“Awwww!” Tiffany complained when I pulled off the track after a couple dozen laps. “It was just getting good!”

“Yeah, it was, wasn’t it?” I agreed. “But it’s time to let Joachim check the car over and make sure it’s running well. And besides, we need to drink some water and eat a little snack. We don’t want to ignore our own needs.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Tiffany admitted. “But let me guess- you’re going to go out in the race car next, right?”

“You guessed it,” I said. “But I’ll keep switching back and forth, so you’ll get plenty of track time.”

Tiffany crossed her arms and hunched her shoulders, but couldn’t hide the fact that she was trying not to smile.

“So, what did you think?” I asked as we pulled into the pit in front of the BMW of Temecula hauler.

“It was O.K., I guess,” Tiffany responded, unbuckling her harness. “For a slow car, I mean.”

“I know what you mean,” I said with a smile. “I’ve been thinking I need something faster.”

Joachim waved Tiffany and me to the hospitality setup and made sure we both had bottles of cold water.

“So, kid, how was your first taste of the track?” he asked Tiffany as she set her helmet down on the drying fan, just as I’d shown her.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Tiffany asked, looking at him with big, serious eyes.

“I can keep secrets,” he assured her. “I’m Brazilian.”

“Well, seriously, it was totally AWESOME!” she said, pumping her fist in the air.

Joachim looked doubtful and said, “I don’t think that actually is a secret.”

Amused, I asked, “Is the GT3 ready to go?”

“Yeah, no problem,” he replied, then hollered at Jase to pull the tire warmers and drop the car.

“I’ll be back in a while,” I said to Tiffany as I put my HANS device and helmet back on.

“You better!” she said. “I’m not done yet!”

It didn’t take me long to get back into the groove in the race car, despite the characteristics being very different than the street machine. Sure, it was based on the same platform, but still… In any case, within a couple of laps I was back to the lap times I’d been hitting before taking the M6 out. Feeling in sync with the car, I pushed the pace a little more each lap until I started blowing corners. I backed off a touch and things went smoothly again, so I figured that was good enough for the morning.

Back in the pit, Joachim asked how it went, and I told him what had happened.

“That’s a sign you’re either making mistakes, or you’re hitting the limit. I’ll look over the data and let you know what I find. In the meanwhile, take a break. Manny’s been making tacos in the toter’s kitchen- go grab a plate.”

“Where’s Tiffany?”

“I think she’s having lunch with Maddie over in their RV,” he said, gesturing in that direction.

“Did you let them know there were tacos?”

“Yeah, but Maddie’s mom wanted Maddie to have something lighter, so she said she was going to make sandwiches.”

“Their loss,” I said with a shrug.

“I know, right?”

Hearing a familiar rumble, I glanced over to see James pull the very green GT-R into the Track Club pit. Figuring I had a moment, I did as instructed and let Manny load up a plate of tacos with beans and rice for me, then went over to talk to James.

“Hey, handsome,” I said. “What’s a guy like you doing in a place like this?”

“Wishing I had some tacos,” James said, eyeing my plate hungrily. “Where’d you get those?”

“Go see Manny in the toter,” I said, waving my fork in the correct direction. “He’ll fix you up.”

“I’ll be right back,” he said and hustled off to get himself some carne asada.

“You were looking fast out there,” Reggie commented idly, watching the data load onto his laptop. “What were your lap times?”

“Honestly, I don’t even know. I wasn’t worried about lap times- I just figured this morning was all about learning the lines and getting a feel for the track.”

“One thirty-nine point five two. That’s your target. Of course, times on an empty track like this can’t really compare to real race laps, but still…”

“What kind of car was that?” I asked.

“A 997 GT3, so comparable to what you two are running today.” Reggie replied, still mostly focused on the data. “Hey, are you getting a lot of lift over the two bumps going into ten and twelve?”

“Ten not as bad as twelve. Twelve is still a bit tough,” I admitted.

“Gonna have to adjust the aero a bit, I think,” Reggie said, lost in thought.

“What’s that about aero?” James asked as walked up, stuffing his face.

“It looks like trading away some top speed for more downforce will play out well over those two rises,” Reggie explained. “The straight really isn’t long enough for top end to matter, anyway.”

