The Race

"The Race" is the 96th episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld, the tenth episode of the sixth season. The episode first aired on December 15, 1994. The story follows Jerry as he meets an old rival, who suspects that he cheated in a high school race and wishes to re-run it. Elaine is put on a "blacklist" and finds out her boyfriend is a communist. George responds to a personal ad in the Daily Worker and Kramer, who is working as a department store Santa Claus, is convinced to become a communist by Elaine's boyfriend. "The Race" was one of Jerry Seinfeld's favorite episodes of Seinfeld due to its Superman themes. Plot Jerry is excited to be dating a woman named Lois, sharing the same name as Lois Lane, as it gives him ample opportunity to do Superman impersonations. Lois works for Duncan Meyer, his high school rival. In a track race in ninth grade, Jerry got an inadvertent head start that nobody noticed, allowing him to win by a wide margin. Jerry's reputation for speed became legendary, but Duncan always suspected him of cheating, since he had outraced Jerry several times before. Jerry protected his legacy, over the next two decades, by refusing to race ever again. Lois arranges lunch at Monk's with her, Jerry, and Duncan; Jerry realizes that Lois doesn't believe his claim that he legitimately won the race, so George volunteers to turn up at Monk's, pretend he has not seen Jerry since high school, and back up his winning story. Duncan is unconvinced, and demands that Jerry race him again, even threatening to fire Lois if he declines. Duncan calls up everyone from high school to come out for the race, and Jerry gets worried the legend will die. As the race is about to begin, Kramer's car backfires; Jerry (and the watching crowd) mistakes that for the starter's pistol, while Duncan waits for the real gun, giving Jerry another head start. Jerry wins the race, again by a wide margin, and cements his legacy while Duncan is left severely upset.