THE RACER Chapter 16



Race Car
courtesy free clip art

Lucas was shaking with excitement, it was time for him to find out if he was going to be a race car driver or not.  Up until now he was just play acting.

He now was making final plans to enter the real world of speed with all the nuances of the sport.  Once he started to roll on the track he forgot about the people in the stands and his focus was on what he was doing.

While it was going to be quite a period of time before he would compete due to his age.  It would be here he would develop his skills that would propel him through his racing career and this was emphasized by Marley.

He would say; “Habits are hard to break and even harder to get rid of so don't start out by making wrong decisions.”

The car was running and now the final instructions from Marley.  

He said, “I have retarded the top speed back to less than half because I don't want you to let it get away from you.  This will be all you can handle and more so just take it easy, you are not in a race now.

The first thing I want you to do is to slowly pick up speed and go through the gears and the make three laps then come back into the pits. I will be watching you all the way. Do you understand me?”

Lucas said, “Yes, I got it!”

It was hard to hear over the sound of the engine.  Marley said, “Okay, go for it.”

Lucas put it in gear and did grind the gears a little much to his embarrassment.  He said to himself, “I will never that again.”  He had practiced shifting gears while the car wasn't running but this required greater skill and coordination.  

He slowly eased out on the track and did exactly as Marley had told him to do.  After the three laps he came into the pits and Marley told him a couple of mistakes he was making, but that all in all he was doing well.

  
Marley said, “Now go out and make about twenty or so laps, I will wave you in when you have had enough.”  

Slowly Lucas picked up speed until he sacred himself and slowed down. Marley waved him back into the pits and said it was enough for today.

Then he said, “Now for the most important part!  The cleaning up of the car, and putting it away.  You drove it so you will do that job and afterwards I will check it over.”

While he was cleaning the car Marley tested the car he would drive that night.  He was driving over three times as fast as Lucas did but that was what you had to do to be in the race.  After Marley had his car tuned in he left it with his mechanic.  

Lucas went back to the shop with Marley and they discussed the morning activity on the way there.  Marley said, “As you pick up speed everything changes as to how the car handles and how you must drive, but like everything else knowledge of that only comes by experience.  

 

You know more now than you did this morning,” to which Lucas agreed.

They unloaded Lucas's car and put it away.  After talking a little more about the morning Lucas was picked up by John his father and they went to Abel's place.

When they arrived there was a young woman taking with Abel.  John went home next door but Lucas wanted to tell Abel about his morning.  

Apparently Abel had met this woman at church and she was new in town. He had told her to bring her car over and he would tune it up for her.  Lucas noticed that he talked differently to her than to other women.

 

With other women he was standoffishly but with her he spoke in a different tone. Lucas wasn't sure what was going on but something was up.

He asked his mom about it for he knew his dad didn't pay much attention to things like that.

 

Lucas's mother told him that after several years Abel was beginning to get over the loss of Millie and he was beginning to get interested in Sara the new lady in town.

 

As it happened Sara she had lost her husband due to an accident and she had a little girl about six years old.

 

Abel was taken by both Sara and her daughter and he grew closer to them each day.    

 

To be Continued