Chapter 171 FireballIt
It was refreshing to be back inside the racecar. As much as Case had enjoyed watching Andrea the night before, being behind the wheel, ready to race at Pocono.
He had a good starting position and was happy with his car. He’d have two hundred laps to show his car was the best out there, and once the green flag dropped, he got to it.
Most of the race was fairly uneventful without a lot of cautions. The weather was beautiful, no clouds in sight, and not much of a breeze either. It made the journey around the track more pleasant, as did the ease with which he was able to pass several cars. By the time there were thirty laps to go, he was sitting in a good position with only five cars ahead of him.
“How many lapped cars have we got?” he asked Brad. “Seems like a lot.”
“Yeah, Antony’s putting them down pretty fast. Over half the field’s a lap down. There are seventeen cars on the lead lap at the moment.”
“That’s a lot of lapped cars,” Case noted. “Are all of them running up to speed?”
“Most of them,” Brad noted. “There are a few that are slow. You’re going to come up on one of them in a few minutes. I’m sure Truitt will let you know.”
“Copy that,” Truitt said, which told Case he was aware of where the car was and would guide him around it.
He came up to the lap car, and Truitt guided him around it, no problems. There were only fifteen laps to go, and he’d just taken over fourth place. This should be a piece of cake if he was willing to finish fourth, which wasn’t too bad, though he’d like to pass another car or two or three.
Assuming it would be smooth sailing, his mind wandered a little bit. It would be a while before he came up to anyone he’d have to concentrate to pass.
“Ten to go,” Brad said in his ear. In a lap or two, he’d catch up to the car in third place, and then he’d have to pay attention. At the moment, he may as well enjoy the lovely day.
Case was gazing up at the sky when a giant fireball on the track in front of him suddenly captured his attention. “What the hell?” he asked, swerving down to the bottom of the track as a car that was engulfed in flames came sailing across the top of the track.
“Caution is out! Caution is out!” Truitt said over the radio, but Case could clearly see that.
The car that was on fire stopped behind him on the track, and Case stopped, too. Never in all of his years had he ever seen anything like that, and whoever was in that car was going to need help getting out—if he could even get out.
“Red flag is out!” Truitt said, which was all Case needed to hear. He turned his car off and shot out of the window, wedging his helmet through. He heard Brad ask him what the hell he was doing as he got out of the car, but the radio faded as he moved toward the ball of fire.
It was Stewart Antony’s car, the one that had been leading the race. How he’d come to be on fire, Case couldn’t say since he hadn’t seen the incident, but Stewart was still in that car, and he was going to need help to get out.
Case hurried over, noting that help was on the way. The safety workers were weaving between the cars, trying to get to Stewart’s position, but they weren’t coming fast enough. Case would have to help if Stewart was going to get out of there alive.
He approached the car and saw that the window net was still up, which made him think Stewart was unconscious. There were flames licking the driver’s side door, but Case had on a fire suit and fire proof gloves. “Stewart! Can you hear me?”
“Help!” the driver said. “I can’t get my buckles undone!”
“Sh*t!” Case muttered. He’d have to stick his hand in there to help, and the flames were getting higher. With no time to lose, he tore the window net out and reached in to help.
Stewart’s buckles were caught. Case pulled on them and managed to get one, but the other was jammed. He pushed and pulled with all of his might as the flames continued to lick his arms and heated his legs. Finally, he managed to get the buckle undone. As quickly as he could, Stewart scrambled toward the window. The entire car was full of smoke, and Stewart was having trouble breathing. Case grabbed him around the shoulders and pulled him out, both of them collapsing on the asphalt as the safety workers reached them.
Case opened the visor on his helmet and took some deep breaths as Stewart lay next to him doing the same. “You okay, man?”
“Thanks to you,” Stewart said. He turned to Case and offered his hand. “Thanks, man.”
“Sure thing,” he said, shaking his hand. “So much for an uneventful race,” he added.
“So much for an easy win,” Stewart said, and they both chuckled despite the situation.
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