Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me, and I have nothing whatsoever to do with the V8 Supercars, although I have altered some of the driver's names to make them fit into the Cars world. The altered names also belong to me.
Chapter 9
Thirty laps into the race, things were looking good for the Redbulldozer Racing Team. Paul was leading the race by a considerable margin, while Craig had moved up to seventh. Lightning and Jamie were inside the pit shed, being prepared for their stints.
"Is Jamie ready to go out?" Leyland asked the pit crew.
"Yes, Leyland!" one of them replied.
Leyland nodded. The pit crew then focused their attention on Lightning, ensuring that his racing tyres were bolted on securely, and that his fuel tank was filled to the brim.
"Okay, Paul," Dutto said over the radio. "Come in on this lap."
"Affirmative," Paul replied.
Jamie moved into position in pit row, directly in front of where Paul was supposed to stop. Lightning watched the TV screens closely as Paul entered pit row. He then watched as Paul stopped in the pit, directly behind Jamie.
"Okay, go, go, go, go!" Dutto shouted to Jamie. The champion race car promptly turned out onto the track to begin his stint.
"Great changeover, guys," Leyland said, nodding his approval. He looked at Lightning. "I want to see you do as clean a changeover as that one."
"I'll do my best, Leyland."
Paul drove into the pit shed, looking satisfied with his stint. "You'll be fine, Lightning," he told him as he grabbed a can of oil.
"Get into position, Lightning," JJ instructed.
Lightning did so. He revved his engine. He was more than ready to race.
All of a sudden, the crowd exclaimed loudly, and Lightning saw some racing officials waving yellow flags. The safety car drove out of pit row and onto the track, lights flashing.
"What's going on?" Lightning asked over his radio. It was too noisy to talk normally.
"One of the Kelly brother's just landed in the sand trap," JJ replied. "We're under safety car conditions, so racing's been suspended. Craig? Come in now."
"Affirmative," Craig said over the radio.
Leyland frowned with concern. "Lightning's not going to have enough fuel to complete his stint if we send him out a lap early."
"I'm aware of that," JJ replied. "We'll just have to do a 'splash and dash' around lap sixty."
"Or we could leave him out longer and do a proper pit stop around lap eighty," Leyland suggested.
"I'm in favour of that option," JJ agreed. "Did you hear that, Lightning?"
"Yes."
He could hear Craig coming up behind him. Lightning revved his engine again.
"Okay, Lightning, you're good to go," JJ said.
Lightning didn't need to be told twice. He accelerated out of pit row just as fast as the rules permitted him to, and he fell into third place behind the safety car. After a lap, the safety car peeled of back into pit row, and the green flags came out.
"We're back racing now, Lightning," JJ told him.
But Lightning didn't need to be told that. He was already racing. Jamie was in the lead, followed by Frosty.
"Who's behind me, JJ?" Lightning asked.
"McLaughlin's behind you by two lengths. Don't overtake anyone yet. Wait until the field settles down."
"Affirmative."
It took Lightning a few laps to settle into a rhythm, but once he had, he started to push himself a bit harder. The kerbs were nothing like he'd ever experienced before. No matter where he hit them, they sent him flying up into the air. The landings were hard, and the impacts radiated through him badly. But he shook it off. After all, he wasn't the only one who had to endure such rough riding. Turns two, three and four were the worst, because the corners came in quick succession.
All too soon, Lightning noticed that he was starting to run low on fuel. "JJ? I'm going to have to pit for fuel."
"Got that. We were just about to bring you in. We'll do a full pit stop."
"Affirmative."
Lightning turned into pit row, and he decelerated down to pit row speed. One of the pit crew members was holding up a board, showing where Lightning needed to stop. Lightning stopped just centimetres from it, and the pit crew immediately leapt into action. One began refuelling Lightning, while the rest of the crew members set to work changing all his tyres. The tyre change was smooth and fast, and they were done within ten seconds.
"We're just waiting on fuel," JJ told Lightning.
"Come on," Lightning whispered. He was anxious to continue racing.
