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Webster’s dictionary defines Speed as the fallowing: the rate of change of position along a straight line with respect to time over a set distance. In other words, the quicker you can get from one place to another. The question is what do you, do when your family has spent the last two generations in search of ways to accomplish this goal faster and faster. Would do you do when the family business is the search for more Speed. For Robert ‘Robby’ McGuire the answer is easy. You grab your sister and strap on a pair of Formula One racecars then go for broke.

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Chapter 1
Home of Robert McGuire, Darlington, South Carolina, Saturday, 0430
The most annoying sound in the known universe drug me from the blissful arms of Morpheus. Much to my dismay. Not that I had much choice in the matter. It’s Saturday morning and mom has an early morning track time. And the Lady in Black waits for no one. You may know her by her other names. The Darlington Raceway or The Track Too Tough to Tame. Especially new car and engine designs that need to be tested for the upcoming racing season. And today I get to be mom’s time keeper. Dad on the other hand gets to play Crew Chief. While mom gets to chew on her nails while Tommy takes her newest design to the limits.

Okay I can hear you all out there. What is with the attitude? Well, let me give you a little history on my family. For starters, we’re not your normal average everyday American family. You see mom and dad are both engineers. Dad is an automotive chassis engineer and mom is a total engine design engineer. You most likely haven’t heard of them though.

Nobody knows the names of those that build the cars and engines for people like the Earnheart’s, Petty’s, Jordon’s, or Steward’s. The real kicker is mom and dad design cars and engines for more than just NASCAR. They have customers in every field of Automotive Racing there is. I mean all. Open Wheel or F1 (Formula 1) Indycar, F2, F3, GP2 series, Formula Renault, Endurance, Touring, Drift, Rally, and of course Stock car or as it is known around here, NASCAR. If you want a new design and you don’t want the competition to know what you’re up to, you come to my mom and dad.

They made their name on word of mouth alone. Not only are they good at what they do, but they keep their mouths shut. The last time someone tried to steal one of their designs for a customer, mom shot the guy in the ass. I’m not joking here. She pulled out a 22 cal. pistol and shoot the man in his ass as he was exiting through the design office window just after midnight. Mom and dad take protecting the secrets of their trade very seriously. When you get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for privacy you expect your secrets to be kept. Especially, in a sport where wins are measured in inches sometimes.

As for why I’m bitching about waking up on a Saturday morning. You would be bitching as well if you had to get up at 4 in the morning, to be at an empty track by 5:30. Oh you’re wondering who I am? In those famous words. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m a man of wealth and taste. Yeah right! I wish! Sure, I know that my family doesn’t want for money, but I have to earn my spending cash. Because mom and dad, damned will not just hand out cash for no reason, not even to me their oldest son.

Anyway, back to your question. The name is Robert Burns McGuire Jr. or just Rob to my friends. Now my family calls me Robby because of the fact that there is a Junior on the end of my name. For a while people called me Junior or RB, but I put a stop to that crap in the fifth grade. I told my homeroom teacher in no uncertain terms that my name was Rob, not Robby, Junior, or RB, despite what my parents called me. When she tried to call me Junior in class, I corrected her. She thought that sending me to the principle would sort the problem out. It got sorted alright. The principle agreed with me and it was my homeroom teacher that got the reprimand.

I put off getting out of bed for as long as I can. I try to go back to sleep but the pounding on my bedroom door is proceeded by the second most annoying sound in the universe. My older sister’s voice. “Robby, you need to get up now.”

“I’m up already!” I yell back at her as I throw off my covers. Even as I swing my feet over the side of my bed I grouse out. “What the hell is the big hurry anyway? We don’t have to be at the track for another hour.”

As I open my door I blurrily peer out at my sister, Beth. “Look Robby, I don’t know the whole story, but it’s bad. Tommy got arrested again last night, and we don’t have our normal test driver today. Mom said for you to pack your Nomex suit and gear, along with your shoes, gloves, full-face helmet, and your HANS Device. Don’t ask questions that I don’t have the answers to just do it. She said that you’re driving today. Before you say anything don’t. I’ll be up in the Spotter’s nest, and Joey will be on top of the box with dad. Besides, of the three of us, you’re the best F-1 driver we have. We all know this, and none of us are arguing the fact.”

