Chasing Cars |Chase Elliott x Reader|

4

Everything feels a little too surreal. Not only did I get wiped out by Kyle Busch, but I somehow crossed the finish line second.

I leave the medical center, now being greeted by one of the reporters. "(F/n)! Glad to see you're okay. What a finish for your first ever Cup race! Can you tell us what happened?"

The reporter pushes the mic in my face and I take a breath before unleashing the biggest grin, "Yeah I don't even know. One moment I'm right behind the nine and the next I have a nice view of a sea of oncoming cars coming straight at me. We even had a bit of an engine problem happening off and on too there towards the end. Either way I'm very proud of my team for a great race and unbelievably awesome finish!"

She gives a few closing comments and I make my way over to victory lane, hoping to congratulate Chase.

There's a whole sea of people cheering for him and celebrating. Confetti is everywhere, and Chase is posing for pictures with the beautiful Daytona five hundred trophy.

I look around to find some opening between the crowd, but I keep getting pushed back out. I stand there watching Chase smile like I've never seen before. Accepting defeat from the crowd, I decide to head back. My eyes lock with Chase's at the last second so I give a small smile, nod, and turn away, happy for my deserving teammate.

After a few minutes of navigating my way back, I'm walking down pit road towards my pit box. I feel a hand lightly grab my arm. "Hey you..."

I turn and see Chase. He's got confetti hanging off of him in various places, and stuck to him from the sweat I'm assuming from the heat of the long race. He is breathing a bit heavy, so I'm assuming he ran to catch up to me. He takes his hat off and runs his fingers through his dark brown hair and gives me his classic smile. "Hey Chase. Congrats on the big win!" I smile.

"Thanks. Yeah I saw you trying to get through the crowd. They can be feisty sometimes. But I wanted to come and personally thank you for working with me. I can't take all of the glory for this one," he laughs, "you were a great help for me to get the win tonight (F/n)."

I chuckle, "Yeah no problem. It was fun and I'm glad for the experience. Though I was totally nervous that I'd wipe us both out... I'm by no means the best pusher!"

"Nah you were great. It's cool seeing you come into second like you did, especially being a rookie. You guys were really fast out there. Definitely deserved." He puts his fist out for a fist bump, and I grin and return the gesture.

He gives me a nod and wave then turns back in the direction of his little party.

I turn and I see the bright yellow of Kyle Busch's fire suit as he approaches me.

This can either go really good, or really bad. I don't want any trouble so I'll try to keep my cool, despite being really pissed about how he was with me the entire race...

"Good run today (F/n)..." he smirks a little.

"Yeah I got a little bit of a push in right the direction," I grin devilishly and give him a wink.

His smirk drops.

"Glad to see you're okay though. Hopefully it'll work out better for you next time," I pat his shoulder and make my way around him.

•••

I watch the guys load my car back into it's hauler after helping them pack up. I catch myself grinning as I zip up this duffel bag full of extra equipment. I'm still so ecstatic about my finish. I know second is the first looser, but I think regardless I did quite alright.

"Hey I hope you didn't think I forgot about ya!"

I turn and see my dad smiling big with open arms. I stand and give him a big hug. "No I know you'd never do that."

"Yeah they wouldn't let me down here right away. Had to wait for some of it to clear out."

Ever since I started my career in racing, my dad never liked being down here in the pits to watch me. He always went up in the stands to watch. He loves being in the experience. He says it makes it feel more real, and I totally get it. The experience is what makes it so unforgettable.

"Well I hope you know how much it means to me that you came to see me tonight dad."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"We're all done here (F/n) if you want to head out. Thanks for your hard work and for helping us pack up. Not many drivers do a whole lot of that." Cliff comes up to us and says.

I nod, "sounds good! And yeah not a problem, I definitely don't mind helping. And you guys did great too! Hopefully we can get it done here soon."

Cliff leaves and I turn back to my dad, "I guess I'll be seeing you next week?"

"I'll try to. If not, best of luck. You know I'll be cheering you on the whole time from the TV regardless just like your mother does."

After saying goodbye. I make my way back to my motor coach, the lights sparkling off of the rest of the haulers and other cars in the lot. "Keep finishing your races like that and we'll have to call you the Cyclone!" I hear Alex Bowman snap me out of my thoughts that keep drifting to my day.

He's wearing a casual outfit, having already changed out of his fire suit. A regular shirt and some jeans. He closes the door to his car after loading his bag inside.

"Yeah, hopefully that won't become a habit. I about wet myself after seeing you right there when I was turned," I respond after letting out a yawn.

"I knew I saw a little stain on the seat" he jokes, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"Sure!" I lightly punch his shoulder.

"Chase give you a big thanks though? If it weren't for you I'm not sure if he would've stayed up there. A couple of us were zeroing in."

I grin, "Yeah he did. I was actually surprised he did though kinda. He never really talks to me like you and William do. He actually came after me since I didn't get the chance to congratulate him in victory lane."

"He'll warm up to you in time I'm sure. But I'm glad he did. I'll let you go though, I see you're pretty wiped out from today. Just don't go backwards down the highways on your way back."

I roll my eyes playfully, "I've got to practice my signature move though!" I laugh, "but see ya in a few days at HQ for some practice. Have a good night Alex."

"Yeah you too."

•••

My eyes gaze out at the dark sky as the cars and lights flash past while we make our way around. I'm relaxing on this mini couch area I have in some comfy pjs. I scroll through my Twitter feed and seeing a few "congrats on a great finish" from a few friends and team mates.

My phone vibrates and I see a new notification from Chase on Twitter. He wrote:

"Big thanks to the cyclone @((F/n)'s Twitter Handle) for helping me snatch that trophy 🏆 Heck of a finish for the @NAPARacing team. Looking forward to some more fun next week"

The biggest grin spreads across my face as I reply:

"Well @chaseelliott I was just trying to get a feel for how a burnout might feel when I pass you next time 😁✨"

I click my phone off and plop back, resting my head on the armrest of the small couch.

He doesn't seem so bad now that I'm getting to see the "not-just-smiles-stares-and-nods" Chase Elliott.

I think we will get along just fine.