Life's a drag - Chapter 8 (Patreon)

Friday, but not just any Friday: this was the Friday before the entire town shut down to be turned into a massive raceway.  The town was practically designed for this, albeit unintentionally.  The town had a distinct clover theme - the fancy restaurant, the South Clover Mall (complemented by the North Clover Mall in North Haven, which was more of an upscale shopping center, where South Clover was the Teen Hotspot)  and the town itself was shaped like a giant four leaf clover.

Each “leaf” represented a separate district, including the industrial district where both the South Haven track was located, and where the majority of temporary grandstands were set up with a jumbotron TV, and cameras throughout the town - some pre-existing traffic cameras, others temporarily put in place.

Like normal “racing” weekends, there were still quarter and half mile drag strips, but unlike the oval 50 lap run, this was a sprint to the finish. Racers had only two laps to outwit their opponents.  Shortcuts were permitted, but only if racers signed a waiver first absolving the city of responsibility - and agreeing to pay for any property damage as a result.

It had been a week since Sarah first met with Susan at the school, and they were due another meeting, but this time Amy asked that Sarah chose the meeting place, somewhere that she would feel at home, and then next week Susan could choose a meeting place or activity.  It was kind of like supervised visitation, without the legal involvement.  Of course there was only one place Sarah could think of. 

She pulled into the parking lot of the racing track and stepped out.  She was still wearing her school uniform having driven straight over from school, and there were quite a few people moving about - more than she was used to seeing for the South Haven Sprint.  Most of them were construction workers in bright orange vests and hard hats, though one woman stood out in a brown business pantsuit, though she was also wearing a hard hat, and looking at a tablet PC while talking with a female construction worker.

“We’re going to raise the safety barrier and build up the stands,” the woman said to the construction worker, “And build out the track here, here, and here.”

“I love the concept behind a modular track,” the construction worker said.  “But how do you make a road modular?”  She trailed off as Sarah approached.

“Oh, hi there,” the woman said warmly.  “Sarah Angel right?” she asked.  “I’m Ellen Watts, the contractor and engineer on the South Haven project,” she said, shaking Sarah’s hand.  “Want to see what we’re working on?” she asked, grinning proudly.  She didn’t treat Sarah like some dumb kid, but rather like the skilled driver that she was.

“Sure!” Sarah answered brightly.

“As you can see we’re taking modular to a whole new level,” she said as she showed Sarah and the construction worker, whom Sarah guessed was either a foreman or architect or something important, the 3D mock up blueprints.  “Walls can be triggered remotely during a race, and road sections are pre-formed in slabs so that between races, the road can be changed up to present unique challenges.”

“Oh man,” Sarah laughed.  “All those years of playing Need for Speed are finally going to pay off.”

Ellen laughed softly.  “That’s exactly where we took our inspiration from.  When I was approached to design a new track, Mr. Miller informed me that I could have complete creative freedom on the project.  I wanted to create a track that’s unlike anything else, so I turned to my lifelong love of video games for inspiration,” she said with a wink.  “Plus I figured, if motocross tracks can do it, why not find a way to do it with pavement?”

“As long as there’s some kind of safety in place to keep walls or doors from slamming shut when there’s a racer inbound,” Sarah said.  Ellen nodded.

“Oh absolutely.  The software to control the safety sensors is being developed by a panel consulting with the people who perform crash safety tests, and each sensor will provide a realtime margin for error based on incoming data.”

“So say, if you’re doing 150 around a turn and there’s a shortcut open, and you have five car lengths on the next person behind you, you’ll get the shortcut and they won’t?” Sarah asked.  “I mean I  don’t know the math off the top of my head,” she added quickly.  “That’s just a rough example.  I mostly just go by instinct and practice.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Ellen nodded.  “Safety is our number one concern.”

“Speaking of safety, is it safe to go in?” Sarah asked.  Ellen laughed softly

“Of course.  You’ll want a hard hat, but we’re just renovating right now.  We won’t start construction on the new buildings and track until after tomorrow’s race.”

“Thanks.  I didn’t realize you were already working on the track.  I’m kind of meeting my mother and my aunt Amy here.”

“Feels strange being back here again,” Sarah heard Susan say as she and Amy approached.  “Sorry I’m late,” she added.  “I had to drop Lydia off at home.”

