Page 43 of Black Flag

“It was good...mmmm...” she moaned again.

“All right, you startthat again and I’m hanging up.”

“No you won’t.”

“You’re right.” Iadmitted. “I won’t.”

“What did you have totell me?”

“That you better beready when I get there tonight.”

“Oh I will be, waitingfor you in bed.” She laughed. “That’s what you had to tell me?”

“No, I needed to tellyou that Phillip hired a body guard for you.”

“Why?” She all butshouted.

“Just calm down,”Spencer laughed shoving a pop tart in his mouth. “Listen honey, Darrin toldMariah that you were his next target. It’s just for precaution when you’re awayfrom me.”

Sway was quiet for amoment before she finally agreed. “Okay.”

“I have to go.” I saidsoftly.

“I know...I love you. Good luck tonight.”

“I love you too...but you’re still in trouble when I getthere.” We both hung up and my head fell forward against the table again.

“Thatbad eh?”Spencer teased.

“Shut up asshole!”

“Tough break,” he shookhis head.

Mason, the car chief,and Kyle, my crew chief, came inside for our team meeting. Their laughter at myappearance was not appreciated.

When we finished ourteam meeting, the boys left me alone to finish getting ready. Finally, myerection had gone away but the memory hadn’t. Shewouldpay for this.

Sean, my personaltrainer, came inside to tape up my ribs and wrist for the race.

I mentally preparedmyself for a night race by listening to the White StripsSeven Nation Army.

My collarbone had healedfast. Even my doctor was impressed with how quickly it healed in five weeks.Unfortunately, my wrist was another story. It gave me pain during happy houryesterday so Sean suggested we tape it up. They kept the pins in and forced meto wear a brace. Apparently, the bone was too weak to remove them. In turn, Icouldn’t grip the wheel enough with the brace on.

When Sean was done, Ifinished putting my shoes and made my way to the car. It took a half an hour toget to it with all the reporters and fans hounding me, but alas, I made it tothe car after introductions.

A night race a Bristolwas one of the most aggressive races on the schedule. You have bumping,banging, no room, and riled up drivers all fighting to stay on the lead lap andsnag a much needed victory. With it being my first race back, I knew this wasgoing to be tough.

The team, waiting forthe race to begin, was just as rowdy as any night race tossing insults,chirping at other teams for the fun of it. Not only were the driver’s tense onnights like tonight, but so were the crews. They knew if anything, tonight,they needed to be on their games.

I tried to focus when Ipulled myself inside the car, I really did. But the anxiety I felt, the fear,everything was coming back. Taking in heavy deep breaths, I struggled to keeppanic from overwhelming me, telling myself this was just a race, just like anyother race. I’ve raced in probably a thousand races but never after such ahorrific accident.

Driving hundreds ofmiles for hours at a time, at speeds between 160 and 200 mph would be hardenough for most. Now imagine doing it with forty-two other drivers who wouldlike nothing more than to leave you choking on their exhaust. The romanticismof racing is easy to imagine. The reality is that it imposes great physical andmental strains on our bodies. You need incredible stamina and upper-bodystrength to wrestle the steering wheel for hours on end. You can forget aboutair-conditioning, even with the fresh air ventilation tube that blows cool air,the temperature inside can easily reach 120°. So imagine all this, and thefeeling you get when you wreck, not to mention the possibility of it happeningat any moment.

I clenched my eyes shutand tried to get my breathing under control, feeling the burn in my lungs. Thesound of the engine idling provided a soothing hum. I found myself relaxingever so slightly. What really soothed me was when I pulled off pit road ontothe track.

“You got this, bud.Stay focused. Don’t think about anything else but driving through thewindshield and hitting your marks.” Kyle shouted. “We got the best driver;let’s show them what we got!”

He drank five energydrinks this morning so far. It was going to be interesting today that’s forsure.

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