When Beth told me that Tommy was arrested last night I knew it was bad. She didn’t have to tell what for, as it didn’t matter. Tommy was pushing things with the local cops already lately. He had already been arrested twice for DUI and should have had his professional drivers ticket pulled. If it hadn’t been for mom, dad, and a friendly judge he would have been in lockup three months ago. I doubt if mom and dad are going to bail him out this time. I’ll just have to find out what happened later. Right now, I need to get my racing gear packed and dressed for the track.

“Okay, sis. Let mom and dad know that I’ll be right down.”

“Just get dressed and pack your suit. I’ll drive you and Joey over to the track. Mom and dad left twenty minutes ago, to try and bail Tommy out, with no luck. They said they’ll meet us at the track. Now hurry.” With that Beth slammed my door. I could hear her walking away from the door.

I quickly throw off my robe, to be followed by my t-shirt and underwear. I don’t bother with a shower, because I know that the family is in a bad way. For mom to want me to drive the new car it must be for a huge client. One that could make or break our small racing company. I quickly pull on a fresh pair of underwear, and t-shirt. Reaching into the locker that holds my racing gear I pull out my Nomex suit, shoes & gloves, full-face helmet, and your HANS Device and toss them on my bed. I grab the Nomex socks, pants, and shirt that part of my base layer next. I sit down my bed and start dressing. I start with the socks and work my way up. After the socks come the pants then long sleeve shirt. I leave the glove liners and balaclava head sock for later.

I next pull on the outer Nomex racing leathers. The Alpinerstars Super Tech Suit costs close to 2000.00 dollars each, but when it comes to my safety when driving at over 200mphs mom and dad don’t play around. Alpinestars Super Tech Suit features a fully floating arm construction and an extensive stretch panel on the back for excellent, anatomical performance fit. Light, close-fitting and featuring an innovative three-layer construction of Aramidic and Nomex fibers, this suit fully complies with the latest FIA homologation standards. Between the two layers I stand a damned good chance of surviving a crash and burn. And I have three of them in my racing locker. Each one a different color.

The last thing I put on is my shoes for now. I pack my gloves, helmet, and HANS device in an equipment bag. Once dressed I head downstairs. I drop the bag with my gear by the front door then head to the kitchen. Where I grab some toast with peanut butter, orange juice, and a big cup of coffee. I look over at Joey my kid brother as he munches down on a large bowl of fruit loops. At fifteen he towers over me, even though I am three years his senior.

Yeah, you heard me. My little brother is taller than I am. Not to mention outweighing me by about fifty pounds. Hell, my sister is bigger than I am. Guess I should explain a little about my medical history. You see, about five years ago, just after I turned thirteen I was diagnosed with childhood leukemia. After three rounds of radiation and chemotherapy, one of which that was extremely experimental, I was pronounced cancer free. The problems didn’t start showing up until around my sixteenth birthday.

It seems that the experimental chemo drugs burned out more than just the cancer. It also screwed with my growth hormones and one of my testicles. I may be cancer free, but my growth was stunted and I’m now minus one ball, while the other is barely producing enough testosterone to qualify me as a male. In short, I barely stand 5’5” tall and weigh maybe 125. When both of your siblings are not only taller and bigger than you are life can really suck.

Especially in high school. You see, thanks to my time fighting leukemia, I lost two years of school. So, instead of being a senior and close to finishing high school I’m a sophomore. The same grade as my brother.

Thankfully Beth graduated two years ago, and I don’t have to put up with the bullshit of having both siblings in school with me at the same time. I just have to deal with having a brother who is younger than me in the same grade. I don’t get too much flack from Joey because I’m his ride to school, and to a few other places. When he has the cash to pay for gas.

Beth came in shortly after I sat down. As usual she was on the phone talking with someone. When I heard that she was talking to mom I paid more attention to the conversation.

“Yes ma’am. We’ll be there no later than five-thirty.” There was a pause as Beth let mom talk. “Yes ma’am, Robby is wearing his SFI-five gear. Yes ma’am, all of it. He even put on his base layer Nomex gear.” Another pause. “No ma’am. It’s the all blue suit. Why?” Another pause. “I understand mom. I’ll send him back up stairs to change into his other leathers.” Another pause and this time it was a little longer. Long enough that I started to worry. “Yes ma’am. We’ll all be there in our Team Leathers. See you then.”

The moment I heard Beth mention the family team leathers I knew something really big was up. “Okay sis. Spill.”

“Mom wants us all in our family team leathers.” She gave Joey a hard look. The one that said more than words. “That means you too, Joey. I have to get mom’s and dad’s suits to take with us. Robby, I know that you hate wearing your hair in a ponytail, but mom wants your hair up in one. No arguments. I’ve got to put mine up as well. Whoever we’re showing off the new car for is really big on appearances. She said something about them being an old-world racing team. Joey, when we get to the track you need to get your ass up to the spotter’s stand fast.”

