Imagines and One-Shots (Book Two)

Rookie of the Year (Ryan Follese)

is racing anything like this??? probably not. but this is my story and i can do what i want

~

A three-way race for the Sprint Cup wasn't exactly the situation you thought you'd find yourself in when you became a NASCAR driver.

You were in it for the thrill, mostly – you'd grown up watching NASCAR with your dad, going to the Daytona 500 every year with him, your uncles, and your cousins. People would watch you in the crowds as your 8-year-old self would cheer on Danica Patrick, shouting in detest at anyone who got in her way.

You always insisted you'd be just like her someday – a racing legend who gave the men a run for their money. People would always attribute it to your wild imagination, none of them ever actually expecting you to make it to the big leagues.

But you did.

And those years of hard work, practice, and sheer determination landed you a spot in the 2017 Daytona 500.

"Good morning, everybody!" one man said into a microphone as he looked into a camera, "It is a beautiful day here in Daytona Beach – perfect weather for the Daytona 500! I'm Jeff McMann-"

"-and I'm Derek Simmons," the man sitting beside him went on, "Yes, Jeff; The weather is amazing for today's race – the second round, in fact."

"Exactly, Derek! I don't think anyone in the country hasn't heard about this, but we'll give you a run-down just in case," Jeff said, "The fight for the Sprint Cup ended in a tie between long-time NASCAR racers David Garrison and Ryan Follese, and rookie Y/N Y/L/N."

"The three have been at the top of the charts all season – coming into one of the top three spots in every single race they've competed in to get them to Daytona Beach."

"Until now, of course," Jeff went on as Derek nodded, "The original race – as everyone knows – was held two weeks ago where it ended in a three-way tie for first place for the first time ever. It was decided that there would be a tie-breaker race and here we all are!"

"I'm personally incredibly excited for this one, Jeff," Derek said, "Y/N Y/L/N – who was arguably a racer no one knew before – won her first qualifying race by almost an entire lap and I honestly had no idea who she was before I heard she made it all the way to Daytona."

"Not a lot of people did," the other man shook his head, "She placed first in every single race she's been in up to this point – a rank not many other racers hold."

You never really saw yourself as someone to look up to, but it seemed like every single day, you had fathers coming up to you before or after practices with their young daughters, asking if they could take their pictures with you. You, of course, never turned a single one down, kneeling down next to them and smiling happily, signing whatever it is they asked you to.

One father once told you that his 11-year-old daughter had never been particularly excited about going to the speedway – she couldn't care less about racing, he said – but he noticed a change in her the moment she heard about you.

She started keeping up with races you'd be in on television – though she'd refused to admit it for the longest time – but the Daytona 500 qualifying race was the one that really sparked her interest. Danica Patrick had retired long before you started racing, so she'd never seen a woman in the competition fight as hard as you did.