//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: The Championship  
// Story: Life in the Fast Lane 
// by The Wasteland Brony 
//------------------------------//

Applejack couldn't believe it. In one week she had accomplished a feat that not only nopony had done before, but was also rare in NASCAR all-together. Winning both the Sprint Unlimited AND the Daytona 500 was fenominal. After taking an Alan Kulwicki (she remembered from her studying that he had won the NASCAR Winston Cup championship back in 1992 who had tragically lost his life in an "airplane" crash the following year) style victory lap, she ripped the wheel around and did her victory doughnuts.

The Daytona 500 win wouldn't be the only win that Applejack would record during that season. She won the July Daytona race as well, the Coke Zero 400. She won the longest race of the year at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600. Once September finally rolled around with the conclusion of the 26 race regular season, Applejack found herself on top of the points standings with 5 wins. Not a record for most wins by a rookie, but by pony it was. 

It was now time for the start of The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Jeff had captured a pair of wins on the season (the spring race from Martinsville and the July race from Indianapolis) and found himself sitting 2nd in points. In fact, all the Hendrick Motor Sports cars had found their way into victory lane over the season.

Applejack collected another 3 wins during the chase. The first race of the chase from Chicagoland saw her lead well over half the race, the October race from Talladega, showing that Applejack was developing quite the dominance on the Superspeedways. But the final win of the season was the most memorable. 

The Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After fighting hard the first nine races of the chase had dwindled the chase field down from 16 to 4. Applejack was joined by Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr and her mentor Jeff Gordon for the ones competing for the championship. 

Applejack had a great qualifying effort,qualifying 5th for the race only to have an engine problem that caused her team to swap out engines, and due to NASCAR regulations that meant she would have to start from the 40th starting spot. That didn't last for long as by lap 25 Applejack found herself battling Truex Jr for the lead, and she quickly overtook him. 

Applejack was again having the time of her life as she piloted her car around the track and brought home the checkered flag, with Jeff finishing right behind her in 2nd.

"What a way to cap off a historic season for the young farm pony, APPLEJACK IS THE 2015 NASCAR SPRINT CUP CHAMPION!!!"