"Geoff pulls the car out of the spin. He ends up on the grass, but he keeps the car running and drives away. Great save by Geoff Brabham! And we have a new leader, Balto Wolf in the #35 Mobil 1 Porsche 962!" Unbeknownst to Balto, Geoff's Nissan began dropping clods of dirt out from under it onto the track. "We are under caution," the announcer called out afterwards, as Brabham continuing dropping clods of dirt even as he rounded West Bend. Balto was not too happy about that. "What's the yellow for?" Balto asked. "Apparently," replied Stan, "after you pulled off that pass on Brabham and he spun, when he got going again, he began dropping dirt on the circuit." Balto shook his head in disgust. "I just checked the fuel load, and with they way you drove out there trying to catch those Nissans, you've nearly run the car out of fuel," Stan added. "You should probably bring the car in." "What for?" asked Balto. "It's almost over." "You've been under green for 70 laps, everybody's gonna pit, Balto," Stan replied. "Lights cars, too?" Balto asked again. "Probably," Stan responded. Reluctantly, Balto pulled into the pits, as did everybody else. The crew put in only enough fuel to get him to the end of the race and back around to the pits on the cool down lap. They also went ahead and changed tires. There was no point in doing a driver change, being so late in the race. Unfortunately, the fuel men had trouble getting the fuel nozzle to disengage. Balto noticed and started frantically gesticulating for the crew to pull the fuel nozzle out. Both the Nissans were pitting behind the Fox/Ridgemount pits. When Balto saw them coming, he got more on edge. "Dammit! Go, go, go!" he exclaimed, frantically signaling with his right arm. Eventually, the nozzle disengaged and he pulled out. But the Nissans beat him to the pit out. Balto wasn't the least bit pleased. He was still angry over the refueling issue in the run-up to the restart. "I come in the pits, I'm in first place! I go out, I'm in third with only two laps to go!" he exclaimed. "First of all, don't get too worked up, Balto," said Stan, trying to calm his driver down. "You've still got a shot at winning this thing." While still behind the pace car, Balto went about weaving the car back and forth across the track in order to get some heat and, subsequently, some grip into the tires. This way, he wouldn't have to take it easy on the two remaining laps of racing. At the end of lap 148, the pace car pulled into the pits and the two lap dash to the finish was on. Right away, Balto went on the attack. He attempted a pass on Chip Robinson right away at Big Bend. He could not attempt it earlier because no passing is allowed before crossing the start/finish line on the start and later restarts. The pass attempt, however, was thwarted. Balto's next chance for a successful pass came under braking for Climbing Turn. Chip again attempted a block, but Balto already had the left front corner of his car up the inside. They made contact, which got Robinson loose. He led on, but by now was forced to go down the escape road at the chicane, which was part of the track when the chicane wasn't used. Because the Nissan was already down to speed for the chicane, it did not take off and get airborne after cresting the hill. It did, however, lose about two or three positions in the process. Next, Balto set his sights on Geoff Brabham. He didn't have enough time to set up a move at West Bend. It would have to wait at least until Big Bend. As the passed under the flag stand at the start/finish line, the announcer called out, "There's the white flag. One lap to go." "Last lap, Balto," Stan radioed to his driver. Alas, Balto's attempt to overtake Geoff at Big Bend was unsuccessful, as Brabham had closed the door. Balto didn't even get alongside. Ditto at Climbing Turn, although he got really close. West Bend was his last chance. "Alright, here goes," Balto thought to himself. "It's now or never." Balto moved to the inside at the last possible second and jammed hard on the brakes. He rubbed fenders with Brabham, who got forced offline and onto the marbles - rolled up bits of rubber that come off the tires as they wear - on the outside of the right-hander. The Nissan wiggled and spun right into the middle of the track. The closely bunched pack scattered in all directions, triggering a multiple collision that swept up a chunky portion of the remaining cars. Home free now, Balto raced downhill into Diving Turn and on toward the checkered flag. "YES!" he exclaimed as he left fist shot up in the air. His pit crew cheered wildly as he took the flag. Balto then popped the driver's side door open, stuck his right paw out and waved to the crowd. Behind him, the survivors were now making their way to the finish line. The first of them were