Vile Bodies

Adam, Agatha Runcible, Miles Malpractice, and Archie Schwert go a few towns over to see Miles’s friend participate in a motor race. When they reach the town where the race is to be held, Agatha’s trousers and Miles’s eyeliner cause a stir in the conservative community. The friends find that all the hotel rooms have been booked in advance, and after several attempts to board, find a dilapidated working-class inn. Finding it uncomfortable, the four of them leave in the early morning without paying their bill. At breakfast, they hear drivers talking about their incredibly dangerous and highly technical profession. The drivers are treated like minor celebrities. They visit Miles’s friend and watch him and his fellow mechanics build his race car practically from scratch. Its number is 13. Miles’s friend gives them all armbands that identify them as members of the pit crew so they can watch the action from close by.

The scene at the race is controlled anarchy. Advertisements and loud noises add to the confusion. The Major desperately tries to get Adam’s attention while being driven around a corner, but he is soon lost in the crowd. Agatha Runcible keeps getting yelled at for smoking near buckets of gasoline.