I have read many a race on different forums on the internet. In that, I have read where a car that should not of out run another has done just that. And it made me think of reasons why. The most obvious reason being the person behind the wheel and the one most given when someone cries foul. But a more given reason that I have thought is the type of gas that folks put in their tanks. Most new cars can run on any grade and that may be the reason you see a car of lesser hp out run a car that is more powerful. I use the highest octain in all my cars... with that said I have no choice. The turbo cars need it for obvious reasons and my 2 muscle cars have a compression ratio greater than 10:1. So you have so many folks who swear one car cannot out perform another no matter whos driving. But if one is using 93 and the other 87 then the timing is backed off on the 87 and performance suffers. It my be just the edge that the lower hp car needs to out perform the other. Also on my Stealth I take it all the way to red line 7000 rpm even if some loss of power is experieced, because it puts me in the right power band on the next shift. You have to learn your car and find out where its maximum power is made. What rpm range works for that car. So before you are one of those people who calls a guy out on a race that looks improbable, things happen and prep can mean alot. With fuel prices hitting $4.00 a gal. many will go the 87 route and when they are in a muscle, sports or touring sedan they do not posess the hp the car is quoted as having. So be careful to throw the bs flag, we all know what should happen... that does not always hold true