~Chapter 25~
Jr watched the tire smoke fill his view as he hung on for dear life twisting the car upwards back at Rusty. With the last burst of energy he had left he mashed the brake pedal farther down. The 2 car passed in front of him and disappeared on his left side. In his rearview mirror he saw white smoke as Rusty tried to control his spinning car.
His path was now clear to the checkers… It was really over.
Finally after all that pain, he had made it and saved his family and friends! But something still felt wrong.
Jr let off on the gas and let his car coast back around the track all the while being waved to and given doughnuts by his fellow drivers. He wondered just how many knew it was really him.
“You did it Boy! You did it!!!!” His uncle yelled to him over the radio. Jr wished he could see his crew freaking out at that very moment.
“Dale that was amazing. Congrats buddy... now get yourself outta the car so we can celebrate and get you some drugs!” Ty chuckled almost out of breath. Ty must have been hauling ass off the spotters stand to get down to victory lane.
“Thanks guys… I didn’t think I had anything left to do it” Jr gasped out as he unbuckled the tight restraints and took in a deep helping breathe. He couldn’t wait to take off those seat belts.
Finally they all coasted around and the majority of the field began filling onto pit road. Jr stayed on the track though, confusing his crew.
“You don’t have to do victory laps Jr. We know your hurting… come on in.” Tony Jr said.
Jr hesitated for a second. Something was wrong. He just had that feeling.
“I… Something doesn’t feel right.” Jr Replied. He got his answer not two seconds later.
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The gunshot echoed through the racetrack. Its loud bass sound shaking everyone in attendance.
“What the hell?” Ty said through Jr’s radio
As Jr coasted around in front of pit road something caught his eye coming toward the track. A person. Suddenly his heart went in his throat.
“Ty! Someone... anyone listening... Find Kerry... make sure he’s ok…”
Jr heard the gun shot loud and clear and now that he saw the asshole that put him through so much pain in sight, his blood started to boil.
Ron ran onto the track trying to make it to the fence. In his haste to find a way to escape he somehow missed the rumbling and roaring of the angry Bud car as it slowly approached the man.
Ron turned suddenly as Jr revved the engine. The color from his face drained as he came to the realization of what was going on. Ron was in a bad situation. He was now at the mercy of the 2 thousand pound stock car and a pissed off Earnhardt. His only defense laid in his right hand.
Jr’s eye caught that metal objecting in Ron’s hand. Before Ron could try and use it, Jr let the Bud car inch foreword. Gunning the beast under the hood in an intimidating fashion. Ron jumped back fast and almost stumbled backwards slightly while loosing his aim on the red stock car.
Jr didn’t let up for a second and gunned the car again letting it get so close to Ron that he just bumped his shins with the bumper. That was enough and the evil man fell to the ground in a heap.
“The cops are coming over Jr. They’ll get him.” His uncle relayed. Junior waited a minute for the officers to reach them on the track and grabbed Ron, pulling him to his feet. Once he believed Ron was secured, he gassed the 8 car to go back around again to finally get down off the track and into the care center. He needed to get his stomach checked and get some major painkillers and fluids in him. But first he wanted to make sure Kerry was alright. That was the first and main thing on his mind.
Jr picked up a fair amount of speed going into the first corner. He was in a hurry and wanted to get back around fast. Normally he’s just turn around and go back but he didn’t want to pass that asshole again.
He gained even more speed, letting the race car do its job in getting him back around as fast as possible till something happened he wasn’t ready for.
Three new loud bangs filled the ears of everyone at the track… all except for Jr… who only heard the rumbling of the car around him. Suddenly he felt the car jerk sideways. Something wasn’t right. His Steering wheel ceased to function and he tried to brake but nothing happened. Jr had no control and within seconds he felt his aching painful body slammed into the seat and steering wheel as he hit the wall hard. His last thoughts were of his brother’s safety and the overwhelming amount of pain before he lost consciousness.
