Chapter sixteen Clay
Chapter sixteen
Clay
Cleveland, OH (Triple Crown)
I came in second in the first race, but it was only because Slade had helped us work on that quad.
He really loved the feel of the track in Nashville, more than me anyway, and proved it by taking first. I thanked him in a roundabout way on the podium, but he knew what I meant.
Now we were about to do the second part of the triple crown again.
I loved those. They were the best part of a motocross combined with the better jumps of a Supercross track.
I signed some autographs with the 450 racers while I waited for go time. Until Johnny came and tapped me on the shoulder. “Got a sec?”
“Sure, what’s going on.”
He shoved his glasses back up his nose and made a scrunchy face. “How would you feel about having another 250 racer on the team?”
“Why should I care?” It was up to BikeMax to do what they thought was best for the team, and it was my job to win races, so why was he asking me?
“Maybe you don’t want him this close all the time, but he really is anyway, isn’t he?”
Oh. “Are you talking about Slade?”
“Yes.”
I gave him a curt nod of recognition. “Far as I know, he’s in a contract through motocross with Zahr, isn’t he?”
“It’d be good for Slade.” Johnny gave me an odd look, making me think he was about to work his magic and get Slade out of that contract if everyone was on board.
Slade wouldn’t have to worry so much about finances if he was going to have a ride the next year.
Plus, he’d get an upgrade in everything across the board, from bikes, to gear to trailers…
hey, maybe we could share a bus. “And it’d be good for BikeMax.
” Johnny sounded like he was thinking about a lot more than just a solid team who won. He was good like that.
“You can’t steal every good Toyota racer. Can you?”
“No, but maybe we can steal this one.”