Chapter 167 Spectator Sport
Watching Andrea race was surreal. Case couldn’t remember ever watching another racecar go around a track with the intent he was watching her race now. She was racing lucky number seven, a red and white car, and he kept his eyes glued to her from the top of his own pit box.
Having Brad and Truitt coach her through everything made him feel a lot calmer about it than he would’ve if he was trying to do it himself. He was good at a lot of things, but teaching wasn’t one of them. Case hadn’t even given himself the capability of speaking to her on the radio for fear he’d interfere with her progress. No, he’d sit there with his mouth shut and cheer her on silently.
“How’s your water temp?” Brad asked. “Looks like we got a little steam comin’ out the top there.”
He heard Andrea’s confident answer. “Hanging at 180.”
“That should be good enough for the next forty-five laps,” the crew chief replied. It was great to hear Andrea sounding so sure of herself over the radio.
For the next several laps, he watched her navigate around the track, passing several cars. She was doing a heck of a great job driving, never even getting close to hitting anyone or spinning out. Leslie had taken off and was catching up to the lead car, which was driven by Gordon Jones’s older brother. It would be interesting to see what might happen if he came into contact with Sarah. For now, he seemed content to have the lead.
“Caution is out!” Truitt said in all of their earpieces. Case looked around and saw a car in the wall heading out of turn three. He didn’t know who the driver was, but it didn’t look like a lot of damage. Andrea wasn’t happy that she’d have to slow down and fall in line behind the pace car. He laughed at her enthusiasm. She really seemed to be enjoying this and had raced herself up into six place with plenty of time to get the win.
Sarah, Leslie, the elder Jones, and a cousin of another driver were the cars ahead of her. Case knew passing Sarah could be trouble because Whiskey was with her, but he really thought Andrea had a chance to pass everyone else. Leslie wouldn’t go down easily, but she wouldn’t wreck her sister. And that Jones boy was going to give ‘em hell, too, he imagined.
When the race went green again, the car in front of Andrea stalled. He’d missed a gear when shifting or something. She almost hit him but cut down the track and went around him, avoiding the other car that was coming from behind. Case blew out a breath and wiped his head on the back of his hand. Now, he understood what it was like for her and everyone else who cared about him while he was racing.
“Keep it straight,” Truitt said. “Nice move. Now calm down and go get fourth place.”
“Ten-four,” Andrea said, and Case had to chuckle because she sounded just like him in the racecar. Focused and tuned in to the race and only the race. Whether she won or not, he was already proud of her for everything she’d learned today. He really thought she must have racing blood in her for picking it all up so quickly and keeping a level head.
He continued to watch her make laps around the track, steering around slower lap cars, eventually catching up to the car in fourth place and going around. That meant the next car she’d be coming up on was Sarah and Whiskey. Andrea was going faster than the other car. It was just a matter of time before Andrea caught them. Then, they’d all hold their breath to see if the pair went out of their way to bring calamity or remembered this was just a fun race for charity. Case hoped it would be the latter, but something told him it wouldn’t be.
With ten laps to go, Andrea approached the back bumper of Sarah’s car. There were no other cars on the racetrack. She should be able to power around the outside without any problems, assuming Sarah held her line on the inside. Of course, that wasn’t what was going to happen. Case almost covered his eyes as he realized what was about to happen, but like any car wreck, he couldn’t look away.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
