Author's Note: Next time out F1 stuff happens. Seriously. I promise.

Chapter 4

18 Years Ago

Tall Oaks International Speedway was new to Vacuo's National Stock Car Series. Built in the same shape as Orange Beach, it was even larger, the largest oval race track ever constructed. At roughly 33 degrees, the corners were even more steeply banked and the racing surface was significantly wider. That meant even more speed. Orange Beach was generally run flat-out, but as tires wore or a car's handling deteriorated, it was sometimes necessary to get off throttle for the corners. Tall Oaks was different. It was so wide and the corners so sweeping that there was never a normal circumstance in which a driver should need to lift. That meant it was even faster.

At first that did not seem to be much of a problem. The speeds were only a little higher than at Orange Beach and no more a safety concern. Stock car racing was generally much safer than other forms of motorsport, with large robust cars to cocoon the drivers. Sure, any accident at speeds approaching 200 mph would be a big one, and Orange Beach had seen its share of devastating crashes, but it was seen as an acceptable risk. With a wider and less demanding track, Tall Oaks was expected to be safer.

As practices for the first race got underway a disturbing trend began to develop. The cars were returning to the pits after just a few laps with the tires worn down to the cords. There were a few blowouts and resulting crashes. No one had been hurt - yet - but there was clearly a problem. The increased speeds and unexpectedly abrasive surface were chewing through the tires at a dangerous rate. Cars normally pitted for tires when the fuel ran low, and at Orange Beach it was possible if ill advised to go several stops without changing tires at all. At Tall Oaks the tire wear was far ahead of the fuel burn. It was also unpredictable. Sometimes tires would last almost a full fuel run. At other times they would be worn through in a quarter of that time, and all on the same car.

The drivers were not happy. Racing at 200 mph was dangerous, but they saw it as an acceptable risk. Throw in the tire issues however, and the risk became too much. Someone was going to get hurt - or worse - and none of them were willing to run a race they saw as borderline suicidal. Naturally the owners of the track and the folks in charge of the series were not happy. There had never been a driver boycott in the National Stock Car Series before, but the day prior to the event the drivers made it clear that they would not race.

The National Stock Car Series was run by a man named Bronze Vytal. He had also built Tall Oaks International Speedway, and his company owned it. It was supposed to be one of the great marquee events, enough to recoup his expenditures in one race, but now the drivers were refusing to take part. The fans would be unhappy, and that would be a disaster for PR and his checkbook. So he called the drivers to a meeting the night before the race and tried to convince them. For a long time they got nowhere. Bronze insisted they race and the drivers insisted it was too dangerous. They called for a postponement. For Bronze it was not a realistic option and would be just as much a financial disaster as not racing at all.

Bronze called over one of the top drivers, Citron Sanctum. "You're a pilot." Bronze said. Citron nodded. He flew his own plane from race to race and all around Vacuo in support of a lucrative lumber business he owned. "What do you do when there's a storm? You slow down and go around it." Bronze had been trying to convince the drivers to race, driving at lower speeds to preserve their tires. The drivers said this was unrealistic because it would be too tempting and too easy to push the limits and get into trouble.

"Bronze…" Citron started with a grim expression. "...when there's a storm this bad you just don't fly."

Bronze was left speechless, something that rarely happened. It was clear that there was no convincing the drivers. To save his business, he came up with a last-second contingency plan. Earlier in the day a lower division of the National Stock Car Series had run a race at the track. Their slower speeds meant they did not have the same problems. He asked the drivers and teams from that division to stick around and offered them spots in the main event. They would get the same payouts as the usual drivers. Of course they accepted. A few of the drivers in the top division were contractually obligated to race by the their teams, and they completed the field for what had effectively become a mixed class stock car race. In the end the race was run without incident, albeit at greatly reduced speed. By the next scheduled event at Tall Oaks, the tire companies had developed rubber compounds capable of handling the speed and surface, and the initial problems faded into memory.

Present Day

The incident all those years ago at Tall Oaks had almost been forgotten. Now at Orange Beach International Speedway, there were new rumblings about speed and danger. Back then, the cars had barely scraped the 200 mph mark. Now they were pushing 215. Stock cars were simply not designed for that sort of speed. In recent years there had been a spate of devastating crashes, though no one had been too seriously injured. Most were well aware that the luck would not hold forever. Still, there was little to be done. The Orange Beach 500 would be run as it always was. It was no more dangerous than it had been the year before, and there was also something of a complacency among those involved.