still intact, while the stragglers were the ones who damaged but still drivable. Neither Nissan made it back. The podium was rounded out by the #67 Busby Porsche and the #60 Castrol Jaguar. The Electromotive Nissans still finished fifth and sixth, respectively, as there were only three other cars behind them on the lead lap at the time of the crash. Balto wasn't even aware of the wreck until he got back around to West Bend on his cool down lap. But when he did get there, he couldn't believe what happened. When Balto looked in his mirrors after crossing the start/finish line, he didn't see anybody and wondered what happened. If he didn't know then, he knew now. Having gotten caught up in the melee, Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson were both very angry. Just when victory and a Nissan 1-2 appeared to be in sight, they were robbed. And by a privateer team, no less. They were still at the accident site when Balto came through on his cool down lap. Because of all the debris on the track, Balto had to carefully pick his way through to avoid getting a punctured tire. In order to do that, he had to reduce his speed. This would not turn out to be favorable for Balto. Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson walked out into the middle of the track and stood right in front of Balto's Porsche. And they looked really pissed off. Tentatively, Balto popped the door open. "Need a ride?" he asked. Chip and Geoff approached the driver's side door. Once there, Geoff pulled the latch to unhook Balto's six-point safety harness while Chip grabbed Balto and threw him out of the car and onto the grass on the inside of the track. "What are you guys doing?!" Balto asked, sounding surprised, angry, and confused all simultaneously. "What the hell were you thinking?" Geoff yelled. "You spun him out and collected me and half the field, you idiot!" Chip exclaimed. "Oh, shut up, you morons!" Balto shot back. "You're both just mad 'cause you lost." Brabham and Robinson were about to advance on Balto when a track marshal stepped in between the combatants. "Hey, break it up, you three!" the marshal exclaimed. He then grabbed Geoff and Chip and pulled them away. They got onto the back of a pickup truck and got a ride back to the pit area that way. Balto eventually got back on his feet and climbed back into his car. He was grabbing his nose as he walked to his car. When he got thrown out of his 962, he scraped his nose when he hit the pavement. It was still raw when he got up again. Eventually, he restarted the engine, put the car in gear, and drove back to the pits - and victory lane. Balto was met with open arms by his crew when he pulled into victory lane. Kyle and Stan were the first two to greet him after he climbed out of the car. After he took off his helmet and balaclava, Jenna came running up to him and threw her front paws around him a mighty hug. She hadn't gotten the chance to do so in the winner's circle since the Grand Prix of Miami earlier in the year. "You did it! You did it!" Jenna exclaimed as she hugged Balto. "What a brilliant move for the win!" She then pulled him in and kissed him, which he eagerly returned. Jenna then noticed the scratch on Balto's nose and got worried quickly. "What happened to your nose?" Jenna asked. "Geoff and Chip cornered me when I came back to the accident scene on my cool down lap," Balto explained. "Geoff unhooked my belts before Chip pulled me out of the car and threw me onto the pavement." "What did they do that for?" Jenna asked. She obviously wasn't too pleased. "Well, the pass put Geoff out in the marbles and he spun," Balto explained. "From what I've heard, the pack scattered around it and half the remaining cars were swept up in the ensuing accident. Chip was one of those who was." "That doesn't give them the right to do that!" Jenna protested. "Yeah well, tell them that," Balto replied in a disgusted tone. Just then, some Fox/Ridgemount crew members came over with Stan to their two drivers. The usual post-race interview with the winners was about to take place. ESPN's Dr. Jerry Punch was scheduled to give the interview with Kyle and Balto. "I'm down here in the winner's circle with Kyle Fox and Balto Wolf, the winners of today's race," said Jerry as he began the interview. "Guys, at first the Electromotive Nissans looked unstoppable. How did you manage to get back in the race?" "Well, Stan informed me over the radio during my stint that we weren't falling off the pace as much as the Nissans were later in the first fuel run," Kyle said, answering Dr. Punch's question."Even so, I think third is as high we would have gotten if the pace car hadn't come into play with that first full course caution." "Balto, throughout most

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Next page