Page 169 of The Champion
That’s our family.
You can’t allow us together all at once but what familyall got along?
None that I knew of.
The off-season for us was a time to reunite witheveryone. We were all so busy throughout the year and had little time toactually be a family. We learned though after a few years, that’s how it was.On any given weekend you’d find us spread all over the states. Early on Ithought this would work for a while and we’d have time to relax when we wereold. But then I looked at Nancy and Jimi. Here they were, in their late fiftiesand still going strong. Nancy never complained that between running fan clubs forJameson, Axel, Casten, Lane and Lucas, she had her hands full. She wanted thislifestyle as did everyone else. We lived for the times when the pits were coldand we could let our guards down and be a family.
When the picture was finally taken Jameson pulled measide to say goodbye. “You’ll be there on Wednesday, right?” he asked softly,his eyes searching mine. I knew he didn’t want me missing theBudweisershootout.
“Yeah, Arie has her recital on Monday and then we willhead out.”
He frowned. “Tape it for me?”
“I always do.” My lips met his for a quick kiss. He hadother ideas about that, pushing me against the side of our Escalade. His handscrept under my sweater, lingering around the waist band of my jeans. Leaninginto his warm embrace, the cool crisp air blowing in from the ocean caused meto shiver.
Sighing, I pulled his face closer, sweeping my tongueacross his lips. My dirty heathen reacted. We may be thirty-six now, but westill had that spark.
“I’m gonna miss you so much honey.” He whispered pullingback after a few more kisses.
Casten beat on the window in the car. “Get a room oldguys!”
“He’s a little shit.” Jameson muttered. “I’ll be waitingfor you.”
I smiled taking in his sparkling green eyes, the tiredlines forming in his face as he squinted in the sunlight. Taking my right handthat was wrapped around his neck I leaned my forehead against his, running myhand over the stubble of his jaw. “I love you.”
“As I love you,”
Jameson left after that and the life of the racing seasonbegan. There’s one thing I learned from Nancy as I sat there in the parking lotwatching my husband leave, you just go with the flow. That’s all we could do.
We were racers wives.
22.Darlington Strip – Jameson
Darlington Strip –Term used in NASCAR when a driver gets into the wall at Darlington.
“Don’t take it personal Jameson.”
I fucking hated those words. Despised them even. Anyonewho said that to me at the track, they better be ready for my temper and maybea fist or two.
When I think about my kids growing up, I think aboutevery meal I’ve missed with them. I think about every race of theirs I’vefailed to make. I think about missing Arie’s birth or Casten’s first birthday.I think about how many dance recitals I’ve missed. I think about Axel’s firstDirt Nationals and the countless races on Sundays because I was racing. I thinkabout how many times I’ve missed Sway’s birthday since as it was the sameweekend Richmond race. Then there were the anniversaries that were interruptedby the award ceremonies.
All these things ran through my mind whenever someonespoke those words to me. So to say this wasn’t personal to me was bullshit.This was personal. I put everything I had into racing including my time awayfrom my wife and kids.
Every lap I made, every race or championship I won waspersonal to me for the simple fact that it’s time away from seeing my family.
Throughout the fifteen years I’d raced in the cup series,I’d never had a problem with Paul Leighty. That was until the August WatkinsGlen race. The day’s heat wasn’t the only obstacle that day. Patience was.
Back when I was learning to race, I had to draw a lineback then. You wanted to go out there and give it everything you had but there weretimes when you had to think, “How much will this set us back if I wreck? Howmuch will a blown engine cost me?”
After that, you look at everything differently. In turnyour driving style changes and patience plays a key role. That patience, forme, was there now. Drivers like Paul, not so much.
Beside me and Colin Shuman, Paul was one of the mostaggressive drivers in NASCAR. He wouldn’t hesitate to trade paint with you eachSunday. Like I said though, we’d never really had any run-ins together.
You see with Paul, unlike most, he never faded. His threechampionships throughout his cup career proved that. He was just as fast on laptwo hundred as he was on the first lap. Being a soft spoken reticent, he nevergot into it much, until Watkins Glen.
Everyone says you can’t go two-wide through the fastuphill esses there. Well as it turns out, they were right. The thing with bothPaul and me this season was, you had two hungry racers both fighting forposition. I somehow clipped the inside curb causing my back end to hit his leftfront. Before we both knew it we were off the track and picking out a nicesection of concrete to mark up.
I respected Paul. After all, we started the same seasonin cup and I also respected how he raced me these past thirteen years. So whenwe got back on the track after that, he pushed me up in to Tate causing him tospin off in the grass and lose some ten positions on the restart. What he didthere was not respectable.