For her part Ruby found the speeds alarming. The Nevermore prototype she had driven was capable of greater top speeds, but it was light and had tremendous aerodynamic downforce and stability. Stock cars had nothing of the sort, save for a small spoiler on the rear deck lid. The car felt heavy - it was - to Ruby and its reactions were far slower than hers. It made saving a slide easier, but it also made changing direction more difficult. The car also reacted to the air much more than she would have anticipated. The air from other cars on track could physically move the nearly 2 ton machine like it was made of paper. It took great care to run in the tight packs that were common at the track.

Concerns aside, Ruby took to it well. Orange Beach did not require the most skill, just enough to keep the car in a straight line with the throttle pressed to the floor. Passing in the draft seemed to take some talent, and the more experienced drivers certainly had a better feel for how to use the air, but Ruby was competent enough in testing. It helped that the car provided by Robin Persimmon was good. The car was not stock at all, none of the cars in the National Stock Car Series were. It had a tube-frame chassis covered in sheet metal and vaguely resembled a Maiden Roc street car. Ruby's was painted black with the number 02 painted on the side in gold. Like the team's full-time car, an identically painted number 2, it was also plastered in logos for Mistral Beer. Ruby found the sponsor interesting as she was not even old enough to drink alcohol in Vacuo.

After a week of testing Ruby felt confident. The first few practices went well and then it was time for qualifying. It was a boring affair. The cars each ran individually - an out lap, two timed laps, and an in lap - and it took several hours to get through all 60 entrants. Then, her actual run just consisted of her planting the throttle on the floor and holding the car against the inside line of the track. She set a single lap average speed just under 210 mph, good enough for seventh. But that seventh meant nothing. She was not even guaranteed a spot in the Orange Beach 500. That was the following Sunday, but on Thursday would be the qualifying races. The field would be split in half based on qualifying position, even in one race and odd in the other. Then the two haves would each run a 125 mile race to determine their starting place for Sunday's 500. Ruby would start her qualifying race fourth.

Ruby's qualifying race started well. After a few laps running two and three wide, the field settled into mostly single file and began to spread out as slower cars fell off the back of the leaders. Ruby remained where she had started in fourth, but a there was a new challenge to overcome. Ruby had never made a pit stop in a race before. She had made some in practice for the 24 Hours of Orange Beach and the current race, but had crashed out of the 24 Hours before a making a real stop. There was no speed limit on pit road, so Ruby would have to speed off the track, get to her pit as quickly as possible while avoiding slower traffic going in and out, then stop perfectly in her box, without hitting the crew members who would be jumping over the wall before she even came to a halt.

Ruby eased to the left, leaving the racing surface. About half the other cars joined her as they headed for the pits. She slowed a bit, perhaps too much as a pair of cars charged past. There had been no stops the lap before, so Ruby had a clean run down pit lane. She spotted her pit stall, aimed the car and got on the brakes hard. She adjusted after a brief lockup and brought the car to a stop just as the nose nudged the pit board the crew had hung out. The right side was jacked up as tire changers went to work, while another crew member jammed a fuel can into the receptacle on the car's left rear corner. The right side dropped and the jackman and tire changers rushed around to repeat their work on the left side. A few seconds later that side dropped as well. "Go! Go! Go!" The crew chief shouted over the radio. Ruby floored it, spinning the tires a bit as she pulled away from her pit.

"Clear to the grass." Yang said over the radio. Yang was working as Ruby's spotter, telling Ruby what the cars around her were doing. It was something she had never done before and something Ruby had never experienced, but both quickly got a feel for each other. Ruby's pit crew had been very fast and she was able to beat the other cars pitting on her lap in the race back onto the track. She accelerated along the apron to the left of the racing surface before easing onto the track at the entrance to turn 1. "Caution's out!" Yang called. "Race back to the line."

Behind Ruby a second group of cars had headed for the pits and not done as well as the first. Two drivers, previously running second and third, had made contact, spun through the grass, and hit the concrete wall on the left-hand edge of the grass. One flipped end-over-end, the car shedding parts until it rolled to a stop just past the pit entrance. The other slid across in front of the other cars heading for the pits, somehow missing them.

When the cars formed up behind the safety car, Ruby was running eighth. That soon turned to first as the leader, pole winner Flynt Coal, and the other cars ahead of her headed in to make their pit stops. By the time the wreck was cleared away, only eleven laps remained. It would be a very short, flat-out run to the finish. Yatsuhashi Daichi and Nebula Violette lined up behind her in second and third. The timing of the pit stop meant Flynt fell back to twelfth. Cars a lap behind or more lined up to the left, forming their own line beside the leaders.

