The Legend (6 page)

We signed
my life away that day with grandpa’s sponsors, CST Engines and
Edan
Manufacturing. Over the winter, grandpa had decided to
retire and spend some time with grandma before his old ass couldn’t. Those were
Lane’s words, not mine.

I had too
much respect for the legend to say something like that.

My cousins
and brother said that shit all the time. Not me, he deserved more. Out of
everyone who has stood by and helped me along the way, Tommy, Justin, Ryder,
Cody
...
my dad and grandpa were the ones who had the
biggest impact. I guess that’s to be expected, right?

They are
my family after all. But it’s not always like that. My buddy Shane didn’t
respect his dad one bit but his dad also never gave two shits whether he won or
wrecked; just as long as he was out of his hair.

My family
wasn’t like that. Either my mom or my dad was at
every
race I had ever
raced in and more times than not, my grandpa or grandma were there too. Family
was important to us and with me racing in his car, it was important to my
grandpa.

After
signing everything, the president of
Edan
Manufacturing
took grandpa and me out to dinner in downtown Knoxville. Then we walked through
the Sprint Car Hall of Fame where both my grandpa and my dad were inducted.
Talk about pressure.

“I can’t
believe you’re driving my car this year kid,” Grandpa said conversationally as
we pulled onto the freeway heading back to Mooresville after the walk through,
“it’s hard to believe two dumbass idiots created such a good kid like you.”

“Why does
everyone say my parents were dumb? They seem normal to me.”

“Normal,”
he snorted throwing his head back with deep laughter, “there is nothing normal
about those two. I’m utterly amazed they made it to see twenty-one or managed
to raise three kids without too much disaster. Aside from the time you three
set the race shop on fire.”

“When did
they fall in love?” I ignored the fire comment, wanting to forget my little
brother’s moronic idea that day and focused on the love story between my
parents. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen and I’ve seen it all around me.
My grandparents have a good marriage and my aunts and uncles always seemed
happy. That’s not to say I didn’t see tension at times. This lifestyle created
tension and a lot of drama.

My
parents, they were different. Something about them stood out. It was as if
their love formed at first sight and grew with time into a full-fledged
fire.  A fire that burned brighter than the day they promised a vow.

I wanted
that eventually.

More and
more I was becoming curious about marriage. I just turned eighteen last month
and to me, it seemed like the right thing to do. More than anything, I wanted
to make Lily West my wife. Some thought I was too young when your average age
that most got married nowadays was thirty. I was never a ‘most my age’ type of
kid.

“I figured
you would have heard this before,” he said.

I gave a
dismissive shrug, “I’ve heard some, I guess. I know they met really young and
got pregnant with me before they were married.”

“Well
...
it’s a love story
...
that’s for sure.”

I smiled
and he continued.

“They met
when they were eleven, nearly twelve. Your dad was racing sprint cars at Grays
Harbor, the same place I met your grandma in 1977. You know, I think Jameson
even won that night, first time in a sprint car and he won,” Grandpa, let out a
wistful snort, “anyhow, your mom and he met in the pits that night after the
race. They seemed to mix instantly and become best friends. Believe me, there
wasn’t a day that went by that those two weren’t either together or calling
each other.

“Jameson
was not the easiest kid to be around. Racing was literally all he cared ‘bout.
He was convinced by the time he was in the second grade that he was above the
educational system and actually wrote the school board a letter telling them he
would no longer be attending class. In the end, the little shit returned to
school but it was a nuisance to him and, aside from Sway, friends were not in
his plan. Even when they were young, he depended on her and I honestly don’t
know if he could’ve made it without her. His temper nearly ended his career a few
times.”

I knew
that. My dad had one wicked temper. If it blew, you didn’t want to be anywhere
close him or the objects he was throwing. I’d never seen anything like it but I
understood it as it was a known trait that defined him and eventually became a
trademark.

“Your
grandpa Charlie and me knew that eventually they’d end up together but it took
Jameson a long time to realize that he could have more than just racing. He
also never understood she felt the same way. He thought for sure she was just a
friend to him.”

“What made
him see she wasn’t?”

“Well,
after high school, Jameson left to race the USAC and more importantly, a Triple
Crown title. It’s all he talked about for years but I made him graduate first.
After they left, the first year Sway was with him. Then she left for college.
His first season, without her by his side, was tough. Like I said, he depended
on her, soon that dependability turned on him. When Sway finally graduated, she
came out to see his first Charlotte race
...
”
Grandpa smirked, his voiced faded slightly, “I think you can guess how things
went, after all, you were born out of wedlock,” I let out a small chuckle as he
continued, “but what really changed during that first year was him breaking her
heart. Neither one of them realized what they were doing to each other until it
was too late.” He sighed looking over at me. I glanced at him but focused on
the road in front of me while he talked, “he was an idiot in the beginning and
went about it the wrong way. I think at that point, when he broke her heart, it
broke him worse than her. He knew he was in love,” he smiled.

“Mom broke
my dad’s heart?”

“He’d
never admit it, but he fell hard for her and when she left, it shattered him,
and his hauler.”

“So what
happened then? Did it take a while for them to get back together?”

“If
there’s one good thing I can say about your dad’s stupidity at times, he’s
determined and dangerously so. It took only a few days and he was crawling back
on his knees. You know kid, a love like that only comes around every once in a
while. They were lucky to find it at such a young age and keep it.”

“Do you
think it’s too hard to keep it?”