As part of their full disclosure during the meeting last Friday, Susan had informed Sarah that she had not only remarried, but to a man who had a son and daughter Sarah’s age, as well as a new baby, Tiffany, who was coming up on three years old.

All things considered, Sarah took that news pretty well.  She gave Susan a chance to explain how it happened, and, it honestly sounded to her like the same situation her father and Meghan were in - they didn’t want to fall in love, and even resisted for awhile.

“It’s fine,” Sarah answered.  “You could’ve brought her though.  She should know you used to be married to the CEO of a major muscle car magazine,” Sarah teased as she walked with them up into the stadium bleachers.

“I should,” Susan sighed.  “As much as I’m trying to build bridges with you, it’s made me realize I haven’t been completely honest with my stepkids, either.  They deserves to know the whole truth as much as you do.”

“It might hurt in the short term,” Sarah said.  “She might even yell at you, or she might just be cool with it.  She’s really down to earth.”

“You never know.” Amy interjected into the conversation. “In all my studies, I’ve found teenage girls are the most complex minds I’ve ever had a chance to study.” she winked.

“It’s that damn estrogen,” Sarah laughed.  “Sometimes I catch myself crying for absolutely no reason.  I’m scared I’ll get behind the wheel tomorrow and burst into tears when I hit turn 17.”

“That’s exactly why I don’t want Lydia racing,” Susan sighed.  “I know she thinks I hate it.  Part of me does, but I’m scared to death of exactly what happened to Devin last month.”

“Can I give you a word of advice?” Sarah grinned, “If she wants to race, you really can’t stop her.  Just ask Dad.”

Susan laughed.  “I know.  She thinks I don’t know about her dirt bike.  At least motocross isn’t as... fast as what you and Devin do,” she said, and as if to punctuate the point Lisa came screaming by on the oval track in her tricked out pearlescent painted Camaro.

“Actually Motocross is more dangerous than what we do.” Sarah giggled. 

“Don’t tell me that,” Susan groaned, trying not to laugh.

“Will you be at tomorrow's race?” Sarah asked.

“Well, don’t take this the wrong way sweetie,” Susan said, “But I wasn’t sure you’d want me there.  I know we’ve come a long way in a couple of weeks, but this is still your ‘home’ territory so to speak.  I don’t want to intrude.”

“I wouldn’t hate that you were there.” Sarah laughed, “I was just curious.”

“Devin and Lydia have been begging me to go,” Susan finally admitted.  “I told them I’d ask you first.  We’ll be there to cheer you on.”

“Cool.” Sarah nodded, “Morgan will be there, she’s worse than me about the trust thing, but I promise she won’t say anything.”

Amy chuckled.  “Like I said, teenage girls are the most complex minds I’ve ever studied.  I have a doctorate in child and teen psychology and I still don’t understand my own daughter half the time.”

“Just have to love us.” Sarah giggled.

“I do,” Susan answered.  “I’ve always loved you.  In my own, horribly twisted way, I was trying to protect you when I left.  I should have told you I was back in South Haven the day we moved, instead of finding excuses to put it off.”

“That’s the thing, I know why you left, but I just can’t seem to get past it.” Sarah sighed, “I’ve forgiven you for it, but at the same time, every time I hear it I want to scream bullshit.”

Susan nodded.  “I don’t blame you.  It’s taken me years to come to grips with it myself.  I certainly don’t want to come back into your life as a mother figure.  That ship sailed a long time ago.”

Amy spoke, “I’m not a family therapist or anything, but no matter the reasons you come up with, none of them are really good excuses, they are just an explanation to help get your feelings across to someone else.”

Susan nodded.  “Yes, exactly.  There is no excuse.  I ruined my life, and yours, and even Mike’s. “

“Anyway, “ Sarah giggled, “We’re not here to get all gloomy and crap, We’re here to hang out and have a little fun.”

“Speaking of fun,” Lisa said as she came strolling over.  “I have an open passenger seat, Sarah, if one of your guests wants a free thrill ride.”  She winked.

“How about it Mom?” Sarah slipped.  She didn’t really mean to call Susan ‘Mom’, but once she’d said it, she couldn’t unsay it, so she decided to just go with it.  “Lisa’s a police driving instructor at the academy.  You’ll be completely safe.”

Susan stammered, as much from being called ‘Mom’ as from the offer.  “Oh I um, I...  Oh, um, are you um sure it’s safe?”