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Everyone on pit road watched the struggle between Ron and the Police officers helplessly. The man put up one hell of a fight with the 4 men that held him, getting his hand free and reaching down to his feet. No one knew what was going on till Ron pulled something out of the boot he wore on his left foot. Small yet just as deadly. Ron’s aim was true in the two seconds he had and 2 shots were able to leave the chamber of the small handgun before he was taken out himself by one of the officers involved in the struggle.
The bullet cut through his chest, ending his life almost instantly. An almost unfair ending for all the pain he’d caused.
But the action wasn’t over for the teams, crews, drivers, fans and anyone else at the track. The sound of screeching tires brought everyone’s attention back to the Bud car in turn one.
Tony Stewart watched from his car on pit road. He watched Jr totally lose control in the back end, slide for a minute and then pound the car head on into the wall. It was a hard hit even though he wasn’t going at top speed. The crumpled 8 car slide down what little banking there was and came to a slow stop, signaling that the driver inside didn’t try to straighten or slow it up before this.
“Shit” he mouthed before quickly placing the steering wheel back into his stock car and gunned it down pit road past all of the shocked attendants.
“Dale?” he called through his still attached radio. Hoping for some answer to clue him in that his friend was ok and just too tired to get himself out. The net still wasn’t down and Tony was well above nervous. “Junior!” He tried again before pulling up alongside the mashed stock car and unhooking himself from his home depot machine.
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Jr remembered this place. He’d felt this feeling before. Total and complete peace and a sense of comfort washed over him. The pain he was accustomed to lately was now gone. This could only mean one thing…
“DAMN it boy! I told you to go back! I wasn’t expecting you back so soon!”
Jr spun around in the direction of the voice finding his father with a Cheshire cat grin plastered somewhere amongst his mustache.
“Awww HELL! What was that shit?” Jr blurted out. How did he get back here? He didn’t want to be here! He wanted to know how Kerry was; He didn’t want to leave his friends again after seeing the pain they already had went through the first time. He wanted to get the chance to live again. After he thought it was all over now he was back in a jam and he wasn’t sure if he’d get an other chance at life again.
He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder from his father and they locked eyes.
“Son I’m proud of you. Good fight… and one hell of a display of driving!”
“Thanks…” Jr Mumbled.
“What’s wrong Junebug? Thought you’d be happy! You won!”
“Didn’t care about that dad. I had bigger reasons to pass that line first tonight. I just hope what I did wasn’t in vain. I guess I’ll never know if I’m here again huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m dead aren’t I? Its what happened to me before.”
“Oh kid you’re not dead! This isn’t heaven buddy. It’s a little place between it. But you’ll find out about that when the time comes for it. You’re going to go back soon. I just wanted to see you again and tell you I was proud of you… and not just for what you just did. I’ve always been proud of you.”
Jr stared at his father for a second before grabbing him in a hug.
“I love you dad.”
“I know you do…” Sr. said... returning the hug with great force. “Now don’t come back again till you are damn good and ready you hear me?” he said pulling away from his son.”
Jr chuckled a little before giving an answer of “Yes sir…”
Suddenly his vision clouded up and his father started to disappear in front of him.
Before complete darkness overtook him once more he heard his father shout out to him. “Now go and LIVE!”
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“Jr!” Tony screamed through the window net while trying desperately to get the clips off to pull it down and get to his friend. Finally he got the damn things unhooked and peered in. What he saw brought Bile to his throat.
“Tony! Is he ok!” Steve Park yelled out while running toward the scene in a full sprint.
“Steve don’t’ let anyone near here! Get someone to get the medics out here!” Tony screamed at him over his shoulder as he reached his hands in to pull Jr’s helmet off and check and see if his friend was still alive.
Steve stopped for a second before mouthing “Right” and ran back in the direction of the accumulating crowd.
