“Taps”
By Kellyanne Lynch
25 April 2002, 3:18 – 7:55 PM
Disclaimer: I am not being paid by anybody, and I do not know the individuals depicted in this fanfic. The beginning lines of the story are quoted almost verbatim from FOX’s 4/21/02 telecast of the NASCAR Winston Cup race at Talladega. They were used as a starting point for my fic and to make the story more realistic. No copyright infringement intended. This fanfic is for entertainment purposes only.
Summary: A NASCAR fic. With Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Michael Waltrip in the lead at Talladega Motor Speedway, it looks like another 1 – 2 DEI finish, when the big one happens.
Author’s Note: The idea for this story came to mind while I was driving. Apparently, I’m in a more serious mood today. I’ll warn y’all: this fic is fairly morbid. It’s different from my other NASCAR fanfics; mood-wise, it’s more closely related to fics I’ve written in other categories (e.g. matchbox twenty and Chili Peppers). The style, however, is new for me. It’s kinda reminiscent of the young adult author, Avi. Is anybody else familiar with Avi’s stories? My favourite is Nothing But The Truth. Okay, it’s also the only Avi book I’ve read.
Dedication: to the pit crew
Rating: PG - 13
* Please e-mail matchbox20orbusted@yahoo.com with questions,
comments, theories, complaints, or words of wisdom.
---------------------------------------------------
Talladega Motor Speedway
Sometime in the future
Mike Joy: When they come back to the line, they will take the green flag with four laps to go, and 500 miles of holding your breath is going to come down to about, oh, 11 miles of a shoot-out. And the finishes here have been really close. In this race, the last I don’t know how many years, no race has been won by more than two-tenths of a second. Look at those numbers!
Darrell Waltrip: Yeah, well again, we talked about the start/finish line, where it is. So when they come off of turn four, nobody’s safe. The race starts when you come off of four. It’s a long way down here almost to turn one, where they declare who the winner of the event is gonna be.
Larry McReynolds: That extra quarter mile can make a big difference…
DW: Look how far that is, Larry, look at that. That’s wayyy down here ‘til we gotta go to.
Larry: Yes it is, and you mentioned earlier, under ten laps to go, and only lead lap cars… there’s twenty-one of them, single file, lead lap cars to the front, so no lapped cars to contend with.
DW: Down on the last restart, Dale Jr. shot wayyy out there, and, and that’s really great, that your car’s that fast, but you’re a sitting duck! Those guys are gonna get a run on you, and you may not be able to block them all. So he might want to lay back a little and get Michael going with him at the same time.
Mike: If Earnhardt Jr. gets a big jump and they
catch him, will they be able to get around?
DW: There’s a number of cars here, so whichever way Michael goes, Tony Stewart, or one of those other cars, will go the other way, and that’s when it’s going to get interesting.
***
Tony Stewart
As soon as I see that green flag, I’m going for it! There’s no reason why we need to have another 1 – 2 DEI finish! What do those guys have on the rest of us anyway? Hey, if I managed to get the pole and to run good in practice… I know I have the fastest car out here! Somebody back there had better back me up! Come on! I can’t be the only one pissed that DEI’s been dominating all the restrictor plate races! Maybe I should radio in and see if my teammate Bobby’s up to making a run on Junior…
***
DW: Now there’s not a lot of laps to work with here, but I’m telling ya, if I was those guys, I would lay off of Dale Jr., let him get that big run, then I’d chase him down that back straightaway and try to make a move on him.
Mike: You don’t want to battle one-on-one; you want to gang up on him?
DW: Yeah, you need help. Looks like everyone is about equal, except Dale Jr.; he’s a little quicker. It’s every man for himself…
Larry: I just don’t think you want to wait ‘til that last lap, Darrell. I think you wanna do it early…
DW: Ya gotta do it, and if you can do it, do it right now.
***
Greg Zipadelli (crew chief): Tony, the next Pontiac is Bobby in twenty-third place, and he’s lapped!
Tony Stewart: Damn it! Well, what about on another team? I don’t care who!
Zippy: The 48’s directly behind you, the 24 after him. Do you honestly think those guys’ll cooperate? Listen, Tony, your car’s plenty fast enough. I say, try taking Junior on your own. It’s your call. The green flag’s coming up…
***
Mike: Green flag. Ryan Newman ran into the back of Jimmy Spencer as they took the green flag. Here we go!
DW: Trying to anticipate the start.