“Wait I thought that you were going to be my spotter today?” This really worried me now. I don’t like changes in the plan, especially when I’m the one in the cockpit. After all it’s my ass on the line. Not theirs. One mistake and I could end up dead.

“Mom wants Joey up in the spotter’s stand with dad. She wants me in the chase car. She will be on the box. She didn’t say why so I don’t know. Just deal with it Robby. Besides, it’ll only be us out there today. It’s not like you’re actually racing or qualifying. Not that you’ll ever get the chance anyway. Not with your health issues. We all know it, but you won’t face the truth. I don’t know why mom ever let you get behind the wheel. Every sponsor wants their drivers to be six-foot-tall and good looking. Not some runt with waste long hair and looks more like a girl than any boy has the right to.” Beth’s words stung. The sad part it was true.

It may be true, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t drive. I slammed my fist into the table as I stood up. “Okay, sis I hear you. You don’t have to get nasty about shit you know. If this wasn’t a test drive for mom I would love to race you. Hell, better yet, YOU drive the test car and I’ll drive the chase car. I’ll even give you a four-lap lead and still chase your ass down. Not only will I chase you down but pass your ass all four times. And win!”

Beth knew she had pushed it too far with me. She could tell by the look in my eyes that I was pissed. The challenge I just threw down was not an idle threat. Beth knew that I could out drive her and Joey any day of the week. Hell, the only reason I wasn’t on one of the circuits already is because of the rents. I passed the physical, other tests to get my professional racers ticket shortly after I turn eighteen six months ago. Not only that, I had been test driving mom and dad’s designs since I was sixteen. I have just been waiting for my chance to show one of the professional teams what I can do. Beth may have her ticket now, but she still cannot match me on the track.

“Robby, calm down bro. You go out there all pissed off you’ll get yourself dead, man. Beth is just shooting off at the mouth, bro. She didn’t mean nothing. We all know that someone will pick you up for their team sooner rather than later. For now, you need to get your head space right. You don’t, and mom and dad will lose more than a contract, they’ll lose a son.” I looked over at Joey and took a deep breath.

He was right. Emotions had no place at 200 plus miles per hour on the track too tough to tame. Darlington Raceway has more wrecks than any other track with the exception of Dayton. Dayton also has the highest number of deaths, with Darlington coming third behind Talladega. I go out there pissed off I can get myself dead. Real dead in a hurry. As I was calming down Joey turned on Beth.

“And you need to get your head out of your ass, Beth. Fucking pissing Robby off before he has to show off a new design is a sure way to get him dead, dumbass. You fucking know better. It’s not his fault that fuck stick boyfriend of yours got arrested. We know that you love Tommy, Beth but he’s bad for business. Do the family a favor and cut the shit loose. You can find someone better than Tommy, Beth. You’re smart, pretty, and talented. Not to mention you’re going to college on your own dime. You’re going to make it big on your own name, not the family’s.”

I had to give it to Joey. He sure knew how to calm down an overstressed situation. That was one of the reasons he made such a great spotter. He had called more races for me than mom or dad and did a better job. He could spot a wreck happening and find me a path through the wreckage where they couldn’t. I had a feeling that was why mom wanted him on the tower.

“I’m going to get changed. Beth you better hurry as you need to completely change if you’re going to be my chase driver. Let’s get a move on people. I don’t know who we’re putting this dog and pony show on for, but the rents never go to this kind of trouble for no reason. That means they’re important.”

I put my dishes in the sink and headed back to my room to change. I heard Joey in his room as I passed and Beth in hers changing into their family leathers. They loved it went they got the chance to wear the family team leathers. Me, I flat out hate them. Not for the reasons most people would think though. I hate the family leathers because they made me look so much like a girl it wasn’t funny. Not because of the colors, but because of the way they hugged my slim body and slightly feminine frame.

I don’t have nothing against the color really, I don’t. I mean nothing’s wrong with purple. It just doesn’t help with the way the suit hugs my body. It’s just that between the color, the cut, my long hair, and where our team name sits on my chest. I have a hard time convincing people that I’m not a girl.

