Page 178 of Happy Hour

Having led the last hundred and sixty laps, I damn sure wasn’t about to give the lead up easily.

“Clear low...outside rear...at your door...rear...clear,” Aiden helped me through the lapped traffic; Darrin was all over the back of me. “Cautions out...stay low...sixty car is spinning in two...in the grass. Watch low, there may be some oil down.”

“What do you think?” Kyle asked when the pace car pulled ahead of me. “Changes?”

“Uh...maybe a round out of the rear, other than that...we’re good.”

“Okay,” Kyle then gave the orders to Mason. “You heard him. Round out of the right rear, make a slight air pressure adjustment, four tires and fuel,”

Keeping my eyes on Darrin’s pit, the team scrambled to make the changes in under twelve seconds. Knowing Darrin was going to try something, I had to be on guard for anything at that point, including pit road.

“One lane...hard...hard!” Kyle yelled. “Nice job, way to dig.”

I got out first, but Darrin was right behind me. During the pace laps, he nudged me once. I looked in the mirror to see him flip me off, an indication maybe of what was to come.

“Remember what I said, stay focused.” Kyle warned me. “Forget about him.”

Once the green flag was out, Darrin was attached to my bumper. There wasn’t an inch of space between the two of us. To make matters worse, I was loose, really loose. I had to pull away as he was taking all my grip from the rear tires.

“I have to get him off me. I can’t keep this thing straight.” I told the boys. “He needs to back the fuck off.”

“He knows he can’t get around you,” said Kyle. “that’s why he’s doing it.”

I tried to remain calm, I really did but I was about ready to blow my fucking lid...I’d had enough of his shit.

“This one’s for Kasey.” Cole announced over the radio darting up beside Darrin, clipping his left rear. It didn’t spin him but it got him loose enough he fell back to fifteenth, allowing me to pull away.

“For Kasey,” I agreed grabbing high gear coming out of the tunnel turn.

After that, my car was unbelievably fast. Any turn, I could choose any lane I wanted and it stuck. Laps passed, drivers challenged but the confidence in my car and my ability was there. A race, any race really is neverjusta race. It’s a battle of endurance, skill, desire but most of all want. I wanted it.

“It’s all on you now bud.”

“Well...sit back and enjoy the show then.” I told them knowing that want was outshining everything else.

Before I knew it, I was taking the checkered flag.

“YEAH!” I screamed. “Great job, guys! Way to keep me focused thanks!”

“Nice job!” Aiden said followed by another from Kyle.

All I could think about the moment I took the checkered flag was that little chocolate brown-eyed boy who wanted to see a live race more than anything.

Thoughts of the pressures were there, it all formed emotions I had a difficult time balancing out. It seemed all around us these days, just as Sway said, death lurked in every corner. At times like this, while my dreams were coming true, it was hard to imagine that some never got a chance to even visualize a dream let alone have it come true.

Loosening my belts to relieve the ache, I drove around the track for my slow victory lap waving to the fans gathered near the fence.

Pulling down on the apron in the tunnel turn was not something I usually did but I did a burn out just as I did when Sway was in the car with me that night I took her for a ride here. My smile broke through thinking of her reaction that night.

Smoke poured through every opening in the car, the radio cracked in my ear, broken chirps and muffled voices. One seemed to be Spencer yelling but couldn’t decipher his words.

When the smoke from the burnout cleared, I stalled the car. With my foot on the clutch, I fired it up again, revving a few times.

“You copy Spencer?” I could hear the roaring of an engine but it wasn’t mine.

I turned to my head to the left...everything went black.

18.Cylinder Head–Sway

---