Michael Bishop turned 16 years old on March 19, 1967. From this day on, young Bishop maintained a nearly unquenchable appetite for cars. He loved getting under the hood of any car, tearing it apart and putting it back together. Friends often came to Michael for advise and help fixing their mechanical problems. Seeing the potential to truly be successful in automotive repair, Michael began working out of his parents suburban one-car garage along side high school friend Ricky Parrish. Although it drove his parents crazy, he was making good money in the process. Michael began searching for ways to improve his business.

On September 5^th, 1969, Michael and Ricky started going to Meridian State University, majoring in automotive repair and engineering. After graduation in the spring of 1974, both young men were offered jobs with GM, Ford and Chrysler. Both had bigger plans, however, as well as a decent bank roll saved up. It was time to move their operations out of that old one car garage.

-Moving On Up

On the outskirts of San Diablos east side, Michael and Ricky found a barn being rented out by a retired farmer and his wife. Spending money mostly on tools and equipment, the pair opened the barn as a garage, living in the loft to save money. Thus was born B & P Auto Repair, opening for its first day of business on March 19^th, 1975, Michaels birthday.

B & P Auto became a well known garage in a relatively short period of time and could do everything from oil changes to complete transmission replacements. Parallel to Michaels success was his personal happiness, found in meeting Irene Elizabeth Valeri.

-Wedding Bells

Irene had been the daughter of the farmer from which Michael had rented the barn. She was also a business major in college. Over the course of the next six months, the pair fell deeply in love and ended up married on December 25^th, 1975.

-Separate Ways

Despite the success of B & P Auto, Michaels ambition ended up getting in the way of has and Rickys business relationship. Ricky wanted nothing more than to run the garage as it was, giving big city customers the quality and dedication of a small town garage. Michael, however, wanted more. He wanted a garage dedicated to high performance machines. He wanted to build and maintain the muscle cars of the era. Eventually, unable to find a comprimise, Ricky finally sold out his half of the business to Michael and moved to Meridian.

B & P Auto became Bishop Pro Auto on June 11^th, 1976. The shop immediately began specializing in custom built hot rods and muscle cars of all varieties. Business exploded.

-A Stork Visits the Bishops

The late summer of 1976 brought an addition to the Bishop household. Cyrus Michael Bishop was born on September 15^th, 1976. Seeing a need for the Bishops to have more room and having a desire to move south, their landlord offered to sell the property to Michael for cheap. Michael accepted and he and Irene moved into their new home with the baby.

-The Early Days of the Dragnz

Bishop Pro Autos expanding business brought with it hundreds of racers, legal and not, including local street-racer, John West. John and Michael started hosting Friday night get togethers where racers and enthusiasts could come to show off their rides, held at Triple Play of Meridian.

It didnt take long for challenges to get personal and rivalries to form. People broke off into separate groups or teams. Michaels team was known as the Dragnz.

-Another Addition to the Family

The Bishop family was blessed with another addition to the family on December 15, 1980 when Michaels daughter Alyssa Irene Bishop was born. Life seemed great and only got better from there.

Unfortunately, the police had closed down their normal Friday night hang out, so the Dragnz needed another place to gather. With things going so well with Bishop Pro Auto. It seemed like the perfect time to make some changes to the shop.

-Bishop Pro Auto Expands

Over the course of the next year, Bishop Pro Auto saw major changes. The old barn was tore down and replaced by a twelve car garage in order the accomidate growing business. In addition, Michael constructed a ½ mile long strip behind the garage where the Dragnz could get together and race without legal entanglements. With bleachers, a time tower and even a stage for local bands to play, Bishop Pro Auto became the most popular hang out for street racers in San Diablo.

-Trouble in the House of Bishop

Over the years, Michael tried to raise his children the best he could, instilling a sense of integrity, honor and pride. Alyssa and Cyrus were taught to always look out for each other. But no amount of values were able to save the Bishop family.

