Chapter 19

Photo Finish  

Thursday : March 6th 2025

By now the pack was quite spread out, something that again was alien compared to the other races before which stayed mostly nose to tail. This meant for some, pure lap time was coming into play. Drivers who made mistakes, braked too much, or were fighting with another kart all were going slower than those running alone. Ruby could see sixth through tenth in a cluster ahead, maybe five kart lengths ahead. She would have to string multiple fast laps together to catch them, but now, she could sense she had a tail.

 Dick having overcome his emotions, was a man on a charge. The tires on his Kart squealed as he hustled it though the corners trying to steal away every second he could from the laws of physics. In the banked corner, Ruby looked back to see how close he was. To her surprise what she saw was Mr. Collins motioning. Go go go, let's catch these guys!

He wants to work together? Okay Ruby, prove you belong here! 

Taking a deep breath, Ruby focused. She envisioned exactly what she wanted the kart to do, and even though she couldn't describe it to you if you asked, her body willed it into being. She glided the machine using her mind, her body a mere vessel of her will. Lap after lap, her lap times plummeted. Every lap the pack of karts got bigger, and bigger, and finally by lap thirteen Ruby and Dick were amongst them. There was no time to waste, only three laps remained to pass four vehicles. 

Okay, I can do this! Ruby put her kart against the wall, just the same as Star on the first lap. She would have to say a few millimeters off the wall, foot to the floor, the whole way around for this slingshot to work. Star had made it look so easy, but Ruby could feel her sense of self preservation screaming.

“No, you'll be killed! You're going to crash, are you insane?!” Grip on the wheel tightening, and as the internal voice begged her not to, she left her foot on the throttle and went for it! The Kart rode up the banking, it was much steeper at the top, surprisingly so. There was a scraping and crashing sound but it wasn't against the wall. It was the Kart bottoming out, sparks shooting out the back like a F1 car. Still, Ruby didn't lift her foot, instead staring at the exit of the corner expectantly, she was going to make it! The other carts were coming back up the track, three of whom saw her and gave way to the cannonball approaching rapidly on the right. She ran out of momentum directly beside the seventh place Kart, and with a small bump, was now boxed in behind sixth place. 

“Ah, crap, I'm trapped.” Ruby muttered to herself in the helmet. She no longer had the ability to pick her line into the next banked turn, and would have to follow sixth place and hope she came out ahead. However, he made a mistake. Not realizing the seventh place driver had been displaced by Ruby and was now on his left, he tried to take the outside line into the next right-hand banked turn. The two karts collided, and the sixth place kart effectively trapped the seventh place kart against the wall was they ground to a halt. Instantly the yellow came out, followed shortly by the red flag. The room was silent, the tension was palpable, and only two laps remained. 

Ruby took a deep breath, she was exhausted at this point. When running at full speed the adrenaline makes up for soreness and fatigue of being thrown around in the go kart. But now, stopped, it was starting to set in. She could see Star on the other side of the track, she had been side by side with the leader when the wreck happened. The gap to fifth and fourth was too insurmountable for a two lap and a half lap Sprint, so all Ruby had to do was focus on holding sixth. Red gave way to yellow and all the karts began to roll again, but this time the green flag didn't come out. One of the executives that was involved in the crash decided then and there to quit. He wasn't injured, just tired, and so one of the staff had to drive the Kart back to the pit lane under yellow. 

Star willingly decided to forfeit her side by side positioning. Like a real racing drive would, she started swerving back and forth to keep her tires hot to increase grip. Other drivers caught on, and soon the field was a weaving snake of go karts. As they approached the finish line, the flagman held up two fingers.

“Two laps to go, two laps.” He called out as the pair crawled by at a snail's pace. Meanwhile Ruby was in the wiggly section through the old F1 cars, approaching the final hairpin. As they turned through it, she looked back again. It was herself, the seventh place kart, the staff member with the retiring kart, and the Dick in eighth. As he peeled off the track towards the pit line, the green lights came back on and the racing resumed.

“Two laps to go!” Ruby also got told as she dove into the first turn. However, she was about to become a victim of the maneuver she pulled last lap, as the sounds of chaos arrived on her right. Leaving space, Mr. Collins found himself side by side with Ruby. 

“You're having fun now Mr. Collins?!” Ruby called out to him, not that he would be able to hear her through the helmet over the sound of the engine. Thanks to their positioning, she could do the same thing on the next banked turn, retaking the lead, and pulling away from the eighth placed kart. At the front, Star was now locked in a battle for the lead. Both karts skipping through the final hairpin, and accelerating into the final not straight, straight, now all the wives were cheering on the final executive standing between Star and victory lane. 

“One lap to go.” The flagman warned, and Star was so casual about it she gave him the thumbs up back as the leading pair dove into the first corner. As it turned out this final executive was a worthy adversary, he had led the whole race from beginning to end, and was actually putting up a robust defense against Star's attack. He understood techniques like blocking and defending your racing line, late apexing, and switchbacks. They probably couldn't have described them to you, they probably had no idea of the terminology even. But just from doing it, and seeing it in person, they now had an understanding of the core principles of motor racing, and that was enough to have fun! Star had made her point, now all that was left was to eat her cake too.

Through the final hairpin, one final time Star made her move. She bumped the back of the kart in entry, and pulled alongside down the final straight. The crowd was cheering, the flagman stood ready with the checkered flag, and in a finish too close to call, the wildcard race came to an end.  In the background Kevin Rudolf’s Let It Rock was blasting, and yet it was just barely audible over the engines, however seventeen karts still had to finish, and among them was a battle of will and fates. Ruby and Dick had been swapping positions in basically every corner, and coming out of the second banked corner for the last time, it would be no exception. Ruby fell behind as they winded their way towards the hairpin.

Last chance Ruby! She had to nail this, she had to pass Mr. Collins. It was the natural urge of a human being to win, and Ruby was rabid for it, even if admitted it was only for sixth place. She dove in for the apex of the corner, and for a brief moment she believed she was going to make it. The gap was there, it just wasn't wide enough for a kart to fit into. 

“Shit!” Ruby slammed into the barrier, her kart pirouetting on its nose. When everything had stopped she was now facing the wrong way. 

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuuck!!!” Ruby cried inside the helmet, she was devastated. After seventeen laps of driving like a pro, you fuck it up on the last corner Ruby, nice going… The yellow and then red flags came out, interrupting everyone else's final lap, and the Staff quickly ran to Ruby's aid.

“You okay? Do you know where you are and who you are?” 

“Yeah, I'm Ruby Starfire, and I'm in the wall because I suck at driving.” 

“Eh, don't beat yourself up Ruby, you did excellent. You set a new track record for these karts!”

“Huh?!” This revelation startled Ruby. What do you mean the new track record, I just crashed? But looking at the leaderboard, he wasn't lying. Ruby Starfire had beaten the lap record by a second.