(SATURDAY MORNING 6 AM)
Location: Circuit of the Americas. Austin, Texas.
Track type: Road course
TRACKHOUSE HAULER
It was time for the first road course of the season. A 20-turn road course with unpredictable outcomes. The #50 of the Princess and the #84 of Katie would return to make their second start this season. However, there was a new entry that everyone was talking about. Trackhouse Racing has made a third entry for their team: the #91 car. No one knew who was driving the car, but they would all find out eventually. Sweetie and Tracker were arguing over race strategies and how each of them were approaching the first road course of the season. Both of them were told they were getting a new part-time teammate to drive the #91 Trackhouse Chevrolet.
"So Sweetie, who do you think is gonna be the new driver?!" Tracker asked enthusiastically. "I really don't care. As long as they don't get in my way, they can stay here." Sweetie grumbled.
Suddenly, a dog came inside the hauler. It was a Dalmatian. Tracker couldn't believe who he was looking at.
"Marshall?! What are you doing here?!" Sweetie demanded.
"Sweetie… that's not Marshall… she's back!" Tracker said in shock and excitement.
"Hey Tracker. Glad you missed me." The Dalmatian said.
4 HOURS LATER
Marshall and Everest just finished driver introductions and walked to their cars to prepare for qualifying.
"So Eve, did you hear about the new #91 car?" Marshall asked.
"Yeah. I wonder who it's gonna be. It could be anyone." Everest replied.
"Hey brother! What's up?" A voice came from Marshall's head.
"What… How is the link so strong?" Marshall thought.
"Turn around." The voice said.
Marshall turned around and couldn't believe what he was seeing with his eyes.
Announcer: When she's fighting fires, she has a heart unlike anyone I've ever seen! From Heartland, DRIVER OF THE #91 TRACKHOUSE CHEVROLET, CINDER!
Cinder. Marshall's twin sister was standing on the stage waving to the crowd. He couldn't believe he was seeing her at the race track, as a racer. She was wearing a red fire suit similar to Marshall's except the yellow was replaced with pink. As soon as Cinder walked off the stage, she ran at full speed tackling Marshall with a hug.
"CINDER! I can't believe you're here!" Marshall exclaimed.
"Same! When I got the call to race, I knew I couldn't say no! I can't believe I get to race with my brother!" Cinder squealed with happiness.
"Cinder!" Everest called out.
"EVEREST!" Cinder yelled as she ran up to the husky to give her a hug.
"I've missed you so much!" Everest exclaimed. "We have some catching up to do!" Cinder giggled.
Suddenly Tracker and Sweetie approached the trio with their fire suits on.
"Holá Marshall and Everest!" Tracker said happily. "I see you guys have met our new teammate!"
"Why are you guys happy for her? She hasn't even ran a single lap in a race car." Sweetie mocked.
"Did she give you attitude?" Marshall questionably thought to Cinder.
"Not at first, but I know she's not fun to be around." Cinder thought back.
Suddenly an announcement came on telling the drivers to prepare their race cars for qualifying.
"We gotta go! ¡Buena suerte!" Tracker said.
"Good luck sis. Remember just have fun out there!" Marshall said.
"Thanks Marshall!" Cinder exclaimed, giving a high paw to Marshall with her birthmark paw. Marshall of course returned the high paw with his birthmark paw.
QUALIFYING
Arrby was on provisional pole, but a certain husky was on an unbelievable lap and was looking to take the pole away.
#45 Radio: You're 2 tenths up on the #24.
Commentary: Everest is on an absolute flier right now! Here she comes into turns 18 and 19.
"I can do this!" Everest exclaimed seriously.
She was one corner away from taking it, until one moment changed it all.
"OH NO! I OVERDROVE THE CORNER!" Everest shouted.
Commentary: SHE OVERDROVE IT! RIGHT AT THE FINAL CORNER, EVEREST BLEW IT AND POLE POSITION FALLS OUT OF THE HUSKY'S PAWS! ARRBY ESCAPES QUALIFYING WITH THE POLE!
"NO! I'M SO SORRY GUYS!" Everest yelled.
#45 Radio: Everest, it's ok. We still have a fast race car. We know you can do this.
#24 Radio: The #45 messed up! We're on pole Arrby!