“You’re the expert,” James said. “Do what you think is best.”

James and I were comparing notes on the various parts of the track when Lainey, Maddie and Tiffany found us.

“Do you mind if we join you?” Lainey asked.

“Of course not!” James said. “Grab some cold drinks from the cooler there and pull up some chairs.” When they did just that, James turned to Maddie. “So how are you liking the track?”

“I like it! It’s pretty tricky- especially the second half, but I think I’m getting a good feel for it.”

“You should bring your car over here and let Reggie and the boys take a look,” James offered. “Maybe they can spot some setup adjustments that could help you out.”

Lainey looked about to protest that they just couldn’t, but Maddie beat her to the punch. “That would be awesome!” she said. “I mean, it feels pretty good, you know? But if they could maybe make it work better…”

“I know they tune EVOs on the regular, so I’m sure they could help you out.”

“Yeah, we’ve worked on quite a few,” Reggie said, looking up from his computer. “Bring it over and let’s see what we can do for you.”

Lainey looked as if she would object but I reached over and tapped her arm. “James is paying the guys to be here all weekend. May as well give them something to do, right?”

“Is that how it works?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah,” I said. “The guys are getting paid the same no matter how much or how little they have to do, so James’ offer is for free work on Maddie’s car. These guys build and set up a lot of race cars, so they really know what they’re doing.” I could tell James was listening but pretending not to.

Relieved that the help would be free of charge, Lainey sat back with a grateful smile.

After lunch was over, I asked Tiffany if she wanted to go out again.

“Nah, I’m gonna go out with Maddie when Mac is done with her car,” she said, pointing to the EVO under the Track Club canopy.

“Alright, that’s cool,” I said. “Have fun!”

Joachim and the guys were eating their own lunches when I walked up.

“Hey,” I said. “Reggie was talking about tuning the aero package on the GT-R for more downforce, since top speed doesn’t matter much.”

“Yeah, it’s the right move on this track. The straights aren’t really long enough to hit top speed, anyway,” Joachim replied. “I’m surprised it’s taken ‘em this long to do it.”

“Yeah?”

“We adjusted yours after your first session,” he said with a shrug.

“Well, alright then. I guess there’s nothing for me to do but go out there and haul ass,” I said.

At this, the guys all put their plates down and hustled over to the car to pull the tire warmers and drop it so I could roll out.

Since the pavement had some rubber laid down and the surface was nice and warm, traction was superb. After a couple of laps to reacquaint myself and scrub in the new tires the guys had thrown on, it was off to the races. Allowing the car to play as speeds picked up and things got looser, I found myself slipping into that familiar flow state where nothing else exists. It was just the car and me, dancing our way around the circuit. Improvising the steps as we went, we got to a place where we enjoyed the floating feeling cresting the three little rises on the track, looked forward to the tug on the yoke as we rumbled over the curbing on four, nine and the final chicane, and most of all, loved the howl of the tires in the hard braking and acceleration zones. It was perfect.

When I finally pulled back in, the BMW guys all clapped when I climbed out of the car.

“That was beautiful to watch,” Jase said, clapping me on the shoulder. “That’s the way to drive a car like that!”

I set my helmet on the fan and grabbed a bottle of Coke from the cooler. “I gotta say, that felt amazing,” I said. “The car is working like magic right now.”

“I’m gonna hafta look at the lap times from the data,” Joachim said, “But based on an old-school stopwatch, your laps were looking really competitive, Leah. I mean, like, you were there.”

“Yeah, but like you said, these aren’t official times, and there’s nobody else on the track, so it’s not like they count for anything.”

“Bragging rights are real,” he replied with a wide grin. “The guy that set the lap record here? He won the GT3 Cup last year and two years before that. He’s a top professional driver.”

“The GT3 series is for people like me- rich assholes who have too much money and want to play racecar driver,” I said with a dismissive shrug.

“That’s not entirely wrong,” Joachim protested.

“Which part- the fact I’m a rich asshole with too much money, or that I want to play racecar driver?” I asked.

