What do you think McQueen's first race was like?
Unmemorable. Set-up was off, never really found the track--he doesn't have a crew chief; the last one walked off and Rusty and Dusty are still throwing darts at resumes--and he wrecked out before the end. Nothing major, but he hit the wall trying to take the high line, out of the groove and into the marbles, busted a toe link. Hit some other stuff on the way down to the apron.
Rusty and Dusty have been told to expect growing pains. Rookie racecar on a first-year team? That's a hard game to play. Don't let it get you down.
Lightning, on the other hand, is told he cannot crash again.
"Racecars crash," Lightning replies churlishly. He's embarrassed. Upset he didn't get to run all the laps. This gig feels like it has more sitting than racing--one day? Out of the week?--and he had to watch all those other guys still racing, still flying, out there without him. Stupid infield "care" center. He hates seeing his name at the bottom of the leaderboard. 2 points. He's already over 40 behind the leader. By the time this season ends, they could have over 2000.
He'll have over 2000. He'll get there. If it weren't for the toe link, he could have won this. (He'd been running 17th all day, minus pit cycling. Whatever.)
This BMW guy doesn't understand, because he is not a racecar.
"Yeahhhhh. Racecars crash. You don't, though. Not on this team, you don't."
Racing's only good as long as the money holds out, the BMW explains. Rusty and Dusty? They're playing pro ball with Mexican league money.
Lightning's brow furrows.
"That's baseball," says the BMW.
"I know," says Lightning. (He doesn't.)
But he does know this: If the money runs out before the championship, he will not race at all. He won't be watching from the infield care center. He won't be watching from the track. He'll be back in Charlotte, watching on TV like he's no racecar at all.
Racecars crash, but lightning strikes.
The BMW--Harv, his name is Harv--laughs when Lightning says this, says, "Sure, kiddo. Whatever you gotta tell yourself," but Lightning takes this at face value. And it is what he tells himself.
By the end of the West Coast swing, people are talking. Rookie racecar will run the roughest, rookie 20 laps. But then things start changing. Then he's racing the King's lines, he's passing even when the aero's saying don't, only an idiot would-- From green to checkered it's like he's racing seasons and not laps. He's learning fast. Kid races like every lap's the last one. Not good race strategy, running your suff that hard every lap, not thinking at all about tire wear or pit strategies or building a race over time. But maybe it doesn't matter, whatever world he's living in. It's working for him. If you're first every lap, then when the checkered flag comes you won't be seeing taillights (they are stickers--).
He's not first. Not yet. But he doesn't crash.
On RSN they're talking about what they think they'll see out of him next year, with more races under his timing belt, when the circuit comes back to sunny, busy California. ("You mean when the circus comes back?" "Haha, oh Darrell--")
"Heck, I wouldn't wait for next year!" Darrell says, after the patter's moved on and the topic is racing again. Real racing. "Look out for that kid now! Our should I say 'take cover'? Get it, lightning?"
They get it.
Next week at Bristol, Lightning flashes his sticker for the cameras, says "kachow" for the very first time (at least, where anyone could hear him. He talks a lot in his hauler, alone. He says a lot of things).
This time, the high line works. And he does not crash.
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I feel unreasonably proud of this! I'll always love Castiel's iconic oversized trench coat and backwards tie but Jennifer May Nickel has not only given us a chance to see Misha looking fantastic in a variety of (fitted to a T) looks but also interwoven so many clues and Easter Eggs into seemingly every detail of every outfit! Seriously, her attention to detail and subtle forshadowing are off the charts! It's become a fun game where my husband and I watch Gotham Knights together and I obsess over the tiny details while he calls me crazy, but hah! This time, confirmed to me from Jennifer's own Twitter, I figured out the puzzle! I feel so accomplished! Definitely feeling that Big Dent Energy.
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What's a strange thing in McQueen's contract that Lightning is unaware of / has forgotten about? (Going off of previous HCs here, Mack does remember and is aware of it. He's always thought it weird but has never had occasion to bring it up in conversation.)
Honestly, Harv's "ancillary rights in perpetuity" is pretty strange, at least in my opinion. Not that I'm a contracts lawyer, nor do I have any reason to want to know how fancy entertainment people typically do business, but I think Harv is getting an *incredibly* good deal here. He gets a cut of all of Lightning's merchandising/potential career offshoots, forever? I assume even if he were to quit or Lightning were to fire him, unless there was some kind of breach of contract that would nullify elements of it. Especially given that even if Lightning were to amount to nothing at all, it's not like Harv's taking any risks here. Either he's going to make bank with these ancillary rights in perpetuity or he'll break even; he can't lose on this deal.
Again, not a contracts lawyer, but I kind of wonder how that works. Harv is Lightning's personal agent, though for whatever reason he also has the power to fire Mack (according to Mack--but maybe Harv just has the power of saying things that sound real to others, even if there's absolutely no actual ability to follow through). But if Lightning is under the employ of the Rusteze Racing Team, are Harv's rights a cut of Lightning's cut? Does he have other negotiations with the team itself?
How high are his fees that his salary is being paid in 10% of Lightning's winnings and these ancillary rights (which in that context kind of sound like stock options Harv is waiting to vest, lol). Though I guess 10% of Lightning's % of the winnings may not be that much, in the scheme of things. I think Lightning's making bank, don't get me wrong--and for his entire rookie season it's not like he has anything to actually spend it on, but it doesn't sound like a good contract and Timeshare-in-Tahiti Lawyer probably was not doing his fiduciary duty all that well, lol.
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