"Wow. Sir, how good was her lap gonna be?" The pirate pup asked.
#24 Radio: She would have beaten your time, but sometimes it's nice to be lucky.
#9 Radio: Ben, that's P4. Great lap.
"Whoo! Let's go!" Ben exclaimed.
#16 Radio: Wildcat you were 7th. Nice work.
"Let's hope this race goes purr-fect for us." Wildcat said.
#91 Radio: Cinder, you were 22nd. Not bad for your qualifying debut. "I can work with that. I think we can make some magic tomorrow!" Cinder said, having a smile on her face.
SUNDAY (RACE DAY)
STARTING LINEUP 1. #24 2. #45 3. #2 4. #9 5. #99 6. #48 7. #16 8. #43 9. #8 10. #42
11. #23 12. #1 13. #5 14. #20 15. #22 16. #21 17. #54 18. #47 19. #14 20. #34
21. #11 22. #91 23. #31 24. #15 25. #19 26. #41 27. #7 28. #3 29. #4 30. #6
31. #84 32. #17 33. #78 34. #77 35. #50 36. #38 37. #51 38. #12 39. #10
STAGES 15/15/38*
(*When the stage ends, there will be no caution. This applies to all road courses.)
PACE LAPS
#42 Radio: Radio check Moby. Can you hear us?
"I hear you. Just get me through turn 1, otherwise McSquidly is gonna complain." Moby replied.
#2 Radio: Tuck, if you get a good restart, you can make it 3 wide. "Got it." Tuck replied.
#91 Radio: Cinder, I know you're nervous, but we know you can do this.
"Thanks guys. I'll do my best and forget the rest." Cinder said, looking at Marshall's car to her left.
"Cinder, you can do this." Just have fun out there." Marshall thought to Cinder.
"Thanks bro. You do good too!" Cinder happily thought back.
#24 Radio: #45 outside. It's go time. 5…4…3…2…1… Green flag.
GREEN FLAG
Everyone got on the brakes as soon as they got into turn 1. Arrby maintained the lead, but Tuck was able to take 2nd place away from Everest.
#2 Radio: Good move Tuck. Chase down the #24.
However, into turn 11, Everest sent it on the inside and took back second place from Tuck.
#45 Radio: Love the aggression Everest. Keep it up!
Further back, disaster struck involving some mid runners.
Commentary: Trouble turn 19! The #6 of Shade goes around! Rory spins as well and OH! THE #77 OF COPYCAT HITS THE #84 HARD IN THE RIGHT SIDE.
#77 Radio: Copycat, shut off the car.
"NOT EVEN ONE LAP. AUGHHHHHHHH!THAT #17 WHAT WAS SHE DOING?!" The feline shouted.
#84 Radio: Katie are you ok?
"I'm fine, but something doesn't feel right on the right side. I think it's a broken toe link." Katie said knowing what the result was.
#84 Radio: I'm sorry Katie. We're done and I wish your return could have been better.
CAUTION
"I'm fine guys. I just lost it going into the corner." Shade said.
#6 Radio: It's fine. Nice to see you don't have damage Shade.
LAP 6/68 Leader: Arrby
GREEN FLAG
Arrby overdrove turn 1, and forced Everest wide giving Tuck the race lead.
"Haha! Let's go!" Tuck exclaimed.
LAP 7/68 Leader: Tuck
#22 Radio: Rubble we have a pass-through penalty for cutting the corner.
"Dang it. Sorry guys." Rubble replied
#11 Radio: Marshall, pass-through. Cutting the corner.
"UGH! Shoot! Sorry guys." Marshall said.
#7 Alex: Pass-through Alex. Track limits.
"Dang it. I'm coming this time." Alex replied.
Everest was putting the pressure on Tuck and into turn 19, she finally got the lead.
"YES! Let's go!" Everest exclaimed.
LAP 11/68 Leader: Everest
Commentary: Trouble turn 11! Ryder got rammed into by Claw! I think the #23 had no brakes!
"WHAT WAS THE #23 DOING?!" Ryder shouted as he got the car back going.
"THE BRAKES BROKE! SOMETHING BROKE!" Claw shouted angrily.
#23 Radio: You can bring it to pit road we're done Claw.
