by Shey Stahl
Placing my hand on his back, I smiled. “You okay, man?”
Shane nodded and thanked the girl behind the counter for the ice. “Got my nuts cut the other day. Still not feeling so hot.”
“Oh, wow.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay.”
He and Miya definitely weren’t having more, but I never thought he’d actually make it final.
“Don’t do it,” he said next, giving me a serious look.
“Why?”
“It hurts like hell.”
“I remember when my dad had his cut. Swelled up like fuckin’ softballs.”
Shane looked down. “Yeah, softballs are a good analogy.”
“Attention, World of Outlaw drivers, please take your cars to the staging lanes. Engine heat is underway.”
Shane smiled. “See ya out there.”
MOM HAD SHOWN up with Hayden shortly after hot laps, Gray in tow, and came down to the pits. It was swarming with people and it seemed this race in particular had a lot of women attending. One walked by, gaining the attention of a few of the guys, mostly because she was barely wearing anything. Tight fringed stone-washed shorts with a JAR Racing tank top, only it was low enough that her tits were proudly on display for the world to see.
She looked good with her long brown hair flowing in the wind.
Hell, even I looked twice, as did Casten and Rager.
Mom watched with amusement when Dad looked at the girl, his eyes wandering lower. It was clear he checked her out, but it wasn’t like he was interested. He just looked. And probably made that girl’s night.
Her friend nudged her. “Jameson Riley just checked you out!”
Yeah, so maybe he made her year.
Dad rolled his eyes when Tommy laughed. “Damn…” Dad drew out as he watched her walk away.
Mom raised an eyebrow at Dad and he chuckled, trying to make light of it. “Sorry.”
Mom didn’t care. She found it entertaining he looked.
Hayden laughed playfully, still watching the girl roam through the pits. “Hell, even I looked. Check out those legs!”
It lightened the mood for sure.
Tommy gave me a nod toward the track, which meant he wanted me to come look at it with him. Once the sun had gone down, I knew the lines would change, and where we found speed earlier in the night, we might not in the main.
As we stood on the embankment, you could see the track was slicked over, but still held speed. Orange light glowed from the above track lights, which burst on, bouncing sparks of light off the fancy painted wings of twenty-five fire-breathing sprint cars ready to show the five thousand fans in the stands what nine-hundred horsepower could do. There was no other racing like these cars with their 410 cubic-inch motors. They say the power-to-weight ratio was similar to F1. The pure rush from trying to tame something like that was not something you could find just anywhere.
Racing at a dirt track was very different from the format in NASCAR, or even most asphalt cars. The format with the World of Outlaws rarely changed.
Most of the time we arrived to the track around one; that was when the gates opened to the pits. We set up, pulled into the pits, and unloaded the cars. Around four, they’d start with packing the track and putting heat in the engines. When that was finished, they moved onto time trials and the opening ceremonies followed by heat races, the Dash and the main events. Same format every night.
The heat of the night had given a little, but I was still hot. Sweat glistened on my forehead. Running my forearm over my face, I tapped the screen on the tablet in front of me and went to the next screen looking over the notes from the previous race. My phone chirped with a message from Lily.
Good luck babe. Love you and kiss Jack for me.
I was about to message her when I heard commotion to my left.
“Axel, can we get a picture with you?” a group of girls asked, smiling at me wearing shirts with my number and sponsors plastered across their chests.
A lot of us were one tracked once we were around the cars. It was our job, so naturally that was where our focus was.
Rager, he rarely ever looked up at anyone unless he was talking to Lane or another driver.
Me, I tended to give into the fans a little more if they were in the pits, and offered autographs or talked with them.
I gave them a wink, and motioned for them to come over where I was sitting on a stack of tires, looking over the race notes from this weekend last year. Setting the tablet on the tires, I stood and signed their shirts and rack cards, then posed for pictures with them.
They were nice, gushed over how good I was, and then reeled when I winked at them. It was a trait I learned from my dad. Lily hated it, but it gave the fans a little thrill in the pits. Not that I would have ever had any intention behind a wink. I was just being a nice guy.
Rager walked past me and I saw my sister in the distance, twisting her head in his direction, her eyes hidden behind black lensed sunglasses, though the sun had long since set.
Heavy-footed, his attention was drawn to his thoughts, more than likely on my sister and not this race.
I was about to go ask him what he thought about the track when the eight-minute horn sounded for us to get our cars to the staging lane.
It was go time. The A-Feature. The reason the fans sat through hours of heats and in the blaring sun.
I found Jack with my mom, heading up to the stands. “Good luck, Daddy!” He gave me a fist bump and then a hug.
“Thanks.” I watched him walk up around the cars, his hand safely in my mom’s, looking up at her with curiosity.
“Can I get a hot dog? I haven’t eaten today.”
My mom knew he was joking. She knew I fed him, but that was his way of working her over.
“You know,”—she leaned down and picked him up when the cars started getting closer to them—“I was just thinking a hot dog would be a good idea.”
Laughing, I reached for my helmet as Tommy made a few last-minute adjustments on my car and then pushed it back with the help of Dave. We didn’t have starters in sprint cars, so all our cars had to be push started.