“Completely,” Lisa answered.  “I have a spare helmet that should fit perfectly, and there’s no other racers on the road.  I just got new tires, brake pads, and even changed the oil,” she teased.  Lisa, like everyone else, knew the whole story.  She wasn’t exactly being mean-spirited to Susan, so much as pushing her comfort boundaries a little.

“Well I um, I suppose,” she said nervously as she stood to follow Lisa.  Amy looked over at Sarah.

← Dorkfu!

“Did you stage that?” she asked.  Sarah laughed and shook her head.

“No ma’am, but I kind of wish I had,” she said as she watched Lisa and Susan walk out onto the track.  Karmen came strolling casually over to them with a walkie in hand and sat down.

“This is going to be good,” she said, switching on the radio so they could hear the conversation inside the car.  “My dad suggested Susan should take a ride in your shoes when he found out you were bringing her here, so I talked to Lisa about a little joyride.”  She winked.

“Your dad’s Marcus, right?” Sarah asked.  “I always thought he was Italian,” she giggled.  Karmen laughed.

“Oh, he is, or like Italian/German.  My Mom is first generation Mexican-American,” she said as the radio sparked to life.

“Be gentle,” Susan said nervously,  and then squealed loudly as Lisa gunned it from the starting line and shot off down the track.  “Oh my God!” she screamed as they drifted around the first turn and shot for the second.  On turn 3 Lisa apparently decided to just plain mess with Susan, as she drove off onto the dirt inner area of the track, taking a page from the Pixar “Cars” movie.

“Left to go right,” Lisa teased, driving a donut on the dirt before Nitroing it back onto the track for turn 4, drifting wide, with just a few inches between the car and the wall before hammering home across the finish line.

“I think... I peed,” Susan gasped for breath as Lisa slowed down and drove into the pit, laughing.

Sarah was nearly doubled over giggling by now.

~oOo~

“Whoa,” Erica said as they pulled into the parking lot.  “Is it me, or are there a looot more people here than last week?”

“This is the big race.” Sarah said.  “The news vans are definitely new though.  I guess they all came to see if I’d wreck again,” she teased.  She, Erica, Morgan, and the entire “team Angel” pit crew had painted their nails the same shade of bright pink for the occasion.  Sarah even had little angel wings and a halo painted on hers.

“Better not.” Erica laughed, “We put a lot of work into your new car.”

“Yeah, really,” Sarah laughed as she climbed out of the car, looking around.  “I don’t see Susan yet, but she said she’d be here for the big one at least.”

“Thanks again for giving me a ride,” Erica said.  “You know you totally don’t have to.  I’m going to go check on Angel One,” she giggled and skipped off.  Not that Sarah had more than one car she actually raced, but they had affectionately nicknamed her new racer Angel One, and her regular GTO Angel Two.

And to carry the angel theme even further, Sarah began seeing ‘Team Angel’ tee shirts here and there as she made her way to the Martin’s Garage booth, conveniently located next to the snackbar where she could get an ‘Angel’ slushie - those bubblegum flavored things that she had fallen in love with a couple of weeks ago.

“OhmyGosh you’re Sarah,” a young girl who couldn’t be more than 12 or 13 said, as she realized Sarah was standing behind her at the concession stand.  She was wearing one of those new ‘Team Angel’ shirts, with a likeness of Sarah giving the camera a thumbs up printed on the front.

Sarah laughed.  “Really, they went with that picture to put on a tee shirt?”

“W-would you sign it?” the girl asked excitedly.

“Oh sure,” Sarah answered.  The woman working the concession stand passed Sarah a pen, and she leaned closer to sign, ‘Live every day like it’s your last - Sarah Angel’

The girl squealed.  “Thank you SO much!” she said, hugging Sarah before she grabbed her chili dog and bubblegum slush, and raced off to join her friends.    Sarah laughed as she turned to return the pen.

“Keep it,” the woman said, grinning.  “You’ll need it again before the day’s out I bet.””

“Thanks,” Sarah giggled.  “Can I get some nachos with extra peppers, and a bubblegum slush?”

“Sure thing hon,” the woman said, and pushed Sarah’s money back.  “Oh no, it’s on the house for drivers.”  She winked.

“Oh, cool.  Thanks! At least take a tip though,” Sarah giggled.  “These new slushes are like the best thing ever.”