Ryder's day went from bad to worse as he came out of turn 19.
Commentary: Trouble turn 19! Ryder spins again, this time from the #11 of Marshall!
#11 Radio: Marshall are you good?
"Yeah, but what was Ryder doing?! He just came across my nose." Marshall replied.
#11 Radio: I think he was coming to pit road, but yeah he didn't know he was there.
LAP 12/68 Leader: Everest
CAUTION
#45 Radio: Everest, pit this time. I know you want the stage win, but this race win means a lot more.
"Alright. I trust you guys." Everest replied Everest came to pit road and all the front runners stayed out.
[
1:36 AM
]
LAP 16/68 Leader: Arrby
GREEN FLAG
As they took the green flag, Arrby won the stage and drove away from the field.
LAP 24/68 Leader: Arrby
#24 Radio: Pit time time Arrby.
Arrby came to pit road which meant Everest would claim back the race lead and have a huge lead over the pack
LAP 31/68 Leader: Everest
#45 Radio: Green-checkered. Great job Everest!
"Alright! Let's get that strategy working." Everest replied.
LAP 32/68 Leader: Everest
#45 Radio: Bring it to pit road Everest's pit crew had a phenomenal pit stop, but because they were on a different strategy, Arrby took back the lead and had a 9 second lead over her.
#45 Radio: Everest. You have the car. You have the tires. Go catch him.
"Will do." Everest replied
LAP 37/68 Leader: Arrby
Everest was running the fastest laps on the track as she just passed Wildcat for 2nd place. The gap was now 2.2 seconds because Everest was just that fast.
"How is she that fast?!" Arrby exclaimed looking in his mirror?.
#24 Radio: It's her pace. She's that good Arrby.
LAP 38/68 Leader: Arrby
Commentary: We got one car spinning in turn 8! Skye has gone around by herself and we stay green.
#20 Radio: Fire the car back up Skye.
"I would like a caution. Am I the only one complaining about the sand?" Skye asked.
#20 Radio: No Skye there's 10 other people complaining about the sand as well.
LAP 39/68 Leader: Arrby Just a few laps after she came to the pits, Everest was right on the bumper of the #24 and challenging for the lead.
Commentary: Everest goes into turn 2, and she made that look easy! The husky takes back the lead here at COTA!
"I love this car!" Everest exclaimed.
#45 Radio: Good. Take care of it.
LAP 41/68 Leader: Everest
Commentary: Trouble turn 8! The #11 of Marshall has gone around by himself.
Turns out a lot of sand got onto the track causing many cars to get loose and miss the corner.
"We can't race like this! We need a caution to come out!" Marshall protested.
#11 Radio: We're talking to NASCAR officials right now.
NASCAR OFFICIALS: Sir, we've been getting a lot of complaints about the sand incident in turn 8. A few cars have gotten loose and spun out.
"Put it out! Debris in turn 8! Caution's out for sand!" The director said.
CAUTION "What's the game plan for the end?" Everest asked
#45 Radio: More than likely everyone will come into the pits for fuel and tires. Everyone is gonna be one lap short, but we know we can stretch it out to the end. Everyone came to pit road except for Rubble and Dwayne. They were betting on another caution so when they pit again, they would have fresher tires.
"This is a stupid idea. What were you guys thinking?" Rubble asked a little upset.
#22 Radio: I'm starting to regret this idea. Sorry Rubble.
LAP 44/68 Leader: Rubble
GREEN FLAG Rubble got a decent restart, as did Dwayne, but Everest drove it into turn 1 and cleared Rubble, but she overdrove the corner giving Arrby the chance to pounce and he took the lead of the race and Sweetie who restarted 5th was up to 2nd.
"OH NO! I'm sorry guys!" Everest exclaimed
#45 Radio: It's fine Everest. Get back in your rhythm.
#1 Radio: Good job Sweetie. Go get the #24.
"With pleasure." Sweetie said with an evil smile.
However, she wouldn't get the chance because in turn 12, Everest would get by and take back 2nd place.
LAP 46/68 Leader: Arrby
Everest would be back to challenging for the race lead, but Arrby would throw everything at her.