When they had the car back, I climbed inside and then they piled in the pit cart where they would stay in the infield during the race, should we need to go to the work area. Sprint cars didn’t have a regular scheduled pit stop either, given we only ran forty laps, but sometimes changes were necessary.
We rolled onto the speedway, stacked up side by side and then received the word over the radio system for the four-wide salute.
Being four-wide like that was a reminder of the thrill in this particular sport of racing. There were no spotters, no radios with your team, no mirrors, no way of knowing who was beside you. To me, it was the most exciting racing in the world. I had no interest in racing anything else.
WHEN THE GREEN FLAG waved, I had a horrible jump off the start, and was shuffled back to mid pack. After touching wheels with a few cars and the wall once, I was able to get some room and made my way up front.
About ten laps into the main, Dad got tangled with two other cars and ended up on his side. They got him flipped back over and sent to the work area with the two-minute designated time on the clock. In the World of Outlaws, if you went to the work area, you had two minutes to get the changes done and pushed on the track before the caution lights when out.
They managed to get the wing replaced in two minutes and Dad returned to the track, but he was in the rear now. If anyone could battle back, I knew it’d be him.
The green flag dropped again and Rager got the jump off the line he needed, pulling out to a three-car lead.
Once we were in traffic, I reeled Rager in and got in his line. I sensed the pressure immediately on the outside from Dad and knew there was no way Rager was going to give up position easily. With ten to go, the cushion in turn two was where I was getting the most speed.
By the final laps, everyone was running the outside, as there was no moisture on the bottom. In the opening laps
, I had speed. It was amazing how quickly it changed.
With two laps to go, I switched lines, was all over Rager, but I couldn’t get the pass to stick. I’d cut Rager’s lead in half when we entered into heavy traffic. Dropping to the inside while Rager pushed the cushion, I was hanging on, but just didn’t have that edge he did.
I was coming out of two, heading onto the backstretch when I noticed immediately I didn’t have as much power and the muffled sound the engine made. It held on, but I knew something went wrong there.
Thankfully, it was the last lap and I had a good lead on the third-place car. I would settle for a solid second though, having never gotten close enough to Rager there in the final laps.
It was no surprise he won at Lernerville. I was happy for him. It always felt good to win at your home track. I pulled my car down on the front stretch next to Rager’s, since they always interviewed the top three finishers. Shane had snagged third and stood next to me, in visible pain.
“How’s the balls?”
He shook his head, shifting uncomfortably. “Fuckin’ hurts.”
Rager was out of his car when the crewmembers made their way to the track to celebrate with him. He got out of his car, hadn’t even taken his helmet off and stood on the roll bars beating on the wing. The celebration was a usual one in sprint car racing and commonly referred to as the wing dance. Some celebrations in racing included champagne spraying or dumping milk on the driver, but we had the wing dance.
Tommy bumped my shoulder. “What happened?” He knew sprint cars like the back of his hand.
“Started misfiring.”
He motioned to Willie who was sitting in the pit cart.
Rager jumped down from the roll bars and removed his helmet, holding it in his hands, his face lit up by the track lights, if not for the smile on his face but his shocking blue eyes that always stood out. Looking to my sister, I could tell Arie wanted to congratulate him, but she stayed back, smiling, clapping. He stared at her—only her—pushing his black hair from his face and then slowly blinked.
You could see the breath he inhaled as he watched her, and then the moment was gone, shouts and Lane roughing him up. “Yeah, buddy!”
The announcer asked Rager what he thought of the win and his smile grew wider.
“I love this place. I just have speed here every time and the top was wide open.” He kept it short, as always, and then motioned to my dad. “Thanks to the boss man for giving me the opportunity to race these amazing cars. I’m only as good as the team around me and I love these guys. Lane, Colton and Logan, you guys are awesome.”
WHEN WE GOT BACK to the pits, the guys were relaxed, aside from Shane who was icing his balls, and interviews were being taken as we slowly loaded up for the night. It was around ten when I caught sight of Rager again, still smiling over his win.
I gave him a pat on the back and he winked. “Way to give me a challenge there at the end.”
“I tried, man,” I said, remembering how hard it was to keep up with him. “Didn’t have enough bite to get ya though.”
“You were there. I just got off three and four better.”
I nodded but then noticed Jack had fallen asleep in the front seat of the truck. “Well, nice job.”
Tommy called out for me, “Looks like you ran her hard,” and then to the engine, “Valve spring broke.”
I groaned. That meant we’d be changing the engine tonight in the parking lot.
Rager started to walk away, into the shadow between the two haulers parked no more than a few feet away from one another. I found it odd he walked that way and then I noticed my sister on her phone, standing near the chain link fence overlooking the track.
There was never an outright acknowledgement on either part from them when everyone was looking, but when alone, it was obvious how much the two of them were drawn to one another.
Arie looked up from her phone and Rager didn’t wait. He had her wrapped in an embrace. I was sure it was meant to be just a hug, but it didn’t seem that way when her back pressed to the side of the hauler and his hand came up to lean against the side, creating no distance between them. I thought for sure he was going to kiss her. He leaned in, but no doubt remembering she was married, his head dropped to her shoulder, shaking back and forth.