The safety car pulled off the track and headed down pit road. Ruby led the other drivers slowly toward the line, then hit the throttle as the flagman waved the green. "Green flag!" Yang shouted over the radio. After a few seconds Ruby pulled ahead of the lapped cars. "Clear all around." The lead lap cars quickly left the laps down cars behind. Flynt immediately began making his charge, driving up to ninth in just the first lap of green flag racing. The top three remained single file as the field spread out behind them. They began to pull away from the cluster behind them as the laps ticked away.

The flagman waved the white flag to indicate the start of the final lap. Ruby crossed the line, still ahead of Yatsuhashi and Nebula. Behind them, Flynt shot from the back, rapidly gaining on the lead trio. If they started battling, he could catch them. And battle they did. Nebula went first. She laid back through the first turn, and quickly closed on Yatsuhashi with the help of the draft as they exited turn 2. She ducked left and Yatsuhashi blocked with Ruby ahead doing the same. Nebula slid back to the right and got beside Yatsuhashi as the cars roared toward the third turn. Yatsuhashi's momentum was gone so Ruby pulled to the right just as Nebula got to her bumper. The cars touched slightly and Ruby was pushed ahead, in turn killing Nebula's momentum. Ruby was some distance ahead of second and third as they exited turn 4, but Flynt had all the speed. He split Yatsuhashi and Nebula, powering ahead of them. Ruby kept to the inside line as the cars ran through the tri-oval and Flynt jumped to the right to attempt to pass. He ran out of time as Ruby crossed under the checkered flag leading by a bumper.

The win was technically meaningless. It set Ruby's starting position for the 500, third, and not much else. It did come with a trophy though, and as far as Ruby was concerned a win was a win. She cheered over the radio as her crew chief and then Yang heaped praise upon her. She rounded the track and pulled her car behind the pit wall and into victory lane. There was no podium here. As her car pulled to a stop a crowd of crew members and media engulfed it. As she took off her helmet a hat was thrust through the window, bearing the logo of Mistral Beer. She put the hat on and climbed out of the car and a cheer rose up from the assembled crowd. What a celebration! And it was just the qualifying race. Ruby could not imagine what kind of wild party would result from a win in the real thing.

After a few interviews and what seemed like a never-ending series of promotional photos, Ruby collected her trophy and headed back to the pits to watch the second qualifying race. Her teammate in the number 2, Brawnz Ni, would be running the race and she would watch from his pit. Before the race got underway Yang arrived after having made the trek from the spotter's stand. She was barely able to contain her excitement, being more amped than even Ruby. After a stream of praise and series of hugs, the sisters sat down to watch the race.

Brawnz finished his race in third and would start on the outside of the row behind Ruby. Flynt Coal had already locked in his pole position, with Bolin Hori second. Ruby would start third with Flynt's teammate Neon Katt to her right and Yatsuhashi behind her. At four times the length of the qualifying race and featuring more cars, the Orange Beach 500 would be a different order of challenge, but her win gave Ruby confidence and she expected a good showing in the main event.

The Orange Beach 500 proved to be something of a paradox for Ruby. On one hand, it was probably the most exciting race she had ever driven. After cautions when the field was bunched up and cars diced back and forth, running two and three wide many rows deep, it was thrilling. On the other, it could be terribly boring. When the field got spread out after running for a while, there was not much to do other than to avoid contact with the car in front. Caution periods seemed to drag on as well, and there were quite a few in the first half of the race.

By the halfway point Ruby was a bit tired. It was hot outside and hotter in the cars, and just steering a heavy stock car required serious exertion. It was all worth it though because Ruby had a shot at the win. It was not the best shot, but it was still a good one. Once the cars got a little spread out, Flynt and his teammate Neon would invariably pull away from everyone except Ruby and her teammate Brawnz. They were not quite fast enough to pass the lead pair and make it stick for more than a lap or two, but if they could stay close the chaos of the waning laps could play in their favor.