Commentary: Everest is right on the bumper of Arrby! Here they come into turn 11, AND EVEREST OUTBRAKES ARRBY! SHE TAKES THE LEAD BUT ARRBY HAD A GREAT CORNER! INTO TURN 12, ARRBY IS BACK IN FRONT!
#24 Radio: That was amazing Arrby. Keep defending like that!
LAP 47/68 Leader Arrby
Everest would try to take the lead in the braking zone in turn 1, but she could not do it. Going into turn 12, that wasn't the case
#45 Radio: As we like to say Everest, "give them hell."
Commentary: Out of turn 11, Everest gets to Arrby's side, AND SHE DID IT! EVEREST TAKES BACK THE LEAD!
#45 Radio: Nice work! Phenomenal driving there Everest.
"I had to give him hell." Everest jokingly admitted.
LAP 53/68 Leader: Everest
Rocky who was running midfield decided to come to pit road because he had an idea.
#8 Radio: Rocky why did you pit?
"If a caution comes out soon, we could cycle to the lead!" Rocky explained.
#8 Radio: And if it doesn't?
"Look, I wanted to try something new. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work." The mix said
LAP 54/68 Leader: Everest
#1 Radio: We think we can make it. Push hard on the #45 and the #24. We think they are short on fuel.
"I'll give them hell like I always do." Sweetie said with an evil grin.
"I can't save with the #24 right on me!" Everest complained.
"If I save fuel, I'll lose 2nd place sir!" Arrby said.
LAP 55/68 Leader: Everest
"I want to try Rocky's strategy. We're running 21st anyway. We'll only lose a few spots." Marshall suggested.
#11 Radio: Ok Marshall. Pit this time. We'll be ready for you.
Marshall came to the pits as well as Cinder and Gasket.
LAP 57/68 Leader: Everest
"I LOST POWER!" Shade exclaimed.
#6 Radio: Park the car somewhere safe Shade.
CAUTION
#45 Radio: Caution is out.
"Dang it. I'm assuming we're pitting?" Everest asked.
#45 Radio: Correct.
#8 Radio: Caution is out! This has played into your paws Rocky!
"What did I say guys? Patience goes a long way!" Rocky said happily.
Everyone came to pit road except Skye and the four who pitted a few laps ago.
#20 Radio: Skye you can do this!
#8 Radio: Rocky you have the fresh tires. You can win this.
#11 Radio: You have the track position Marshall. Make it mean something.
#91 Radio: Cinder, you are 4th. Make some magic and try to get a good position.
#45 Radio: Everest you are 5th, but you can do it!
]
LAP 60/68 Leader: Skye
Skye stayed ahead of Rocky into turn 1, but Everest sent it into turn 1 and she made it stick, and went from 5th to 1st in one corner.
Commentary: LOOK AT EVEREST SEND IT! SHE'S BACK IN THE LEAD! AND THEY ARE WRECKING FURTHER BACK! HAROLD, WILDCAT, AND SWEETIE ARE ALL AROUND!
"The toe link feels broken!" Sweetie shouted.
#1 Radio: It looks fine from here. Come down pit road and we'll look at it.
"Something broke. I assume we're done?" Wildcat asked.
#16 Radio: Yeah, you can drop the window net. We're done.
CAUTION
"I have a tire down. We had a decent restart, but dang it." Marshall said
#11 Radio: Bring it to pit road. We'll fix it Marshall.
LAP 62/68 Leader: Everest
GREEN FLAG Everest got away, but going into turn 1, she made the same mistake again.
Commentary: Everest gets away well, AND SHE OVERDROVE THE CORNER AGAIN! ARRBY TAKES THE LEAD INTO THE RACE!
"WE'RE ABOUT TO STEAL ANOTHER ONE!" Arrby shouted.
Everest fell back to 2nd and there was fury behind those eyes inside the helmet.
"I WILL NOT LET THAT #24 STEAL ANOTHER WIN!" Everest shouted.
#45 Radio: You have the faster car. You can do this.
LAP 64/68 Leader: Arrby
Everest would make good on her word. As she came out of turn 10, she was side by side with Arrby down the long straightaway.
Commentary: THEY ARE WHEEL TO WHEEL DOWN THE STRAIGHTAWAY! ARRBY IS FIGHTING BACK! HE ALMOST TOUCHES EVEREST! THEY ALMOST MAKE CONTACT! INTO TURN 11, EVEREST TAKES BACK THE LEAD!
