Short Track Lovin' ✅

Chapter 81: Hootie and Shamrock

Sunday, November 12 – Phoenix Raceway

After Chase had made his way to driver introductions, Sarina headed out to pit road, giving Samantha and Brexton a quick hello, before making her way to where the No. 24 Chevrolet sat. It didn't surprise her to see Hootie sitting up on the roof, perfectly placed after some of the pre-race Hooters photos; she even caught the sponsor representative taking a quick photo. She smiles as she reached into her pocket, placing a green beanie baby beside him.

"Did that just come out of your pocket?" She hears and glances back, seeing Cindy standing there. She nods her head, feeling a tinge of nerves in wondering how Mommy would accept it. It wasn't every day that random lucky charms or teddy bears were on display on a NASCAR pit road. "He's cute...."

"That's my lucky buddy Shamrock," Sarina reveals. "Let's just say he came from a friend one night, and gave me some extra luck that gave me a special victory. I figured someone could use him today." Cindy could only glance back with a smile, as she snapped a quick photo on her phone. It was a sweet gesture, and given everybody's feelings about the day, it was worth it.

"Hootie and Shamrock look great together. Hopefully your plan pays off..." Sarina holds up a pair of crossed fingers.

"You were ready to kill Hootie at one point," she then hears as she takes her own photo of the pair, recognizing the voice immediately. She then feels a pair of arms wrap around her, and she instantly leans back in them. "And now I hear you given him a friend. Do I get an explanation?"

"When Hootie and I met at Talladega, you're right – I was ready to murder him," she tells him. "However, I took your advice and gave him a bath and tried to be nice to the little guy. Besides, he is kind of cute. Then last week at Texas, he redeemed himself with a decent run. So now I figure if I give him a lucky friend, he'll make some magic happen for you."

"I hope you're right..." He then gives her a quick kiss on the cheek before walking over to the guys for a last minute conversation.

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"Alright, it's show time here," Eddie says over the radio. "All we gotta do is do it all day long here."

Sarina takes a deep breath as she takes her usual seat on the pit box, headset on her head, ready to endure a race that would probably seem like it was 24 hours long. She knew it was just another race, just another day at the track. However, what could possibly happen with the result of a good day didn't leave her mind. What if today was the day?

Her hopes instantly opened up as she watched him take the lead on Lap 12, passing Ryan Blaney for the top spot. So far, so good, as the car seemed to be handling great with consistent lap times. But, it was early, so she couldn't get ahead of herself either.

Everything seemed smooth until Lap 26 as she watched the No. 11 FedEx Toyota begin to close the gap to the rear bumper. Her eyes opened wide and she shook her head in surprise, combined with some anger mixed in probably too, as a small bump saw Denny go by for the top spot two laps later. She had to grin as she watched Chase give him a small bump in return entering turn one, putting himself back out front.

"That's my boy," she comments to herself. It was nice to see him standing his ground and not taking Denny's crap. Though a sigh escaped her lips as Denny passed him back a lap later, beginning to pull away.

"Stay with it, nice and smooth," Alan says over the radio, set to keep his driver focused on the bigger picture. Yes, it sucked that it was Denny leading. Certainly, Denny would be the worst person to see transfer to the next round or win today. But there was still a long way to go and they wouldn't get there if they let him get into his head.