Revved Up Hearts (12 page)

“Men are such pigs,” Valerie said. Bryan opened his mouth to say something but then thought better of it and kept quiet. He took the baby over to look at the car. “I can’t believe that guy,” Valerie continued. “Tell me exactly what
happened.”

Dawn spent the next few minutes reliving the fight from last night. “I have a good mind to go over there and tell him what I think of him,” Valerie said when Dawn finished her
story.

“It’s not worth it,” Dawn
said.

“I just can’t believe he treated you that way. I always thought better of him than that, until
now.”

“It’s better this way. I’ll make new
friends.”

“But he knew your story, and he still did that,” Valerie said, casting a glance in the direction of Jeremiah’s garage
stall.

“You know about that?” Dawn
asked.

“Not all of it, but Bryan did say that you took this job after you broke off your
engagement.”

“I’ll tell you all about it sometime. Maybe during that lunch we talked about
yesterday.”

Bryan walked back over to them just then. “I have to go to driver introductions now. Do you ladies want to go with
me?”

“Sure,” they both said at the same
time.

Dawn spent the next hour or so following Bryan, Valerie, and the baby as Bryan went through driver introductions and other prerace ceremonies. She met all the drivers: Robert Turney, Jayvin Daniels, James Fowler Jr., Randy Brown, Josh Mefford, Wallace Campbell, and more. She had her camera this time, and she got her picture taken with each and every one. She would be the most popular person in Jasper when everyone back home saw these pictures. There were a lot of older legendary drivers there, too: Richard Petty, Cale Yarbough, and Darrell Waltrip, just to name a few. They all posed for pictures, as well. Bryan explained that the Daytona 500 was such a tradition that every living driver tried to attend. She saw Sean Vaughn again and got her picture with him this time. She wondered what Jeremiah would think of that. She decided that she really didn’t care what he thought. Dawn was walking down pit road with Bryan, Valerie, and the baby when Jeremiah approached
her.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked
her.

Dawn’s first reaction was to say no, but she decided she wanted to hear what he had to say. She looked at Bryan and Valerie. “Do you mind if I go talk to him for a
minute?”

“Go ahead,” Bryan said. “Just be back to the car in time for our prayer before the race
starts.”

“Okay,” Dawn said and then walked a few steps away. There were so many people milling around that it was hard to
talk.

“First of all, I want to apologize for last night,” Jeremiah started. “I was a jerk. I went back to my motor coach and thought about what I had done and said. I kept thinking about Elizabeth. I thought about what I would’ve done if she were still alive and someone had treated her the way I treated you. I would’ve pounded on that guy’s face for hours. I know that I deserved to be beat to a pulp. I’m so sorry. Can you forgive
me?”

Dawn thought about it. “Yes,” she finally
said.

“Thank you.” Jeremiah smiled. “I want to talk more but opening ceremonies are about to start. Can we talk after the
race?”

“It depends on if Bryan wants to leave for Charlotte right
away.”

“Okay. Now go to Bryan’s car before you get into
trouble.”

“Good luck today,” she told him as she started to walk away. “Be
careful.”

“I will,” he told her before he turned and jogged to his
car.

Dawn got to Bryan’s car just in time. The crew had gathered by the car for prayer. Dawn joined the circle and took the hand of the crew member beside her. They all bowed their heads as Bryan began to pray. “Heavenly Father, thank you for this day and the start of another NASCAR season. Be with all the crews, drivers, officials, and everyone involved. Keep us all safe. May you be in the cars with the drivers. Keep the guys on pit road out of danger. I pray that we are all safe to race today and all season long. But more importantly, may we run the race for you. Your will be done. We love you, Lord. Let our lives be a testimony to you. Thank you for your Son and the gift of salvation that he offers. I pray that everyone accepts that gift before they see the checkered flag at the end of their life. And if it be your will Lord, let us win the Daytona 500. In your blessed name we pray, Amen.”

They all said, “Amen.”

Then it was time for opening ceremonies. Dawn tried to take it all in. A young, up-and-coming rocker sang the national anthem. Being a country girl, Dawn didn’t listen to that type of music and didn’t know who the girl was, but she did a very good job on the song. A local minister gave the invocation. After that Bryan and all the drivers got into their cars and began the long process of buckling in. It took a few minutes, but Dawn knew that all the safety precautions made the drivers as safe as possible. With them, a driver would walk away from a crash that otherwise would’ve caused serious injury or death. When all the drivers were ready, it was time for the command to start engines. The grand marshal said the most famous words in racing, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” If Dawn had thought everything was loud before, it was nothing compared to when all those powerful cars started at once. It was so loud that Dawn could feel the vibrations rumble through her. “Never experienced anything like that before, have you?” Valerie leaned in to
ask.

