Revved Up Hearts (9 page)

“You should do it. You really should,” The woman answered. “It was by far the coolest thing I have ever done in my life,” the woman said, still out of
breath.

“Were you
scared?”

“A little at first, but before we ever got started, Jeremiah assured me that he wouldn’t do anything I didn’t want him to do. He talked to me through the whole ride. He kept asking me if I was okay and if it was okay for him to go a little faster. He really assured me that it is very safe and that everything would be
okay.”

“What about the
ride?”

“It was awesome. Everything went by so fast. The fences and seats and everything were just a blur. Once he got really close to the wall, and I screamed. I just knew that we were going to hit it, but Jeremiah said that everything would be okay. Then he just drove away from
it.”

“Did it make you
sick?”

“Yes, but Jeremiah said it was because I was trying to focus on things that were going by so fast. He told me to concentrate on something stationary and in the distance, so I kept my eyes on the scoring tower in the middle of the infield. Once I did that, the queasiness went
away.”

“And you think I should do it?” Dawn
asked.

“Definitely. Everyone should give it a try. I loved
it!”

“I’ll consider it. Thank you for your time,” Dawn said as she turned to watch more people take their
turn.

Dawn watched while Jeremiah took everyone in the group on a couple of laps around the track. Everyone had the same reaction. They all got out of the car so excited. After the last person got out of the car, Jeremiah walked over to the group for a last round of handshakes. Most of the women even hugged him. After the last thank you, Jeremiah walked over to Dawn. “So what did you
think?”

“I’m going to do
it!”

“Great,” he said. “I’ll go get my gear back on, and we’ll go right
now.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’d better let Bryan take me. I think I hurt his feelings when I refused to go with him. I need to make it up to
him.”

“I understand,” he told her, “but you better let me know when you’re going to go so that I can be
there.”

The next morning, Dawn was regretting her decision. When she walked into the garage stall yesterday and told everyone she had changed her mind, they had been so excited. But as she stood here in a fire suit while being hooked up to a bunch of safety equipment, she wondered if she could change her mind back. Her apprehension must’ve shown on her face because Ted asked her if she was okay. She didn’t answer because she wasn’t
sure.

“It’s perfectly safe,” he said as he tightened a strap on her shoulder. “Bryan and a lot of guys do this every day, and nothing
happens.”

“I’ve seen stuff happen,” Dawn
said.

“Okay, stuff happens. But that is what all this equipment is for. Even if you flip or hit the wall, you’d be so secure in the car that you’d barely move. You’d walk
away.”

“That’s not very
reassuring.”

“It’s true,” Bryan said. He had been leaning against the pit box, watching Dawn get ready and listening to the conversation. “People get hurt by bouncing around the car on impact. You’ll be secured to the seat, which is welded to the roll cage. That’s part of the car’s frame. If we had an accident, you’d be sore the next day, but no major
injuries.”

“In my head, I know all the facts, but in my heart I’m scared to death. I thought about calling my mom this morning, but I figured she would talk me out of it. I’ll call her
later.”

“You’re talking about later. That’s a sign that you are being positive,” Bryan said. Dawn just looked at him and
smiled.

“Okay,” Ted said as he tightened the last strap. “You’re ready to
go.”

Dawn’s feet felt like they were made of lead as she walked down pit road to the
car.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Bryan
asked.

“Yes. I need to understand what you do and what you
experience.”

“The guys think you’re really brave. My last personal assistant, before my wife, would not do this. He
refused.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You’re making huge brownie points with the
crew.”

“Great. Tell that to my mom at the
funeral.”

“Stop it. Everything will be
fine.”

“I believe you, but can I pray before we go?” Dawn
asked.

“I never get into the car without praying first,” Bryan answered. “Guys, gather round. It’s time to pray.” The crew joined Dawn and Bryan. They formed a circle, joined hands, and bowed their heads. Bryan prayed, “Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for bringing the crew back together for a new year of racing. Thank you for the new friend you have brought to us. Calm her fears as she embarks on this new adventure. Guide my hands as I hold the wheel. You are in control. Be with the crew. Please keep us all safe. We love you, Lord. Your will be done. Amen.”

“Amen,” Dawn said. She looked up and saw Jeremiah standing a few feet away. When he saw that she was finished praying, he walked over to her. “I can’t believe you really came,” she said to
him.

“Are you kidding?” he said as he gave her a hug. “I wouldn’t miss this for the
world.”

