Chapter 6: Ready for Round 2?
After the day that changed everything, Sonic, which was already a legendary video game franchise, especially with it's 25th Anniversary, became even more popular.
Sonic and cohorts were on TV show after show, magazine after magazine, website after website.
Chipotle started selling special "Knuckles The Enchilada" sandwiches, which recieved mixed reception, with some complaining it was too much like their regular enchiladas, but colored red.
Sonic announced that the 24, 12, 33,66, and 29 teams would be brought under the umbrella of "Team Sonic", with the real Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Brian Scott, Ty Dillon, and James Buscher taking the old rides, numbered 24-A, 12-A, 33-A, 66-A, and 29-A. Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles would contest the full season, with Sticks running the restrictor plate races. The alignment was supposedly because Sticks "sucked eggs", according to a survey conducted, much to the chagrin of a certain Peladophobian, who appreciated Stick's penchant for making up crappy conspiracies.
SEGA announced that they would release a special "Sonic vs NASCAR" racing game.
Sonic talked about how he had picked up sponsorship from Sonic Drive-In, as did Tails. Amy now had sponsorship from Hammers R Us, Knuckles from Raging 'Roids, which he insisted wasn't a steroids company, and Sticks had limited sponsorship from Illuminati Is For Real, LLC.
After a week of hoopla, it was back to business, as drivers headed off to the next race at Atlanta, the Happy Family Happy Hour 400.
The insanity for the race was at it's peak. Crowds were at record levels, with many people coming being Sonic fans who had never even heard of NASCAR before! Many joked about how since it was round 2, sonic. exe might make a appearance. Many dismissed it as ballyhoo, but some believed it, saying that if Sonic and friends had come to the real world, why not?
FOX had revised it's presentation package for the race. "Gotta Go Fast" had become the intro song, much to the chagrin of Sonic X haters around the globe. The ticker now showed pictures of Sonic and friend's heads next to their names, and the races were now presented by Chipotle, which they called "The Official Licensed Enchilada maker of NASCAR".
For qualifying, thousands of people watched, rooting for Sonic and his friends to sweep the top 4. They turned out to be sorely disappointed, as while Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles qualified well, they didn't get the pole, with that honor going to a surprising Matt DiBenedetto, much to the chagrin of user DiBenedetto RIP (1992-2015). Amy led the Sonic crew by starting 2nd, Sonic qualified 5th, Knuckles in 8th, and Tails a disappointing 12th. The important thing was, they were solidly in the field. In a crazy twist of irony, Brian Scott, who Amy masqueraded as at Daytona, was unable to make the field!
Now, it was time for the race itself. During driver introductions, Sonicmania continued, as Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles received absolutely thunderous cheers from the crowd, while other drivers got a modest reaction at best.
The national anthem was provided by Nicola Sedda and Georgia Brown, who reportedly caused 24,000 fans ears to bleed with their ear-splitting screeching. Despite that, they were still voted the "Best Anthem of 2016 Award" thanks to their "So bad, it's good" charm. At long last, the race was about to begin, and many hoped that a Team Sonic member would win the race.
At the start, Amy seemed to fulfill that goal, taking the lead on lap 6 when Matt DiBenedetto dropped out due to a flung grenade, and holding it for the next 67 laps. Unfortunately, while leading on lap 73, she went to pit road for a routine stop. During the stop, she messed up, stalling the car while exiting. Out of frustration, she went back to pit road on the very next lap, got out, and smashed the car with her hammer before sobbing in a corner. This incident quickly gave Amy the nickname "Kim Karsmashian" and she soon lost the respect of many fans after quite possibly the strangest DNF in NASCAR history.
For the remainder of the race, Sonic and Tails battled with Dale Earnhardt Jr, who had made a comeback thanks to "DJ Craze" falling out of fashion as a nickname. The fans were on their feet with the exciting racing. A year prior, everyone would have been rooting for Dale, but now, everyone was rooting for Sonic and Tails.
The laps clicked off. Jr., Sonic, and Tails kept on battling for the lead, no one leading for more than 5 laps at a time. 10 to go. 9 to go. 8 to go. The battling continued in probably the best race of the year, even though the season had just begun.
Soon enough, it was the white flag lap. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in the lead, but he, Sonic, and Tails were running bumper to bumper to bumper. Going into turn 1, Sonic held the outside line and took the lead of the race. However, going into turn number 3, Dale Earnhardt Jr. dove down low and got along side. The two raced side by side to the line. People were wondering who had won. After some analysis, it was announced, much to the fans dismay, that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the winner by .001 seconds, the closest finish in NASCAR history. His burnout was met from boos and booze from the fans.
In victory lane, Dale Jr. started giving his speech, but before he could finish, someone screamed "DJ CRAZE!" This led everyone to start chanting "DJ Craze! DJ Craze! DJ Craze!" Dale buried his hands in his head and ran away.
He announced his retirement the next day.
Still, Sonic was at the top of the points, and Tails was second. Amy was 19th, however, and Knuckles, after dropping out due to a blown engine, a disappointing 34th. There was room for improvement, but many thought the gang would succeed.