- "You almost had me? You never had me! You never had your car! Granny shiftin', not double clutchin' like you should. You're lucky that hundred shot of NOS didnt blow the welds on the intake. Almost had me? Now me and the mad scientist gotta rip apart the block, and replace the piston rings you fried! Ask any racer, any real racer, it don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning's winning."
- ―Dominic Toretto to Brian O'Connor
The Street Race Gathering was an illegal street racing event that Brian O'Conner participated in so he can find a lead on the heist crew. Although he had an early advantage over Dominic, the latter was able to beat him, resulting Brian blowing his engine.
Background[]
After being fired from The Racer's Edge, Brian went there where Harry quickly rehired him. He then gave Brian NOS for his Mitsubishi Eclipse for the night. Brian then arrived at the gathering as more street racers came. Hector, the organizer of the race, as well as another street racer named Edwin, began to take notice of his car. Dominic and his crew soon arrived, organizing $2,000 buy-in to enter the race. Lacking funds, Brian decides to wager his Eclipse for a pink slip. After Jesse inspects the Eclipse, the racers agree with Brian and the alley empties as everyone leaves for the race.[1]
The Race[]
Participating in the street race was Dominic Toretto in his Mazda RX-7, Danny Yamato in his white Honda Civic, Edwin in his Acura Integra, and Brian O'Conner in his Mitsubishi Eclipse. Leon, in his yellow Nissan Skyline GT-R R33, acted as an early warning for police activity as he kept an eye on them, while Hector organized the race. Before the race started, Dominic Toretto tested the speakers on his Mazda RX-7, while Edwin was approached by a woman named Monica, telling him that he gets her if he wins or loses the race, Brian O'Conner then prepared the NOS on his car, turning on its computer to check for its stages and Dominic Toretto also checked in his NOS system as well. Danny Yamato played Gran Turismo 1 on his Honda Civic, driving a Mitsubishi 3000GT and crashing it just as the race was about to begin. Leon realized that cops have been reported to a recent homicide, and allows Hector to begin the race as the cops were distracted. As the race began, Dominic turned on his NOS and gained an advantage over the racers.[1]
The three cars took off with Brian nearly going out of control as he was in 4th position, with Edwin in 3rd, Danny in 2nd, and Dominic in the lead. Dominic then accelerated his RX-7 and gained more advantage, much to Danny's shock as Brian continued to remain in fourth. Brian then looked at his car's onboard computer and realized that Stage 1 of the NOS was complete, allowing him to turn it on and began gaining an advantage over Edwin, as he realized that he was losing the race. Brian then passed Danny and was nearly about to beat Dom. However, the car's computer warned him that the intake was overheating but he ignored it and turned on NOS 2 to gain more advantage over Dom, just as the car's floorboard fell off. Dominic then engaged his hidden nitrous system on his RX-7 and beats Brian just as they approached the finish line. Having lost the race, the Eclipse began to spin out due to the overuse of the nitrous.[1]
Aftermath[]
Dominic then won the race, with Danny Yamato placing 2nd and Edwin in 3rd. Dom began celebrating his victory and is acknowledged the winner, earning Letty as his "trophy". Brian then arrived in a disappointing 4th as the smoke popped out of the Eclipse due to engine overheating. As soon as he exited the car, the crowd began to check its crippled engine as smoke blew out. Brian boasted Dom that he almost beat him, though Dom mocks him that he never had him or his car. Toretto then continued to mock Brian for his amateur racing style, stating that "it doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning's winning", to which the crowd agrees. Meanwhile, Edwin was also mocked by Monica and the crowd for losing the race to Dom and began to leave humiliated. Leon then realized that cops were approaching the gathering, resulting in all the street racers, including Dom and Brian, to flee.[1]