Happiness is ripping gears with three pedals, one shifter, and the knowledge needed to launch and shift without turning the clutch to a shredded mess and the gears into neat little metal pellets in the bottom of a big box. That is a tall order, though, because mastering the dark arts involved with racing a manual-trans car take time, patience, and generally some mangled parts along the way. But get it right, especially when you have power at the tip-in of the throttle, and you become a god for the night. As each gear change barks off, the crowd sucks in to the noise, waiting for the next shift. As the car rocks up and down, the photographers scramble to get the right shot, and as the guy who happily posts memes about how automatics are the only way to race is staring at both your taillights and the gigantic bite of a particular sandwich he’s going to have to take, the driver with the skills can be proud. An automatic can win races often, true, but if you can win often with a manual, you are beyond being just the monkey behind the wheel. You are a master.
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