I hear you out there. Cut your hair if it is causing you that much grief. Well, when you’re thirteen and bald from chemotherapy and radiation therapy you let your hair grow when it comes back. I wasn’t about to cut my hair again until I was sure that the cancer wasn’t coming back. The result of that was blue-black hair reached down to the middle of my back. Much like my mom’s hair. Of all three of us kids, I was the only one that had her hair color. Beth and Joey took after our dad with his fire red hair.

It didn’t take me long to change uniforms and head back downstairs. Joey is already down by the door waiting for me and Beth. He hands me my gear bag with a smile. “I know you don’t want to hear this Robby, but I got to say it. You look damned good in those leathers. You should wear the family leathers more often.”

“Yeah, well, if they didn’t make look so much like a girl I would.”

“Robby, who cares what you look like. You can out fucking drive nine out of ten Formula One drivers, and seven out of eight NASCAR drivers. I won’t even go into the other racing types. I doubt there is a driver out there that can match you in Formula Renault, Endurance, Touring, Drift, and Rally. I mean your nickname is couldn’t have been better. I mean come on Speedy. Think about it. So, what if you look like a girl.” There it was. The very blunt and uncomfortable truth about my price for surviving cancer. “I say fucking own it and fuck what anyone else thinks. No matter what I’ll always have you back.”

I looked down at the two round mounds on my chest that have been accented by my leathers. The other nasty side effect of experimental chemo drugs is I grew breasts. Not small little cancelable A cups, but nice round B cup tits. I usually bind them, so people don’t see them under my shirts. The problem with my Nomex suits is the heat. Because of the heat I have to let them run free as it were. To keep them from bouncing around too much I normally wear a sports bra under my Nomex suits.

“And Robby, you’re no coward. Shit bro, you faced death and beat it back when you were only thirteen. I remember you being sick as a dog for days on end. I watched as you lost your hair, after taking those foul drugs. Undergoing surgery to remove cancer growths in your body and to remove your destroyed testicle. Dealing with growing breasts. All the bullshit that came with being the smallest guy in school. You know the only asshole that has a problem with you at school is Hart. And that’s because you beat his ass in that rat race.”

“Joey, our aunt can beat Thomas Hart in a rat race. Even you can do it. That monstrosity he calls a drift racer is so overpowered and under balanced it’s pathetic. Hell, Beth can take him with her factory spec Charger.” I had to tell the truth.

“There is where you’re wrong Robby.” Beth’s voice drew both of our attentions to where she stood at the foot of the stairs. “I’m good, but nowhere near to how good you are. You get out there on the track and do shit that is magical. I’ve seen you take that sixty-nine Judge of yours and out run the most modern cars there are on the rat racing circuit. Don’t think I haven’t heard about the hot looking raven-haired racer girl on the streets of Columbia in a nineteen-sixty-nine blueberry black GTO J model. Look I know that you don’t want to hear this, but everybody thinks that you’re a girl not a boy.”

I looked over at Joey who just nodded his head. “I’ve heard the rumors too, bro. Even the guys in my gym class think you’re a girl. They aren’t the only ones either. Over half our class does.”

“Fuck this shit. After today I’m cutting my hair and getting these tits cutoff. Right now, let’s just deal with the test.” I snapped then walked out to Beth’s car. Joey and Beth closed up the house and joined me in her car.

As we drove over to Darlington Raceway I forced the conversation out of my head. I needed to concentrate on the test drive. I know every inch of the track. I should with as many times that I’ve just walked around it. I let the technical specs for the track follow through my mind. Going over the banking for each turn. The length of the straightaways. Total length of the track for a lap. The surfacing material. When it was built, and how.

I know that Darlington isn’t your normal Formula one track. In fact, it isn’t even your normal NASCAR track. The number four turn wall cuts in on the exit. The surface itself presents a challenge as it is not made of concert but asphalt. Making it one of the slickest tracks in the world under normal conditions. In the middle of February, the track is going to be green, not to mention cold. Not the optimal time to be running a test.

As we enter through the gate for the in field and pit area the security guard just smiles at us. The man knows us better than our teachers at school. He should, as we have spent more time here than at school. The only place we spend more time is the family garage and fabrication shop. Beth pulls around to the pit area and parks behind the family car hauler. I can see the new car is already down, and the guys are lowering down the chase car for todays test. I can’t tell the deference between the two cars. Then again, I never can. All I know is that the new car is supposed to handle better and be faster than the chase car.

I look back at Joey in the back seat. “Joey, remember to keep an eye on Beth for me at all times. Don’t worry about my position on the track. Let me worry about that, okay. Be sure to watch our lap times and our splits. We’ll be running forty laps today. That means we’ll be coming in for at least one pit spot. Make sure to start counting us down the second we enter pit road.”

