Page 133 of Trading Paint

When I walked out to the grid for introductions, the nerves hit. Knowing I would be fine once inside the car, I wanted to rush all the pre-race activities and just get on with it. I didn’t like butterflies.

Having seen the fan fair I was developing throughout Speedweek I was prepared for a few cheers but I wasn’t expecting to hear the crowd roar to life when I stepped on stage after Tate.

He turned around clapping himself and did this stupid bow that made me chuckle.

I waived to the crowd as they cheered louder and then I punched Tate’s arm when I got closer.

“You have more fans than me.” he gestured to the crowd.

I saw my mom and Emma jumping up and down amongst them.

Races like this, guys put it all on the line and I had to rise to the occasion. I was racing with the best as I should be but I also sensed they thought the kid shouldn’t be racing with them. With all the remarks I heard that night from the other drivers like Torres andSnider,I did the only thing I knew to do. I put my head down and raced. It didn’t matter if this wasn’t apointsrace. I had to prove that I was worthy. No one thought a sprint car driver could come out anddrivethese stock cars competitively but I was hell bent on proving them wrong.

21.Chicane – Sway

Chicane – A quick succession of sharp, slow turns, usually intended to reduce straightaway speeds.

“He doesn’t know, does he?” I bit the last of my fingernails off. I was sure this was a bad idea; it had to be.

Tommy laughed his loud cackling laugh that never sounded normal on him but I blamed the orange hair. You probably wouldn’t sound normal either if you had hair that bright.

“No, he doesn’t.”

“He thinks I’m staying in school?” I looked down at my fingers, picking at the chipped nail polish that I hadn’t chewed off.

“You’re such a fucking weirdo. How many times do I need to explain this college girl?” he smacked my forehead and jerked my chin up.“He.Doesn’t.Know!”

“All right,” I huffed and pushed myself from the couch we were sitting on in Starbucks at the SeaTac airport. “He doesn’t...you know, havea girlfriendyou’re not telling me about, does he?”

I wanted to punch myself.

Tommy chuckled and picked up our bags. He was flying out to Daytona with me and then he was off to Eldora for the start of the Outlaw season.

“He doesn’t, that I know of...but when has he ever had a girlfriend?” he looked at me like I was stupid.

I felt stupid for even asking.

“Good point...but you never know.”

“He spends all his free time on the phone with you.” He insinuated.

“So?”

“What I mean is how would he have time for a girlfriend? He’s either racing or talking to you. Obviously I’m no judge of character here because I can’t keep a girlfriend more than a few months, but I’m almost certain no woman would tolerate that.”

He had a good point there. Jameson and I talked every day no matter what time of the night it was. It was almost as though we had an unspoken rule that wehadto talk.

The entire flight I was nervous and downright jittery. I hadn’t seen him since last April and I wasn’t sure how to act around him. I knew once I saw him, everything would be back to normal but I was still nervous anticipating what he would think. Did he want me there? He said he did but then again maybe he was just trying to make me feel better.

So now, here I was surprising him in Daytona. It was Tommy who convinced me to surprise him. I planned on going to Daytona but surprising him seemed like a better option or a dumb one, not sure yet.

As I said, we hadn’t seen each other in nearly a year and if I was honest with you, my feeling for him hadn’t diminished. If anything, it was stronger from the separation. My TV in my dorm in Bellingham was kept on the SPEED channel or ESPN just in case I was able to catch a glimpse of him in an interview or just the mention of his name.

Our plane was delayed due to a thunderstorm rolling through Atlanta during take-off so when we finally touched down in Daytona, the race had alreadybegan.

The Budweiser shootout was not a race you qualified for but in Jameson’s case, he was the wild card who made it by setting the fastest lap time. The shootout was an annual Winston Cup series invitation-only event the weekend before the Daytona 500 held on Saturday night. It generally served as the kick-off for the NASCAR portion of Speedweek. The field consisted of drivers from previous race wins who clenched automatic berths, former pole sitters who also clenched automatic berths and a wild card. Jameson.

The event consisted of an opening 25-lap segment, followed by a 50-lap race to the finish after a ten-minute intermission. Similar to the All-Star race held at Charlotte, the race carries no championship points for the winner just a large purse.

---