Chapter 149 Bristol, Baby
Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, was a small racetrack. It was known for tons of wrecks and crashes, and most racers agreed it was either a lot of fun or frustrating as hell. Case usually had fun there, but from time to time, he’d end up wrecked early, and that was never fun, no matter where he was.
He arrived at the track on Thursday morning. His schedule wasn’t as packed now as it had been earlier on in the season, but he still had some interviews to give, some team meetings, practices, and other events that popped up on his schedule throughout the weekend. Andrea had warned him early on that she might not make it to the track on Friday as she’d originally expected, which hurt Case’s heart. He was longing to see her, especially since she’d won her award last weekend, and he hadn’t got to spend as much time with her as he normally would’ve gotten to. But he also understood that work was work, and she had a job to do.
“How’s it going?” Charlie asked Case as he walked into the garage. Their cars were next to each other as usual, which helped a lot when it came to sharing information. Charlie was doing really well in the standing right now, but he needed a win to make it to The Chase, NASCAR’s version of the playoffs that happened at the end of the season. The last ten races would decide the winner of the championship, but only cars that won a race throughout the season were guaranteed a spot in The Chase. If there were any spots left in the twelve car field after all the winners were in, whoever had the most points would be able to fill the other spots. Good finishes would keep getting Charlie points, but a win would be best.
“It’s going okay,” Case said with a smile. “How are you? You look… different.” Charlie was practically glowing, he was so happy.
“Do I?” he asked, a huge smile on his face.
“Yeah—you look happier than I’ve ever seen you, even after you won that race last year.”
Charlie chuckled. “Well, I guess I’m just excited about getting to see Leslie tomorrow, that’s all.”
“Oh, is she coming?”
“Yep. We’ve been talking quite a bit on the phone, and she’s gonna come for the race this weekend. Maybe next weekend, too. Did you hear they’re doing that fundraiser next weekend where loved ones can race to raise money for that charity?”
“I heard something about that,” Case said. “I haven’t said anything to Andrea about it yet, though.” He’d heard they were going to have a race for significant others or family members to participate in so that they could raise money for childhood cancer next weekend at the racetrack, but he had no idea if Andrea would want to participate. They’d be using special cars that had a passenger seat, so she wouldn’t be on her own; another driver—not him—would be allowed to ride with her. He just wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not. “Is Leslie going to do it?”
“Heck, yeah. She’s so excited about it,” Charlie said. “I bet Andrea would like it, too.”
“Maybe,” Case said with a shrug. It all sort of depended upon whether or not Sarah was going to do it and whether or not she was angry at the moment. “I’ll talk to her.”
“You should. She’ll be here tomorrow, right?”
“As far as I know. They’re working hard to get this movie done.”
Charlie nodded. “I hope so. I miss her. I’m sure Leslie will like seeing her, too.”
Case smiled. He knew that Andrea was having a hard time figuring out how Leslie was able to tolerate Sarah so well. In fact, at times, it seemed like Leslie even liked Sarah, which was hard for Andrea to understand, and he didn’t blame her for it. “I’m definitely hoping she can come to the race this weekend, too.” Case smiled at Charlie, patted his arm, and then moved to his racecar where the team was meeting.
He let thoughts of Andrea fade to the background, which was always hard, but at the moment, it was necessary. Bristol was a treacherous racetrack if one wasn’t prepared, and the last thing he wanted was to end up wrecked early in the race. No, he definitely wanted to win, and that meant forcing himself to concentrate on racing and not his girlfriend, no matter how tempting it was to just daydream about her and let the others worry about his car. For now, Case was at work, so he needed to get to it. He hoped Andrea was having a good day and was able to concentrate on her work, too.
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