“Bro, relax. I got this, okay. You and Beth just keep your heads in the games on the track. Remember race the track, not each other. The Lady is going to be in a bad mood today. Don’t turn your backs on the bitch.” Joey opened his door and climbed out. “Good luck and keep it off the wall.”

Me and Beth stepped out of her car watched as he headed for the other side of the pit area and for the spotter’s tower. “You know something, Robby. For a pain in the ass little brother he really does care about us.”

“Yah, you can’t help but love the little shit bird at times.” I snark only to have Beth punch me in the arm. “Knock it off already. I don’t need a Charlie horse right now.”

“Forget that shit, Robby.” Beth was pointing over at a group of men standing with mom and dad. “Is that who I think it is?”

I looked over at the men with mom and dad. It took me a few minutes to recognize them. When I did I knew that the importance of this test just went up by a factor of ten. “If you’re seeing Karl and Bertha Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach, Emil, and Mercedes Jellinek then yeah. That is who you think it is.”

“Oh shit. This just got heavy duty real, little bro. If they’re here to see mom and dad’s new racer designs, it could mean a massive influx for the family business.” I wanted to pound Beth for stating the very obvious. It wasn’t like I wasn’t worrying before.

Before I could bitch her out or walk off, mom spotted us both. Mom started waving for us. “Over here kids. I would like for you to meet some very important people.”

I shrugged my shoulders and led Beth over to meet the nice people from Mercedes-Benz Automotive. Mom never got the chance to introduce us by name before Bertha Benz grabbed first Beth then myself in hug followed by a tradition kiss on the checks. All while saying to mom. “These young ladies need no introduction Jewels. Why their hair alone marks them as yours and Robert’s daughters. And the family team uniforms just insure that the boys stay well away from them.”

I want to scream that I was a boy, but mom beat me to it. Only not the way that I would have wanted. “Thank you, Bertha for the kindness. Yes, these are our daughters, Elizabeth and Roberta. And they are our drivers for the test.”

I couldn’t believe what mom just said. She knows that I hate being called a girl. If it wasn’t for the Mercedes-Benz people standing there I would have gone off big time. Yet these people hold the fate of the company in their hands and I keep my mouth shut.

My embarrassment is only worsened by Mercedes Jellinek smiling down at me from her statuesque height of six feet. “Surely you jest, Jewels. This raven-haired beauty has no place behind the wheel of a Formula One car. She belongs on the stage for a ballet company. Why I can see the grace just flowing off of her.”

“Mercedes, we have been friends for a long time. You know that I do not jest when it comes to drivers or to cars. Roberta can out drive any man you want to match her against. She is without a doubt one of the finest drivers to date in any field of the sport.” The fire in mom’s eyes let me know that I was to put on a show. To hell with the test drive. “As for Elizabeth, let me be blunt when I say that the only person that can out drive her is Roberta. You want to see what my cars can do then my daughters will show you. When they get done I expect the contract to be signed. GIRLS.”

Mother marched us away from the gathered business delegation. I could tell that she was pissed before, but now she was beyond that. Why she was pissed off before I could only guess, but it had to be because of Tommy’s arrest. Once we were far enough away I cornered mom about what was going on.

“Okay, mom. What the hell is going on? What’s got your panties in twist? I know it’s not just about Tommy.”

“Yeah, mom, what gives? You’re never this uptight over a test.” Beth jumped in behind me.

“Look kids. This is one time that I need you to put on a real show. Drive those two cars to their limits. No holding back. I want qualifying lap times out there.”

“Not until you answer our questions mom. We deserve answers. And what is with that bullshit of not correcting Mrs. Benz about my sex? Why are you pushing the girls’ day on the track shit?” I demanded. Something was up with mom and the Mercedes-Benz people.

“You’re right Robby you deserve an answer.” Mom sighed. “As you know last night Tommy got arrested. For DUI again. While the dummy tried to resist and got more charges add on. The reason he was drunk is because of those four men back there. They got him drunk on purpose. I can’t prove it, but they did it, so they can get their hands on our company. The Mercedes-Benz Corp has been after your father’s and mine company for years now. They figure if they can control our designs. They can limit us to only working for them. As you know we make a pretty good living by being an independent design firm.”

“Wait are you saying this whole test is a stunt to gain control over our family business?” mom just nodded her head yes. “Then didn’t you correct them about me not being a girl?”

