,and I noticed a couple of guys on the counter,I reconized them from school,but they graduated the year before.I was driving my first car a 1968 GTO,which was well known in the neighborhood not for it's speed but for it's looks.Looked like a door wedge going down the street,but it was no match for his machine.He had a Red 1969 Roadrunner 440 six pack and he drove it there without the bolt on fiberglass black hood.As I left he kept on me to race,I knew I'd be toast,but didn't want to back down.As we rolled out of the lot,he in the right lane me in the left,he wanted to go from a roll.I wanted to go from a stop,figuring if I had any chance it would be from the line where I was always quick.Before we could even settle that he punched it and after the smoke,rubber,and stones that accumulated on my hood cleared he was gone and I was still rolling.Then,out of the corner of my left eye not one,not two,but three cop cars come flying out from behind the bar across the street,lights flaring,sirens screaming,I was like HOLY SH$T!! I could not believe it,obviously I never seen them,though later they thought I did,which I could understand,if I put myself in their position.I approached them about a mile and a half down the road at a slow drive by,the cops had surrounded the car and one cop was in the road with his flash light,and as I passed he looked down through my window and said "looks like you won tonight son,now get home".Well this was a big story in school for the next month or so,wound up he got six traffic tickets that night.
OK ... another couple of L.I. Stories from daze gone past. Both were in my warmed-over '88 T-Bird TurboCoupe 5-speed Im on the Northern State Parkway going east driving pretty fast (85mph or so...) in and around traffic and this guy in a BMW is GLUED to my back bumper matching my every move for a couple of miles now. Im on my way home (westbury then...) so I exit onto the Wantaugh Pkwy south - a long sweeping right hand. I know these roads well and what the car and I can handle ...and I also know that the cops LOVE to hang out just on the far side of the first overpass, tucked up and behind so you cant see them until you're past and its too late ... it's about 3/4 of a mile after the merge entrance. So, I slow a bit, down to 50 on the entrance ramp (the highway starts here so there's no merge traffic to worry about) and once on the pkwy I stay in the right lane expecting Mr. BMW to shoot out to the left, which he does ... and its ON !! I drop it into 3rd and the turbo spools and we're bookin' !! Bang 4th ... upto about 100 mph or so door-2-door with the overpass in sight and I slam on the brakes and Mr. Beemer fly's on by o No: :laugh: ... I couldn't help but waive as I slowly passed him on the side of the road with the cops lights flashing behind him Second one, Im coming home from a concert at Jones Beach north on the wantaugh, again in the turbochicken. We hung out quite a bit in the parking lot after the show so most of the traffic is already gone ... but some DumbA$$ in a mid-80's chebby impala has been on my but with his high beams on blaring in my rearview. Im just doing a leasurly 55mph and there he is about 4" off my bumper uzzled: ... I slow, He slows - I speed up, he speeds up :rant: :rant: ... repeat 3 or 4 more times. So finally I pull into the right lane (its 3-wide here) and jamm the brakes and he sails by. Im young and stuuuupid, so I speed up, get on his bumper and light up my High Beams :idea2: This is about just after the Merrick Rd. exit After about 3 seconds of that he slams on his brakes (with no brake lights !!) so hard I thought it was over, but the nimble TurboChicken obays my quick jerk of the wheel to the left and I miss his back bumper. As I pull up next to him to give him my best WTF?!?!? look he's got the window down and looking down to his right ?? and when I look over again he's now fumbling to get the barrel of a rifle out the window :eek2: :eek2: ...Grabbed me a handful of third and ray: my trusty steed could get me out of this !! I pulled a couple of 4 or 5 car lengths on him and just kept the right pedal to the mat as I rowed 4th ... then 5th watching him in the rearview with one eye, the speedo with another, and the road with the third. I stayed in it enough to keep a nice safe distance but our speeds kept climbing ... 100, 110, 120 and then at about a buck thirty I started to loose him. DId I mention yet that Im pretty well scared at this point ?? Scared that Im gonna get arrested for doing 130, but more scared that this lunatic is going to Gat me !!! Southern State Pkway is approaching and I have an Idea ... again, an nice sweeping right exit that I'm pretty sure I can handle at triple digits but almost certain his chebby cant ... Road is now 2 lanes with the exit ramp about a quarter mile away, so I bait him buy slowing a bit in the LEFT lane and let him gain a bit of ground ... he pulls into the left lane now about 8 car lenghts behind and starts making up some distance - and just at the last moment I flick the wheel slightly to the right and peel off from the left lane all the way over into the exit at over 110 mph. He of course cant follow that (Heck, Im not certain how I pulled it off !!) and went on down the road. Me ?? I got off the first exit I could, went down a few side streets, got out of the car, and stood there shaking for at least 15 minutes