The woman laughed as she placed a big plastic platter of nachos down along with a slush.  “We’re thinking of adding more flavors for the different drivers.  Lisa’s would be berry blue for example.  Good luck today,” she added.

“Thank you,” Sarah said warmly as she walked away.  She wanted to make a crack about how rotten egg slushes for Kevin wouldn’t sell well, but he had actually been slightly less of a jerk since getting pulled over.

“Your races are all set,” Crystal said as Sarah approached.  Since this wasn’t a traditional stadium track race, pit crews were assigned a section of the parking lot for prep work.  Today Sarah’s pit area had a big ‘Martin’s Garage’ banner over it, in Sarah Angel Pink, as the color had become known.

“Banner looks great,” Sarah laughed.  “You’ve got me down for the no-Nitro quarter mile sprints too?” she asked.  Crystal nodded.

“Sure you’re okay with me pitting for you and Jenny both?  I feel kind of guilty.”

Sarah laughed.  “I wouldn’t ask you to choose between your friend and your girlfriend.  You’ve known Jenny longer, but so have I.”  She winked, offering her nacho platter.

“Ooh, thanks,” Crystal said, taking a pepper-laden cheesy chip for herself as they walked.  “Also there’s a woman from CNN who wants to interview you.”

“Again?” Sarah sighed.  “No rest for the wicked,” she teased.

“You’re a soft news journalists wet dream,” Crystal teased her back.

Sarah groaned, “I swear to God they can’t live without having me in their interviews or something.”

“You’re not even 16 yet, and you’ve been around the races since you were what, 12?” Crystal laughed.  “You’re like famous.”

“But it’s not like I’m an official driver for like NASCAR or the junior drag championships,” she said, whining.  “Hold my nachos.  And when I say hold, I mean guard.”  She laughed.  A young woman in her 20s with shoulder length black hair, and wearing a sleeveless pink top and shorts was talking to a dark blonde haired young woman holding a big, professional broadcast camera by a carrying handle on top.

“I was thinking we can get some B roll footage of some of the quarter mile races to cut in intermittently,” the camerawoman said.  The reporter nodded.

“Sounds great, Janie.  I’ve asked Mrs. Martin for permission to shoot Sarah’s team while they work on the car, but she said we’d have to talk to Sarah directly about that.  I never realized how much work producers usually handle.”

“I really appreciate you stepping in Miss Lincoln,” Janie said, not realizing Sarah was right behind her.  “Ordinarily this sort of thing would fall to me, plus actual setup.”

“It’s no problem.  My broadcast journalism professor taught me that anything can happen live, and that you have to roll with the punches.  I’m not even on a live assignment yet and we’re already a man down,” she chuckled.

“You can get more B roll footage from my videographer if you want,” Sarah spoke up at that and then laughed.  “God that sounds so shallow.  I’m really not a celebrity,” she teased as she offered her hand.  “I’m Sarah.  You must be the woman from CNN?”

The reporter smiled and nodded.  “Well, a CNN affiliate, KHAV South Haven news, but the big guys want to air your story Monday morning during Morning Express on HLN.  Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?”

“Not at all,” Sarah answered, adding, “On one condition.”

“What’s that?” the reporter asked.  Sarah grinned.

“You have to interview one of my fellow racers, Jenny, and the head of my pit crew, Morgan.”

“The senior editors might complain,” Janie laughed, “But I say go for it.”

“I agree,” the reporter said.  Sarah turned to return to her pit area with the pair in tow.

“Hey, Crystal, can you go get Jenny?  Tell her CNN wants an interview,” she said, grinning.  Crystal nearly dropped Sarah’s nachos as she set them down on the hood of the car and raced off to find Jenny.

“Nachos?” Sarah giggled, sitting on the front of her car with her legs swinging lazily off the edge while they waited.  “Oh,” she said, around a mouthful of peppers,” Morgan, Janie and uh...”

“Daphne Lincoln,” the reporter introduced herself.

“And this is Erica, fastest impact wrench in town,” Sarah giggled. 

“So you have an all girl pit crew?” Daphne asked.  Sarah nodded.

“We have two more - Mae and April, over there working on Jenny’s car.  We kind of share crew during setup, like, whoever needs more help.  We recruited them from our auto class at school, and Erica’s my neighbor.  Morgan is my crew chief, though, not because we’re dating, but because she’s got more talent for fixing engines fast than I do,” she laughed.