“No!” Dawn answered. “It’s amazing. Do you ever get used to
it?”

“Not really,” Valerie answered. “You know it’s coming and brace yourself for it, but it gets you every
time.”

“It’s crazy,” Dawn yelled over all the noise, “and I love it!” They both
laughed.

“I’m taking the baby back to the motor coach. She’s had all the excitement she can stand,” Valerie said. “Do you want to join
us?”

“No, but thank you,” Dawn answered. “Bryan and the guys asked me to watch the race from the top of the pit box. ”

“That will be fun,” Valerie said. Then she leaned into the car and kissed her husband. She told him she loved him and that she would see him later. He reached out the window to touch the baby. He waved at her, and the little one smiled back. Then Valerie handed him the helmet she held in her other hand. Dawn had heard something around the garage about this being a good luck ritual. If the driver was married or had a girlfriend, she held the helmet during the opening ceremonies and was the last one to touch it before he put it on. It was an emotional time. Dawn could feel the love that the two shared. Valerie stepped away, and then the cars began to slowly roll off pit road for the warm-up laps. Valerie watched Bryan go. Then she stepped back toward Dawn, told her bye, and walked back to the motor
coach.

Dawn followed the crew back to their place on pit road. This space the size of a parking spot was where Bryan would bring the car for gas, tires, and adjustments. She followed Travis to the top of the pit box. Once there, he pointed to her seat behind him and handed her a headset. This time it had her name on it. She put it on and listened as Travis talked to Bryan. Her headset had a microphone, but she made sure it was turned off. She was sure that any close calls would have her
gasping.

“What do you think?” Travis asked later. The race had been going on for close to an hour. All that was going on now was cars going round and
round.

“Mixed feelings,” Dawn answered. “Part of me is really excited, watching the cars go by so fast and so close together. The other part of me is scared to death about the same
things.”

He laughed at her answer. “That feeling never really goes away. When it does, it will probably be time for me to look for another
job.”

Dawn was about to say something else when she heard a terrible noise. She looked around and saw one of the cars bounce off the wall near turn 4 and spin until it was facing the wrong way on the track. Bryan and a bunch of other cars were driving right toward the accident. She wanted to look away but couldn’t. Dawn felt like she was watching everything in slow motion. The scene blurred in front of her as her eyes welled up. She lost track of Bryan’s car but then saw it swerve hard to the right toward another car. She closed her eyes and put her hands over her face and started praying. She could hear the spotter on the headset, guiding Bryan around the wreck. She felt Travis put his hand on her
shoulder.

“It’s okay. He made it through. They all made it through and caution is out.” She peeked out from behind her hands. They were shaking. She clasped them together and put them in her lap as she began to rock back and forth. It was a nervous habit that she didn’t like. “Hey, you’re white as a sheet.” Travis said as he looked at her with concern. “And you’re shaking. Are you
okay?”

“No, but I will be in a minute when my heart gets out of my throat and back into my chest where it belongs. That was the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life.” Then she realized that she didn’t know where Jeremiah had been during the accident. “Where’s Jeremiah? Is he
okay?”

“Yes. He was ahead of the
wreck.”

“Thank you, Jesus!” She put her hand over her heart. She could feel it pounding. “Is the driver who wrecked
okay?”

“Yes. He walked away from the wreck, but they’ll take him to the infield care center and check him out, just to make
sure.”

Dawn calmed down while the track crew cleaned up the mess. She watched the rest of the race and all the close calls made her cringe. Neither Bryan nor Jeremiah won. Randy Brown did. Bryan finished fifth and Jeremiah finished
eighth.

Dawn was walking back toward the garage area with Bryan and the crew when she heard Jeremiah call her name. She turned around and saw him jogging toward her. She waited for him to catch up. “Did you like the race?” he asked when he got
there.

“Other than the wrecks, yes, I
did.”

“That was nothing. I’ve been in a lot worse. What was your favorite
part?”

“The pit stops. The way they changed tires, filled up on gas, and made all the adjustments in under fifteen seconds. Amazing.”

“A good stop can win the race for you, but a bad one can lose it. The pit guys are the best. Can’t race without them. So, when are you guys
leaving?”

“As soon as we get everything loaded in the trucks. Bryan is in a hurry to get
home.”

“What are you doing
tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure yet. Other than a few errands, Bryan has given me the tomorrow off. I guess I’ll start looking for an
apartment.”

“I thought Bryan made living arrangements for
you?”

“Only temporary ones. I’ll check that place out. Maybe check out Charlotte and try to find my way around. I’ve never been there before.” They were at Bryan’s garage stall now. The crew was rushing around like ants gathering food at a
picnic.