Trust In Talent - Somi X Reader

Chapter 18

Y/N POV

After that shipwreck of a date, I decided to forget about what happened and head to the Chip Ganassi Racing factory at North Carolina. What's done is done, I need to focus on what is ahead of me and that will be the upcoming Indy 500 race. After two transit and 18 hours of flight time, I arrived at Charlotte International Airport and started my journey to the Chip Ganassi Racing headquarters. 

Chip Ganassi Racing is probably one of the biggest teams in the IndyCar series and this reflects from the size of their headquarters. It was bigger than the factory of HWA RaceLab and Carlin Motorsport. The facilities available here are state of the art. I started wandering around the factory and I came across a garage with a lineup of all the legendary cars that raced under Chip Ganassi Racing in the past. It was mesmerising but my self made tour was stopped when I was met by Floyd Ganassi, the owner of the team.

Floyd Ganassi: Hey sir? May I help you?

Y/N: Oh hi, Mister Ganassi, I'm Y/N and I'm here to sort out the details for an Indy 500 drive?

Floyd Ganassi: Nice to meet you Y/N, I was going to find you at the reception but I guess that saved me a step. Come with me.

I followed Floyd Ganassi through the hallway of the factory to a room. When I enter the room, I was surprised what was in the room. It was a a full sized IndyCar simulator. Also, in the room was another 3 drivers. I don't really recognise two of them but one of them was ex driver Marcus Ericsson. I can't believe my luck, it feels like my luck has completely turned around since I got involved with THE BLACKLABEL. 

Floyd Ganassi: Right, looks like we got everyone here. So this is Y/N, our wildcard driver for the Indy 500 this season. 

After meeting all my teammates, I head directly into the state of the art simulator to get a feel of the IndyCar chassis. I have never driven an IndyCar before so it will be my first experience, also this will be my first time racing in an oval so it will be very interesting. All my life, I have been racing on a race track so I will need a lot of practice if I wanted to do well in the Indy 500 race. 

The simulator here was so much more sophisticated than the one I have at home. These cars are so difficult to drive and it was especially difficult to keep it in a straight line because these cars are set up to only turn left. Therefore, the strength to hold the steering while trying to make the car go straight is very difficult. If I want to do well in this upcoming race, I am going to have to spend a lot of time in this simulator. 

Upon the preparations for the Indy 500 race, I spent almost every day of the past week in the factory getting to know the team and the car. Most of the tine was spent on the simulator as I really need to prepare for my first ever oval race. With all the preparations completed, me and my team headed to Indianapolis to prepare for the race. 

I was extremely nervous during the flight to Indianapolis because I didn't know what to expect for the Indy 500 race. As I said, the Indy 500 is one of the most prestigious races in America. Everyone in the USA watches it and people outside USA also watches. It is one of the races that everyone want to win as it is part of the triple crown. Winning this race was always a dream for me when I was a kid and I can't believe that after all these years, I would be participating in this race. I was trying to calm my nerves during the flight by sleeping when one of my teammates Marcus Ericsson tapped on my shoulder.

Marcus Ericsson: Calm down Y/N, it's just a race. You don't have to be so nervous.

Y/N: Are you serious? Just a race? This is the Indianapolis 500 we are talking about. One of the races that everyone wants to win, part of the triple crown.

Marcus Ericsson: Y/N, you are seriously stressing you out too much. You are still young, you don't need to be stressing out like this. 

Y/N: I'd love to be as relaxed as you but I just can't. I need to think about my road to Formula 1 as well.

Marcus Ericsson: Haha I was like you when I was younger. But my days at Caterham has taught me I should treat everything in a relaxed manner. If this race doesn't work out for you, there's always a next time. Look, I didn't score a point in 2014, I was paranoid about my future in Formula 1 after Caterham collapsed, but I joined Sauber in 2015 and scored my first point. Sometimes you just need to relax.

I thought about what Marcus said. Maybe I do need to relax a little bit and stop being so uptight about everything. I keep overthinking about everything which might affect my performance. If I treat this race as just any other race then I won't be so down when I don't get the results I wanted. 

Marcus Ericsson: Relax Y/N, you will be fine. Have a drink and rest.

With that, I ordered a can of beer from the flight attendant and slept the whole journey to Indianapolis. Completely relaxed, hoping that my nerves won't get the better of me when I arrive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Another short chapter. The next chapter will be a race chapter so make sure to read that if you want to know how Y/N did in his first encounter with the Indy 500. Sorry if this chapter was a bit rushed.

Thank you very much for reading this book and all your support. Please don't forget to vote this chapter. I will see you guys in my next chapter.