"Second place is the first loser" according to Sarah Matell, a heroine who wants nothing more than to wrench on cars and race with the guys. As a talented technician in her father's automotive speed shop, she's a whiz at tuning race engines. Winning races also comes easily to her. What isn't easy is winning Craig Keller, local drag race hero. He only has eyes for gorgeous women who are hot in the sack, not grubby tomboys who are fast on the track. Sarah's world gets an overhaul when her father hires Gordon Devine. The buttoned-up businessman yanks control of the shop from Sarah, a girl he considers spoiled and irresponsible. The poised professional's stubbornness matches Sarah's own, but surprisingly, so does his skill under the hood of a racecar. Soon she's torn not only between two men she wants, but between the drag race winner she is and the more commonplace woman she feels pressured to become.