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The Fast Money

Richard "Little Richie" Gadson revs up at Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville, where bikers stage showdowns on motorcycles modified for speed. (John McDonnell -- The Washington Post)

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Excitement twitches through the crowd, maybe 70 guys crowded around the starting line. Money flows here, too.

"That Richie out there?"

"Gimme $10 on Richie, man."

"Taking $5 on the inside."

"$20 more, looking for $20."

The Christmas tree of starting lights goes yellow. The engines screaming, the clutch pulled in tight with the fingers of the left hand. Both riders crouch low over the gas tank, elbows arched up high, bracing to release the clutch and have first gear instantly engage at more than 10,000 rpm. (Got a manual shift car? Depress the clutch, run the gear into first, rev the engine past 10,000, then pop the clutch to see what this feels like. Then imagine stripping 90 percent of the weight of the car away, two of the wheels and balance on top of what's left.)

Yellow, the lights go, descending.

Yellow.

Green.

Godzilla rears into the air like a bronco. The front wheel slams down, the bike bucks again on the shift into second. Little Richie's running behind.

"The inside! The inside!" Arms in the crowd wave to the right, toward the inside lane. They think the inside rider has him beat.

Four seconds later, way, way, way down in the distance, the red "Win" light flashes -- on the left side of the track, the outside lane.

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