I was
thankful for the night masking my apprehensiveness. I never talked about my
relationship with Lily other than with my parents and mostly with my mom.

Grandpa
nodded, “I think you’ll did find it. That Lily is a nice girl, Axel. If you
treat her the way she deserves to be treated, you’ll do fine.”

I knew
that already. This was something both my parents instilled in me when I
expressed my intentions of marrying Lily when I was eight. She’s always been
the one for me. Not many people understand me. They think there’s something
wrong with the way I only ever think of racing. But both my dad and my grandpa
are like that. There’s nothing wrong with thinking that way and Lily understood
that. Her dad was the same way.

“I
honestly believe that your parents wouldn’t have survived without each other,”
Grandpa added. “As weird as that sounds, the bond they have is even weirder to
describe. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

“Not even
with you and grandma?”

“No. I
mean I do love your grandmother with all my heart and have for forty-five
years. She’s been the only woman I’ve ever loved. If something was to happen to
me, grandma is strong enough she’ll go on, as would I. We both know eventually
your time runs out.” His brow furrowed in concentration as he looked out over
the passing street lamps in the distance. “But Sway and Jameson are different,”
his eyes shifted to me. Feeling him looking at me, my eyes drifted from the
road, “did you ever hear about Darrin Torres?”

“A little,
he and dad got into it a lot his first season in cup and he hurt mom when she
was pregnant with me, right?”

“Yeah,
something
like
that. Well he hurt your mom and at
first, we weren’t sure if she’d make it
...
or
you. Seeing Jameson broken like that is something I never could have imagined
seeing in that little boy who was sure he was above second grade because it
wasn’t where the clay met rubber. If it hadn’t been for Sway, he would have
walked away from racing all together. And now look at him, well on his way to
becoming a legend in a sport that never wanted an open wheel kid from Elma.”

“So you
think if she would have died then, he would too?”

“In a
sense
...
yes. Without her, there’s no Jameson. As I
said, the bond is strange but vital. I don’t mean that it’s perilously
unstable. I mean, it’s just that strong.”

I thought
I understood but to say I truly understand, I didn’t. No one could.

“Have you
ever seen twins and the way they react to each other?”

“Yeah, you
mean like Lucas and Logan or Noah and Charlie?”

“No, both
bad examples,” he said immediately shaking his head disgusted. “Both sets are
fucking assholes. I mean normal twins. The ones that have a connection to one
another,”

“Well,
aren’t they supposed to have some kind of ESP?”

“Yes,
exactly,” he nodded. “They share a brain. Your parents share a brain.”

“That’s
weird, right?”

“You know,
I’ve thought that for years,” he mused with a chuckle. “Grandma thinks I’m
batshit
crazy most of the time but when I say your parents
are strange, I mean it.”

I’ve
always noticed the unusual bond between them but I never thought it was
strange. I liked it. Whenever my dad came home from a race, the smile on his
face when he would see her always made me smile. To be that in love was what I
wanted and by chance, I had found it with Lily.

I think
grandpa must have thought more needed to be said when he shifted his weight
leaning on the center console with his elbow. His fingers flipped the lid to
his water from one finger to the next rolling it with ease. “Let me put it to
you this way kid. You know how when you slid into a corner and the back end
seems to be coming around on you but that’s how you slide through and gain
momentum, right?”

“Yeah,” I
must have given him the, “What the hell?” look when he smiled.

“What gets
you through that slide and out of that drift?”

“Throttle
control.”

“There you
go. The right girl, that’s like having the right amount of throttle control,
once you figure out throttle control in any car, you can go faster than any
other driver out there back n’ it in.”

Now that
made perfect sense to me.

3.
Bleeder Valves – Jameson

Bleeder
Valves – The valves that regulate air pressure in the tires as it heats up. As
the tire heats, the pressure increases. To accommodate this occurring in a
race, bleeder valves are put on the tires. When that pressure increases to the
psi you set them to, anything above it is released to maintain the set
pressure.

There’s no
pattern and no reasoning to my schedule during the racing season. Every week
it’s different and scheduled as far out as six to nine months at times. Aside
from Sunday afternoons, who the hell knew what the next week would bring for
me.

Though
Alley keeps me incredibly organized, there is rarely any downtime once February
rolls around and that goes until late November. If I win the championship, my
time is then booked through December.

During the
season, and to keep with the traditions, Monday was my day. From the time I
left the track on Sundays to Tuesday morning, it was a time for me, and
something I needed.

I do
standard shit on Mondays. I helped out around the house and spent time with
Sway and the kids. I might go to the grocery store with Sway and usually that
never ends well so we don’t do that too often anymore. Sometimes I sneak to the
shop and hang out just for alone time. It’s supposed to be my time and usually
is.

Tuesday I
devoted to media and sponsor obligations. Alley fielded most of the requests
for appearances and scheduled them if I had time. Naturally, she and Melissa
worked closely to make sure no conflicts came out though they often did.

Wednesdays
I spent at the shop with Kyle Wade, my crew chief, and our team manager, Trace
Elliot. I met with my business manager, Melissa Childers, who used to work for
Simplex. She was a great asset to our team this last year and helped keep me
out of hot water. Most of my time spent at the shop is meeting with them and
then checking on our crew guys, mechanics, fabricators, and engineers. For the
most part, I keep a good relationship with all of them. There is always the
occasional conflict or heated conversation but nothing that isn’t worked out by
the end of the day.