When Jamie Downs, owner of a small-town newspaper, is run off the road in a murder attempt, Michael is called to the case. Jamie has been threatened since she agreed to sponsor the first local "grand prix" race in the town. When a mysterious man drives by Jamie's house and blows up her car (nearly killing her before Michael can save her), Michael is convinced that someone at the local motel is to blame. While Jamie sneaks around the outside of the motel and takes pictures of an apparent mob convention, Michael enters KITT into the race, convinced that the people behing the attempts on Jamie's life will try to kill the contestants next. During the first trial, one of the racers is nearly killed by an electrified wire on the road, but Michael drives KITT over it instead. Later, Michael scans through the pictures Jamie took and can make out a brown briefcase, which he buys a copy of. Michael later switches his case (complete with a jack-in-the-box equipped with a tape recorder) for the case of Joey Rome, one of the gangsters in town. Rome's briefcase holds the names of mob families from across the country as well as piles of cash, and when Rome presents the switched briefcase to the mob boss, the boss plans to have him killed. Jamie interrupts the drama, however, when she is found hiding in the room and is kidnapped by the mob men. Michael gets the tape from inside the switched briefcase and finds out that the mob has planned to kill Jamie because by sponsoring the race, she will win rights to a piece of land (to build a clubhouse at the "Nineteenth Hole," near a golf course) which houses dozens of bodies which the mob has kept buried. At the Nineteenth Hole, Michael finds Joey Rome inside an old shack and learns that Jamie will be killed inside of one of the contestant's cars, so he races to the area. KITT is able to remotely pilot Jamie's car out of the area and smother the nearby wired bomb. Jamie gets her story and Michael gets to compete against the man who beat him (because of KITT having to run over the wire) again.
THOUGHTS: -Good episode, with some excellent shots (KITT turbo boosting into the wire, dusting "Rooster" at the end...).
Some fun stuff: -Red "Rooster" trying to look inside KITT and failing to open KITT's hood, either with a crowbar or a power saw. -KITT's "champagne music" errors. -And of course KITT dusting "Rooster" at the end.
New feature on KITT: +Not really new but to engage the passive laser restraints, Michael now presses the "protect" button.
Star Trek Actress Watch: Wendy Schaal (as Jamie Downs) played Charlene in "Real Life" (VOY).
FAVORITE QUOTE: "Quiet, peaceful retirement community?" -Michael, driving up to the racers' signup site (And seeing the ruckus) after Devon had perviously told him that Marberry was this kind of town.
NITS: -During the first trial agaisnt "Rooster," Michael is wearing a white shirt with a blue jacket over it. Then, for one shot (right before the turbo boost), he suddenly wears a blue shirt with a red collar and has his leather jacket over it. Then he changes back to the original getup for the rest of the sequence.
-The shot of KITT driving directly away from the camera comes from season 1 (and has already been used several times this season).
-The first time Michael races "Rooster," he floors KITT and KITT's tires squeal for a few seconds before KITT races off. At the end of the episode though, Michael floors KITT again but this time KITT just races off (no tires squealing).