Owen stared at the old asphalt track with confidence. Though it would be his first race, he had a gut feeling that he was going to do great. As soon as the race started, a wave of fear and excitement filled him. The announcer, who was much younger than he was, began the countdown "3…2…1… GO!" she screamed over the roaring engines, and they were off. Owen darted to the head of the group, thinking about nothing else but winning. Before he knew it, it was over. He had won. It was the best feeling of his life. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that some adults were off to the distance, making sure that no one got hurt, but they neither cheered nor even smiled for his victory. He didn't care, he was moving on to the next stage of the little league racers.
Later that year, at the finals to enter the championships, Owen was ready to win yet another race. Being undefeatable, he had nothing to worry about, but still had a feeling that something bad was imminent. The announcer, now about the same age as him, being a disqualified racer early on, started the race rather quickly, as if he wanted to just get out of there. "It's just because he lost to me," Owen thought as he sped off, not thinking about the fact that he almost ran the kid over. Two laps in and going on the final, the bully caught up to him and tried to pass him. Owen decided that that wasn't going to happen and swerved to cut him off. All seemed to go well when he caught part of his rim on the front of the bully's bumper. Both went flying into the air and crash landed into the cactus nearby. Dazed and confused by the impact, the last thing Owen saw was another kid crossing the finish line in his place.
When he woke up, he was in a strange place that was most likely a hospital, but he couldn't see beyond his shattered windshield. He tried to think back to the accident, but couldn't remember anything about it except the crack and then pain of the cactus falling on him. What's going to happen to me? I'll never be able to race again in this condition, he thought sadly to himself. He saw some other cars drive into his room, but he couldn't tell who they were. He assumed that they were most likely his parents accompanied by doctors, but none of them were wearing what he thought were the hats normal doctors wore. He tried to think, but it hurt too much, so he closed his eyes and tried to rest. As he drifted off to sleep, he heard them talking about him.