Sighing, I turned away. I didn’t wait to see what happened next. That was their deal, not mine. I knew it was trouble. They’d been down this road so many times and I felt bad for Easton. I honestly couldn’t tell you why my sister was with E. It was sad, but she married the wrong man.
I wanted my sister to be happy with whoever she chose, just like I wanted all of my family to be happy. And it was hard seeing her struggle with that.
Axel
Diamond - Taking corners by driving into them fairly straight and then making a sharp turn in the middle of the corner. The car will then drive out of the corner fairly straight. This will give a diamond-shaped trajectory around the track.
BY THE TIME WE arrived at the hotel, we had about enough time to get the car unloaded in the parking lot and get the engine changed out.
When they were done, the boys were looking to relax and celebrate Rager’s win. That meant Lane broke out the whiskey and Rager turned on the country music.
They had their own dance made up within an hour, a line dance to be specific. I didn’t participate, but Cole certainly got some good footage of Lane and Rager. I was sure he was going to use it in the next JAR Racing movie he created.
“It’s hard to believe these two are nearly thirty,” Arie said, laughing, as we sat on the tires of my car in the parking lot. The hauler rocked from side to side with the boys’ dancing.
I gestured to Tommy. “Even harder to believe he’s nearly fifty.”
She tipped her water bottle at me. “Very good point.”
And then I smiled and kicked Arie’s foot. “What happened back there at the track?”
“Shut up.” Was all she said.
I liked to give my sister shit when it came to the subject of her marriage, and her obsession with Rager Sweet. My sister, however, didn’t like that.
“I’m heading to bed.” She never gave the hauler another look, and instead, stared at her phone as she walked away.
Jack, who insisted on staying up with us, was cackling by that point, his sweet laughter echoing through the parking lot, amused by his uncle. Holding his stomach, he pointed to Casten when he fell on his ass at one point.
Dad came over, his tired eyes assessing the situation in the parking lot of the Best Western. “You boys almost finished?” And then he saw Casten, Lane, and Rager. “I take that as a no.”
Jack climbed on Dad, grabbing his hands to try and crawl onto his back. “We changed the engine.”
“Oh, yeah?” Dad smiled, reaching to pick him up. “Grandma’s looking for her snuggle buddy.”
Jack looked at me. “Can I leave you alone?”
I reached out and pulled his beanie cap over his eyes. “I’ll be fine, bud.”
Kid was always worried about me.
“Take me to my grandma,” he ordered my dad with a huge yawn.
Dad shook his head. “So demanding.”
I watched them walk toward the hotel and then inside before I turned back to the boys. Casten still hadn’t gotten up from his place on the floor. Instead, it appeared he was preparing to sleep there.
Rager and Lane seemed to be getting tired, too. I wasn’t sure how long they’d last. I knew for certain it was time for me to get some sleep.
“You guys going to be okay out here?”
They didn’t answer. Instead, they had Cole play the video back to them, laughing and pointing at themselves.
As I headed back to the hotel, I reached for my phone knowing I needed to call Lily and check on the boys before I went to sleep.
I missed her, too, and couldn’t wait to hear her voice.
I didn’t even wait until I got to my room before I called.
“Hey, baby,” s
he answered, sounding tired.
“Hey.” Walking down the hall to my room, I looked closely at each number trying to find room 109. “Are Jonah and Jacen already asleep?”
“Yeah, sorry. They fell asleep about an hour ago. Jonah tried to wait up, but he couldn’t.”
“Poor guy.”
I heard her yawn, tiredness evident in the sigh that followed and what sounded like her stretching. “Saw you blew an engine.”
“Yeah. Spent the last two hours changing it in the parking lot.”
“Did Jack get to bed okay?”
“Uh-huh. He’s in my parents’ room. Mom was looking for her cuddle bug.”
Lily laughed, knowing Jack and his obsession with cuddling with my mom. “You know,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “I miss you.”
Now I was thankful I was in my room knowing where this was going. I was okay with that. It had been days since the shower, and I definitely wanted where this was going.
“Are you alone?”
“For now. Casten’s still outside.”
“So we don’t have much time?”
I laughed. “Might have to make this quick.”
“I think we can set fast time.”
I turned on FaceTime and saw her sweet smiling face. As I laid down on the bed, she was on ours, her hair down, blonde cascading waves over her shoulders which were shielded by one of my old t-shirts she usually wore to bed.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” I said, breathing in deeply as I removed my t-shirt.
With my shorts still on, Lily’s eyes immediately went to my chest. I wasn’t a large guy, but I was defined. “Oh, how I wish you were really here with me.”
“I do, too.” Impatient, I took my shorts off, too, and then realized I should go in the bathroom in case Casten came back. So I did, taking the phone with me.
Though I wasn’t one for phone sex, or sex over a video chat, it was worth it to see my wife falling apart by her touch and being able to witness that.
There was nothing sexier to me than my girl getting herself off, while I told her what to do. Nothing.