�Where are we racing this weekend?� Tony asked as he wasn�t sure.

�Were at Darlington for the 500 mile race,� replied Donald.

Donald, one of the most successful racers, was looking forward to this weekend�s race at Darlington. The team was getting on the plane, headed toward the track. Tony was the pilot in charge of flying the team to and from each race.

Donald was in his second year of racing. He started in Busch last year and dominated. Soon after, he was hired by Rick to drive in Cup. He soon won 3 races in a row. He was called the flying superstar. Donald was one of the sexiest drivers. All the girls said he was so hot with his brown hair and dazzling blue eyes.

�Ready to go, Donald,� his crew chief Chris asked.

�Yep, I packed everything that I always have to pack of course!� Donald answered. �Do you have everything you need Chris?�

�Yes I do,� replied Chris.

They then got on the plane and flew from Raleigh, NC all the way to Darlington Raceway. Darlington was one of the most traditional tracks on the NASCAR circuit. It holds one of the 4 most traditional races-the Southern 500. It is one of the oldest tracks on the circuit. Built in the early 1950s and the only thing that has changed since then is the walls. They have been upgraded due to safety issues.

When Donald arrived at Darlington, he was all set to win the race as it was a critical part of his championship hopes. On Friday, he went out on the track and ripped off a real fast lap and got the pole. He was absolutely the happiest man in town.

Sunday morning soon came around. Early in the morning, Tony got up and went up to Donald. �Donald, I�m going to go pick up Rick�s brother and nieces. I�m going to get them to bring them to the race, ok?�

�Ok Tony,� Donald said as he headed for driver introductions.

The race started and it went extremely well. Donald led 4/5 of the race and won it! He was so happy, especially since he thought he did it in front of Rick�s family. Then after the race, Chris told him to forget about victory lane right now and to go to the NASCAR trailer. When he got there, he saw the president of NASCAR, Larry, and his 3 teammates.

�I have some very sad news for all of you,� Larry started. �Tony went to Raleigh to pick up Jack, Jenny, Lianne and also Randy. Well, the plane never showed up at Darlington. The plane crashed 20 miles away from the track due to a part failure. There were no survivors; all 5 people were killed. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. Donald, I am excusing you from all victory lane activities. I hope this doesn�t affect you next week at Homestead with your championship hopes. I have faith you can do it Donald.�

Donald was devastated. He was unsure if he�d be able to go to Homestead and win the championship since he led Matt by 25pts now. He was unsure if he�d be able to survive the flight home without freaking out and also the flight to homestead.

�Donald, its time to go,� Chris said, breaking Donald�s train of thoughts.

�Are we flying?� Donald asked.

�We got no choice but too,� Chris pointed out. �I and the team are going home in the team jet that Joey flew here for us. Since you have a special championship appearance to do in Daytona, I asked Danny if he�d be willing to take you with him. Danny said yes so that�s who you�re going with.�

�Can�t we cancel the championship appearance?� Donald asked not wanting to fly. �I mean, Danny canceled all his 3 years ago when tragedy broke out.�

�Not allowed�already asked Larry,� Chris rejected the offer. �Larry said that if you read rule 8-A-6, it entitles you attend all championship appearances if in chase. If you miss one, you are cut from the chase. Danny was allowed to do that a couple years back because they weren�t championship appearances, he didn�t win the cup race that day and he didn�t have any big appearances that week anyway. His teammate, Kasey, had to go to the appearance like you since that was major race that Kasey won that weekend. Now, go with Danny & Sean and get this over with.�

So Donald went to the airport where Danny and Sean were waiting. He got on the helicopter and headed out to Daytona for the appearance. When he got to Daytona the next day, he was shocked he didn�t freak. He went and did the appearance without any problems. As they were leaving Daytona USA, they were talking about plans for the week.

�I�m not planning on flying back to Charlotte until after the Homestead race,� Donald commented.

�Isn�t the funeral this week?� Danny asked.

�No,� Danny answered. �Its next week since Rick says he�s gotta put some stuff together for Randy. He wants to do some stuff for him because Randy told him a couple weeks back how he�d remember Rick if anything happened to him. So Rick decided that it would be a good idea to do for Randy.�

�Ok,� Sean said. �Well, I was gonna hang out near the track instead of doing the extra flight. What about you Danny?�

�I�m thinking the same since I want to stay around and check on the car from the 500,� Danny answered.

�So you�re going to see your baby car?� Sean teased.

�Shut up!� Danny screamed and then ran after Sean.

So for the rest of the week, the 3 boys chilled in Miami. Soon it was Sunday, race day. Qualifying was rained out so Donald started on pole. His thoughts were set on the title but winning the race in honor of the victims especially Randy was on his mind also.

The race then started. It ran green, all the way till 200 of 300 laps when there was a caution. Tory had wrecked. Donald was running third at the time.

�Guy,� Donald started on the radio. �I have some new goals for us all. We got a car to win. I know we want the championship yet I also want this whole team to work together on pit stops and get me out in front of Kyle. Then I�m gonna lead the rest of the way and bring us home 2 trophies. Ok?�

�Yep!� the crew shouted together.

The pits opened and Donald came slowly down the pit lane. He stopped in his pit box and the crew jumped over the pit wall like it wasn�t even there. The tire changer hit every lug right on the dot; the gasman got every bit of into the gas tank like his life depended on it. They all did their job as fast as a tiger. When the stop was done, Donald pulled out of his stall and headed out of the pits. He was the first one out on the track making him the leader of the race.

When the race restarted, there were 90 laps to go. Donald got away on the start and at one time had an 8 second lead. No one can believe it. Donald�s car was flying as fast as a rocket. Donald led for the rest of the way and won the race. He also won the championship. Donald was the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion.

Donald did his special polish/checkered flag victory lap. When he got to victory lane, he was happy. It was like he ate too much candy, like a little kid!

�Wow!� Donald started off. �I�m so proud of this team. This is dedicated to Tony, Jack, Jenny, Lianne and my best buddy, Ricky. We will miss you and I�m sure their partying for us right now. There�s no other way we could have ended this hard week other then a win.�

After the celebration and trophy presentations, it was time to head home. On the way home, Donald was thinking about how he going to put how he felt in words for the banquet. And would he be able to come back in 2005 and be a back-to-back champion. Only the future holds these answers as the next season begins in only 2 months.

THE END

Note: This is based on something that happened on October 24, 2004. Curtain things have been changed yet the problem is pretty close to what happened. May god be with Hendrick Motorsports at this tough time for the rest of the 2004 season. We will always miss Ricky Hendrick, John Hendrick, Kimberly Hendrick, Jennifer Hendrick, Joe Jackson, Jeff Turner, Randy Dorton, Dick Tracy, Liz Morrison and, Scott Latham.