Page 86 of Trading Paint
Now I can’t say I wasn’t pissed because I was. I wanted to win Turkey Night just as bad as the next guy but to have a guy like Tyler who struggled each weekend just to make it to these races for lack of sponsorship, win was fine with me. I was proud of him. He deserved it.
I ended up second with Justin third. Ryder blew a tire half way through and then pegged the wall so he finished near the rear somewhere.
Despite all this, we were all celebrating with Tyler that night and eating turkey. We put our own envy aside and showed respect and goodwill for the seventeen-year old kid from Birmingham, Alabama.
We all had a lot of respect for each other going back to our days racing quarter midgets. I think we all developed a real appreciation for our talents.
The hardest part about wanting to win so badly was that it would mean beating another guy, in this case a friend of mine, who deserved that same win just as bad. He got it that night.
I’ve said this before but a good showing at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals or Turkey Night can make a huge difference in a racer’s career. It can mean leaving with sponsorship or searching once again over the winter for a seat.
Tyler left there with a full-time ride from Ron Walker, one of the biggest most respected owners in USAC. So even though I held some bitterness that I didn’t win Turkey Night, it was rewarding to see a guy like Tyler Sprague pull it off.
14.Redlining – Jameson
Redlining – The maximum engine speed at which the internal combustion engine or traction motor and its components are designed to operate without causing damage to the components themselves or other parts of the engine.The redlineof an engine depends on various factors such as stroke, mass of the components, displacement, composition of components and balance of components. Redlining means it’s reached its maximum speed.
I was surprised at how quickly my winter filled up. I thought for sure I’d get bored at some point but never had the chance. I managed to go play around one weekend at Crystal Mountain with Spencer and Tommy on a pair of snowmobiles but other than that, I hung around the house and caught up on sleep for a good couple of weeks. Before I knew it Christmas was there and then soon I was heading east again.
The World of Outlaws started their season in February and then the USAC divisions opened soon after that.
I planned to make every race I could. I needed to be prepared and prepared meant racing anything I could.
I still hadn’t decided on what cars I wanted to run professionally. There were so many options I just moved from one division to the next testing my ability in each one.
My brother, like the dumbass I always knew him to be, was planning a wedding. I had nothing against marriage. I just didn’t think my brother was the marrying type.
When he was in high school, I was positive he slept with the entire female population and now he was supposedly settled down? I highly doubted that. He and Alley had been together for a few years now but still, it just didn’t seem like something he would do. I guess maybe the reservations I held for it had something to do with myself as I couldn’t see tying myself to someone or something other than racing.
Spencer was different though and he loved Alley. That was evident and he never showed any signs of regret.
They got married on January 2, 1999; the perfect date for Spencer because he couldn’t forget the date since it was the day after his twenty-second birthday and it was one-two.
At least we knew he could count that high.
Luckily, since I stayed so busy, I hadn’t seen anyone from high school, which was fine by me. I didn’t like any of those assholes anyway except for Tommy and Sway.
On the day of the wedding I walked over toSway’shouse to pick her up. She was my date and I silently hoped she was wearing the same tutu from prom. I smiled to myself thinking of her dancing around in it that night in the tree house.
The cool crisp winter air blew across my face, burning. It had snowed a few nights ago leaving a few patches on the frozen grass along with traces of ice along the sidewalks. Keeping my eyes focused on the pavement so I didn’t slip, I realized I had walked past her house and had to back track. When I got there, the front door was open and I could hear her and Charlie talking in the living room.
“I expect you to take the classes like we discussed, Sway. You can’t follow that boy around forever.” Charlie reproached. “He’s just using you.”
I stepped down off the porch and sat down on the steps resting my elbows on my knees.
Was I using her?
Well,yes, I was but I didn’t think it was using. I needed her.
After about five minutes of sitting there, Sway walked out wearing a short black dress with matching heels.
Instantly, I averted my eyes when all I saw were her long lean legs tempting me.
It was going to be a long fucking night.
“How long have you been here?”
“Long enough,” I mumbled.