“Come on E… Be alright... you can’t do this to us again…” Tony whispered as he gently tried pulling off Jr’s helmet. Tony didn’t like the way his friend was laying in the car. He noted that the seat belts were undone right away due to the fact that Jr’s whole body laid sprawled over the steering wheel in an almost impossible position. Tony took a chance and lifted his friend’s too light torso off of the wheel and back into the seat. He had to get Jr out of this car. He couldn’t help him like this!
Tony turned his head around to see where the help was only to see Kevin Harvick running up to the car through a group of people who just sat there with their mouths open being no help at all.
“Tony, Steve said umm… the Medics are a little busy with um...something else at the moment. Is he ok?” Kevin asked hesitantly while stealing a glance into the open window of the stock car.
“I can’t tell! I can’t get to him like this! We have to get him out of the car. I need your help! “
“But… we might hurt him more. Should we wait?” Tony noted Kevin’s face was as white as a ghost as he kept staring into the car at his too still friend.
“We’re hurting him more waiting! Here… lets get this wheel off and out of here and we’ll both grab a shoulder and lift him out gently… alright?”
Kevin nodded silently while Tony went to work on undoing the steering wheel and flinging it over his head. Then both drivers gently grabbed the young Earnhardt and started to slowly pull him out of the car. They heard footsteps get closer behind them and hoped it was the paramedics only to find out it was Chocolate Myers.
“Jesus Christ… Ok… I got his head you guys… pull out his legs… Careful!” The older man instructed as he flung himself into the situation helping the shaken up stock car drivers.
Finally they laid Jr on the warm pavement of the track while Chocolate carefully lifted Jr’s head, helmet and all, on his bent knees. He went to work un strapping the safety device finally having success and pulled it off softly.
“Oh my god…” Kevin blurted out. “I mean… I knew it was him in the car but I sort of couldn’t believe it somehow. He’s so pale you guys…”
Tony couldn’t say anything as he kneeled next to his friend pulling off his gloves, attempting to give Jr as much air as possible.
Chocolate pushed back some of the young mans sweat soaked hair in an attempt to see his features better. He took note of the pale complexion.
“Is he…..” Tony whispered to the older man, as he was too afraid to check himself.
Chocolate looked at him sideways, hesitating before checking to see if the man he knew since he was a boy was alive or if he’d have to witness an other burial of someone he considered family.
The gasman’s left hand glided down to Jr’s neck and with his index and middle finger he attempted to find a pulse.
It seemed like seconds went by like minutes before Chocolate let his shoulders slump down and a deep breathe he didn’t know he was holding escape his lips.
“Thank god…” He mouthed giving the two drivers around him an answer right away.
“What the hell is taking them so long!” Tony said angrily looking over in the direction of the large crowd still on pit road.
“I think we should unzip the top of his fire suit and give him a chance to breathe. His breaths are too light.” Kevin added after realizing he didn’t see much of a rise and fall to his friends’ chest.
The two other men nodded in agreement as Tony let go of Jr’s hand that he’d been holding unconsciously the whole time and reached for the zipper of the Budweiser fire suit. His fingers wrapped around the metal piece and pulled it down slowly hoping his friend had on a t-shirt underneath. He wasn’t ready to see the scars that Dale Jr. now possessed. This man lying in front of him had gone through so much. More then anyone should ever endure. He just wished the pain would end for him.
Tony finally unzipped it down to the belt realizing he got his wish after seeing a white shirt underneath the fabric of the fire suit. He started to pull his hand away when something caught his eye and he reached over and pulled aside the fire suit on one side revealing a large wet red spot on the pure white t-shirt.
“Holy shit…” Kevin said while taking in the upsetting scene.
“He must have ripped that incision open again in the crash.” Chocolate pulled off his unbuttoned GM good wrench button down shirt and handed it to Tony instructing him to place that over it to hold in as much as he could. Tony obliged and gently placed the shirt over the bloody part of the t-shirt.