“Great, more witnesses,” Dawn said as she threw her hands in the air and walked past him to the passenger side of the car. She stopped, turned back, and asked, “Are you here to encourage me or to watch me embarrass
myself?”

“I’m here to support you no matter what,” Jeremiah
replied.

She looked at him with a huge smile then quickly stopped smiling, shook her head, and said, “Enough of that. I have to get my race face on.” That made them all
laugh.

“You’re being positive again,” Bryan said as he came to stand by Jeremiah. Dawn had noticed things were thawing between the two men. That was a
relief.

“I am trying to be positive. I really am. I just go back and forth between excitement and pure
terror.”

“I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you or cause you to doubt me. And you can still back out anytime,” Bryan
said.

“I
know.”

“Are you
ready?”

Dawn took a deep breath, held it for a second, and then released it slowly. “Yes,” she said with a shake of her
head.

“Then let’s
go.”

Dawn took another deep breath a few minutes later, as the race car she was sitting in started to move. “Oh, Lord,” she prayed, “protect me. I hope this is your will. And if it’s not, protect me anyway, and let me live to regret it later.” Then she took a moment to take it all in. She had given her camera to Ted. He was supposed to take as many pictures as he could. Another crewmember was shooting the whole thing with his video camera. Dawn looked around the inside of the car. It wasn’t like a normal car—mostly just the bars of the roll cage and a few gauges. She had learned that it didn’t even have a speedometer. The crew chief determined speed by knowing how long the track was and how long it took to go around it. Then he told the driver the speed over the radio. The car didn’t have a key either. The driver used a switch to start the
engine.

“One last chance to change your mind,” Bryan told
her.

Dawn looked outside the car and watched the bleachers and people go by. She wondered what it would look like at 150 mph. There was only one way to find out. She took another deep breath, grabbed a hold of the bar in front of her, said another quick prayer, and
nodded.

Dawn thought it was exciting to watch a car go around the track at more than 180 mph, but it was no comparison to being in the
car.

“Breathe,” Bryan said. Until that moment, Dawn hadn’t even realized that she was holding her breath. She let it out with a loud
whoosh
. “I’ll go around the track the first time at highway speed to help you get a feel for what is going on. After that, I’ll speed up a little at a time. Just say when, and I’ll maintain that speed. If you decide you’ve had enough, let me know, and we’ll
stop.”

“Okay.” The first lap went by with no problem. It was nothing more than being a passenger in a car on a casual Sunday drive. No big
deal.

“Here we go!” Bryan said as he brought the car out of turn 4. Dawn watched Bryan put more pressure on the gas pedal and felt the car lurch forward.
Still not that big of a deal
, Dawn had gone this fast on the interstate. But she could feel when the car hit a speed that she was no longer comfortable with. They were out of turn 1 when Dawn heard 130 over the radio. “You okay?” Bryan asked. Dawn could only nod her response. The car accelerated
again.

“One-forty.”

“When we get out of turn 2, I’m going up by the wall if that is okay with
you.”

“Sure,” she somehow managed to
say.

“One-fifty.”

Dawn was beginning to feel comfortable with the situation, but her heart really started to beat when Bryan took the car up the embankment toward the wall. She was close enough to touch it. And at 150 mph. She didn’t know how Bryan, Jeremiah, and the other drivers did this every
week.

“You’re very quiet. Are you still
okay?”

“Yeah. Just
thinking.”

“About
what?”

“About how you and Jeremiah do this with forty-one other cars on the
track.”

“Are you enjoying
yourself?”

“This is awesome!” Dawn shouted. “I can’t believe that I didn’t want to do this!” She looked toward Bryan. It was hard to see him because of all the restraints that kept her from moving, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see that he was
smiling.

“That’s what I want to hear. Let’s celebrate by seeing what this baby can
do!”

“Oh, yeah! Hammer down!” By now they were back into turn 4. A little thing like a curve didn’t bother Bryan. He floored it. As they came out of the curve, they heard “160” over the radio. They flew down the front straightaway. Dawn couldn’t focus on anything—not the wall, the seats, the road, nothing. As a wave of nausea hit her, she remembered what the redhead had told her yesterday. Dawn focused on the scoring tower in the middle of the infield, and the nausea went
away.

They went around the track two more times and hit a top speed of 164 mph. The whole ride took less than ten minutes, but it was ten minutes Dawn would never forget. Bryan brought the car down pit road, and the crew gathered around as soon as it came to a stop. They all had huge smiles on their faces. “Did you have a good time?” Ted asked as he stuck his head inside the car to help Dawn
unbuckle.