Page 84 of Full Throttle

“Shit!” Chris shouted.

Smoke was coming out from underneath the hood. “Engine’s gone. Bring her in.” Ben responded as he looked at the dashboard, monitoring all of their cars. He muttered to Gonzo, “Damn.”

Colby was on her own.

She accelerated. The speedometer clocked in at 205 and was steadily climbing—210, 215. Colby was on Matt’s ass. He saw her and began to maneuver his car so that she couldn’t pass him.

He zigged-zagged.

Every time Colby went left or right, so did Matt. Nothing she did worked. “Shit! I can’t get around him!”

“There is a bend coming up. Edge him as you come around it. Your car is faster than his. That should give you the space to go ahead,” Cyrus instructed.

If the bastard weren’t going to get out of her way, Colby would push him out. Colby remained close then did exactly as Cyrus said. She edged Matt’s rear bumper as they entered the bend. Just as Cyrus predicted, their cars separated as they came out of the small curve, giving her the tiniest bit of space she needed to go around. And just like that, Colby moved into the tenth position.

She had made it all the way from the back of the pack to the front. Colby was flying. She was truly living out her dream! She finished the final two laps feeling confident but knowing the last stage was going to be hell.

There would be no Chris or Jordan to keep other drivers off of her. Colby was alone with just her skill as a driver, and it was going to be on full display.

Chapter 31

Stage three.

It was the final leg of the Atlanta Cup, and Colby was in the mix. For many folks, she had already made history, and that was enough, but not for her.

Colby felt the impact of being target number one almost immediately after completing the first lap. Other drivers figured she would be the easiest to move out of the way.

Her car was sideswiped hard, pushing her into another car. The other car then swerved hard, sandwiching her between them. Colby managed to keep control and not panic.

They thought she was caught.

Cyrus didn’t have to say anything. Not unlike other kids practicing their Kobe Bryant jump shot, Colby had done the same with racing. From her days of playing pole position as a child, and later in real life, she had practiced this maneuver for a moment just like this. Colby dropped the gear into fourth, then third. She slowed her car considerably, putting a sizeable distance between the drivers who thought they would be the ones to take her out. They weren’t able to slow their momentum fast enough. They ended up colliding into each other as she drove around them, moving Lucky #12 into seventh place.

Colby put every driver on notice that she was not there to play. They could come for her if they wanted to, but she had a few more tricks up her sleeve. Colby would be ready for each and every one of them.

For the next several laps, the race remained relatively steady, but as they entered the final ten laps, Colby realized whatever she was going to do . . . now was the time to do it. Lorene was two cars ahead, and she had to catch him. Even if she didn’t win the race, Colby had to beathim.

She had been driving closer to the apron–the paved portion of the racetrack that separates the

racing surface from the infield.Colby had the fastest car on the track, but moving closer toward the outside wall would give her the extra burst of speed she needed to get past Lorene. Colby was able to get by the other drivers and was right behind him.

She was drafting Lorene’s car. “I’m going to slingshot around him.”

Suddenly, Colby steered around the air draft left behind by the speed of Lorene’s car, breaking the vacuum, giving her another extra burst of speed.

Like a bullet, her car continued to pass everyone until she took the lead. However, Lorene wasn’t about to lose, not to Colby James.

Not only did he have experience, but he also had a few tricks up his sleeve too. And in a matter of seconds, it became a two-person race.

Lorene Green versus Colby James.

Cyrus was concerned Colby wouldn’t have enough fuel to finish the race. She was burning through it. “Colby your fuel’s low.”

“I see it.” Colby would run out of gas on the course before she didn’t pull out all the stops to win this damn thing. She also had a bit of unfinished business.

Two laps left.

Lorene and Colby were side by side, each edging the other, neither able to establish the lead. Suddenly, Colby experienced something that had never happened to her before. Everything started to move in slow motion. She wasn’t sure if the G-forces from the speed of the race were messing with her mind, but the course opened up.

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