“There is a clause in our contract with them. Mercedes and Bertha are using that clause to try and gain control, Robert.” I could tell that there was something about this clause that upset mom. If it upset her, then it must really piss off dad.

“What is the clause mom?” Beth asked for me.

“They can ask for extremely specific design features be placed in a car, for a certain type of driver and the specs must be able to be completed with no notice. This time those two old bitches went behind their husbands’ backs and asked for a car designed solely for a female driver. Then to make sure that we had to meet those design specs got Tommy wasted and arrested. They weren’t expecting us to able to come up with two female drivers on short notice.”

It all made sense now. It was like a light bulb going off in my head. It was a dirty low down underhanded trick on the part of the Benz people, but it was legal. Tommy didn’t have to get drunk with them last night. He could have just walked away but didn’t. Putting our family business in jeopardy with his stupidity. With the two female members of the Benz Corp pushing for women drivers they had put mom and dad in a shitty situation, and me on the wrong end of the smelly pointy stick.

I make up my mind that there well be hell to pay. If mom wants me to put those Corporate suits in their place. Then that is what she’ll get. “Come on sis. Time to get our shit together and put on a real show for the ass clowns.”

“Thank you, Robby. I know that you hate it when people think that you are girl. I know I should have correct those two bitches and I will once the test is done. I promise you sweetheart.”

“Pardon my French, mom. But fuck that shit! Those cock suckers think they can come in here and bully this family into knuckling under they got another thing coming.” I turn to Jim Hailee, our Chief mechanic. “Yoh! Mister Hailee. What’s the track speed record?”

Jim Hailee was many things but stupid wasn’t one of them. “The fastest time ever set was in a Qualifying by Aric Almirola. With a lap time of 26.705 seconds and a top speed of 184.145 miles per hour on April 11, 2014. If you’re shooting for that record good luck Robby. Because you’re going to need it. Almirola had prefect track conditions and the best setup for the track that day. Which you don’t have. The track is greener than a sapling and colder than a witch’s tit in a brass bra in January. Forget about going for the track record Speed. It’s just too dangerous today.”

I looked up the man that both respected and admired for more than just his professionalism. Jim Hailee was one of the top mechanics in the business. He could go to any of the big corporate teams and name his price. Yet he is happy working for my parents in their small family shop. That didn’t mean I was going to listen to him. Not today anyway. I was way too pissed off for that.

“Jim, set the cars up for qualifying runs.” I looked over at mom. “What type of power planets are the cars outfitted with, mom?”

Mom just smiled. “Both cars have the new engines Robby. Wring them out and see if you can break them.”

I turned to Beth. “We’ll do four laps to warm up the tires, sis. On the fifth lap pull up along side just before we cross the start/finish line. Stay on the inside line, leave the outside to me. We’ll take the next ten laps to really lay down the rubber. Hold nothing back, sis. One way or the other we put those ass hats packing with their tails between the legs.”

Beth just pulled me into a hug. “Done deal Rob. Those two old bitches may believe they have sabotaged mom and dad by getting Tommy drunk and arrested. But they made one major fucking mistake. They pissed off the best damned driver I know of in the sport.”

“Got that shit right. Only you are wrong about one thing. They pissed off the two best fucking drivers in the sport. You and me.” I looked over at Jim. “Fuel and tires, for twenty laps, Jim.”

Jim just smiled and shook his head. “Jewels, if your kids don’t get themselves killed out there today. Do me a favor. Find them both a ride with one of the teams. If not sponsor them yourself. I’ll be more than happy to be their Crew Chief and I can get them Pit Crews within the week. With a fire, passion, and drive like theirs they’re wasted sitting on the sidelines.”

Jim turned and walked towards the cars and the crews there. He started hollering orders before he was ten feet away. “Jake, Henry, Mark, Bobby, get me two sets of tires pressured and set for a qualifying run, and two sets for a race run. Billy, Johnny, two tanks of fuel for each car. Steve, get the others and set the pit boxes for racing trim. We got three hours people, and no time to spare. Get a move on. Assholes and elbows, people.”

I just chuckled along with mom, and Beth. Once we were alone mom gave me a worried look. “Look, Robby, I know that you want to put those people in their place, but don’t endanger yourself or Beth. If the track or car feels wrong bring it in. the same goes for you Beth. You kids mean more to your father and me than the company does. If the cars start to act up, shut them down. Understand?”

