ARCA Lessons - Boys
Chapter 9 ARCA Lessons-Boys
Carly and Scotty turned to look at the person who was making the scene in the airport. It was the same woman that had been in Ty’s office the other morning when Carly had her temper tantrum.
“Oh God, Scotty. That’s her. She who shall not be named.” Carly whispered.
“What?? What did you call her??” Scotty asked.
“Sorry!” Carly grinned. “It’s a Harry Potter thing.” Carly turned to face Scotty. “Another phrase for the evil princess of darkness. That has to be Pamela Morgan!”
A man that was dressed as a chauffer was walking behind Ms. Morgan dragging two large pieces of luggage. He was trying to appease her.
“M’am, I assure you that you’re father’s jet will be arriving in a few minutes. Just try to be patient!”
“Edward, you better be right. Or you’re fired. I’m not flying on some company contraption with all those mechanics. And which pilot do I get? Because it had better be Philippe. I asked for Philippe. He’s the only decent looking pilot we have.”
“Last I checked, m’am, Philippe was assigned to your flight. It should be here any minute.” Edward responded.
Her cell phone rang. “Bon Jour?” she answered. “Juan, darling, how are you? Yes, darling, I am at the airport. Daddy’s jet is just a tad late. Something about weather over the Rockies, or some lame excuse. How was Le Mans? Oui? You will be able to meet me in Atlanta, won’t you dear? Si. Si. Te Amo. Ciao!” She turned off her phone. “He’d better not be late!” she snapped.
Just then, Carly spotted a Lear Jet taxiing up to the gate. It had the familiar MMS Logo painted on it. “Look, Scotty- there’s the Jet. Hope she goes soon!” she whispered. “Where’s our plane?”
“It’s on its way. It’s not supposed to be here for another 10 minutes!” he smiled.
“Ok- Edward! Get my bags! Be careful this time!! That’s my third set of Louis Vuitton in 3 years! Oh, and where is this racecar driver I’m supposed to meet? I want her on the Jet with me.” Pamela looked around. She spied Carly, standing there with her Budweiser polo shirt on.
“Excuse me Miss, Where can I find Carly Grant?” Pamela asked Carly. Carly was in utter disbelief that Pamela had not recognized her from Ty’s office yesterday. She tried desperately to think of a way out of talking to this witch.
“Oh, Miss Grant has left for Atlanta already!” Carly lied. “I’m her sister, Cindy. She and her entourage departed 30 minutes ago. They will meet you at the Atlanta Motor Speedway at 1pm, after her public appearances.” Carly smiled.
“Very well, thank you Candy. Or whatever your name is. I take it you’re flying with the rest of the crew.”
“Yes M’am.” Carly replied.
“Very well. Inform Miss Grant I will see her at 1pm. Ciao.” She turned and strutted off towards the gate. She boarded her jet and took off.
Scotty and the rest of the DEI crew looked at Carly with their mouths open. For a moment there was silence. Then Jack, her front tire changer, spoke. “Girl, that was the best performance I’ve ever seen!” They all started to clap and cheer. Carly smiled and took a bow.
“Why thank Y’all!” she spoke. “A girl just does what a girl has to do!”
~~**~~
The #2 ARCA car was at the track when Carly and her crew got there. It was just painted dark blue, with the number decals on it. The sponsor logos would be put on later. The funny thing was, Carly’s name was still painted above the drivers side door. Carly was relieved to see other familiar faces there. Ken Schrader was there, testing his ARCA car, and she also saw Terry Labonte and Rusty Wallace. Carly went over to talk to them.
“Carly!” Terry said. “What are you doing here?”
“Dialing in the car for a new driver. A one shot deal, hopefully.” She answered.
“Nothing having to do with that rumor?”
“No! Funny coincidence, though. I still got my red racecar. I’m just here as a favor.” She smiled. “What brings you two here?”
“Kids.” Rusty said. “Steven and Justin are going to start in the ARCA race this weekend. They are going to test too.”
“Yeah, but they aren’t listening to their old dads. Hey, Carly – maybe they’ll listen to you!” Terry said hopefully.
“For what?? How could I possibly know as much about racing as you two? Heck, I come to you for advice!!” She laughed.
Terry smiled. “Thanks! But you know how kids are. Parents are stupid. Hell, I remember when Junior wouldn’t listen to his dad. Don’t ever tell him I said that, but he was that way too!”
Carly laughed. “What are you trying to tell them?”
“Just how to find the groove here, how to hit the corners, the usual stuff. Go talk to ‘em. See what they say!”
Carly sighed “OK! I’ll try!” she undid the collar of her firesuit and zipped it down a little. “This usually helps with boys!” she smiled. Terry and Rusty laughed.
~~**~~
“Did my dad send you over here?” Justin Labonte asked.
“Of course he did. What were you expecting?” Carly answered.