#45 Radio: Excellent work girl! Drive away!
LAP 65/68 Leader: Everest Everest was only 4 laps away from victory until one car starting putting debris on the caution.
#3 Radio: Harold the tire is coming apart.
"I'm going home. Screw this." Harold said as he stopped the car to get out.
CAUTION
"Why's the caution out?" Everest asked.
#45 Radio: Debris and one car has stopped on the track.
The husky looked at all the debris on the track and saw Harold kicking his car in frustration. Everest just laughed to herself as Harold continued to make a fool of himself.
#45 Radio: Everest. Go finish this race.
"Ice or snow, I'm ready to go!" Everest exclaimed.
GWC ATTEMPT #1 Leader: Everest
GREEN FLAG
Everest got the and led into turn 1, as many cars spun into the turn.
Commentary: Trouble! Ella has a tire down and the radiator of Gasket's car is destoryed!
#12 Radio: Bring it to pit road Ella
"I'm trying, but the shredded rubber is making it hard to control!
#41 Radio: Gasket, shut off the car please.
"I HATE MY LUCK SO MUCH THIS SEASON!" Gasket shouted. She had finally snapped.
CAUTION
#45 Radio: Caution Everest
"Dang it. Alright, let's do it again." Everest said.
GWC ATTEMPT #2 Leader: Everest
Everest would get away again and keep the lead, but again further back they were spinning.
Commentary: THE #99 GETS SPUN AND THE #19 AS WELL!
"WHO HIT ME?!" Tracker demanded.
#99 Radio: The #48 hit you, but he might have help from the #1.
"I LOVE MY TEAMMATE!" Tracker shouted sarcastically.
#19 Radio: Get it back rolling Liberty
"I hate this track." Liberty said to herself
Everest made her way into turn 16 as another 2 cars went around.
Commentary: More cars spin! The #34 of Hubcap is involved as is the #91 of Cinder!
#91 Radio: Cinder, can you get it re-fired?
"That's what you get when you don't leave the space." Cinder spoke a little ticked off.
#34 Radio: Hubcap, what was that?
"Racing!" Hubcap stated. "You're too slow, get out of my way!"
#34 Radio: Guess racing means wrecking yourself.
CAUTION #45 Radio: Caution is out "FOR WHAT?!" Everest shouted
#45 Radio: Debris
"GAHHHHHHHHH" The husky scramed in frustration. "These guys can't control their cars for one lap!
The entire tire of Tracker's left rear came off and was sitting on the track and that's what brought out the caution.
GWC ATTEMPT #3 Leader: Everest
GREEN FLAG
For the third consecutive restart in a row, Everest would stay ahead and pull away from the field, but one car further back had her day ended.
Commentary: One car's nose looks destroyed! It's the #20 of Skye!
#20 Radio: Skye, bring it to pit road.
"I hate this race." Skye said clearly not happy
This time the incident would not bring out the caution and Everest would finally take the white flag in this race.
WHITE FLAG
While the win looked to be out of sight, the battle for 2nd was still on.
#8 Radio: Get him here Rocky! Commentary: Humdinger goes wide! Rocky drives it in and he'll take 2nd place away!
"Nice!" Rocky exclaimed.
Everest started to calm down and breathe slowly, and as she came out of the final corner, she started to celebrate.
Commentary: OUT OF TURN 20, SHE HAS GONE THROUGH HELL, BUT IT WAS ALL WORTH IT! EVEREST HAS DOMINATED THIS RACE AND SHE WILL WIN AT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS!
]
"Oh my God…" Everest said completely shocked as she crossed the start/finish line. "WE DID IT RIGHT?!"
#45 Radio: YOU DID IT! YOU WON EVEREST! "WE WON THE RACE!
"OH MY GOD! MY HEART WAS BEATING SO FAST!" The husky exclaimed, still can't believing she won.
#45 Radio: Everest, we are so proud of you! They tried to take this away from you. You drove like you wanted it so badly! You deserved this win. Well done, enjoy it!
#8 Radio: Rocky, good job all day. 2nd place is nothing to be ashamed of after we were running mid all day.
"Yeah, good job everyone. Congrats to Everest. She earned it." Rocky said happily.