“Mom, I love you and dad you know, that right?” Mom just nodded her head. “Then quit worrying and let us drive the wheels off those cars. You and dad built and designed them. We drive them to the edge and bring them back. Usually in one piece. That is what Beth and I do. And we’re good at it.”

“Okay, Robby. One last thing. Your dad will be on channel two, while Joey will be on channel three. I got channel one with Jim. If you want to talk to each other on the track use channel six.” When she finished mom gave me and Beth a hug then hurried away.

“Beth, no matter what happens between now and the time this is all over we need to keep my real sex a secret. The question is how. The moment those Corporate suits tweak to me being a boy the whole thing could blow up in our faces.”

“Then we just let them continue to think you’re a girl. It’s not like mom or us to correct them. And everybody has been calling you either Robby or Speedy. So, they don’t know that you’re not a girl. We do the test, put them in their place, and then we head home for the day. To celebrate I’ll pay for the pizza.” Beth was smiling at me as she laid out the facts. Beth then started to giggle. “Just think if they sign you to their F-1 team, I get to have the baby sister I always wanted.”

I snorted then started to laugh along with her. “Yeah right, sis. Come on, let’s finish getting ready for our run.”

I know that we have three hours before we have start driving, but all drivers have their own special ritual for getting ready to drive. For Beth she spends an hour or two just meditating. Doing simple breathing exercises to calm her nerves. Me, I play music on my earbuds. Everything from jazz to contemporary and classic rock to classical chamber music. I even listen to music when I drive.

For the next two hours Beth and I just get into the zone. We know how dangerous this track is on good days. With what we’re going to be doing today the track is going to be twice as deadly. With an hour to go before the test Beth helps me adjust my ponytail for my Nomex balaclava head sock. I do the same for her before heading back over to pit road. I put in my earphones for my radio and pull on the balaclava. Next come the glove liners and gloves. The last thing I put on is my helmet before climbing into the car’s cockpit. Bobby Joe, my left rear tire changer helps me strap into my custom-made seat. I hook up my I-pod to the radio and turn on the music. I give Bobby Joe the thumbs up and he steps away.

I flip the ignition switch and wait for the team to kick the engine over. Unlike with Stock cars, F-1 cars have to be started by an external crank that is connected directly to the engine in the rear of the car. When the engine turns over I get the first rush of the day. I slowly flex my hands on my Hamalton® steering wheel. I wait for Jim to give the signal to pull out.

When it comes, I push in the clutch and shift into first gear. I feel the power of the V-6 turbo charged engine feed the massive 8 speed transmission. As Beth and I roll out from our pit boxes I fight the growing excitement. I flip the switch I have for my music and let my race mix play.

As the sounds of Kenny Loggins ‘Highway into the danger zone’ fill my ears I pull out on to the track. Beth is right behind me. For the next 3 minutes, 33 seconds, and two laps the song fills my ears. Neither Beth or me are really pushing the cars yet. We’re slowly building up the pressure in our tires and getting a feel for the track conditions. When the sounds of Alice Cooper’s famous ‘School’s Out’ come across next I begin to increase my speed. For the next 3 laps I let Beth pull ahead and set the pace. As we round turn four and head for the start/finish line I pull along side of her and wait for the next song to play.

We cross the line and I put my foot down. I down shift and grab a lower gear as the opening cords of AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’ play in my ears over the roar of the V-6 turbo charged monster sitting just behind me. I pull ahead of Beth as we enter turn one heading for turn two. I up shift in the middle the bank between one and two. I dive for the inside lane just in front of Beth as we exit turn two onto the back straightway. I up shift into seventh gear just before entering turn three. I hold that gear through turn four. As I exit turn four onto the front straightway I hug the inside line. I shift into eight gear and keep my foot on the floor. I lift off just before turn one but only slightly.

I never look in my mirror. I know that Beth is breathing down my neck trying to catchup. For the next 3 minutes and 27 seconds I just let the music take me away and drive the car to its limits. I quit racing Beth on the second racing lap. It’s just me, the car, and the Toughest Track on the NASCAR circuit. I don’t care that Darlington isn’t a Formula One sanctioned track. Give me the Lady in Black over any track in the world to test the metal of a driver. This is one Lady that will take on all comers, and win.

I no longer care about the suite monkeys from Mercedes-Benz. All I care about is pushing this car to its limits. With it pushing myself to my limits. Testing my nerves and skills against the Lady in Black. My radio crackles and I hear my dad’s voice.

“Back it down Speedy! You proved your point to the suite monkeys.”