“Uh, I guess nothing..” he answered, a little flustered.
“How are your cars?” she asked them.
“Fine. Good” they both answered.
“You driven this track before?” She asked them.
“No, but it’s just another cookie cutter track. Like Charlotte. I don’t know why my dad’s so worried, like we wont be able to find our way around.” Steven Wallace chimed in.
“You guys know where the Humpy Bumps are at Charlotte?” Carly asked.
“Yeah. Everyone knows that.”
“Good!” Carly said. “Then I’m sure you know where the bumps are here. How many racecars do you have?”
“Two. Why?” they answered.
“You’re gonna wreck ‘em all before the race if you’re not careful. Cause the bumps are different. The grooves are different here. You don’t wanna be that embarrassed, do you?”
“No. We wont be. We’ll be ok. Just watch.” They grinned at Carly.
“Ok, guys, make me a deal. Race me for about 3 laps. If you beat me, you know everything there is to know about this track. If I beat you, then you let me give you some tips. Now, my car is ready. I’m gonna take it out. You go get in your cars, and get out there after me. Just don’t wreck your cars. Be smart. There’s a lot of people watching that are expecting greatness out of you because of your fathers. Don’t come off looking stupid. Got it?”
“Sure. You’re on!”
Carly winked at Rusty and Terry as she climbed in the car. She flipped on the ignition, and it started up with a rumble. Carly couldn’t help but spin the tires as she took off out of the pit. Scotty was spotting for her in Mark’s place.
“Be careful CrackerJack, don’t tear up the car!”
“I wont, Scotty. I’m gonna give a little lesson to Labonte and Wallace when they get their cars out here. At their dad’s request. Tell me when they’re on the track!”
Carly took the car around a full lap before the others got on the track. She was going up to about 140. Fortunately, the track had not changed since she raced here last year. Every bump and groove was exactly as she remembered it.
“Here they come!” Scotty told her. “Two wide, behind you. They’re about up to speed.”
“10-4 Scotty. Keep me posted.” She was heading down the front straight. There was an oval curve to it. The boys followed her, and tried to catch her. She slowed a little, to let them catch up. She dove into turn one, getting into the good grove. They missed the groove, and got a little loose, but not bad. By the time they straightened out, Carly was heading down the back straight. She on purposely stayed in the center of the track where the groove was not as good, to see what they would do. They followed her! She rose up high on the track, then dove into turn three. She missed the bumps there, but they didn’t. Again they got loose, but recovered. She exited turn four, and again slowed to let them catch up to her. When they did, she sped away again, and this time really took off, and drove a perfect lap. She caught them on the third lap, and put Justin a lap down. She told Scotty to tell them to pit. She pulled into her pit stall, and got out of the car. She went to Justin’s window.
“Ok – not bad! But this time follow me!” She told Steven too. But Rusty and Terry couldn’t stand it any longer! They ran up to the cars and were trying to tell the boys how to beat Carly. Carly started to laugh, and tried to push Terry and Rusty away.
“No! No! Don’t listen to them!” she yelled, laughing. “They know nothing!! Just follow me. No more racing. Only following!”
“Hey!” Rusty said. “Follow her one time around, then take her boys! Watch what she does, then do it!” he laughed.
“Thanks, guys! Some friends you are!” Carly laughed at Rusty and Terry. She climbed back in her car, and Jack strapped her in again.
“How’s the car?” he asked her.
“A little loose. Not too bad. But it’s kind of like what an open wheel car would be like. Lets work with it until Pamela gets here. We’ll see what she wants. Meanwhile, I need to take these kids to nursery school!” She revved her engine and took off.
Steven and Justin followed Carly twice around the track. She took them in the preferred groove. They did a good job following her lead. On the third lap around, Justin tried to pass her. She was able to cut him off. He got a little loose, but recovered nicely. She decided to have a little fun. She let Justin pass her the next time he tried. She got right on his rear bumper, and gave him a little tap.
“Carly…Whatareyadoin??” Scotty yelled.
“Havin’ some fun…why?” she teased.
“Those are kids – that’s Terry Labonte’s kid! Don’t pull anything!” he warned.
“Aw, Scotty, you’re no fun. Okay, I’ll take the lead again.”
“CARLY!!-Don’t!!!” Scotty yelled.
She got on Justin’s bumper. She gave him another tap, and rubbed it slightly. Justin got loose, and slid up the track. Carly was gentle with him, so he didn’t wreck, but she did move him out of her way and zoomed past him.
“Hehehe!” She exclaimed. “I was nice, wasn’t I?” she said.
“Shit. Get in the pits. Lets adjust some tire pressures.”
Carly got out of the car when she got to the pits. Rusty and Terry were waiting for her.
“Nice job, Carly!” they laughed, giving her hi-fives. “Well done! Thanks for not wrecking ‘em!”
