Trackside

Continuing a Legacy

Cal Weathers' first win for team Dinoco.

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"Last lap, Cal."

The Dinoco pit crew was silently on edge, eyes glued to the big screen as the racers entered into the final lap. Only a month into his rookie season, and Cal'd racked up two top ten finishes, one in the top five. Now, the #42 was in second place, right on McQueen's tail, with the #19 not too far behind. It was going to be close.

Cal took a deep breath and focused. He knew all he had to do was get around McQueen. That was it. But it was much easier said than done. McQueen was going low around the turns. Cal knew he wouldn't be able to catch him there. He had to be creative.

Strip wanted so badly to start rattling off possible maneuvers to get Cal that win, but he held his tongue. What the kid needed more than anything was silence and room to concentrate. He'd spent months (if not years, in an unprofessional sense) training his nephew and passing along everything he'd learned over the years. It had obviously been paying off, but a win would solidify everything. A win would prove that team Dinoco was still on top.

A win would be his boy's dream come true.

Cal stayed inches behind his friend and competitor as they dove into turn one. They skirted that white line like it was a knife's edge - so close, but never touching. Cal knew his body and his drivetrain better than anyone. He knew he could have passed McQueen up on the lower lane had there been room. Speed wasn't necessarily an issue for him.

Think outside the box, Cal. he told himself as they came out of turn two. There were only seconds left in the race. Something had to be done. Something different, unorthodox.

"Sometimes it's better to act instead of think." his uncle's advice came forward from the depths of his memory. "You've got a racer's instinct. Do what it tells you if you're ever in a pinch."

Hurtling down the stretch towards turn three, Cal moved half a lane outside. He'd been riding McQueen's tail the last ten laps waiting for an opportunity to present itself, to no avail. He needed to create his own opportunity.

He seated himself in a groove going into turn three and never let off the throttle. McQueen seemed to be pulling away from him on the inside, but Cal had a plan. More speed, more speed. He focused himself.

"What is he doing?" one of the pitties asked Strip in unbelief. "He's letting himself fall behind!"

Strip shook himself and smiled. No, that's not what was happening. Did it look like it? Yeah, at the moment. What Cal was doing was changing where he hit the apex of turn four. When McQueen came out of that turn, he was going to take the middle lane. Cal had set himself up to take the inside lane on the straightaway by taking a slightly wider turn - a smart move, if he could muster the speed he needed coming out of the turn.

"Another top five in the books, eh Cal?" McQueen called behind him as he focused in on the finish line.

"I guess so." Cal chirped.

McQueen flinched and looked to his left, having expected the reply to become from directly behind him. Cal was a mere inches away from besting him, only a couple hundred yards from the finish.

Cal noticed he'd taken Lightning by surprise and put everything he had into that last stretch. Lightning hadn't any time left to counteract.

At first, no one knew who had won. The blur of blue and red seemed to have crossed the line at the same time. Everyone's eyes were locked to the screens around the track as the racers finished crossing the line.

The thirty seconds it took for the race officials to verify the final standings were the longest thirty seconds that team had ever experienced. The moment the snapshot of the finish was projected onto the screens, team Dinoco's pit box erupted into celebration.

"Yes! Yes!" Strip was yelling into his head set. He hadn't been that excited over a win in years. "That's my boy!"

Cal seemed shocked at first, and for a split second didn't react. Then he saw the celebration over on pit row. The pitties were cheering, jumping up and down, and slapping each other on the forks. He heard his uncle's words and saw that proud smile. This was real. He had won.

"Yeeeeaaahh!" Cal hollered, revving his engine and pushing himself into a series of donuts as he rolled near the finish line again. "Wooo-hoo!"

He was lost in a cloud of his own tire smoke in a matter of seconds. Through the cheers of the crowd, a harsh scraping sound followed by an audible "Ow" came from the fog as Cal accidentally clipped the wall in his revelry. He emerged smiling, with a fresh war wound on his rear right fender.

"Yeah, that's your boy, alright." one of the pitties said with a laugh.

Strip backed off the stand and drove around the front to meet Cal as he made his way over, weaving through the various congratulations and kudos from his competitors. For a couple seconds, they sat, looking at each other without saying a word. Their expressions conveyed everything that was needed.

"I'm real proud of you, kid." Strip finally stated. "Real proud."

"Aw, well." Cal shrugged and looked down. "It's the team right? I didn't win - we won."

The pitties collectively, jokingly went "Awww." to mock Cal's sentiment as they rushed in and lifted him off the ground, tossing him in the air.

"Go go Dinoco!" a couple of them yelled before setting him back on the ground, as per ritual.

They could see the reporters edging their way towards them, eager to get the scoop on Cal's victory. Strip rolled back and let Cal have the spotlight.

"Go celebrate, Cal. You've earned it." he commended him once more before turning and driving away.

Cal disappeared behind a wall of reporters as Strip drove off toward the sponsors' area. The retired racer replayed the win over and over again in his mind. He knew exactly what Cal had done. The same thing he did back in 1980 when he won his first Piston Cup.

"Oh, hey King." McQueen passed him along the way, followed by several of the #19′s pitties, who were carrying a large tank of water and half a dozen party streamers back to pit row. "Great win today for team Dinoco!"

"Don't go too easy on him now, ya hear?" Strip replied, watching them go.

Mere seconds later a cacophony of water splashing, streamer noises, and a very loud "Hey!" from Cal echoed across the track.