Unfortunately things were about to take a dangerous turn. With 70 of the 200 laps remaining Flynt was leading from Neon, Brawnz and Ruby. They ran line astern around the track, just logging laps and preparing for the end of the race when the real battle would begin. The leaders ran through the tri-oval and under the flagstand, the drivers keeping some distance between their cars for the time being. Ruby saw Brawnz's car wiggle. He clearly had an issue. He started up the track and slowed, allowing Ruby to pass on the left. Then the right rear tire of Brawnz's car - already cut by debris - shredded, the tread shooting out and into the concrete wall as the car began an uncontrollable spin. At well over 200 mph the car turned completely around and air got beneath the rear end. The force of the air lifted the back end of the car just in time for it to slam into the fence separating it from the crowd. The car spun along the fence, the rear and front ends being torn off as the steel cables acted like a cheese grater, before what was left was tossed back across the track. The barely-recognizable hulk slid to a stop in the grass to the left of the racing surface, leaving behind a gaping hole in the safety fence.

"Caution's...caution's out." Yang said breathlessly over the radio, clearly in shock. "It's bad...really bad." Ruby continued around the track at speed. As she rounded turn 3 Yang came back over the radio. "Oh...Brawnz is okay. He's getting out of the car." Now she sounded somewhat relieved. "But the crowd…"

Ruby crossed the line to take the yellow flag then picked her way through the debris field left by Brawnz's car. The pace car led the field around to the backstretch before bringing them to a gradual halt as the red flag was displayed. "What's going on Yang?" Ruby radioed.

"They need to...fix the fence." Yang replied. "There's nothing left of it. Debris went into the crowd and...I'm sorry, I'm getting too worked up. It's going to be a while."

"Is everyone okay?" Ruby asked.

"I don't think so." Yang answered. "It looks like some people are hurt. I can't see how bad from here."

"This is awful, they should stop the race." Ruby said. "They should end it right here."

"Cut the chatter." The crew chief cut in. "They're not calling the race. They're going to fix the fence and finish it. You need to be focused on the task at hand."

"How can I focus on the race at a time like this?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know, but you have to." He replied. "If not I'll bring you in and put Brawnz in the car." There was a pause. Ruby said nothing. The crew chief took that to mean she was going to continue. "Xiao-Long, is she going to need a new spotter?"

"No sir." Yang sighed.

"I'm sorry." The crew chief said. "I know this is rough, but it's just the way it is."

It took over an hour but the fence was repaired and the race returned to yellow flag conditions. That gave the leaders an opportunity to pit and all of them took it. Ruby went in and came out third. The race went back to green and as before she pulled away from the rest of the field, trailing only Flynt and Neon. Things had obviously changed, but getting back to racing helped Ruby. She had no time to worry about Brawnz's accident or the consequences. Now Ruby was without a teammate to help her in the draft, but all hope was not lost. She would hang on in third and when the two ahead of her got to fighting for the victory, she might just be able to slip past. It was a longshot, but it was a shot.

The three leaders ran as long as they could before making their final pit stops. The three took to the pit lane together. Ruby hit her mark, stopping perfectly centered in her pit box, and the crew went to work. First the right-side tires, then the lefts, and the car dropped off the jack. Ruby dropped the clutch and hit the throttle. The car jumped forward for a moment before the engine stalled. Caught off guard she fumbled with the switches to get it refired. The crew rushed out to push the car to assist. After a few seconds she got the engine started again, but Flynt and Neon were long gone. She drove out of the pits just behind Yatsuhashi and Bolin. There was the victory, gone in a flash. Only a late caution that bunched up the field would get her back in the running.

Still, Ruby was not about to give up. She had an entire team behind her, and a top 5 finish was better than none at all. She had blown it with a stupid mistake, but she could at least salvage some pride. She tailed Yatsuhashi and Bolin for a few laps before getting a great run in the draft that allowed her to slingshot into third. The effects of the draft meant she could not pull away, but for now she was ahead. There were no proper podiums in the National Stock Car Series, but a third place finish would still be quite an achievement.

With just 5 laps remaining, Ruby found herself struggling. The sun was beginning to set and the temperature had dropped. That changed the handling characteristics of her car. It was not turning the way it had been earlier and she was forced to drag the brakes on entry to most of the corners. Yatsuhashi and Bolin were clearly not having the same problem, or at least not to the same degree, as they hounded her corner after corner. "The handling's gone away." Ruby reported over the radio. "Is it worth keeping these guys behind me? I'm afraid I'll wreck myself trying to stay ahead."

"You're only here to win." The crew chief said. "And the leaders are long gone. Back off if you feel like you need to."

"Yeah, there's no point in wrecking over third." Yang added.

That was all Ruby needed to hear. As the cars ran down the backstretch with 2 to go, she pulled off line and tapped the brakes, allowing Yatsuhashi and Bolin to slip ahead. She fell in behind the pair, the draft locking her in behind them as they crossed under the white flag. She fell back a bit on entry to turn 1 but closed back in as the trio spilled onto the backstretch.