“Racing is in Sarah’s blood,” Jenny laughed as she came back with Crystal.  “I mean, I enjoy it, but Sarah’s in like a whole other league.  She’s going to be the next Danica Patrick or Elizabeth Stephens.”

A  woman with long brown hair, wearing a black tank top and sunglasses spoke up.  “My sister Elizabeth would tell you the story of she had to work her butt off in a sport full of angry guys, but since it’s just me, I’ll just say we’re both really proud of what you’re doing here.”

Sarah squeaked.  “That’s Cassandra Blaze....  Oh my God.”

“Call me Cass,” the woman laughed.  “I’m here on behalf of Blaze Motorsports.  If you’re busy I can come back later though,” she said.

“Oh no!” Daphne quickly spoke up, “I was just talking to the girls about an interview for CNN.  We can schedule for after the two lap sprint, if you’d like?” she asked.

Sarah nodded.  “Sure, that’ll be great.  Or really anytime in between.  I’m only down for two races, and Jenny’s doing a quarter mile and half mile sprint I think?” she asked, glancing at Jenny who nodded.

“We don’t really need a pit crew for a two lap race either,” Sarah giggled.  “Just changing the tires between drag races, so you can pester Morgan and the girls too,” she teased before turning back to Cass.

“So um, what can I do for you?”

“Actually,” Cass chuckled, “I wanted to ask you that.  South Haven has been on the NHRA’s radar for awhile now.  As NASCAR goes more and more toward the Formula 1 scene, it’s leaving a gap for... How can I put this... enthusiast races, if that makes sense?”

“Yeah, it makes total sense,” Sarah answered.  “That’s why George has the races set up the way he does, with two ‘weight classes’ - nitrus or no nitrus, and they try to pair similar power cars except for the big ones which anyone can sign up for.”

“Exactly,” Cass said.  “Anyone can sign up.  The rules here are nowhere near as strict as stock or rally car races.  It kind of gets back to the roots of stock car racing, but with that element of safety too.”  She winked.

Sarah laughed.  “You want to know about my wreck huh?”

“Nah,” Cass grinned.  “I read the article in Muscle last week.  But I will tell you Sarah, my sister Liz got in a big accident like that when she was your age.”

“Wow, seriously?” Sarah asked.  Cass nodded.

“Oh yeah.  She nearly flipped her car.  We were in the Texas Junior Drag racing scene too, so they were F1 racers.  She got banged up pretty bad, and had to go to the hospital.  You know what happened next?”

“She got back in her car and ran a time trial,” Chris laughed.  “Just like Sarah the day her new Mustang was ready.”

“Bingo,” Cass nodded.  “That’s what impressed her first real sponsor the most - not that she won that race because she didn’t, but because she had the courage to jump back in the car and race again.  Liz couldn’t be here, but she wanted me to pass on how proud she was - we both are.  We want Sarah Angel to be the face of legal street racing coast to coast.”

“But... But I’ve only won one race,” Sarah insisted.  “Jenny’s won at least a dozen.”

Jenny l aughed and held up her hands.  “Whoa, I’ve won a dozen quarter and half mile sprints.  I’ve never even entered the 50 lap marathon, or the town wide sprint.”

“Besides,” Cass said, “It’s not about winning or losing - it’s about brand recognition,” she teased and laughed.  “I’m kidding!  It’s about heart.  I know you’ve already talked to a couple of sponsors, but Blaze Motorsports is prepared to put down money to start making it happen.”

~oOo~

As Sarah was finishing her interview, the announcer’s voice came over the local PA.  “All racers to the starting lines for the South Haven Sprint.”

“Oh!  That’s me,” Sarah said to the camera.  “Wish me luck!” she said, and turned to sprint away to get to her car as Morgan jogged up alongside her, giving her a bottle of water to drink beforehand, and then her helmet.

“You’re on fresh tires, and we lowered the suspension like you wanted,” Morgan said as Sarah got to her car.  “I took out the Nox tank, so even if you do hit it by accident nothing will happen,” she teased, causing Sarah to laugh.

“Thanks Morgan.  You’re the best,” she said, giving her a hug.  “No fear.”

“No fear,” Morgan echoed as Sarah put on her helmet and got into the car, taking her position.

“No fear,” Sarah repeated, gripping the wheel.