The moment fuel started to flow through the overflow pipe, the pit crew member yanked the nozzle out of Lightning's fuel inlet. "Clear!" he shouted.
"You're good to go, Lightning," JJ said.
Lightning floored it, and he drove straight back out onto the track. This time, it didn't take him quite as long to settle back into his rhythm.
"Who am I racing, JJ?" he asked.
"You're about three seconds behind Lee Wheelsworth. He's in twelfth."
"Thanks."
Nothing much happened over the next forty-five-odd laps. Three racers spun off into the grass or sand, but none of them warranted the deployment of the safety car. Lightning concentrated on closing the gap between himself and Lee. Unlike in the Piston Cup, overtaking here was extremely difficult. He came close several times, but Lee always managed to cut him off.
Soon, Lightning began to get frustrated. JJ was going to bring him in on lap a hundred and thirty, which was about fifteen laps more than the eighty he was required to do, but that was fine. Obviously, Leyland was happy with his performance and he believed that Lightning had what it took to put in a longer stint.
Finally, Lightning started lap a hundred and thirty. He was showing signs of tiring, and his fuel level was starting to get low again.
"Come in on this lap, okay?" JJ said.
"Affirmative."
Because of his lowering fuel level, Lightning was unable to stay with Lee, so he eased off a bit. As he approached turn six, Lightning was surprised when Lee failed to turn. Then it happened. Lee just went shooting off the track, across the grass and finally slamming head-on into the tyre wall – hard. Lightning braced himself to take evasive action in case Lee rolled back onto the track, but fortunately he didn't. Lightning was shocked to see just how badly damaged Lee's front end was. He was bleeding oil from his mouth, and smoke was seeping from his engine.
"Concentrate, Lightning," JJ said soothingly. "Lee will be okay."
Lightning forced himself to focus on the race. He hadn't gone far when he saw officials waving yellow caution flags.
"Safety car has been deployed," JJ informed him, just as he turned into pit row.
Lightning knew that everything counted on him and Craig having a clean changeover. Ahead, in the Redbulldozer pit bay, he could see Craig in position. Timing his braking to perfection, Lightning stopped directly behind Craig. The second all of Lightning's wheels had stopped, Craig took off.
"Great work, Lightning," JJ said.
Breathing heavily, Lightning slowly entered the pit shed. The pit crew began fussing over him, refuelling him and giving him some coolant to drink, as well as a hose down with ice cold water. Leyland came over to him.
"Well done, Lightning," he praised. "You lived up to my expectations. Once you've cooled off, I want you to go and see Dr Anderson again. Hopefully, I won't have to put you out again during this race, but keep your radio on in case we need you."
"Okay," Lightning agreed.
A few minutes later, Lightning left the pit shed. It was just starting to spit. He breathed a sigh of relief. Leyland wouldn't send him out again now. He didn't fancy racing in the rain anyway.
After Lightning had undergone his physiotherapy, he returned to the pit shed, just in time to see the end of the race. The light rain had stopped by now. Paul was back out, and he still retained the lead for him and Jamie. Lightning was pleasantly surprised to see Craig racing in fourth place. He joined Jamie and the rest of the team over at the pit row wall to watch the finish. He cheered along with everyone else as Paul crossed the finish line in first, followed by James Courtney and Garth Tander. Craig crossed in fourth, still trying to overtake Garth even as they crossed the finish line.
"Well done, guys!" Dutto cheered, and he began tyre-slapping with the rest of the crew. Lightning noticed that Leyland was still inside the pit shed, studying the statistics. Jamie followed his gaze.
"Leyland never gets excited about a win," he explained. "The only time he celebrates is if we win the team championship. He doesn't care how well we go individually. For him, it's all about teamwork."
Lightning nodded thoughtfully. "I figured that."
"You look disappointed."
"I am a bit. I'm not used to not being on the podium."
Jamie chuckled. "Neither am I. I'd better go and collect my trophy. See ya later!"
Lightning sigh tiredly. He drove over to Leyland.
"You did very well today, Lightning," Leyland said without looking up from the computers.
"But I ended my stint in eighth."
