Race Day

Nick and the guys went to the track around 9:00 and soon after, I went for a walk on the beach.

It was one of the nicest hours I've spent in my whole life.

Or at least in the top ten of the last two weeks.

The sand was packed down so you could walk as if you were on a sidewalk or path or mountain trail, without the frustration of digging and scooping along like you have to in soft sand.

People parked their cars right on the sand--tailgating, but for a beach day.

The real estate in this stretch of Daytona isn't nice. Much is run down, vacant or abandoned.

But the people are friendly, the endless beach clean and uncrowded,

not a cloud in the sky and the shallow waves skim along the sand for yards and yards.

I would have kept walking all day, finishing my podcast then listening to my book.

(Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett. Narrated by Meryl Streep.

It's the whole package--five stars!)

But I was eager to spend more time editing my first ten pages--I'm almost there and I've felt more creative in the last two days than I have for months. Perfect weather and sitting outside on the balcony listening to the ocean all day with zero distractions. It's heaven.

By 3:00, it was time to head to the track and watch Nick's first race!

Yesterday a woman asked me what number he was and I didn't know.

She was shocked that I couldn't tell her.

But now I know he's 88.

Look carefully at his window sticker.

In the words of Lizzie--or was it Courtney?--when the sign at the hotel directing us to Gram's party

said "Welcome: Ellen Schaeffer's Birthday Party"

"It wouldn't be a Shaeffer party if Shaeffer wasn't spelled wrong."

He didn't qualify well, so started out 25th out of 29 places.

But right away he overtook lots of cars and made it to 15th.

It was a battle for the first 15 minutes until he got hit and spun out.

Fortunately he was able to get back on the track, 

but when you lose the draft with other cars, you're toast.

It's next to impossible to catch up without it.

For the next 30 minutes he raced around the track in front of a handful of cars

but behind the two main packs.

Mazda is making a TV movie on some of the women racing the Mazda series,

and as it turns out, it was one of the girls that hit Nick.

The camera crew followed her after the race when she apologized to Nick

and he referenced the sun going down and not a car in sight to race with. 

"It was a pretty sunset." 😂

They've got another race tomorrow morning. 

He was able to put down a faster lap in today's race than in Wednesday's qualifying, 

so he's starting in 16th place tomorrow.

Good luck, 88.