continued, âI would be foolish if I wasnât ready to pay the price for making a mistake.And, in this sport, a mistake can kill you. It doesnât happen too often, because the cars and tracks are set up to reduce that risk, but it does happen.â
âSo tell me,â Ken said, âwhat makes you so ready to accept death?â
She smiled again. This was going to be a great interview segment. Tough questions and unafraid answers.
âThe long view.â
âThe long view?â Ken asked. She had him hooked. And if she had him hooked, people watching the documentary would be hooked too.
âSure,â she said. âDo you believe in God?â
She had caught Ken off guard. And he was supposed to be the interviewer.
âDo you believe in God?â she repeated. âSurveys show that up to seventy percent of people believe in God.â
âWell...,â he said.
âWhat I find amazing,â she said, showing us the tough Sandy Peterson who stood up for what she believed in, âis what people willdiscuss on television in front of millions of peopleâweird things, private things, stupid things. All stuff that should embarrass them. But it doesnât. Then ask someone about God like I did just now...â
Ken squirmed. Uncle Mike, though, was too good a director to stop the camera now. Heâd cut out the stuff that made Ken look bad and use bits and pieces of what Sandy was saying. Iâd vote for keeping most of what she said. She was right, after all, about television. Iâd seen some of those talk shows.
âAnyway,â Sandy said, âif you donât believe in God, death is pretty scary. Because then thatâs all there is. But if you believe that He is waiting, it is a lot easier to feel confident about getting into a racecar...â
She stopped for a moment, thinking about her audience. âAnd this isnât just about racecar drivers. Think about all the car accidents that happen away from the racetrack. Anybody anywhere who gets behind a steering wheel, especially teenagers, because they donât have as much driving experience, should think about what Iâm saying...â
Ken coughed quietly. I quickly handed him a drink off-camera, then stepped back.
The liquid helped him recover his voice quickly. He was about to ask another question when George Lot burst into the motor home.
âSandy,â he said. The big crew chief held a folded newspaper in his right hand. He waved it at her.
âGeorge,â she said, without getting up. âWeâre in the middle of something.â
âI know,â he said, âbut youâre going to want to see this. Tim Becker just called me about it. He said heâs starting to feel better and would come to the track later. But heâs crazy mad. He asked me to show this to you. He wants to scrap the whole film shoot. The rest of the crew just want to quit.â
âWhat?!?â Sandy stood up. She took the newspaper from her crew chief.
âDriver Blames Crew,â she read from the headline. âLoose rear wheel leads to crash during practice run.â
George nodded. âWhen you read the rest, youâll see that an inside source is quoted.And that inside source is named as someone from a television film crew.â
He looked at Uncle Mike and glared. I was happy that George did not have a big wrench in his hand.
Sandy quickly scanned the rest of the article.
I remembered what Tim Becker had said during the barbecue: âRemember, Trenton, even though youâve got that on film, Sandy wonât let you air it on television. Can you imagine what the press would do with it? Can you imagine the headline? Crew Fails To Check Car. That wouldnât be good for the team. Or the sponsor. And we need to keep the sponsor happy.â
When she finished reading, Sandy Peterson looked straight at Uncle Mike.
âWhat Iâd like to say,â she told
Leslie J. Sherrod
Laura DiSilverio
Gabriella Fawken
Lindsay Buroker
Eva Gabrielsson
Charity Parkerson
Erin Hunter
Jacqueline Carey
Hilarey Johnson
Moriah Jovan