An entire section of girls in the stands unfurled a huge, pink banner that read ‘Go Angel!’ surrounded by angel wings, with ‘Pride of St. Catherine’s!’ below that, as they screamed “GO SARAH!”

Sarah looked up at them and laughed, giving a thumbs up before turning her attention back to the starting light set up in the center of the road.

“And they’re off!” The announcer spoke as the light turned green for the race to start.  She had only made it past turn two when Jenny’s voice piped up on her helmet’s speaker.

“Hey Angel, just curious how you feel about shortcuts?”

“As long as they don’t get me killed?” Sarah laughed.  “I use them if I can get away with it.  Why?” she asked, powering around turn three on the inside track and just barely inching past Lisa to take second position, however briefly.

“A little bird told me the old rail yard on the ass end of the track just past Turn 16 is wide open.  You’d have a straight shot past turn 17 right in front of Isabella’s garage.”

“Don’t think I can do 17?” Sarah laughed.

Jenny giggled.  “I know you can.  I just wanted to let you know in case you want to take the rail yard on lap 2 and shave off a few seconds,” she teased.

“I’m about on it. “ Sarah grinned, as she shifted gears and hit the gas to make the sharp turn quickly before anyone else could see what she had planned.  She could hear the announcer’s voice now.

“Ooh, and #15 Sarah Angel just closed the gap on #7, Marcus Lorenzo.  If she can capitalize on it we might just see a new South Haven Sprint champion today folks! It’s still anyone’s race as #3 Lisa Johnson’s hot on their bumpers, but #15 has a fighting chance.”

The Race was like that almost the entire way to the finish line, except Sarah had an ace up her sleeve, her pit crew regeared the engine, adding a 6th gear - no easy task, for that extra bit of umph.  As she, Lisa and Marcus rounded the last corner, Sarah overtook Marcus for the lead barely but once they hit the straight way she gained more of a lead.

“Oh my God folks!  #15 Sarah Angel just took the lead, she’s got herself a car length lead..” the announcer shouted.  “It looks like... YES!  #15 Sarah Angel takes first place by a car length! Second place is Marcus in #7 followed by Lisa in #3, and our fourth place winner, a new racer to the circuit, Thomas Crown in #71”

It was all a bit of a blur to Sarah.  She knew she crossed the finish line, and she could hear spectators screaming her name as she sat, letting the car idle for a moment.  It wasn’t until Morgan ran up to the car that she took off her helmet, looked up at Morgan, and slid out of the car with a huge grin on her face. 

“You won babe!” Morgan giggled giving her a kiss right on the lips in full view of both news media and fans.

“And I fucking owned Turn 17,” Sarah giggled, nearly lifting Morgan right off her feet in a hug, as the other girls gathered around her. “And I didn’t win by myself, you all won today.” she looked at her crew. 

“Sarah!” Katherine called from the growing crowd.  “How does it feel to be the youngest driver in history to win the South Haven sprint?”

Sarah turned and waved, “It feels like I need a bowl of ice cream.” she grinned as she made her way through her fans shaking hands to the other drivers, until she got to Marcus, who just leaned over and hugged her.

“I don’t know how you did it,” he said, laughing, “But you continue to amaze me.”

“I saw an opportunity on the last corner and I took it.” Sarah grinned. “You leaned too far out on the corner.” 

Karmen giggled.  “See, you really can teach an old dog new tricks,” she teased her dad, giving Sarah a hug next.  “Congrats sweetie.  You earned this!”

“Thanks Karmen.” she called her by her first name here not by what she did in class, giving her a hug as well, then headed over to Lisa.

“Damn good race.” Lisa grinned giving Sarah a hug.  “One of these days I’m going to come in ahead instead of following your tailpipe,” she teased.

“Lower your suspension about 3/4 an inch and you might have a fighting chance.” Sarah teased. “I noticed you were taking corners wide like Marcus was.”

“Not that I’m trying to blame the car,” Lisa almost giggled as they walked toward the concession stand, “But I’m running some new suspension.  I thought it felt a bit loose.”

“I got one more driver after I get something to drink to talk with.” Sarah grinned, as she got her pink slushy, giving Lisa another hug, but before she left she got a green mint slushy as well, then headed over to the new driver. “You did pretty damn good for a newbie.” she held out the green slushy.

