Chapter 98 The View From the Pit Box
The scent of motor oil and gasoline permeated the air as Andrea walked across the back of the pit area to Case’s pit box. The final practice before the shootout was getting ready to start, and she had been invited to sit atop the box alongside Brad, the crew chief, and a few other members of Case’s team, while he took part in the practice.
She was nervous for reasons she didn’t quite understand. It wasn’t that she didn’t think he’d be safe; she’d seen him drive enough times on TV to know he was always as cautious as possible. But it was impossible to know for sure if a driver would return unscathed every single time he or she strapped into a racecar.
It didn’t help that she’d just seen Sarah. The other woman was staying away from her for now. She was with Gordo, and they were practically eating each other’s faces over in his pit area. It was enough to make Andrea blush. If anyone knew Sarah was her half-sister, she would’ve been embarrassed at her behavior. At least if she was busy making out with Gordo, she didn’t have time to pay attention to her or Case.
The members of the pit crew welcomed Andrea as she stepped into the box. She’d met them all earlier when she’d accompanied Case to a team meeting. She smiled and waved hello to all of them but wasn’t sure what to do until Brad glanced down from the pit box and saw her. “Hi, Andrea. Come on up. Can you make it up that ladder?”
Andrea was wearing tennis shoes because she knew no open-toed shoes were allowed on pit road. “I can,” she said. Carefully, she hoisted herself up the ladder and took a seat next to Brad where he’d gestured for her to sit. He handed her some headphones. Andrea put them on, and immediately, a smile came to her face as she heard Case’s voice in her ears.
She wouldn’t be able to talk to him because he had to be free to speak to the team and listen to their directions, especially the spotter, who was perched up high above the race track where he could see everything. The track was so large, the spotter needed binoculars to see the side away from him. Daytona was even more immense in person than on TV, and as Andrea looked around her, it was hard to believe she was actually there. Of all of the race tracks the NASCAR teams visited, this one was the most legendary of all.
Listening to the team communicate was also exhilarating. It brought back so many memories of watching the race with Grandpa Jack. She listened to the spotter tell Case how to wind his way around some cars that had just come onto the track. Case steered the car through heavy traffic with no problems whatsoever, and watching him race, knowing he was her man, had her heart pounding in her chest.
“Charlie’s coming back out on the track now,” Truitt, Case’s spotter, said over the radio. “You’re gonna catch up to him going into one. He won’t be up to speed, but if you want to fall back a bit and get into line with him, the two of you can practice drafting.”
“Copy that,” Case said over the radio, and he she saw him lay off the gas as he caught up to Charlie in the nine car. Charlie was accelerating, and soon enough, he was on Case’s bumper, and the two of them were moving like one car through traffic, letting the draft propel them around single cars and even around some other partners that were working together.
It was like magic, watching the two of them effortlessly weaving in and out from behind other cars. Not all forty-three cars were on the track right now since some would come out to make adjustments, as Charlie had done, and others were still in the pits for other reasons. Andrea expected Case to come back in any moment for a few changes, but for now, watching him race was like watching fluid poetry, rhythm and rhyme playing out in animated form before her.
Until they caught up to Gordon Jones and Whiskey Rogers.
The twenty-two car, driven by Jones, and the fourteen car, driven by Rogers, were not on the same team. But they did both drive Fords, so it was no surprise they’d be working together. What was a surprise was the way Gordo hopped out of line just as the nose of Case’s car came even with his back bumper. To anyone else, it might’ve looked like an attempt to block. But Andrea knew it was on purpose—and completely uncalled for. This was practice, not a real race. Gordo had done it just to attempt to make Case wreck.
It didn’t work the way Gordo had hoped, though. Andrea sucked in a deep breath and covered her mouth as she watched Case take evasive action. He swerved to the right, toward the outer wall, and only had a split second to correct. In the meantime, Charlie had no idea what was happening in front of Case since he couldn’t see through Case’s number ten car. Charlie slammed on the brakes and fishtailed, almost losing control as he slid sideways for a few seconds. He was able to correct and straighten it out, but there was no doubt his tires were all completely ruined.
Behind him, a rookie driver Andrea hadn’t met named Jo Langley did his best to avoid Charlie’s car but lost control and went spinning. He hit Stewart Antony’s car and then careened into Whiskey Rogers who’d been part of the set up on Case and Charlie and deserved every bit of damage he got to the side of his car.
Case cleared the wreck and coasted back around the track, asking if Charlie was okay on the radio. He was, except for his tires, and he was already in the process of limping in. Whiskey’s car wasn’t ruined, but he’d need considerable work done before the race that night. The other two cars, Antony and Langley, would have to be towed off of the track. If the two were going to race that evening, they’d have to go to back up cars.
“What the hell was Jones thinking?” Brad said, slamming his hands down on his knees. “He could’ve torn up both of our cars.”
“He’s a real a*shole,” one of the other crew members on the pit box said.
“You can say that again. Rogers isn't even supposed to be in this race! He's only here because Pat Mann has the flu.” Brad was shaking his head. Andrea kept her mouth shut. She had plenty of explanations for why Whiskey would want to be in that car and for his behavior but didn’t offer any since she had the idea Brad probably already knew the situation with Gordon, Sarah, Case, and herself.
“Nice driving, Case,” Brad said as he came in to have his car checked and get new tires if necessary.
“Thanks. It was a close one. I think you’re sitting next to my good luck charm.”
Brad laughed, and Andrea felt her face go red. She couldn’t really see him very well while he was in the car and she was on the pit box, especially since his pit crew was busy making changes to the car. She knew Case had made it through because he was an excellent driver, but if he felt like she brought him good luck, she was all for that.
He gave her a little wave and then headed back out to the track, which was cleaned up from the wreck now. Andrea waved, too, but she doubted he could see. That was okay, though. He knew she was there cheering for him, and she could feel the connection from her heart to his as he set off back around the racetrack.
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