//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: The Great American Race // Story: Life in the Fast Lane // by The Wasteland Brony //------------------------------// One Week Later Applejack sat quietly in her hauler, the sounds of the crowd growing in intensity from the outside. The past week had been one of the craziest and most busiest weeks the amber farm pony had every experienced in her whole life. Since winning The Sprint Unlimited the week prior, she had been mobbed with reporters, fans and fellow drivers alike all wanting to get to meet the up and coming driver, whose unbridled racing talent was rare to come by. A knock came at the door to her hauler and Steve walked in "It's time for driver introductions Applejack" Said Steve "Thank ya sugarcube" Applejack replied as she grabbed her trusty stetson hat and trotted out of her hauler. It was a beautiful, bright sunny day in Daytona Beach, the perfect conditions for race day. As the races grand marshal, Princess Twilight was given the honor of introducing the full 40 car field for the Daytona 500. The drivers were called two at a time until she got to the top 10. "Starting 10th in the #19 Stanley Tools Toyota, Carl Edwards" a bit of a tall man walked down the path, high fiveing his beloved fans as he did Twilight flipped to her next card "Starting 9th in the #42 Target Chevrolet, Kyle Larson" A man around Jeff's height did as Carl did before him before climbing up into the bed of a Chevrolet Silverado, that made it's parade lap around the track "Starting 8th in the #27 Menards Chevrolet, Paul Menard. Starting 7th in the #11 FedEx Grounds Toyota, Denny Hamlin" the two men did as Carl and Kyle had done "Starting 6th in the #4 Jimmie John's Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick" The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion walked down the path to a thunderous roar of applauding and cheering. Twilight flipped her cards as it was time to introduce the top 5. "Starting 5th, in the #78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, MARTIN TRUEX JR!! Starting 4th, in the #17 Fastenal Ford, RICKY STENHOUSE JR!!!!" The two men walked down the path as the previous drivers before them and climbed into the bed of another awaiting truck. Applejack, was back behind the stage, pacing as her name was now only 2 drivers away. "Starting 3rd, in the #18 M&M's Krispy Toyota, KYLE BUSCH!!!!" The youngest of the Busch brothers walked out to a mix of cheers and boos "Starting 2nd, in his final season of full time competition, driving the #24 AARP Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, JEFF GORDON!!!!" Jeff did as Kyle and walked out, but the crowd applud and cheered louder for him then for any of the other drivers "And finally, starting on the pole, she's the first ever pony to compete in NASCAR!! Driving the #25 Pepsi Chevrolet, 2015 Sunoco Rookie of the year contender and my best friend, APPLEJACK!!!!" She finally made her way down the path to a roaring applause from the crowd as she joined Jeff in the bed of the final Silverado "Your going to do great today Applejack. Me, Dale, Jimmie and Kasey all have your back out there. Heck even Kevin and Larson said they'll be looking out for you" Said Jeff as the truck started making its parade lap "Ghee, thank ya kindly Jeff. It means a whole lot to me to be hearin' ya say that" Applejack had started to cry a little before Jeff helped comfort her. After all the parade laps were finished and both the American National Anthem and Equestrian anthem were sung, it was finally time to give the command "Race fans, it's time for the most famous words in motor sports!!! Here to give the command, the Princess of Friendship herself Twilight Sparkle!" The crowd roared as Twilight held the microphone in her magical grip "DRIVERS, START YOUR ENGINES!!!!" At once the combined harmony of 40 engines roared to life as Applejack flipped the switch, bringing her car to life. The pace car, a 2015 Ford Mustang, started driving off pit road as Applejack shifted her car into gear and followed after it. The rest of the field followed suit as the pace car lead them onto the track and onto the back stretch. Suddenly all sound was blocked out from Applejack's helmet, and a very familiar voice could be heard. "This is it Applejack, go out there and show the world what you got" Dale Sr's voice came over the radio "I won't let you down Dale, I won't let you down" the world came back to Applejack as the pace car ducked down pit road and they came towards the starting line "And the season is underway, here we go!" Said Mike up in the broadcast booth "BOGITY BOGITY BOGITY, LETS GO RACING BOYS!!!!" Said Darrell and Ranch in unison The green flag dropped and Applejack floored it quickly getting in front of Jeff, who ducked in behind her and helped give her the draft pushing her through turns 1 and 2. Applejack quickly looked in her rear view mirror and saw the field was 3 wide behind Jeff, who had Kyle right on his bumper. "Ok Applejack, keep it steady your looking good out there" Checkered Flag's voice came over her radio "10-4 Checkered" Applejack kept her hoof to floor, easily reaching 200 miles per hour down the back stretch with Jeff and Kyle right behind her. After 45 uneventful laps in which Applejack lead them all, it was coming time for the first round of pit stops "Bring her in next time by Applejack" Said Steve over her radio "10-4 Steve" The next time Applejack came around turn 4, she pulled down to the apron and easily brought her car to pit road speeds. Once Applejack pulled off, Jeff followed her and quickly into his pit stall which was the 40th stall on pit road. Applejack soon pulled into her pit stall and her pit crew quickly got to work. Matt Kenseth had the stall behind her and quickly pulled in right behind her "Kenseth wanted me to pass along a message to you Applejack: Keep up the great work out there" said Steve "Tell him A'he appreciate it" Applejack replied and her pit stop finished, taking off quickly as soon as the car was dropped off the jack. Applejack didn't regain the lead right away, not until Johnson finally pulled down pit road for his pit stop. The race had gone pretty well for Applejack. After the subsequent pit stops, she had lead about 110 of the 185 laps run at the time. Everything was looking good until Danica blew a tire and spun out, taking almost half the field with her "What should we do Steve?" Applejack asked her crew chief. The caution happened with 3 laps to go, sending the race into overtime, and Applejack didn't know if they should take the risk of coming in and getting fresher tires but lose the lead "Stay out AJ, even on older tires you've been much faster then the field" replied Steve "10-4 sugarcube, thank ye kindly" The pace car once again ducked down pit road and Applejack could see Martin Truex Jr lined up beside her. She had a flashback to the Tryout Showdown, where the #78 was lined up beside her on the final restart of the race. The green flag dropped and she floored it, but Truex Jr was able to keep beside her even through turn 1 till the amber farm pony managed to get around in front of him. Applejack came around turn 4 and saw the white flag being waved "Put everything you've got into Applejack!!!" Dale Sr's voice came over her radio "This is it folks, the final lap of the Daytona 500!!! Can Applejack hold on and add her name to the list of legends who have won this legendary race for her first career win!!" All the broadcasters in the booth were cheering her on Truex Jr was putting up one heck of a battle against her, but Applejack managed to keep him behind her as they exited turn 4 and came down the straight away "For the first time in NASCAR history, a pony has won a race!!! APPLEJACK WILL HOLD ON TO WIN THE DAYTONA 500!!!!!"