Following increased tension in the household, Michael and Irene filed for divorce on May 5^th, 1990. While Alyssa stayed with her father in San Diablo, Cyrus moved with his mother to the small Northern Californian mining town of Westmount.

-Small Town Living

Cyrus hated Westmount. It was a small mining community where high school football ruled. Moving violations were generally limited to speeding on backroads and DUI through cornfields by rednecks in pick-up trucks. Cyrus coming to town changed plenty of that. Within days of his arrival, the local sheriff was breathing down his neck, his high school principal was on his ass, and he had half the school loving him, half of them hating him. It only got worse when he turned 16 and finally got his license. No one could seemingly tame Westmounts badass. Then he met Vegas McDougl.

Vegas was a girl who was a grade behind Cyrus. In high school, they were inseperable. But, unfortunately, a death in the family changed everything.

-Death Becomes Them

On July 18^th, 1994, Michael Bishop, 43 years old, died of a severe cardiac arrest. A man whod built a business famous throughout California and gave rise to an unstoppable underground street-racing organization left his entire legacy to his son. Tragically, a week later, out of guilt, Irene Bishop, age 42, died of a single gunshot wound to the head.

Having few other options, Cyrus moved back to San Diablo with his sister and took over running Bishop Pro Auto.

-Prodigal Son

Cyrus returned to San Diablo, moving into his parents old house next door to Bishop Pro Auto. With Alyssas help and what his mother had taught him about business, he immediately started running the shop. Although a naturally rough start, he handled it well.

In addition to the shop, Cyrus took his fathers place in the Dragnz and earned respect within the street-racing organization. Having the same vision as his father, he worked at making the Dragnz a legitimate racing organization within nationally and internationally recognized groups like the NHRA and IHRA. More plans swirled in Cyrus head, including making Bishop Pro Auto a self-sufficient garage by adding a body shop, glass shop, detailing bay and even a parts department. With the building did business grow. But trouble lied ahead.

-Illegitimacy Rules

After moving back to San Diablo, Cyrus lost contact with Vegas McDougl until one day he received a phone call from her at work. He apparently had a two year old daughter named Livie that hed never met. Believing that Vegas was just trying to get her hands on his cash, he fought her in court. It turned into a legal fiasco no one was ready for. Over the years, however things seemed to simmer down between Cyrus and Vegas and he accepted Livie as his daughter and loved her greatly. Livie even came to visit Cyrus in Westmount every other weekend. And Vegas seemed more and more like the girl hed fell in love with in high school. All he needed was the nerve to ask her back. Incentive was on the way.

-The Darkest Day

During a trip to an import car show in November of 1999,a drunk driver crossed the median on the Pacific Coast Highway, plowing headfirst into Cyrus SUV. Officers said the force of the impact was comparable to hitting a brick wall at over 140 miles per hour. Cyrus was airlifted to Meridian State University Hospital. He was presumed dead three times in route and at the hospital.

Cyrus had suffered many injuries, and it left him laid up in the hospital for three months and he was unable to race for another five after that. But this incident had brought Cyrus a new attitude toward life. He asked Vegas and Livie to move in with him in San Diablo. Six months later, they were married.

-The Stomping Grounds Expand

For years, the Dragnz have been restrained by city limits. But for some time, they had heard about the TRAX of Meridian. They thirsted for competition and one night, invaded Meridian. From that day forward, just as you could see many cars marked with the Dragnz symbol in San Diablo, it was just as often spotted in San Diablo. More than that, TRAX had never put up a decent fight, either. It didnt concern them that their rivals embarrassed them on their own streets, at least that was the way it seemed. Now, the Dragnz dominated not only the streets of San Diablo, but Meridian as well.

-The Mob Makes a Mistake

In early 2001, Cyrus sister, Alyssa was assaulted behind a known downtown club. Her assaulters beat her and raped her and left her for dead...(to be continued)