Unchartered Waters ✅

Chapter 80: Chili Bowl Tuesday

January 11, 2022 – Tulsa Expo Raceway

"Do you promise me you will see me later?" Chase asks as they arrive at the Tulsa Expo Center early that afternoon, ready for a fun day.

"You better come party with me," Alex replies as they head inside, both flashing their passes as they do so.

"I'd rather a party for two...." Alex just smirks back in response, knowing he wouldn't complain with the same thing, resisting every urge to lean in for a more personal moment right now. Instead, he knew they were surrounded and that may go off wrongly.

Just because the pair had completed their qualifying nights, they weren't about to skip the day ahead.

After all, Alex's focus shifted to Jake Swanson in wanting to ensure he put together the best performance. Let's face it, Jake and CJ were the better drivers on the team than himself.

For Chase, today was about learning from the boss as much as possible as it was Kyle's qualifying night. He would prefer to spend the entire day hiding out in the ABR trailer, squeezing in time with Alex, but knew this would be a good educational experience. He could see how Kyle approached the day on-track and what lines he used, while overhearing the feedback with Paul Silva to improve the car.

The clinic started right off at the beginning of the day, virtue of an impressive drive from sixth to second by Kyle in his heat.

"Damn..." was all Chase could say afterwards, knowing he could've snagged the checkered if it was a lap or two longer. He was most impressed by the move to cut quickly from top to middle, barely squeezing between a pair of cars going into one of the corners. He knew that went back to Brad Sweet's advice in making moves when they count.

Jake was equally impressive in his heat for ABR, moving forward from fifth to score a runner-up finish. Alex knew that would set them up well for the qualifiers, knowing the points would easily put him into the A-main for the night. That was always the goal – as that meant you started in the E feature or higher on Saturday.

Chase and Alex ended up at the top of the hill at the same time, with both Kyle and Jake lined up in the fourth qualifier.

"Stop distracting me," Chase sent to Alex, looking over with a wink as he watched him glance over afterwards.

"I'm not doing anything," Alex replies back, trying to keep his focus on the track, as he wanted to see what Jason McDougal's latest adjustments would do for Jake.

"Just by looking all cute you are doing it to me," was the response that he got in return, which only caused him to look over with a smirk. If that was all it took, then he would make sure to use it to his advantage moving forward.

Their eyes quickly focused on the action on-track, in watching Kyle keep up the same theme once again. This time, he was able to make the move from sixth to first in the qualifier, easily handing him the most points on the night and the pole for the feature.

"There's a reason why they call him a master down here," Paul comments afterwards, to which Chase nods his head in agreement. He just hoped the notes he was mentally making, combined with the conversation to be had afterwards, would translate into some success of his own on Saturday.

For Jake, it didn't turn out as well as warranted, as he only gained a single spot, going for fifth to fourth.

"I should've moved up off the bottom, but the car was rolling so good, I thought it was going to work," Jake comments afterwards, as they debate what to do for the feature.

"You also caught the burm once – and that can't be helpful," Alex notes, to which Jake couldn't argue with the boss' assessment of the drive. He knew mistakes like that later tonight would be beneficial.