Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 136

"Who knows," Billy Joe said, and KK finished, "You can't ever understand him."

He spotted Cindy and waved her over, acting like he knew her well. "Evan seemed more nervous about driving your car. Is it harder to drive?"

Cindy smiled, stroked his hair and moved her mouth close to his ear. "If you want to impress them, act like you know about racing. If that doesn't work, we can make out." He must have looked hopeful because she added, "I'm joking."

"I knew that," he said. "Is there going to be rubbing and all that, like In the last race?"

"That was just hot laps in the stock division," KK said. "Super Late Models have way more horsepower and go through the turns three times faster.

He said, "I knew that, again and turned back towards Cindy.

She said, "Evan has done hot laps for me plenty. He's only nervous because he thinks he needs to show off his talent tonight."

Jason gave her a questioning look and motioned toward KK with his eyes. Cindy shook her head. "My father and Dale. Evan thinks he has to prove something, but they already know what Evan needs to prove to himself. He's good enough, and he'll only get better. Once he gets that straight, watch out, he's going to start enjoying life"

"Why don't you tell him that."

"He needs to figure it out on his own, just like I did," Cindy said. "If I have my way, he'll do that tonight, but don't tell him I said that."

As hard as it was for him to read Evan's cousin, he knew without a doubt she cared about Evan.

Evan tugged on the already tight belts, checked the steering wheel again, looked over all the gauges, and revved the engine. He wished Cindy would talk to him on the radio, but she told him he was on his own unless it was urgent. Before he climbed into the car, she turned him around, pinned him against it, and said, "This is just hot laps. You don't have to prove anything. Just do it!"

Cindy was wrong, he thought, it isn't just hot laps. The only way his father would ever let him race was if Uncle JC convinced him to. That meant he had to show his uncle that he was better than good, that he had the potential to be great, like Cindy. He pulled away from the pit and got in line by turn two, where the cars entered the track.

When Evan's time came, the track was in race-ready condition. Four cars were already doing laps, so he would have to get up to speed before turn three and blend in. It's probably part of the interview, he thought, because Uncle JC had always made sure he started first when he did hot laps for Cindy.

Evan went down the short entrance lane, looking left for cars in turn one, then he finished pressing the accelerator down. The torque made his helmet gain three hundred pounds. His foot lifted for a split second, and his head werit forward. He jammed the car into the only other forward gear, and his helmet was pinned to the headrest again. Going from Dale's car to Cindy's, was like going from a minivan to a Corvette.

Cindy's voice filled his helmet, "Got one exiting two. Hurry up. Don't let him catch you."

That was the last thing Evan wanted to hear Cindy say, and the last time she said anything. He was on his own. Turn three and four were gone before he had time to think about looking up at the flagman. In Dale's car, he could hold the gas pedal to the floor and at the end of the straightaways it was like riding a bicycle downhill in first gear, there wasn't any pull left. The Super Late Model forced him back until it was time to mash the brake. It went through the turns so fast that he could barely make a mental note about how to do it next time. It could make lane changes in the blink of an eye without getting loose. The speed compressed all of his decisions into a small space and made it easier to make a big mistake.

The ten laps Evan made seemed like five when he saw the red flag waving on hot laps. He never knew who was behind him, but they didn't catch him. In his mind, though, they had been right on his bumper the whole time, and he had to push harder every lap. He thought it had been a good run, but that didn't matter.

Back in the pits, Evan climbed out of the car and waited for Cindy and Uncle JC. A driver he didn't recognize gave him the thumbs up as he hustled past. Then KK, Billy Joe and Jason arrived, in that order.

Jason was excited by what he had seen, but he was woefully unaware of anything having to do with racing. Ticket girl was impressed, but she idolized Cindy more than he did, so him sitting In Cindy's car would have been enough to impress her. Billy Joe stood behind KK and gave him a genuine smile. Of course, it didn't matter what his friends thought, either. Uncle JC and Cindy were the two people that mattered and considering what Cindy had accomplished, it was unlikely that either of them would have noticed how well he thought he drove. What was taking them so long?

unaware of anything having to do with racing. Ticket girl was impressed, but she idolized Cindy more than he did, so him sitting In Cindy's car would have been enough to impress her. Billy Joe stood behind KK and gave him a genuine smile. Of course, it didn't matter what his friends thought, either. Uncle JC and Cindy were the two people that mattered and considering what Cindy had accomplished, it was unlikely that either of them would have noticed how well he thought he drove. What was taking them so long?

"Was Cindy with you?" he asked.

"She was, she watched with us in turn four," Jason said.

"Where is she?"

"I'm not sure," Jason said. "She stopped over there by the pit entrance with your uncle. He wasn't with us. I think he watched from over there."

Evan followed Jason's arm. "By the fence?"

"I think so. That's where he was coming from."

Evan's excitement took over, and he started talking nonstop about how it felt driving Cindy's car. KK asked a lot of questions, and he felt important when answering. She assumed he was taking over for Cindy, and he didn't correct her.

When he saw Uncle JC and Cindy approaching, Evan told his audience that he'd catch up with them after he gave his uncle the scoop on the car. Maybe he was letting it go to his head, but how many of his buddies at school could say they had driven a Super Late Model? Zero, that's how many, he thought.

Uncle JC handed Evan Cindy's video camera and said, "Here."

He looked at Cindy, and she shrugged. His uncle took a deep breath and Evan expected the worst. "How did it feel?" Uncle JC asked.

He looked suspiciously at Cindy, then back at his uncle and said, "It felt good."

Uncle JC put his hands on his hips and said, "A blow job feels good, not a racecar. Now, tell me how the car felt.

"It was loose at first, but I think the track was dirty and the tires were cold. It was better on the bottom, even with that bump in turn one, but it leaned hard and lifted the left front coming out of four. I moved up half a lane and it seemed better. Might need more air in the right rear."

"That's better,' Uncle JC said, then looked over at Cindy. "What'd you see?"

"Exactly," she said. "It was rolling over too much, but Evan moved around until he found the sweet spot. Looked tight in the middle of three and four. What do you think, Evan?"

I think I overdrove three a few times and made it push because even with that bump entering one, it didn't push there."

"I think he's right," Uncle JC said. "Cindy, what do you think?"

She said, "I think we ought to let him qualify the car."

Most of the time Evan knew when his cousin was screwing with him, and he didn't think she was now, but qualifying well was critical. If you didn't start in the top ten, it was unlikely you'd win, and Cindy liked winning. "Yeah right," he said.

"Why not?" Cindy asked. "You just kept Billy Boy Jones off you for ten laps, qualifying should be a breeze. You'll be out there by yourself."

"Jones...BB Jones was behind me, and you didn't warn me."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Uncle JC said. "You've already got your gear on. Me and Bear will make the adjustments. Cindy, get the computer and see what pressures we ran last time the conditions were like this. Evan, go watch that video and be ready."

Cindy shoved him towards the hauler. "Get in there and watch it until it's time to put this car in the top five."

"Thanks for not putting any pressure on me." He wanted to run and tell Jason, but there wasn't enough time before qualifying started.

By the time Evan was in Cindy's car, waiting for his turn on the track, his face hurt from smiling. He held off the guy who won the race last week. Yeah, it was just hot laps, but Billy Boy Jones didn't know he wasn't Cindy, and he would have pushed her to see what she had. Damn, he hadn't even gotten close. What if they let me run the race tonight?