A Tick-Tock Discovery

I climbed right up the sofa cushion and scrambled over to the smooth glass coffee table to investigate a mysterious ticking! Sitting right in the center was an old mechanical kitchen timer shaped like a little red apple. I reached out both hands, gripped the stem on top, and gave it a sturdy twist. Zzzzz-tick-tick-tick! The little dial started spinning with a lively buzz, vibrating right through my plush fingertips. What kind of race do you think it's running?