I gave that up three years ago when I let him walk out the door to chase his dream.
When I told him goodbye.
Chapter Eight
Mack
“One lap, Mack. Hertz is coming up strong on your right rear. He’ll make his move between turn six and seven, so be ready. Hold your line,” Fish says calmly through the earpiece.
“Your last lap was your fastest yet. We’re fine on fuel. It’s go time,” Coop adds, giving the cue I’ve been waiting for.
I gun the gas, flying through the gears like a man possessed, all while trying to keep Hertz from overtaking me. We move through the first few turns, but my focus isn’t on who’s behind me. It’s what stands in front of me.
“You’re in sixth, only three tenths of a second behind Kahn,” Fish relays. “Hertz just off your right shoulder. Watch your wheels.”
I keep my attention forward, working my way toward Kahn. By the time we get to turn six, I’m right on his tail and ready to make my move. He tries to block me by going high, but I’m already anticipating his move, so the moment I see my chance, I dive down hard. He doesn’t give up the position easily. We’re neck and neck as we head through the back half of the course, inching our way toward the checkered.
“Two turns,” Fish tells me. “You’re battling for fifth.”
By the time we round the last turn and the finish line is in sight, I’m giving it everything I have behind the wheel. I’m pushing my engine, but I don’t care. I want this spot, so I drive it in deep. When I see the checkered flag waving above the track, I’ve inched ahead of Kahn and taken the position.
“Yeah!” Fish cheers in my ear. “That’s a top five!”
I let out a whoop as I slow down the car, throwing a wave of congrats to the winner as I go by.
“Great job, Cruz. First top five of the season,” Coop boosts. I can hear the smile in his voice, which makes me grin from ear to ear.
We slowly make our way around the track one last time and pull onto pit road. The moment I stop in front of my stall, my guys are there, helping me remove my safety and communications devices. When I’m clear of everything, I hop out and glance toward my team. They’re all wearing big grins, their hands extended out. I make sure to high-five everyone, taking the towel from Jones and wiping off my sweaty face. Chief is next with a cold Gatorade, which I manage to chug about half of before I see the camera crews headed my way. I’d much rather find Lena and Oliver, but this is part of the job. Not only for the sponsors, but the fans as well.
“Mack, great race out there. You were a competitor all day,” Gail says into the microphone before shoving it in my face.
“Thanks, my team and I had a good day,” I reply, smiling my best on-camera smile.
“You’ve been noticeably absent from the top five all season. Is this finish a sign of what’s to come?” she asks.
“We’ve been competitive all season. We’d have a great handling car, but tire issues would set us back or a pit road violation would put a kink in the plan. Every race, we’re doing our best to find the right chemistry between driver and team and car so we can get the best finish possible for the fans.”
“Well, it seems you’ve found a bit of your groove today,” she adds. I can tell by the way she’s glancing around she’s ready to move on.
“We did. Happy with our finish. Proud of the guys and my team.” Glancing just over Gail’s shoulder, I see Lena working her way toward me, Oliver in her arms. I’m smiling the moment I spy them in the crowd.
Gail catches my grin and quickly glances over her shoulder. When she finds the reason for my beam, she can’t help but ask one last question. “Could the reason you’ve found your rhythm have anything to do with the major announcement you made after yesterday’s qualifying?”
I shrug. “We gave it our all today. I’m excited to see what this team does next Sunday,” I reply, refusing to give her any more to speculate about.
“Thank you, Mack Cruz, a fifth-place finish today at Mid-Ohio,” she wraps up before heading on to the next driver.