With 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...
While expecting to be a front running contender all race long having won the fall event last year, Sarina and Rudy struggled to find the right handling with the truck she was looking for, no matter the adjustments. They were able to get it closer in the second half to where she wanted, allowing her to go from running mid top-10 most of the race into scoring a solid fifth.
"It could've been worse, right?" Rudy offers and she nods her head, accepting. "We both just need to keep working at it. I need to figure what you need a little better, and you need to keep working at your feedback. If we can do that, we'll be fine by the time we get to September. That's when it counts." She smiles a little, knowing he was right as that was playoff time. There was no playing around then if they wanted to walk away with a championship.
"I appreciate your continued hard work and I will keep work at being even better myself. Like, I could freak out and be angry because this isn't what I want – or I could be thankful we ran our best at the end for a top-five and became better throughout." Rudy smiles a little, as it was nice to see a positive spin given the initial frustration he saw when she climbed out.
"I like your spirit." Rudy then leans back against the truck beside her. "I know I may be as rough as ever on you, but that's because I want you to see you become the star that you can be. You have a lot of talent and can be right there with the best. I don't want to let you down, and I don't want to see us fall short because of something we're missing. So I apologize for being an ass, if it seems possible." She smiles a little as she glances over at him. Perhaps they were going to be able to have a good season together.
"It's okay. It comes from a good place, and that's what matters to me." Rudy nods a little, perhaps feeling his heart grow a bit as he thought about what he had read in the news over the past couple weeks. Maybe something more needed to be stated.
"I also know you're going through a lot right now with whatever is going on with your brother and that chick. If you ever need a break, or something, you can ask me." She nods her head, accepting, surprised by this given their beginnings.
"Being here at the track, working on the truck, driving the truck, and being at the shop is the best therapy. It's time my mind doesn't have to wonder about what is possible. So really, by you putting me to work, you're doing me good." Rudy knew that was very easy to do, as with her talent and the equipment Kyle was giving them, he knew they could be very successful together if the work was put in.
"Well, I can always do that. I know you're going to take some time this week with Chase – and reasonably so – but I want you to watch back the race, along with the in-car audio, and see where you could've been better, or something maybe I missed, so we can talk about that when you get back. Then you can start reviewing some video for Dover..." She nods her head, accepting. It was the usual homework she had grown used to throughout her career.
"A whole month without racing again. I may scream by the time this is over." He chuckles as he goes to walk away.
"I don't want to be Chase during that time...." She just laughs as she goes to follow, heading up into the hauler. Glancing at the time, she had just enough time to get changed and be out to the No. 9 pit box for the green flag.
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From the drop of the green flag, faith in another strong day at the paperclip was there immediately, as she watched him drive his way from 21st all the way up into just outside of the top-10 in the opening stage. Entering the next two stages, she knew it was just a matter of time until he would be up there battling with the front runners.
Well, that was the theory anyway. Surprisingly, the second stage and first half of the last stage did not go that way at all. Instead, Chase struggled to find the feel he wanted in the car despite continuous feedback to Alan and adjustments in return. Sarina could shake her head in disbelief as he went down a lap twice, but was glad to see him get the lucky dog twice in the process.
"Starting to come back to me here," she hears on the radio halfway through the final stage, which improved her mood immediately as she knew that meant progress was going to be made forward.
She watched him catch car after car, making passes with ease, ultimately crossing the finish line in ninth. Considering where they were most of the day, she wasn't about to complain.
"I thought our last run was way better than what we had had before that," she stands back as he talks to the media. "But, we were just way too far off there for the majority of the day to expect that you are going to catch up by the end. We have some work to do."
He gives them a small wave before making his way over to where Sarina was standing, wrapping his arms around her as he lets out a sigh. He had certainly put a positive spin for them, but it didn't help the thoughts flooding through his mind right now.
"I don't know what to say," he offers as he glances over at Alan who was with her. They needed to talk based on the performance, but he also craved for the comfort only Sarina could offer. "If it was me today, I'm sorry man. I tried to give you what I could back in return."
"You did nothing wrong," Alan replies as he pats his shoulder lightly. "You gave me some great feedback. I can name one big adjustment that I went too far with, and another that maybe should've gone another way. It's just figuring out the balance of the new Camaro, right?" Chase nods his head in agreement. "We'll figure it out; we always do working together. Enjoy your vacation time, and we'll make it happen at Texas."
"Don't work too hard." Alan smiles as he walks away, heading back over to the team. "I bet you're ready for that vacation..."
"Absolutely," Sarina replies as she kisses his lips. "I can definitely use some time to just let loose. Are you okay?" Chase nods his head as they head into the garage area together.
"Sore, but I can handle it," he tells her as he looks over at her, grabbing her hand. "I'm fine, we're fine, and we're going to be okay no matter what."