I key my mike just before I let my smartass bone kick in. “Sorry daddy. But not today. That record is mine.”

Dad doesn’t even try to ordered me off the track. “Beth, bring it in baby girl. Your sister is in one of her moods. Clear the track.”

I don’t even reply to him calling me Beth’s sister. I don’t really care. Because the next song on my earbuds is one that will push me to break the record. Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Darlington County.’ My radio crackles again as dad comes in just over the music.

“Hold your line Speedy. That’s it. Just like that. You got four turns. Let’s take them one at time. Turn one enter low and go high for turn two.” I do exactly what dad tells me. “Perfect and dive for the inside. Good. You want to ease up for turn three, but not much. You want to enter low for three and go high for four. Remember the to watch for the wall on the exit.”

I don’t know what has gotten into dad, but he sure got behind me fast. Not that it matters as I do exactly what he tells me. I can feel the rear tires starting to slide in the turns already. That means I need new tire soon. As I come out of turn four I get a solid look at the start/finish line and put my foot all the way down. The turbo screams in my ears. My blood is pounding behind my eyes. I feel my sweat running down my back. This is it. I either break the record or not. I won’t get a second chance today. The car won’t take another run like this. Six laps at qualifying speeds is not good for any engine. I’m surprise that the engine has already red lined on me. I cross the line and let off the gas.

Even before I reach turn one I hit the kill switch for the engine and coast through turns one and two. I let gravity and wind resistance slowly me down. I got just over a half mile to bleed off all that speed. I know that I’ll need to use the breaks before turn four to make the pit road turn off. I key my mike.

“Thanks for the help dad.”

“No problem sweetheart. You want the good news or the bad news?” I had no idea of what bad news he could have. So, I went with the good news first. “Well you broke the track record for both speed and time kiddo. You really did put on one hell of a show.”

“What’s the bad news then?”

“First of all because you used a Formula One car, and this is an out of season run. It doesn’t qualify. Second, because you did it on an unsanctioned track it doesn’t count for the Formula One speed record. Third you were five miles short of the all-time speed record for F One. By the way if your run had counted you would have set records in both NASCAR and Formula One, Speedy.”

“Holy Shit! Just how fast was I going?”

“You crossed the line at two-thirty-nine-point-eight. That makes you one of the fastest F One drivers out there. Unofficially.”

I could barely believe my ears, 239.8 mph. I may not have one of the fastest F-1 times, but I have set an unofficial track record for Darlington. And no one can take that away from me. Not that I cared what others think. It would just be nice to have the official credit. At least for once. I put those thoughts out of my head as I pull onto pit road heading for my pit box.

I know it wasn’t a full 400 or 500-mile race, but I felt like I just won the pole position for the Southern 500. As I pull to a stop in my pit box the pit crew swarms the car and me. Jim was unstrapping me as I removed my helmet and gloves. I barely got my steering wheel disconnected before Jim was lifting me from the cockpit of the car. The rest of the pit crew were helping to toss me around on their shoulders like I had just won the Indy 500.

When the pit crew finally put me down mom was standing there and she pulled me into massive hug. “My God, honey. Do you have any idea of what you have just done?!”

“I think I do mom. I just set the unofficial new track record. Too bad its no good. I would love to see the look on that asshole Thomas Hart’s face when I told him.” I could barely keep the smile off my face.

“God damned, Speedy. I’ve never seen such raw talent. What you did out there today was some of the craziest driving I’ve ever seen. I knew that you were good, but you proved that you’re five times better than what any of us thought.” Jake Marley said as he pulled me into a hug himself.

Bobby Hart was next. “Now I know why that worthless little shit of a brother lost to you in a street race. If you can drive like that on a track I don’t want to see what you would in a rat race.”

“Robby, if you have been rat-racing again.” Mom started but stopped as the Mercedes-Benz party showed up. “We’ll finish this conversation later back at the house Roberta.”

The first to say anything was Mercedes Jellinek. “Jewels, we would like a word with you please?”

Mom looked at Beth and me. “I’ll be right back girls.” I don’t know what mom and the suits talked about, but there was a bunch of pointing at me and Beth. Followed by a bunch of arm waving and head shaking. When mom finally walked back over to us she had a very concerned look on her face.

“What’s up mom?” Beth asked for us.

“They want to sign our whole company to be a brand-new racing team. That means all of us.” Mom answered her.

“Hot damn that’s fantastic! Why the long face?” I could barely contain my excitement.

“They will only sign us if Roberta McGuire is one of our drivers.”
-----tbc-----