Larry: Jeff Gordon ducks out. Hooks up with his teammate, Jimmie Johnson. Tony Stewart is just ahead.
DW: And there you see Dale Jr. getting that big, big lead. Buddy, I just don’t know about that.
Larry: I’m thinking, with the #48 and #24 cars getting out of line, on the outside, that’s an awfully big lead to have there, Darrell.
DW: It is.
Mike: Aw, here comes Jimmie Johnson, right behind Tony Stewart. Whoa!
DW: Now that’s what Dale Jr. wanted to see. Get that bunch behind him, get them racing each other, get them side-by-side.
Mike: Slice and dice.
DW: Play both sides of the street. Work the middle.
Mike: Tony Stewart gets in front of the 48 car. He is now leading the line going after the leaders. He does not want to see DEI get another 1 – 2 finish!
DW: If Michael can stay behind Dale Jr., I don’t think they’ve got anything to worry about. But I don’t know if Michael’s gonna do that or not.
Larry: Ooh, those guys are running side-by-side!
Mike: Now alongside Michael… Stewart’s getting help from Johnson and is pushing past the 15.
DW: Looks like Junior’s loose off of turn one. Getting awful close…
Larry: Whoa!
Mike: Trouble! Stewart and Dale Jr. make contact! Michael slams into the driver’s side of the #8, and Johnson barrels into the 15…
***
Jeff Gordon: What the…
Michael Landis (spotter): Go high! Go… no, go low…
Jeff: I can’t! The 97’s getting into me!
***
Marty Gaunt (spotter): Ease off the throttle, and try to get low.
Kyle: Not sure if I can do that.
Marty: Watch the 40! He’s coming up fast on your right…
Kyle: But the 9’s on my left!
***
Eddie Dickerson (Terry Labonte’s spotter): I can’t help you; it’s all smoke from here.
:: static ::
***
Michael Waltrip
Uh! I can’t get away from Junior’s car, no matter how hard I jerk the wheel! Now I’m just dragging him along! Seems like every car back there’s getting into us! I hope we don’t end up all the way back up the track, into that concrete wall!
There’s something in my eyes! I can barely see! What is it? It’s so warm and it’s…
I think it’s blood.
…
Junior’s not even turning the wheel anymore.
***
Larry: They all just barely miss going into the wall. At least thirteen cars involved in that wreck…
Mike: It’s the big one!
***
Tony Stewart
I’m shaking. What the hell… why can’t I stop shaking?
What just happened back there? I barely tapped Junior, and I get him sideways? Looks like everybody else ended up into him too. It looked bad. Yet somehow I managed to get away. My car’s handling fine; it’s running just as well as it did before. There’s probably only a few scratches on it, and some red paint…
I don’t care about this race. I don’t care if DEI dominates this track. I just want to know if the Dominator’s okay.
***
Chad Knaus (crew chief): Jimmie! Jimmie, are you okay?
Jimmie: I’m fine.
Chad: Then take down your window net! Sit tight though! Wait ‘til the paramedics get there, okay?
***
Jimmie Johnson
The engine’s still going. Sounds like it’s running fine. There’s plenty of room, just off to the left; I could probably drive out of here. I could try. But I don’t want to.
Just ahead of me, I can see Michael; it’s pretty easy to see a guy when your car is halfway inside his trunk. I can’t see his face, just the side of his dark blue NAPA helmet and his left arm, both upright and unmoving. The window netting is still up. Why isn’t he taking it down? What’s wrong?
My heart is beating so fast, that I can feel it. This has got to be the worst wreck I’ve ever been in, and I’m not even hurt. I’m just scared. I’m sweating all over my race suit, and all over the wheel. Or is that really just my sweat that’s making the steering column so slick? No. I’m crying. I haven’t cried since I was a little boy, but now I’m sobbing like a baby.
Michael! Take down your window net!
I don’t even dare look at that Budweiser car.
***
Sterling Marlin
Deep breaths, Sterling. Nice and easy. What on earth just happened? All of a sudden, that #48 seemed to get loose, and the 24, 97, and 45 all just got into each other. It happened so fast. Was it really Jimmie’s fault? I wish I could see what’s going on, or at least my damn radio was working! I hate not knowing.
***
Kyle Petty
I wish I couldn’t see what’s going on. Both Junior and Michael look… I don’t even want to think it.
***
Richard “Slugger” Labbe (crew chief): Michael! Answer if you can hear me!
