Johnny Dark Movie Book

132 Duke, still angry with Johnny, has been hired to drive the new Thunderbird, so Johnny, a less practiced driv- er, prepares to helm his car. The race begins and Duke quickly pulls into first place. Meanwhile, Fielding discovers the car is in the race and berates Scotty, who, with the help of Fielding's secretary, Abbie Binns, challenges him to a bet on the outcome. By the first night's stop in Reno, Johnny is in third place but has a broken oil pan. Johnny insists on staying up all night to fix it, prompting Liz once again to accuse him of obsessiveness. Duke finds her in the casino and gently points out that her fury only reveals how much she loves Johnny. The next day, as Johnny takes second place, even Fielding begins to root for him, but before the end of the night, Johnny's tired co - driver causes an accident and they must push the car into Las Vegas. This time the necessary repairs are too great to undertake on their small budget, and Johnny gives up. Fielding, however, hears a radio announcer accusing him of not supporting his car, and with great fanfare sends Scotty with a team of mechanics. Johnny is soothing Liz's tears when Scotty arrives, and they all work the night through. On the last, grueling day of the race, Johnny starts out in fourth place but soon powers into second, right behind Duke. At the last moment, he pulls past the Thunderbird to claim first place. At the finish line, Duke congratulates Johnny, hops into the car and rides to the victory celebration with Johnny and Liz.