#48 Radio: Humdinger you were 3rd and fast all day.
"I'll take it, but this racing has gotten ridiculous- " The mayor said as something interrupted him. Tracker who finished 27th was ramming the #48 car's bumper
"What's he mad about?" The mayor exclaimed.
#48 Radio: I don't know, you better talk to him
#1 Radio: Sweetie, what a comeback! 4th place. You deserve it.
"WHO JUST HIT ME FROM BEHIND?!" Sweetie shouted looking at the car who just hit her. "IS THAT TRACKER?! Me and him when he gets out of the car.
#38 Radio: Al, you got a top 10. The whole team is proud of you. Good job keeping the car clean.
"10-4 team. I know I'm not the fastest, but I try to do the best for you guys." Al said with a smile.
#91 Radio: Cinder, you finished 29th. I know it's not the finish you wanted, but I hope you had fun and learned about this car.
"I did. Thank you guys. I look forward to doing more races this season." Cinder said "Who won the race?"
#91 Radio: Everest. You can go congratulate her Cinder. Go make her even more happy!
POST RACE
Sweetie got out of her car to confront Tracker who was talking to Mayor Humdinger which was surprising to the terrier.
"Tracker, about that incident…" The mayor started before the chihuahua interrupted.
"Look mayor, I wanted to say sorry. I shouldn't have bumped you on pit road like that. I have someone else to deal with right now." Tracker said as he walked away.
"That went better than expected." Mayor Humdinger thought to himself.
Tracker walked over to Sweetie and sooner than later, the two Trackhouse teammates were locking eyes at each other
"You owe me an explanation Sweetie." Tracker insisted.
"It's a green white checkered Tracker. What do you want me to do?" Sweetie replied.
"Not my fault the only way you can pass cars is by wrecking them like last year." Tracker said a little louder.
"I won my race fair and square! Don't you dare compare that moment to today!" Sweetie shouted.
"You're not worth my time right now. Buenas noches Sweetie." Tracker said as he walked away.
Meanwhile, Everest did burnouts and got out of her cyan and white Toyota Camry, taking off her helmet, revealing the biggest smile of winners so far this season, holding back tears of joy and she let all the excitement out with a loud howl to the crowd. Marshall and Cinder ran up to the husky and playfully tackled her. Once Everest got up, her and Marshall shared a kiss and Cinder gave Everest the biggest hug she had ever gotten. Once the hug broke up, Everest jumped onto the hood of her car to start her interview.
Reporter: Everest, you had to survive three overtime restarts to win this race. How does it feel that you overcame the odds to win this race?
"It feels amazing. I knew we were the fastest car today, and those cautions wouldn't stop coming, but we never gave up. I knew what to do on every restart and every time I came ahead. I knew our time was coming, AND WE FINALLY GOT ONE THIS YEAR!" Everest exclaimed letting out another howl.
RESULTS
1st #45 Everest
2nd #8 Rocky
3rd #48 Mayor Humdinger
4th #1 Sweetie
5th #24 Arrby
6th #2 Tuck
7th #47 Wheeler
8th #17 Rory
9th #54 Coral
10th #38 Al
11th #7 Alex
12th #34 Hubcap
13th #4 Zuma
14th #5 Ryder
15th #14 The Cheetah
16th #11 Marshall
17th #19 Liberty
18th #15 Mix
19th #31 Leo
20th #42 Moby
21st #12 Ella
22nd #21 Dwayne
23rd #43 Rex
24th #9 Ben Allen
25th #51 Sid Swashbuckle
26th #78 Ladybird
27th #99 Tracker
28th #22 Rubble
29th #91 Cinder
30th #10 Duke of Flappington
31st #20 Skye (DNF)
32nd #41 Gasket (DNF)
33rd #3 Harold Humdinger (DNF)
34th #16 Wildcat (DNF)
35th #6 Shade (DNF)
36th #50 Princess of Barkingburg (DNF)
37th #23 Claw (DNF)
38th #84 Katie (DNF)
39th #77 Copycat (DNF)
Huge thanks to Foxfire69 for letting me use his OC of Cinder. Ever since I started reading his fanfics, I've always loved Cinder's personality. Foxfire is great at what he does. Check out his stories they are really great