The Good Race

Chapter 20

JACKIE PULLED INTO the parking lot at the address Ryan had given her and got out of the car. Though Ryan's car was in the lot, she didn't see him anywhere when she stepped out of her Jeep. She looked at the faded painted sign nailed to a tall, white picket fence.

"Great North Woods Speedway," she murmured, stepping back to take in more of the massive structure before her. From her vantage point in the gravel parking lot, she could see a grand stand, not remotely as large as the professional circuit tracks, but adequate enough for this size operation. She guessed it was probably a quarter mile loop inside, but whether it was a dirt track or paved remained to be seen.

Ryan called over to her from the ticket booth and she started in his direction. There were three ticket windows in total labeled: Credit, Cash Only and Will Call. So far, the structures seemed to be in reasonably good shape, if not a little dated. "Come on in," Ryan waved. "You've got to see this."

Jackie walked over and followed him through the main gate. Immediately to her right were the bathrooms. To her left, she saw three small buildings that she figured were various concession and merchandising stands. A glance up and she saw she was next to the grand stand. As they walked around front of it, she saw the press box and announcer's booth at the top of the stands. More bleachers stood around turns three and four, but turns one and two were bare, housing lots for the driver's transport trucks and places to store their cars when their heat wasn't up or they were done for the night.

Some of the clapboard structures were in need of repair. The whole place needed a paint job, but it was charming. She could close her eyes and heard the roar of the engines—the super streets, the U-cars, the modifieds, late models and wolf trucks. She could smell the fried food and feel the pulse of the crowd. To her, it was the sounds of summer.

"Did you know this was here when you bought your place?" Ryan asked, shaking Jackie out of her reverie.

"No. It's ironic, isn't it? I was just looking at the hospital and the land and buildings I bought."

"Ironic or maybe fate," Ryan said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"How do you mean?"

"It's for sale," he explained. "The owner had a stroke two years ago and no one was able to open it. They're trying to sell it. The drivers that like to race here wanted to buy it, but they couldn't get the capital together."

"How much is it?"

"Eight hundred thousand."

Jackie looked around again. The structures didn't seem worth it, but it did sit on a lot of land.

"I want it," Ryan announced. "And I want you to be my partner in the business. Before you say no, just listen to me. Who better to run an operation like this and make it thrive than the kids of two of the most successful and beloved professional drivers of their time? With the contacts we have, we can get all sorts of professional drivers here for events, especially when they're racing in New Hampshire. And it's the perfect facility for me to run my cars on. I can test them in actual races and simulations on a track—albeit a short track. And beyond all that, it'll just be damn fun. Please, Jacks? What do you say?"

Jackie rolled her eyes and looked around her again, this time studying everything as an asset or a liability. He didn't need her money. Even if Ryan did need another investor to make it happen, he could easily tap his father. Jackie knew it was something that he wanted to share with her specifically. Outside of their shared background in racing and having the same mother, the two were nearly opposites and had virtually nothing in common with each other.