"That's not important. Your changeovers were clean, and so was your pit stop. Your lap times were also very consistent." He glanced at Lightning with a smile. "Don't go beating yourself up. It was your very first V8 Supercars race, and you handled it like a pro! There are a few things we need to work on, but the main problem is your fear."
"What? I'm not afraid of racing!"
"I never said that. Maybe I should explain. You're not used to tail slides or taking sharp corners at speed. I've watched videos of you racing on dirt, and I know you can power slide, but you can't do that here. So, you need to get over your fear of hitting the walls, and start attacking the corners aggressively, the way Jamie does. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"
"I think so."
"It's not your fault. You're just not used to this kind of racing. But we've got a lot more to do to get you ready for Bathurst. But now, we'd better get over to the podium for the trophy presentation."
…
A few hours later, Lightning returned to his hotel suite. He'd been overwhelmed with everyone congratulating him, but he really didn't feel like he deserved it. Sighing deeply, he parked himself in the middle of the room to reflect on things. A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Dutto drove into the room. "Hey. I couldn't help noticing you looked a bit deflated after the race."
"I just didn't do as well as I wanted to. Sorry I let you guys down."
"What are you talking about? You were fantastic out there!"
"That's what Leyland said too."
"He said it, because it's true. Lightning, the V8 Supercars is the hardest Touring Car championship in the world. You surely didn't expect to just come out and win your very first race, did you?"
"No… But I didn't expect to do so badly either."
"Lightning… In this kind of racing, eighth is a brilliant result. And you didn't come eighth; you and Craig came fourth! That is an amazing result, and it's helped Craig retain second place overall in the championship behind Jamie. We've had a fantastic day! Seriously, even finishing a V8 Supercars race in one piece is an achievement. For us, technical issues are a minor failure, and crashing out is a major failure. You didn't have any technical issues, and you didn't crash, so you didn't fail."
Lightning was silent for a moment while he considered that. Then, he asked in a whisper, "How's Lee?"
"It looked a lot worse than it actually was. They're keeping him in hospital overnight just to monitor him. He's badly shaken up, but his injuries were purely superficial. He might need a bit of dental work though. He lost a couple of teeth, but at this stage, he will race at Bathurst. He was incredibly lucky. That was the fastest crash ever recorded in V8 Supercars history!"
Dutto smiled, trying to help Lightning feel better, but Lightning still looked down-heartened and distracted. Dutto sighed as the realisation of what was bothering Lightning dawned on him.
"You're homesick, aren't you?"
"Maybe. I just can't help worrying about the Piston Cup. What if everyone's right? What if Tex did set me up just to get me out of the way so Jimmy could win?"
"I don't follow you."
Sighing again, Lightning told him about his conversation with Harv. Dutto frowned the whole time he was speaking.
"Give me your phone, please?"
"Why?" Lightning asked as he passed it over.
"I'm confiscating this until after the Enduro Cup is over. I'll let you have it back if an urgent or important call comes through, but I'll handle everything else. You need to concentrate on what you're doing here. Forget about the Piston Cup until you get back to America. Bathurst is the hardest race in the whole world. You need to focus on it, and nothing else. I'll leave you now. Goodnight."
Shortly after Dutto had gone, Mater joined Lightning. "It's in da drawer," he told Lightning softly.
"Thank you, Mater. You're an awesome friend. If you see Sally, please tell her I've gone to bed. I'm exhausted."
"Yeah. Goodnight, bud. And congratulations."
"Thanks Mater."
Once Mater had gone, Lightning entered his bedroom, and he closed the door, locking it behind him. He then slowly opened the drawer. What he saw made him smile. Inside was a solid gold hubcap, encrusted with, not just white diamonds, but also five very rare pink diamonds that formed a circle around the centre. It had cost him a small fortune, but it was completely worth it. Now, he'd just have to keep it hidden from prying eyes until the right moment…
Please review! The results and events that occur in this chapter are based on the 2014 Sandown 500. If you'd like to see footage of the crash involving Lee Holdsworth (Wheelsworth in this story), you can by Googling '2014 Sandown 500 Lee Holdsworth crash'.