***
Michael Waltrip
I hear you, Slugger, but I can’t move my arms! Not that they’re pinned down or anything; I just can’t move.
Junior is practically on the hood of my car. How are they ever going to get him out of there? Come on, Junior! Be okay! Please, God, let him be okay!
***
Random Fan #1
Wow! That was a cool wreck! Better snap away as many pictures as I can! Wow! I wonder how much I’m gonna get for these on EBay!
***
Kevin Harvick: That looked pretty bad! Is Junior okay?
Kevin Hamlin (crew chief): There’s no word yet. Paramedics are just getting out there now. I’ll tell you as soon as I know anything.
Harvick: Okay, thanks.
***
Robby Gordon
Damn it! Well, that ends my race day! Wonder what’s going on up there! I can’t see a thing. Damn! And we had such a great car today! If I could just get out of this mess and get back to the start/finish line, I could try to at least get some decent amount of points for this race. Grrr! No matter how much I turn this wheel, I can’t get my friggin’ car out of Terry’s! Damn! Tony’s gonna win this thing with no friggin’ competition, and I’m stuck back here! Can’t believe this! Just my freakin’ luck!
***
Richard Labbe: Michael, please just answer me!
***
Random Fan #2
Oh, good! Jeff Gordon’s out of his car! It looks like he’s okay. I was worried about him for a second, trapped in there between Jimmie and Kurt’s cars. I thought the driver’s side was too close to the 48’s for Jeff to squeeze his way out, but he managed it. He looks so disoriented, wandering around the infield like there. Where the heck is he… oh, he’s going to Jimmie! Wow! Jimmie looks scared out of his mind! He’s looking over at Junior’s car… no way! He just passed out!
***
Hamlin: Red flag! Kevin, it doesn’t look good…
***
Tony Stewart
Maybe if they didn’t pull a red flag, I would have been able to keep racing. But here, near the start/finish line, just off of turn four, I have a clear view of what’s happening between one and two. They’re pulling out stretchers! I can see at least two of them! There are at least a couple of people who can’t walk away.
Junior’s net is still up. What the… if he can’t put it down, why hasn’t somebody else gotten to it yet? Why aren’t they getting to him fast enough? Damn it! I should jump out of this car, run over there, and take care of him myself!
Good! Finally somebody’s taking it down! Now why don’t they get him the hell out of that car? This is going so slow! This is…
This far away, I should not be able to see that much blood. Oh my… I think I’m gonna throw up…
***
Jimmie Johnson
Everything’s so foggy. Why can’t I see? What the heck am I doing on the ground? Uh! Stupid move, Jimmie, trying to sit up! Mm, my head is pounding so bad. What’s going on? Why’s Jeff crying?...
Junior!
***
Mike: Twenty-one cars involved in that wreck, including the #20 car, the only one involved that made it back to the start/finish line. He’s the only car still left on the lead lap.
DW: This looks like one of the worst wrecks I’ve ever seen at Talladega.
Mike: Looks like they’re getting ready to get Junior out of the car. Now, folks, when a driver can’t put down his own window net, that usually indicates that something’s wrong. Why don’t we show you what’s happening from the #8’s on-board camera.
Larry: (whispers) Um, Mike, FOX is telling us that we’re not allowed to show that.
Mike: Um, okay… We’ll give you an instant replay of the crash from Michael Waltrip’s on-board…
DW: Tony Stewart’s out of his car. Oh my… he’s throwing up all over the track!
***
Jeff Gordon
I feel as bad as Jimmie’s looking. Man, he’s so pale! He’s trembling so bad, it looks like he’s having a seizure, and his race suit’s soaked right through with sweat. The poor kid’s probably never seen anything like this before. I’m pretty sure I haven’t either.
Oh, it looks like they’re finally able to get Junior out of that car. It’s so crumpled in; I didn’t think they’d be able to get him out for at least an hour.
:: gasp ::
Look at his left side! And his head! Dear Lord, I pray it looks worse than it is!
***
Paramedic
I’ve never seen so much blood.
***
Jimmie Johnson
No! No! JUNIOR!
***
Michael Waltrip
ThiscannotbehappeningThiscannotbehappeningThiscannotbehappening…
***
Hamlin: Kevin… I hate to have to tell you this… but… Junior’s…
***
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
…
***
BLUE TARP
---------------------------------------------------
A/N: I hope nobody hates me for that story. It came to mind, and I just had to write it. Tell me what you think about it.
- dj