"Caution's out." Yang reported. She gasped. "It's the leaders! Go! You're racing Yatsuhashi and Bolin for the win!"

Sure enough as the cars ran toward turn 3 Ruby could see the cars driven by Flynt and Neon crumpled in the grass, skid marks leading back to the outside wall. Apparently their last lap fight for the win had taken them both out. Ruby now regretted letting Yatsuhashi and Bolin past, but she was not sure she could have kept them at bay anyway. She fell back again on entry to turn 3 but got a run as the cars exited turn 4 and headed into the tri-oval. Yatsuhashi hugged the inside of the track and Bolin, who also had a run, moved right to go around him. Ruby was moving faster than either and went even further right. The cars turned into the tri-oval and crossed under the checkered flag three-wide.

It was an incredibly close finish, but the drivers knew who had won. Yatsuhashi had been inches ahead of Ruby as they crossed the line with Bolin a similarly close third. Yatsuhashi drove on to victory lane and his celebration as Ruby and the others headed to the garage. Ruby sat in the car for a while. She was angry at herself for giving up on the race. She could have won! If she had only tried harder!

Her crew chief arrived and she expected to be chewed out. "That was a hell of a race Rose." He said to her surprise. "I'm kicking myself for telling you to let them past. I'm such an idiot."

"It's my fault." Ruby said. "I should have kept at it."

"And wrecked?" The crew chief said. "No, you did the right thing. I got behind on the adjustments and the car wasn't right. No one can blame you for not wanting to push the limits, especially after what happened with Brawnz."

"I guess…" Ruby sighed.

"Hey, cheer up." The crew chief encouraged. "You just finished second in your first ever stock car race. Some guys run hundreds of races without getting a result that good." He laughed. "You know, I was expecting you to be mad at me for telling you to back off, and here you are blaming yourself. You're a good kid. It's been a lot of fun working with you. I'm sure Robin would be thrilled to have you back in the car and I'd be thrilled to be your crew chief."

"Th...thank you." Ruby stammered. She was totally caught off guard by the man's reaction. When she thought about it, he had a point. Second on debut was incredible, even if a win had been possible. She hoped she could do it again in her F1 debut.

Inspirations

- Tall Oaks is based on Talladega.

- Bronze Vytal is meant to be Bill France Sr. I really hope you see what I did there.

- Citron Sanctum is meant to be Curtis Turner.

- The inaugural race at Talladega was was won by Richard Brickhouse, a factory driver for Dodge who had no choice but to race or else lose his job. There is some controversy though. Second place finisher Jim Vandiver - one of the substitute drivers - was convinced Brickhouse had in fact been a lap behind. Until his death he maintained that he had won the race.

- The Maiden Roc is meant to be the Ford Thunderbird. Mistral Beer is Miller.

- The 125 mile qualifying races correspond to the Gatorade Duels (now 150 miles), then called the Gatorade Twin 125's.

- Pit road speed limits would not be imposed in NASCAR until 1990 and not in F1 until 1994.

- The crash coming to pit road in the qualifying race is based on Ricky Rudd's 1984 crash in the Busch Clash.

- Brawnz's crash is based on Bobby Allison's 1987 Talladega crash. The accident caused the introduction of restrictor plates to slow the cars at Daytona and Talladega. The plates were first used at Michigan and would later be used at New Hampshire after the fatal crashes of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin.

- The finish of the race is based on the 1979 Daytona 500. Leaders Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison took one another out on the final lap, allowing Richard Petty to come from half a lap behind to win ahead of Darrel Waltrip and A.J. Foyt. It was not a particularly close finish, though Waltrip was able to get beside Petty as they ran to the line. Foyt had been running third but after asking if it was worth holding onto the position with his ill-handling car, had let Petty and Waltrip past when told the leaders were uncatchable. Rather than blaming himself, Foyt was violently angry with his team. Similarly angry was Yarborough. Donnie Allison's brother Bobby showed up at the crash site to give his brother a ride back to the garage, got to arguing with Yarborough, and then a fist fight erupted.

Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

- Rather than tire companies coming up with new compounds to deal with Talladega, Firestone - the company that had the most issues - simply dropped out of the sport at the conclusion of the season.

- Bill Elliot won the 1987 Daytona 500 in dominant fashion, leading 104 laps and never facing a real challenge. Despite the draft he was able to pull away from the field on multiple occasions. At Talladega later in the year, he would set the all-time NASCAR record for fastest qualifying lap.