The Nissan Altima: Legend Of The Dragstrip

The Legend

It all began on a formerly wet day in Bremerton Washington. Myself and my girlfriend were attending a local drag racing event. Her father was racing a Mopar vehicle with an engine my girlfriend built.
The event was the first of it's kind I had ever attended, so I was absorbing it all in. So many cars, it was beautiful. A bountiful amount of classical cars mixed with the occasional modern mode of transportation.
A few hours full of 2 rounds of time trials after waiting for the track to dry. Imagine my surprise seeing some average looking  cars. In specifics, a Nissan Altima, a Ford F-150 or 250 I don't really know, and a Hyndai Veloster.
Once the eliminations began, things got serious. The Altima was registered in 3 classes. The Sportsman, Pro, and Car Club classes. The Ford and the Veloster were also in Car Club. The Veloster was eliminated in the first round, but the F-150 and the Altima survived. The legend had begun. My girl and I noticed that the Altima had been successful. The second round then began. First up was the sportsman class. The Altima was vanquished. Next was the Pro class. My girl's dad had won his first race in the Pro class, and was in line for win number 2.
Unfortunately, a slick first gen Camaro was closer to his time, and beat him to the line. The F-150 was beat by far due to facing a far better opponent. The Altima also fell to a vastly superior opponent.
Last shot for the lone Nissan Altima was the Car Club class. As we could see the cars before they lined up, we saw who the Altima was facing. By all estimates, the opponent was far superior to the measly Altima. Though at this point, I had come to the result that this was funny. To see a regular sedan in a drag competition with modified and tricked out rides.
I turned to my girlfriend and told her. "That car's gonna red light." Red lighting was the term to describe going too soon. I thought it'd be hilarious to see the Altima win. I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation. The two started up and low and behold, the opponent red lit. The Altima won, onto round 3. Her father unfortunately also red lit, leading to his loss.
It was at this point, we decided to head back to her dad's car trailer. There we celebrated a fun day with dinner. Her father put a microwave in his trailer, it's quite cool.
While we were cleaning up and preparing to leave, my interest piqued. I remembered our notice of the Altima.
My girl and I then walked to the starting line to watch the final rounds. The Car Club class had 4 cars remaining. To our surprise and happy amazement, the Altima showed up as one of the final four. It lined up against a seemingly faster car. Due to the time trial speeds, the Altima had a bit of a head start ahead of the car that was opposite it.
The Altima launched, and had a 3 second lead before the other car launched. Despite the vast speed difference, the Altima beat it to the line, and was closer to their dialed in time. The Nissan Altima had made it to the finals for Car Club. We were astounded and elated. The Legend had a chance to become immortal.
While we watched the other classes finish, we came across an eliminated racer, who we spoke with for a few minutes. It was then we were informed the driver of the Altima was a 'seasoned racer' as he put it.
He was also from Texas, and supposedly the Altima was a rental car. Just another reason not to rent cars...maybe. The racer we spoke with told us that the Altima driver came here looking for a challenge, and was here to have fun.
Despite the fact he was a seasoned racer, the fact he was in a rental Altima was very funny to us. The racer left us with a smile. We turned our attention to the cars that had lined up. It was the Car Club final. The Nissam Altima was up against a new model Chevy Camaro ZL1. That Camaro was very fast, and just for a side piece also extremely loud.
I turned to my girl again, just like in the second round. I told her, "I'm gonna make a bold prediction. That Camaro is gonna red light. The Altima is gonna win." She just smiled and hoped I was right.
The race began, and the Altima launched. After another 4 seconds, the Camaro launched as well. I kept my eye on the starting tree. As soon as the Camaro launched, the red light lit up.
I was right. I called it again. The Altima won. My girl was amazed not only because the Nissan won, but also the fact I called it. The Altima went from being a meme as a stock car in a drag race to a legend quickly.
Though the transition was quick, the switch from legend was instantaneous. The legend became immortal. The rental car Nissan Altima, legend of the dragstrip.