Tittle says it all how does a mechanic modify the engine/car components to make it faster.
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To answer your question about “how does a mechanic modify the engine/car components to make it faster”, it helps if you understand how an internal combustion engine (ICE) makes power, which others have already mentioned. Extracting more power from a “slow” engine generally involves removing restrictions and inefficiencies in the entire system of the vehicle, not just engine
Removing weight is less mass the engine has to move. Increasing airflow into the intake makes stronger explosions without directly modifying the engine (turbo- or supercharging the engine is an extreme version of this called “forced induction”, versus the term “naturally aspirated” which is how most stock cars operate). Changing the fuel system (even completely changing the type of gas the car takes) creates even stronger explosions. Removing exhaust components reduces a non-negligible amount of restriction on gases leaving the engine. Bigger tires transmits more power to the asphalt. Changing gear ratios can give you more acceleration but reduced top end. Even changing the vehicle’s body parts can increase aerodynamic downforce, providing additional gains to traction depending on the car (i.e. putting a spoiler on your Civic? Just for show. Putting a spoiler, canards, and diffuser on an F1 car? You create enough downforce that the car can almost literally drive upside-down).
All of these incremental modifications can add up to big gains in the overall “speed” of the car, but it really, really helps to start with an already performance-oriented motor. You also can have $12,000 motorcycles that are faster than $120,000 sports cars, almost purely because of the horsepower-to-weight ratio.
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