The boys got out of their cars. “What the hell kind of move was that?” Justin said.
“Justin!!” Terry lectured. “She may have just beat the crap outta you on the racetrack, but she’s a lady – you will not use that language to her!!”
“Sorry!!! – but Carly – Was that the “Earnhardt” maneuver?” Justin asked.
Carly laughed. “Well, the best rendition of it I can do. You see, guys, I’m still learning myself. And I learned a lot from Dale Jr., and my other teammates. By watching them, and following them. That’s how it works. And you wanna know something else? You know who else I am still learning from??” she looked at Terry and Rusty. “These two Winston Cup champs right behind me!! No Joke! So guys, listen to your dads! Cause I do, and if you don’t, by the time you get to Winston Cup, I will have been picking their brains all these years, and I’ll beat the pants off both of you!”
“Shi-oot!” Steven said. “Ok dad, tell me the best way to get around this place.”
Rusty grinned at Carly, and gave her a thumbs up.
“The track hasn’t changed a bit since last year!” she told him.
“Can I tell you something Carly?” he said. “This track rarely ever changes year to year.”
“Really? Thanks Rusty!” she smiled. She tapped the side of her head with her finger. “Good to know! I’ll remember that!”
~~**~~
It was about 12:30, and Carly and Scotty decided to let the car rest until Princess Pamela got there. They decided to eat some lunch. Carly had brought some Slim-Fast, and a power bar. Scotty had a huge sandwich.
“I don’t see why you drink that stuff, Carly…you don’t look like you could get any slimmer!” Scotty told her.
“Oh, yes I could.” She said. “You’re just too nice to me.” She smiled. “Besides, its good, it has some protein, and it fills me up. And, I’m eating this power bar. This firesuit hides a lot. There’s room for improvement!” she said, pinching her waist.
Scotty just shook his head. Then his cell phone rang. “Hullo…Hey, Tony. Yeah, the car’s good. Not much different from the last time she drove it. Rain? Really? Wow! Ok. He’s headed here? Ok. I’ll keep an eye out. No, haven’t seen her here yet. Ran into her at the airport though. Real piece of work. You should have seen Carly handle her. You heard? HA! Yeah, but I don’t know how she’s gonna get herself out of it! Ok, buddy. See ya back at the shop.”
He laughed. “It seems that your charade at the airport got back to the guys at ‘Dega. Oh, and they got rained out. Tony Sr. says Junior’s on his way here. He left there by plane about an hour and a half ago. He doesn’t want him to tangle with Pamela.”
Carly’s eyes lit up. “Really?? He’s coming here? Cool!” she exclaimed. “And don’t worry – he doesn’t want to be near her. He’ll stay hidden. He really doesn’t like her at all.”
“So I heard. Hey – you got a plan for what the princess is gonna say when she sees you? Cindy? Or Candy?” he laughed.
“Oh – that’s easy! I’m just gonna tell her my sister went home. I seriously doubt that she even looked at me long enough to recognize me later. I was just an insignificant pee-on in the airport. Here, I might be useful to her. She’ll never know the difference.” Carly said. Just then, a pair of arms grabbed her and picked her up off the ground.
“Hey Sexy!” she heard.
“Dale! Hey! I heard you were coming!” she kissed him. He set her back down. “Scotty, were gonna go find a quiet spot. Keep an eye out for you-know-who. I wont be long!” She grabbed Dale’s hand and they went over to the garage area. They hid behind a tool box in DEI’s garage.
“I heard about what you said to her in the airport! That must have been funny! Damn, I miss all the good stuff!” Dale laughed.
“Man, talk about flyin’ by the seat of my pants! I didn’t plan on saying that, I was panicking wondering how I was gonna handle her. When she came to me and asked where she could find Carly Grant, I realized she didn’t know who I was! So I took advantage of the situation. It was funny! I wish you could have seen it too. But then she might have seen you.” She said, kissing him.
“Mmm…I know.” He kissed her back. It was while they were hiding behind the tool box that they heard a familiar voice.
“Where’s Juan! Edward, You were supposed to make sure he got here! I don’t care about weather. I’m not climbing in that racecar until Juan is here!”
Dale and Carly froze. They peeked out. It was her all right. Pamela Morgan. She had a gold lame’ fire suit on, storming towards the pit area. A man was walking behind her.
“OK, Edward. Have the limo get him here right away.” She clicked off her phone. “Philippe, can you believe that? He claims the plane was delayed by weather.”
“Vell, Pamela, ze weather doez effect ze flying. You’d rather he crash? Und maybe die? Um—I don’t zhink so!” The man answered.
“Oh, you’re right of course. He’s landed now, and should be here in 15 minutes. I guess I should find that Carly Grant. I hope she’s not as helpless as her sister. What a wallflower she was.” Pamela claimed as she made her way over towards the car.