“Hey, thanks Angel,” he said, accepting the drink, and then shaking her hand.  “I’ll be blunt - you inspired me to start racing.”  ‘He’ had a distinctly feminine voice and soft features, and his hair was tucked up under a baseball cap.  “If my parents found out, they’d kill me though.”  She winked. 

“Lydia? I thought that was you..” Sarah giggled.

Lydia giggled.  “Yep.  I traded in my dirt bike for an old GT, put in the work on it and signed up under ‘Thomas Crown’ - my grandfather’s name.”

“Nice car.” Sarah laughed. “So is she here?” she didn’t call her mom this time, she didn’t know if Susan had told Lydia yet.

“Oh yeah, she’s with Devin and Holly our baby sister.  I told her I was getting a better seat so I could sneak away to race,” Lydia said sheepishly.  “Speaking of I should probably change and ditch the Thunderer here before she comes looking for me.”

“It’s going to be hard to hide, you got 4th place, there’s a 4th place prize in this race.” Sarah laughed and gave Lydia a hug.

“Tell Mr. Coffer I’ll pick it up later,” Lydia giggled.  “Thanks Sarah.  You fucking rock.”

As Lydia left Sarah turned to face Morgan, “Great, soo I have a half sister named Holly..” 

Morgan giggled a little.  When Sarah glared, she held up a hand.  “I’m sorry, it’s not you.  It’s just I can’t help wondering if she’s named after that racing-themed pro wrestler from like the 80s or whenever.  Hot Rod Holly.”

Sarah laughed, “I hope not poor girl.” she turned and headed up with Morgan to the race pit, where all the racers were gathering.  Cassandra was right in the middle, talking with different racers there, occasionally handing out a business card.  She grinned as she saw Sarah and Morgan, waving at them.

Sarah waved back, “Hey Cass, you look busy.” she laughed.

“Just doing some networking,” Cass laughed.  “Putting the word out about Blaze Motorsports’ interest in South Haven.”

“I was talking with my crew about that, and the deal, what kinda money are you guys looking at throwing away?” Sarah grinned.

“Locally or nationally?” Cass answered, grinning still.

“Both.” Sarah laughed.

“Locally we’d love to get in on the track reconstruction project, prize donation, and if possible, sponsoring at least one or two racers in the different races.  We’d be totally hands-off as to how the races are handled of course.  Nationally we want to start sponsoring races like these.”

“You guys aren't opening a shop I hope, we have the best mechanic in town..” Sarah grinned.

“Actually I was talking to Isabella and a Chris Miller, about expanding Isabella’s garage to include Blaze motor parts and even more car garages.” 

“Martin’s could be a nationwide franchise,” Isabella spoke up, laughing.  “Tom would have never believed this day would come.  I mean, I can barely believe it. First Muscle buys into the business now Blaze motors wants to get a piece of the pie too.” she laughed again.

“What can I say?” Cass said, “I was inspired by your story about you and Tom building your business from literally nothing.  Us Blazes are big on underdog stories.”  She winked.

Chris approached, “So is Muscle.  We try to help smaller shops across the nation, we do a feature spread each issue about a different shop each time.” 

“I’ve been using Martin’s shop since I started racing.  Their work is bar none the best in town. Tom was the second best mechanic I knew.”

Morgan giggled.  “I guess now I can confess that it was really Isabella that got your suspension finished.  I couldn’t get it locked down just right so I called in a professional.”

“I figured Mom got it for you guys,” Sarah shot back.

Isabella laughed, putting an arm around Morgan.  “You’re still young, padawan, but the grease is strong with you,” she teased.

“Can we get the 1st through 4th place winners on the podium?” the announcer spoke over the speaker system.

“Speaking of, Thomas Crown said he had to slip out and he would be back later to pick up his prize.” Sarah giggled softly.

“That’s a shame,” Devin spoke up at that.  “I was hoping she knew where my lucky cap went.”  He winked at Sarah.

“Good to see you up and moving Dev.” Sarah said as she offered her hand.

Devin laughed.  “Wild horses couldn’t keep me from watching you win,” he said as he shook her hand, and patted her back.  “Great race.  Now go get your trophy, Angel.”

Sarah grinned as she took a few steps, stopped, and turned to him again. “Don’t let that crash stop you from racing Dev.  Live each day as if it was your last.” she turned back and headed up to the podium.