Page 101 of The Legend
The doctor smiled half-heartedly. “I would let youstay if it were up to me.”
“I know.”
I hesitated when I got up, unsure if I could touchhim or not so I looked back at the doctor.
His head nodded once with a soft smile. “If youwant to kiss him, go ahead. Just be mindful of the tubes.”
I settled on lightly kissing his cheek beforewhispering to him. “I love you. Please come back to me.”
I wouldn’t let anything take away what he was tome as it would never change. He once asked me to stay some twenty years ago andnow, here I was, begging him to stay with me.
Jimi used to tell us your life was all about thelaps within the race. Some you lead, some you hang back and watch, others yourlapped traffic. Then there are the flying laps when life flies and you’ve madethe most ground and accomplished what you set out to do. And then one day therace is over, your laps are done. You’re left with the memories of the laps youled, as they were what matter most in setting time.
No amount of laps would be enough for me though,not when it came to Jameson.
I wanted forever. Afraid to love him for so manyyears, I was more afraid of the loss.
17.Collected – Sway
Collected – When a car is caught in anincident that they did not cause. If a car spins and is struck by a second carto a stop, the second car is said to be collected.
Everyonefrom the fans waiting in the lobby to the pressing media pushing their way pastsecurity, wanted to know what happened and why?
Thebiggest question was with a nearly five million dollar contract racing in theCup series, why was Jameson allowed to race sprint cars?
Whentragedy hits the racing community, it shakes them to their very core. No one isleft unaffected in the wake which spreads past the confines of concrete wallsand cheering fans. It’s a tragedy that can rip you apart and leave youwondering if there will be any pieces left.
Weunderstood the feeling and knew what this meant.
The newshit the media instantly, our phones rang non-stop. The hours and days went byslowly as I ignored my phone. Anyone I wanted to talk to was here already.
Most ofthat time waiting was spent fielding the media and consoling our family butthere were times where I just sat and stared at that photo of him next to thecondom ad. I also called his cell phone over and over again to hear his voice.Every time it made me cry.
Would hewake up? Would he remember me? Would he remember his family?
Only timewould tell. By Friday night, he was still listed in critical condition and thedoctor was going in again to control more bleeding in his brain. So far, itwasn’t looking good for him.
Alley waskind enough to let me stay with Nancy, I was worried about her, and Kyle dealtwith all the media and Speedweeks issues. Daytona would be starting in just twoweeks and as of now, Jameson wasn’t awake and there was no way he would makeDaytona.
This leftone option. We hired another driver that was racing in theNationwideseries to step-up.
EastonLevi who was driving for Tate in theNationwideseriesfor the last few years and won last year’s championship. As soon as Tate heard,he asked if we wanted Easton in the car. After talking with Kyle and Mason, theyagreed he would be a good addition.
Essentiallythat decision would have been up to Jimi or Jameson, who was a partial owner ofRiley-Simplex racing. Randy still acted as the vice president but Jimi usuallymade it clear he didn’t make decisions like that regarding drivers.
Now iswhere all the legalities came in.
Somehow,and I don’t exactly know how or when this happened, but Jameson had listed meas the Power of Attorney for the company if something were to happen to him orJimi.
Imagine mysurprise.
With mynew found responsibility, I turned to Tate and Kyle who both thought Eastonwould be a perfect fit in Jameson’s No. 9 Simplex car and team up nicely withBobby Cole who was now back in the No. 90 car and Paul Leighty in the No. 19.
The news wasreleased to the media formally by Alley at ten o’clock Friday morning.
She keptit simple by stating. “I’m sorry to say that Jimi Riley, retired World ofOutlaws champion, has passed away following a fatal accident at KnoxvilleRaceway on Wednesday night. His son and NASCAR Cup driver Jameson Riley islisted in critical condition. We would like to say more about his condition butat this time, we don’t know.”
Rightafter Alley made the announcement, news broke out and soon Knoxville Racewayissued their statement.
