DEAN
Last night,I wasn’t able to get much sleep. My mind spun at my confrontation with Regan, and Steve roasting me after screwing up my practice run. Now, I’m starting this race with very little sleep andstillthinking about Regan.
In our team meeting this morning, looking at the points, Regan still leads, but Ian is now a lot closer than what is comfortable. And if anything goes wrong for us, then we can kiss this championship goodbye.
Both Regan and I are starting mid-field today, but Ian has a top ten starting position. So, we need to mainly focus on getting in front of Ian today.
Green flag drops, the race begins, and I’m finally able to leave thoughts of Regan behind and focus on this race.
The first third of the race is fairly quiet, but as I’m getting into the top fifteen, the caution flag comes out for a car spinning out behind me. It’s getting close to the fuel window, anyway, so the timing is good.
Steve instructs me to pit and we take four tires, fuel, and adjustments for a tight race car to loosen it up a bit in the first set of corners.
Coming out of the pits, we manage to move up somepositions, but so do Regan and Hicks—and both are in front of me. I still have some work to do, it seems.
The race restarts, and I’m on the hunt to track down both Regan and Hicks.
“Where’s Brady?” I ask my spotter.
“Two cars ahead of you. Hicks is in front of her, Leslie and Chase are the top two,” he says.
I find myself at Regan’s bumper, and she’s blocking me fiercely. She doesn’t want to let me by. I wouldn’t, either, but it seems somewhat aggressive for this early in the race.
“Easy, Dixon. Don’t wreck yourself trying to get by her. Drop to a lower line if you have to,” Steve says.
“Copy. Who’s faster?”
“You are for now. You can pass her. Take your time and reel her in.”
Another caution waves, and everyone does their stops. Hicks has a speeding penalty and has to pass through the pits again and start at the end of the longest line. At least that’s one player off the board for now.
Another restart, and Regan and I are side by side fighting for positions as Leslie leads the field. I’m able to pull out in front and overtake Regan’s position. The trick now is to hold it and keep gaining as many spots as possible. There are two more cautions, and then Steve calls, “Ten to go, ten to go.”
Ten laps left. Regan has been hot on my heels since I passed her. I’ve been able to hold her off and put some cars between us. Taylor is now between Regan and myself, and I relax slightly knowing I have a bit of buffer between us.
“Five to go,” Steve calls. I just have to hold for five more laps, that’s it. I can do this. I pass Greyson for third. Leslie and Chase seem to be in a battle of their own for the lead of this race. Leslie is still holding strong, though it seems Chase is doing all that he can to get by her.
“White flag, white flag,” my spotter calls. Another sigh of relief as I know I’m too far ahead for Regan to catch me. Iknow I’m only a few dozen points behind Regan, and could actually catch her in these last few races if things go well like they did today. My dream to claim the Cup seat is well within reach now.
“Way to go, man,” Steve calls. “Bring her into the pits. Let’s pack up.”
I climb out as Leslie is celebrating, and I’m happy for her. It’s her first win and as a rookie, that’s pretty impressive. I’m proud of the race we had today; sure, we didn’t win, but we gained more points for the championship, and that’s what matters in the end.
I sneak a glance at Regan climbing out of her car and removing her helmet. We lock eyes for just a moment, then she quickly turns as Katarina approaches for an interview.
From that one small look, it gives me a bit of hope that I can fix this, we can fix this, that there is something real between us. I want there to be something more between us. At that realization, I’m almost giddy in knowing that this can be fixed.
FORTY-FOUR
REGAN
After my interview with Katarina,I jog over to victory lane to congratulate Leslie on her win. I stand to the side as the confetti falls and the champagne is sprayed over her by her crew, soaking her long brown hair and fire suit. Once she’s done hugging her crew, I run up to her and pull her in for a hug and squeeze her tight. This is her first win, and as a rookie, this is big for her and her future in SCORS. I’m so damn proud of her.
Evan is wanting an interview, and after one more quick hug, I leave her to celebrate. There is going to be a rager of a party at her place celebrating this win. After my shower and changing into a party appropriate outfit consisting of jean shorts, a plain v-neck shirt, and sneakers, I can already hear the party starting at the end of the row. It’s about to be a wild night.
I’m about to leave when my phone buzzes in my back pocket. I'm expecting it to be Leslie asking where I am, but it’s Dean’s name that comes across my screen.
Dean