Laughing, he said, “O.K., you might have too much money, but you’re not an asshole. I know- I’ve worked with plenty. And it’s true that a lot of the GT3 series teams are what they call ‘gentleman driver’, but at least half are professional drivers, and some are factory-level. These are real guys and real teams.”

“Hmm,” I said, sipping my ice-cold Coke.

Joachim looked over the data and the guys made a few minor adjustments while I relaxed in one of the camp chairs in the shade, my suit unzipped and down around my waist for maximum benefit from the breeze. I could hear the GT-R’s distinctive engine note off in the distance, and it occurred to me that I’d never taken the time to watch other drivers on the track. I grabbed a fresh Coke and made my way to the bleachers to watch Maddie and James lap the course for a few minutes.

It was nice, sitting there in the January desert sun, feeling the cool breeze and watching the two cars circle the track. I looked over at the sites marked off for the buyers to build their garage condos and wondered if buying here would make any sense or not. I mean, I was enjoying the track quite a bit and could see coming out here again, but buying and building here would make this track a commitment and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that.

Seeing Maddie exiting the track, I walked back to the pits to talk to her and see how Tiffany was doing.

By the time I got to the RV, Tiffany and Maddie had their helmets off and bottles of Kirkland sports drinks in their hands. Lainey had the hood up on the car and was checking oil level or something, so I didn’t bother her.

“So, Maddie, how’s the track treating you?” I asked.

“It’s pretty awesome,” she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Now it’s getting warmer and the track has a lot more grip, I’m really starting to feel good, you know?”

“I know the feeling,” I agreed. “My last session felt just about perfect.”

“Yeah, you were flying out there!” Maddie agreed. “I couldn’t believe how fast you were going when you passed me the first time around the outside of the big sweeper, and then I thought you were gonna launch into space when you went over that hill on, what is it, ten? the second time you passed us.”

“Lee, you were going sooooo fast,” Tiffany said. “It was crazy!”

“Well, you have to remember that my GT3 generates more downforce at speed than it actually weighs, right? I mean, the aero package sticks it to the ground like velcro, and the faster I go, the more it does it, so going over those big humps at speed is better for me than taking them slow.”

“Makes sense,” Maddie said, thinking about it.

“So, kiddo, want to ride with me this time in the orange car?” I asked Tiffany.

Looking at Maddie for confirmation, she said, “No, if it’s O.K. I’m just gonna keep riding with Maddie.”

Happy the two seemed to have hit it off, I said, “That’s cool. I’m glad you’re having a good time.”

“Seriously, this is the best,” Tiffany said. “I mean it. I want to do this all the time, forever.”

Laughing, Maddie held out her hand and Tiffany gave her a high five. Smiling, I went to find Lainey.

“Is Tiffany being good?” I asked as Lainey dropped the hood on the Mitsubishi.

“Your sister is great,” Lainey said. “And I think it’s good for Mad to have somebody to just hang out with that’s sort of close to the same age, you know?”

“I’m glad they’re getting along so well,” I agreed.

“Tiffany said you guys live in Fallbrook?”

“No, Tiffany lives with our mom in Fallbrook. I live in Hollywood,” I answered.

“Oh. Well, I was going to say that since we live in Lake Elsinore, maybe the girls could get together every now and then, just to hang out, you know?” Lainey suggested.

“I’ll talk to Mom about it, but that sounds like a great idea to me.”

“It’s just, you know, Mad doesn’t really have any other friends that are into cars at all, and it’d be good…”

“Oh, no, I absolutely get it. All my driving buddies are guys, after all,” I said.

“Exactly! It’s not that I don’t want Mad hanging out with boys, but she needs some balance,” Lainey said, looking back past me at the two girls laughing under the RV’s big shade.

“When will she get her driver’s license?” I asked.

“Not for a while yet,” Lainey said with a grimace. “She just turned fifteen two months ago.”

“Well, when she does…” I said.

“I’m gonna need to get her a car,” Lainey said with a groan. “Something slow and economical.”

“The EVO?” I asked.

“It’s not street registrable. It’s track-only,” Lainey said.

“Used Corollas are nice,” I suggested with a smile. Then, hearing that nasty Nissan growl, I said, “Hey, I’m gonna go talk to James. Catch up with you later?”

