High Speed

As he dies from injuries sustained in a car crash, racecar driver Bill Whipple asks his mechanic, Bill Toomey, to care for his handicapped son Buddy and carry on for him on the track. Bill is in love with Peggy, the daughter of Preston, an automobile manufacturer, and through her intervention, enters into a partnership with Preston and agrees to drive his new car in an important race. Bill is thrilled with the opportunity, for if he wins the $5,000 purse, he can pay for an operation that will enable Buddy to walk. During the race, Steve Macey, an unscrupulous driver, locks wheels with Bill and forces a collision, for which Bill is blamed. Bill is eliminated from the competition and suspended for the rest of the season. Macey is in league with Tom Carlis, Preston's crooked business manager, who is a member of a gambling ring operated by crook Orlando. The gamblers have been doing big business fixing races and had Bill eliminated because they were afraid his honesty would cause their exposure. To make ends meet, Bill obtains a job driving a police radio car and soon garners a reputation as the fastest, most daring driver on the force. One night, Bill chases after the perpetrators of a bank robbery. While Bill rounds up one bandit and the money, the driver of the getaway car escapes, but Bill gets a good look at him. The getaway car turns out to belong to Carlis, who had reported it stolen, and Bill goes to his apartment to investigate. There, Carlis is conferring with his henchman, Kane, the driver who escaped from Bill, when Bill enters. Kane hides but his presence is revealed by the arrival of Peggy, whom Carlis has been courting. Bill chases the criminal, but he escapes again and wounds Bill during the chase. Bill's suspicions of Carlis are now even sharper, and later, when Preston enters another car in a race, Bill keeps a close eye on Carlis and his gang. Because Orlando has placed a heavy bet on the opposing car, Carlis arranges with a crooked mechanic, Gus, to sabotage Preston's car, and during the trial run, the driver is injured. Bill realizes that Carlis, Kane and Gus are behind the misfortunes befalling Preston, but before he can warn anyone, he is captured by the gang. Bill manages to escape before Carlis convinces Preston to use Kane as his driver, and goes on to win the race in the new car. The victory celebration is joyous, for not only has Bill saved Preston Motor Works, he has secured Peggy's love and won enough money for Buddy's operation.