“Tony, apply pressure! That’s not gonna do any good like that!” Kevin added while taking his eyes off of Lil E to scan for some more help. The only people around them were gawking crewmembers and the fans up in the stands. They looked just as surprised to see Jr as some of the crewmembers staring were. But Kevin guessed that if given the chance the fans would have been more help then the crewmembers that stood not 15 feet from them right now.
His thoughts were brought back to the man lying next to him as a loud moan escaped his dry lips.
“Dale?” Chocolate said while bushing back more of the matted down hair on the young mans forehead.
Jr’s eyes squeezed shut as he let out an other moan.
“Can you hear us?” Tony asked while applying more pressure to his friends abused stomach. The added pressure wasn’t welcome and the man laying on the ground around them let out a sharp cry as he finally made a movement and grabbed at his stomach trying to desperately swat away what was causing him pain. His breaths where now coming in deep gasps as a reaction to the load of pain jolts he felt through his stomach and even his head and muscles.
Tony let up and watched as Jr somewhat slacked from the release. He now let his eyes open slightly to take in his surroundings to the excitement of the three men around him.
“Jr!” Its ok help is coming!”
“Are you ok?”
“What the hell where you doing, out there driving like that!”
Jr’s mind was fuzzy and was unsure of some thing’s but not of whom the last voice was and his gaze lifted to Chocolate.
One word came to Jr’s mind at the moment…
“Living…” He half whispered up to the man he considered family. The reason for his answer wasn’t certain. Later on he would realize why he said it when his mind cleared up. Chocolate nodded lightly at him and the questioned ended there.
But for now Jr let his eyes go from Tony to Kevin and then to his mashed up car. The guys around him followed his gaze to the car.
“Damn…” his dry mouth strained to wheeze out. “How the helled I do that…?”
“Not quite sure on that yet DJ. Do you remember what happened?” Tony said, again attempting to apply some pressure to Jr’s bleeding stomach.
Jr winced again at the added pain Tony was inflicting but now realized he was just helping and tried to remember what happened instead of focusing on the pain.
“Went into the corner… Brakes went out… steering went out. Wall…”
Chocolate smiled at the young man below him and then lifted his eyes up to the car.
“That man got two shots off at you while you were driving away before they took him down Jr. Maybe one of those bullets got the rear brake line and something in the steering? You are lucky he didn’t get you!”
“Yea…” He whispered as he let his eyes drift shut again. He was tired and in so much pain. He wanted to go back to the yummy darkness but something kept him from doing so. He couldn’t put his finger on it. He was worried about something… but what? His mind just wouldn’t work for him at the moment.
“Is he ok?” a voice broke through the silence of the moment from behind Chocolate.
“Yea Steve…” Jr forced out with his eyes still closed before the others could answer.
“Oh thank god!” Steve said in relief. And picked a spot next to Jr to kneel down. “Dale the ambulance should be over here soon. They had umm… some other things to take care of before they could get to you.”
“That’s just messed up” Tony snarled to know one as he looked up at the still very large group of people on pit road and the front stretch.
“Well no actually…. Its not.” Steve said reluctantly. “Jr?” He placed his hand on Jr’s shoulder causing him to open his tired heavy eyelids to look at Steve.
Steve took a couple seconds to gather strength before looking Jr in the eye. This wasn’t going to be easy.
“I probably shouldn’t tell you this considering the condition YOUR in… But I promised no more secrets since that day in the hospital and…”
Jr blinked up at him, waiting for what Steve had to say… and suddenly he jolted upright scaring the men around him. He remembered…
“Where’s Kerry?!” He half shouted before grabbing his head with his left hand to try and stop the spinning. His right hand was holding his upper torso off the pavement.
“Easy boy!” Chocolate warned and grabbed him by the shoulders helping to hold the weak man up.
“Calm down Jr. Teresa’s with him and so is Ty and the Eury’s. Actually Tony Jr wanted to come over to you but I told them you were being taken care of.”
“Son of a bitch Steve spit it out! Is he ok?” Jr hissed out through clenched teeth.
“Dale… He’s been shot….”
