It was a little before six the next morning when Steve awoke. He didn't really sleep at all with everything on his mind. He slowly got up from the couch. Johnny was asleep in the armchair as he snuck into the kitchen. Picking up the phone, he dialed Austin Bruce's number again, even though it was way too early to even try this. Maybe he'd get impressed with Steve's tactics to get into the race. Surprisingly, someone answered. They didn't sound too tired either, like they were use to being awake this early.

"I need to speak to Austin Bruce," Steve said in a low, but demanding voice.

"For what?" the voice asked.

"Concerning the drag race competition he's holding," Steve replied. Right away the person hung up the phone. Accidentally, Steve slammed the phone down cursing. He froze, waiting for one of the brothers or Johnny to awake. No one did. Steve walked back over to the couch and just sat there. He began to think. Tim Shepard said Austin Bruce and his gang should be impressed with how cocky he is, so how could he show that he's cocky without caring what big shots think? Steve was going to consider that before trying to call again.

A thought struck Steve then. He didn't even know when the race was, or when it started. Hurriedly, he rushed back to the phone and dialed the Shepard household. Normally, Steve would be ready for Tim to kill him for calling so early, but everyone knew how focused Tim Shepard was on the Brumly Boys that he just didn't care what anyone else did at the moment.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tim, it's Steve, I'm sorry to disturb you so early," Steve said.

"It's not a problem, I've been up for a good hour anyway," Tim said and Steve realized that Tim did sound rather awake, "What do you need?"

"Well it just hit me that I don't even know when the race is suppose to start. So how long do I have to try and convince Austin Bruce to let me in the race?" Steve asked.

Tim paused for a moment, "It's a week from today. So you have until next Saturday."

Steve nodded. It wasn't a lot of time, but he would get in that race. Nothing was going to stop him. "Thanks Tim. So, just out of teenage curiosity, why would you be up since like five?"

Tim laughed a bit on the other end, "Just taking care of good old fashioned business, my friend."

"What did the Brumly Boys do now?" Steve asked.

"Nothing, just got to have plans ready." Steve was always surprised at how serious Tim Shepard could get about these things. He treated his gang and all the other gangs like businesses competing against one another. Of course, he would always back up the other gangs on the east side when needed. The Socs was a different story, though. Tim then acted like it was two countries at war. Gangs and survival of the gangs was a serious thing for Tim Shepard.

"That's true. Well good luck with that and thanks," Steve said.

"No problem. Good luck with everything," Tim said then hung up. Steve decided to go for a walk and get some fresh air. Maybe once his head was clear he could think straight about the race. Quietly he stepped out of the house and started walking down the street in the cool air.

Once he got out of the neighborhood, he was surprised to see Dally walking down the street towards him. "Why is everyone up so early?" Steve mumbled to himself.

"Hey Steve," Dallas said flicking his cigarette into the street.

"Hey Dal," Steve replied back, "What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep, so just out walking. Maybe sneak into the Curtis's and try to sleep," Dally responded, "What're you doing?"

Steve shrugged, "Just going on a walk to clear my head. You can use the couch, Johnny's on the armchair."

"Cool," Dally nodded, "I'll see you later." Steve nodded back as Dally continued walking towards the Curtis's.

"Hey Dally," Steve called before going his own way.

Dally turned, "Yeah?"

"Did Tim Shepard get a hold of you?" Steve asked. He wondered if Dally knew anything about Tim's big planning.

Dally looked at him sort of confused, "No. I told him to leave me out of the Brumly Boys. Why? Did he say something about them to you?"

"Sort of. He said he was making plans for them for the next time they tried something," Steve said.

Dally shook his head, "He's just an idiot sometimes. Just remember I told you all if he tries to get you to help him and you do, I'll kick your head in. I'll catch you later Steve."

Steve began walking down the street again. He did remember Dally telling the gang he would kick their heads in if any of them tried helping Tim Shepard. When Two-Bit asked why, Dally then said it was stupid and childish. Steve knew there was something else behind Dally's reasoning, him and Soda both agreed on that, but they figured it didn't matter. Probably just him and Tim Shepard having a big argument like they sometimes do. Whatever the reason was, the gang wasn't planning on helping Tim; it did seem rather dumb that two gangs from the same side of town were against each other.

What Steve didn't understand while he and Soda discussed it was why Tim was so mad at the Brumly Boys. They really weren't worth getting so mad at. They were just dumb when they tried to act cool and they were just dumb to begin with. That gang annoyed everyone. Soda figured Tim Shepard had gotten overly annoyed with them. It just seemed too low for Tim to want to hurt a gang so badly that's on the same side of town though, and when it's the Brumly Boys, it just wasn't worth it. Whatever the reason was, it was Tim Shepard's and his gang's business.

Steve hesitantly pulled out a cigarette, but then immediately threw it in the grass. He had been trying to quit for awhile now. About a couple months ago, Steve was getting a really bad cough, spitting up gunk and having a pain in his chest. Fearing his lungs were the cause, he decided to quit smoking. Whether it really was his lungs or not, Steve refused to go to the doctors. He wasn't the type of person to go to a doctor's office. It was hard and he had broken down and smoked a few times, but the coughing was subsiding in time, so it probably wasn't too serious. Still, it wasn't a bad idea to cut back and possibly quit for good. Soda thought it was a good idea and supported him for it.

Continuing his walk, Steve took in deep breaths of fresh air trying to calm himself. It was a little difficult to take deep breaths at times, but Steve stayed strong and figured it'd get better. Steve had walked all the way back to his house and got in his car and ended up going for a drive. Intentionally, he ended up at the track owned by Austin Bruce. He wanted to see it and get a feel of what it was going to be like at the race once he got in it.

Steve parked his car on the side of the street. It was a bit of a walk down the field so that the fuzz wouldn't see the drag racing going on, but Steve didn't want to risk driving through the field. It didn't look like anyone else did anyway; there weren't other tire marks dented in the grass. As he walked, Steve did notice the mess the field was. The place use to be a park maybe ten years ago. Steve never went to this park, because of how far it was and the fact there was already a park in his area. He had seen it, though. It was pretty nice; the one in his area was becoming worn down and not many kids used it anymore. This park probably would have looked worn down too if they hadn't torn it down.

It wasn't an empty field. There were lots of trees still growing in the area, some probably on top of where the park use to be. It lead to a forest-like area. It was dark as trees were everywhere. Steve walked through the trees; it sure was a long way. Steve wasn't even sure if he was going the right way. He knew where the general area of the track was, but he wasn't sure how to find it. It had to be hidden though; everyone knew that, so through these trees was the best bet.

Finally Steve got through the trees and found it. Well he found a gate. He obviously hadn't gone the right way where an entrance probably was, but he found part of it. Excitedly, Steve climbed the fence and hopped over. He landed on some dirt and looked around and was surprised at what he saw. He had landed on part of the dirt track.

Holding his breath, Steve started taking small steps across the track. It was huge, much bigger than the other tracks he had been to. Steve turned his head slowly side to side, the fence went all the way around and there was space behind the fence for people to watch. Across from Steve was where the fence opened to let the cars in. Steve couldn't believe the track. Now he knew he needed to race here.

At the start the cars began going straight and then would hit a sharp left turn. There were little hills at some areas and more sharp turns. A couple of times the track crossed over itself. Finally ending at the beginning again. Steve couldn't believe the intensity of this track. He walked across the track towards where the fence opened to find the actual entrance to this place.

"Hey, kid! What're you doing here?"