Page 207 of The Champion
“Axel, do you know this Ricky Hagen kid?”
“Yeah, he races USAC midgets on the western circuit.” Helooked confused. “Why?”
“Apparently he broke Arie’s heart.”
Axel looked at me and then Casten. “Did you know aboutthis?”
Casten’s brow furrowed. “I knew she liked him but no, Ididn’t know much else.”
“I need to talk with this kid.” I told them.
“Apparently we do too,” The boys said walking upstairsinto Arie’s room.
There was one good thing about my kids, they stucktogether. About a year ago now, Axel had gotten into a fairly bad wreck inTerra Haute that landed him in the hospital overnight. Arie and Casten neverleft his side.
“They’re good kids,” Sway said closing the door to Arie’sroom; all three kids were on her bed watching a movie.
“I can’t believe she fell for a racer.”
Sway smiled. “Did you really expect anything less? Lookat her family.”
“Did you hear Kale broke Ricky’s nose?”
“Actually I was there when it happened. Kale sure doeshave a thing for Arie.”
“Great,” I groaned. “Now I have to hate Justin.”
“And how do you think he feels about you? Your son tookhis only daughter’s virginity.”
“Don’t say it like that. That sounds horrible.”
“I’m not going to sugar coat it for you.”
No, Sway never sugar coated it for me. Throughout our entirelives together, she told me the way it was. I needed that. Too bad parenthoodwasn’t that way. I needed sugar coating on that, I couldn’t handle this wholetruth shit.
It sucks seeing them get older and making the samemistakes you made but it would hurt if you never got to see that. Don’t tellthem what to be or how they should act. Let them be who they want to be. Whenthey become their own person, that’s what makes you a proud parent. All thatshit you didn’t want to know becomes worth it because you did something right.You raised your kids to be their own person.
27.Hairpin – Jameson
Hairpin – A slow180-turn which exits in the opposite direction the driver enters.
Toward the end of every season my life felt like I wasgoing two hundred miles an hour and praying for a left turn in sight. Thatyear, after the plane crash and parenting, and racing, it couldn’t have beenmore true.
With everything that was happening with racing, sponsors,team changes, media, kids, my wife...Ijust needed...me time.
I couldn’t do that by just simply relaxing at home. Thatwasn’t me.
Naturally, I went sprint car racing.
The methanol, the dirt, the Saturday night lights...this calmed me in ways fishing or golfingmight do for someone else my age. I needed the adrenaline to feel alive.
Turns out that for turning forty-three that year I stillhad it in me. I won.
Life gets to you at times, you can’t help it. For a whileyou’re going along thinking everything is good and then a plane crash happensor your daughter loses her virginity to an asshole. You’re dealing with lifethe best you can and it’s working for the most part.
Then it hits you that you’re just like everyone elsetrying to make it through each day. The only difference is that I was a racecar driver. My life was constantly going two-hundred miles an hour. It neverstopped until it stopped you.
As a racer, you can’t just walk away. It’s in your bloodto keep coming back to what’s been your life all those years.