“Alright. I’m gonna try to get the girls to eat something before going back out,” Lainey said and turned to head to the RV.

“James, I was watching you out there. Looking fast, my friend” I said when he took his helmet off.

“Now that it’s warmed up, the grip is really good,” he agreed, running his fingers though his sweaty hair. “The mean green machine is on rails out there.”

“Rails are good,” I said, giving him a fist bump.

“Rails are good,” he echoed.

I was relaxing after my shower and looking over my driver data for the day when Emmy and Angela got back to the casita that evening. The two of them were in a great mood when they came in, smiling and laughing at each other.

“Hey, Lee!” Angela said, putting her bag down and leaning down to give me a kiss. “How did it go today?”

“It was a lot of fun,” I said. “I think the BMW and I are really getting to understand each other.”

Emmy snuggled up behind me and crossed her arms over my chest as she looked at the laptop screen.

“What does all of that mean?” she asked, looking at the graphs.

“Well, this is turn seven, and these graphs show my braking pressure and exact location of my various laps, as plotted against exit speed,” I explained. “So I can look at this and see that of all the laps I did out there today, this one in particular I went the best around that corner. Now I just need to do that again, just like that, in that particular spot.”

“Can you do that?” she asked, amazed.

“Well, I’m certainly going to try,” I joked. “Whether it actually happens or not, we’ll see.”

I turned my head and she kissed my cheek. “We had a lovely time,” Emmy said. “The spa was very nice and relaxing.”

“I’ll say,” Angela said from the couch. “I felt like a jellyfish after my massage.”

“A jellyfish?” I asked.

“You know, one of those things that float in the sea and have long, um, tentacles?”

“Yeah, those are jellyfish,” I agreed. “But what do you mean when you say you felt like a jellyfish?”

“Oh! I felt completely boneless and unable to move on my own.”

“Yes, that was it exactly,” Emmy agreed.

“Lee,” Angela called out from the couch. “Imogen invited us to dinner in town. Are you up for it?”

“It’s a really long drive-” I started to object, but Angela interrupted.

“No, not Tucson, Willcox. The little town just east of here. On of the guys here at the track recommended a barbecue place.”

“I could do barbecue. What time are they thinking?”

“Whenever we get ready, I guess. No specific time,” Angela said.

“I could go any time,” I replied.

“Where is Tiffany?” Emmy asked.

“She’s over at Lainey and Maddie’s RV. The two girls are great friends now.”

“I am relieved to hear that,” Emmy said, giving me another kiss.

After texting Lainey and finding that Tiffany was welcome to stay and have dinner with them, we went next door to see if Imogen and James were ready.

Our X6M might not have been the most expensive car ever to pull into the parking lot of that barbecue place, but James and Imogen’s 918 certainly was. That car was so stunningly out of place among the pickups and sedans it was comical. James scored the end spot next to the sidewalk, and I parked next to him to prevent anybody else dinging the Porsche.

Right by the town’s old train station, the dining area was actually in a vintage train car. It made the space long and narrow, but what it lacked in room it made up for in kitsch.

“This is charming!” Imogen said, looking around at the Western decor festooned all around the place.

The waitress led us to a table and left us some menus, which had all the expected items. The place had a reasonable beer list but no wine, to Imogen and Emmy’s dismay. They did have margaritas on their short cocktail list, so that’s what Imogen, Emmy and Angela went for. I opted for an amber ale for some Arizona microbrewery I’d never heard of and James went for the Irish red from the same brewery.

For dinner, James and I went for the brisket and Emmy and Angela shared the chicken plate. Imogen had the breaded jumbo shrimp, which seemed like a questionable choice, but hey, it was her life she was taking into her own hands, right?

When I asked Emmy how she was enjoying the chicken, she admitted it wasn’t very good. “The barbecue at our place in Austin is very much better,” she said, picking at her food.

“You have a barbecue restaurant in Austin?” James asked. “Wait a minute. What am I even asking? Of course you have a barbecue place in Texas.”

“It made Texas Magazine’s annual top ten barbecue list last year,” I said.

“Of course it did,” James said, shaking his head. “Because of course it did.”