Unfortunately for Chase, it seemed his weekend wasn't set to get any better after yesterday's experience as he finished the last practice session for Sunday ranked 28th, still unhappy with how the car was handling.
"Better than yesterday, but we're still out to lunch," he tells Alan before heading off to the trailer to get changed. While he would have preferred to sit and work on things with the crew chief, there was no time for that - thanks to the weekend schedule that he was given. Was there anyway he could escape this?
He goes into the trailer, slipping off his firesuit carefully, before grabbing the suit that had been hung in the cupboard before the day began.
"Have fun in the booth," he hears from behind, smiling immediately as he recognized the voice. He turns around, kissing her lips. He could never get annoyed with seeing her, or feeling those lips against his own. It only felt that much better after what happened. "I look forward to hearing you drop your knowledge on the rest of the world." He chuckles as he slips on the dress shirt.
"I don't know about that," he offers as she just rolls her eyes, helping him with the buttons. He always downplayed everything when it came to himself, and it bothered her more than anything. Why couldn't this man recognize how special he was?
"Oh trust me, you're smarter up there than you think." She gives him another kiss as he glances in the mirror, fixing the jacket and pants. "And you look damn sexy. Actually, you look way too damn sexy. All the other girls are going to be jealous seeing you...."
"But my heart only belongs to you." He then turns around, giving her another kiss. "If I don't see you before the truck race, I hope you have a great day."
"Fingers crossed. That truck is fast this weekend." He nods his head, having watched her practice and qualifying so far.
"I wish some of that speed would translate to my Cup car." Letting out a sigh, he couldn't dwell on the frustrations of the weekend anymore as he gave her one more final kiss, before heading out for the trip up to the broadcast booth.
Despite everything that he felt before and while getting ready, the Xfinity Series race broadcast had gone smoothly with Adam and Michael. He had to admit - it was kind of fun getting to talk racecars with them, and the race was pretty good.
"Thank you for having me up here," Chase says as he shakes both Adam Alexander and Michael Waltrip's hands afterwards. It was the polite thing to do, despite running short on time. "You made it easy as always..."
"You did a great job," Adam tells him. "Are you going to watch the truck race?" Chase then glances back at him, surprised. It still bothered him that people asked that question. It should be obvious given the relationship he was in with Sarina.
"Is that even a question, man? Of course!" Adam glances at his watch, followed by the sheet from NASCAR. He hated to cause a panic, but knew he'd want to know the time he had if in a similar situation.
"Well, you got about 20 minutes..." Chase nods his head, having planned everything out already.
He heads out of the broadcast booth, back through the infield of the track to the trailer, making his way up to the lounge. He shares a quick wave for the crew guys, before grabbing a pair of jeans and t-shirt out of the closet. It was all about being prepared, right?
"Does he have a whole wardrobe in there?" Josh questions as Alan just shakes his head. He had gotten used to this with having worked with Chase for awhile now. Nothing surprised him anymore.
"He's a superstar – he has to be able to be dressed for any occasion," Alan answers as Chase pops back into the lounge, hanging the suit back in the closet as he had gotten changed. "That's record timing there!"
"I seem to be getting plenty of practice," Chase comments, grabbing his phone with a chuckle. It seemed every weekend introduced a new twist into his life, but he wouldn't change it as every second was worth it with Sarina. "You remember our dea-"
"I'll text you if I need you." Chase then heads out, making his way out to pit road.
Finding his way down to the No. 18 pit box, he climbs the steps, taking his usual seat behind the crew chief. Rudy Fugle glances back surprised as Chase sits down, grabbing his headset.
"Weren't you just in the booth?" Rudy questions and Chase nods his head. Sometimes he wished he had a twin so he didn't have to make these surprise trips around. "I swear you must have a twin or a duplicate to make that trip and be changed."
"Nah man, I know magic," Chase answers with a wink as Rudy just rolls his eyes. He had grown used to the comments by now, and actually wasn't minding having him there.
"I still can't believe Kyle gives you the access he does..." Rudy focuses back forward ready to do his job, as Chase settles in for a good race.
Off the drop of the green flag, though, he got the surprise of the day as he watched Sarina push Kyle Busch out front going into the first turn, before passing him to lead the opening lap. She then put together a solid first stage, picking up the checkered flag. Unfortunately, the pit stop did not go as planned, as she came off pit road in fifth following a hang-up with the left rear.
"Of course," Chase muses himself to as he takes a deep breath. It just meant he was going to be entertained with her fighting back to the front.
The stage did not start off as well as he hoped, though, as she dropped back to ninth in the first couple of laps. However, she made up some of the ground, ultimately finishing the stage in fifth – despite battling a tight truck.
She'd keep herself in a solid top-seven position – battling for spots just outside of the top-four in the third and final stage, all the way up until a final late race caution. While some teams elected to take two tires, Rudy put four tires on the Toyota Tundra, lining her up seventh for the final restart. The four tires proved to be the right call, as she drove her way from seventh to third in turns one and two, before edging Johnny Sauter at the line for second.
"Nice, solid job tonight," Rudy says as he and Chase reach the truck together. "You put together some nice driving throughout, and a really impressive restart at the end."
"That restart was total perfection!" Chase adds, giving her a pat on the back as she nods her head in approval. She couldn't deny that the final restart was everything about the race. However, that didn't make up for the rest. If only other things had gone smoothly, they may have been celebrating a little more at the end of the night.
"We had a truck good enough to win tonight if we hadn't gotten too tight there," she comments, and Rudy nods his head in agreement. He didn't need a reminder that he had thrown it away with not going far enough on adjustments. "We need to just work on putting everything together. The crew needs the pit stops, and I need to get to be able to tell you what you need to hear to make the adjustments."
"Absolutely," Rudy agrees. "We have the pieces to put together an incredible season; we just need to work on the small things. You work on your communication, and I'll work on reading you better for adjustments, and we'll be winning some races." She smiles, nodding her head in agreement. It may be frustrating to come up short, but it was a step in the right direction.
"It's just how do I communicate that tightness to you without going too far? Ugh..." She lets out a sigh as she takes a long sip of her water. "It frustrates me to have a truck that strong to start and to actually end the race, but yet sit here in second. Am I asking for too much?" Rudy shakes his head no. He actually welcomed it as he knew it'd lead to success come the summer months.
"Not being happy with second is okay. It means that you're ready to push hard and do what it takes to succeed. It means you're not willing to settle." Chase couldn't help but agree, having been in her position before. He was like that most weekends himself. However, he knew there were drawbacks - and he didn't want to see her stuck in those.
"Just don't get too lost in that feeling," he tells her, though. "Sure, it's okay to push and strive – but don't let it eat you. Be thankful and glad to have the speed and finish you have, and the opportunity. Be happy with the success you're able to have. Then use that as motivation moving forward." She glances between the pair, wrapping her arms around both of their shoulders.
"Have I stated lately how much I love you guys?" She offers, as they glance each other, before focusing back to her.
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The Tale of Love & Racing: Sarina's Story
الأكشنWith having been together now for two years, Sarina Ott has watched herself grow closer and closer with each passing day to the love of her life, Chase Elliott. While previously purely independent, dead set focused on her future and leaving the past...
