Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The NASCAR media center was filled with drivers, media members, and photographers as NASCAR production day was underway to start the new season. 33 full-time drivers fighting for 40 weeks to become a NASCAR Cup Series champion and become immortalized in NASCAR history.

Most of the drivers stood and talked with each other, having not seen their teammates and fellow drivers in two months, and becoming more acquainted with newer teammates. Dream, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, looked to back up his title whilst teammates Wilbur and Quackity looked to settle the controversy that surrounded them the previous year.

However, Wilbur wouldn’t be found amongst the crowd in the media center. He was busy waiting for his little brother Tommy, who was currently using the restroom.

It wasn’t a strange sight to see Tommy by Wilbur’s side constantly, as the kid would just cling onto his oldest brother, but Wilbur loved having his company. Tommy was sweet and he loved the kid as much as the kid loved him. So, with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone, Wilbur was talking to his mother and father as he waited outside the restroom for Tommy.

“We hope you and Tommy are doing okay,” Wilbur and Tommy’s mother, Kristin, said as Wilbur chuckled.

“We’re fine, Mom,” he replied. “We’re fine, I’m just waiting for the little gremlin to get done in the restroom.”

Wilbur smiled as he heard his mother and father laugh, looking over his shoulder and seeing the boy in question walking towards him, shaking his hands around to dry them off a little bit more.

“There he is,” he said quietly as he pointed the camera to Tommy, smiling as the kid waved. “Finally done, Toms?”

“Of course I’m finally done, Wil!” Tommy stated matter-of-factly as he looked up at his brother. “Why would I be out here if I wasn’t done?” the kid asked.

“It’s called a rhetorical question, sunshine,” he replied, smiling as he ruffled Tommy’s hair, ignoring the boy’s squawking as he looked back down at his phone.

“Well, we just wanted to check on you two before we go to the mall,” Kristin said. “We’ll call you two back in a while.”

“Okay Mom,” Wilbur replied. “Love you, Mom and Dad.”

“Love you too, sweetie,” his mother smiled.

“Bye mate!” Phil, their father, shouted in the background.

“Bye!” Tommy quickly said, before Wilbur hung up.

“Okay Toms,” Wilbur began. “I have one more interview left today and then we’ll go back to the hotel, okay?”

“But I’m so tired, Wil,” the kid huffed.

“Yeah, I know you are Tommy. I am too, but we can head back to the hotel tonight and sleep as late as we want,” Wilbur offered. “Come on, I might get some ice cream on the way back to the hotel as well.”

“Are you ready for this?” Anthony asked as Wilbur walked towards the chair opposite of him.

“For the season or this interview? Because I’m ready for both of them,” Wilbur chuckled, scratching behind his ear as he sat in the chair. “I’m excited to get it started.”

Anthony flipped through a few notes as they both prepared for the interview, waiting for the camera to start recording.

“Three, two, one, go.”

“For the final interview of today, I am joined by NASCAR Cup Series veteran and former Xfinity Series champion Wilbur Craft. It’s nice to see you around here, Wilbur.”

“It’s nice to be back here,” Wilbur smiled.

“So, jumping right into the questions, how was your offseason this year?” Anthony asked.

“Well,” he started. “It was pretty good, had some nice family time and ran a few laps on the sim for this season, but that’s just the surface of my offseason.”

“Well then, what was your favorite part of the offseason?”

“Ah, that one’s hard to answer,” Wilbur laughed as he began to think. “I think the time I spent with my brothers is up there, for sure, and maybe Christmas too.”

“Yeah, Christmas is always a good time of year, isn’t it?”

“It’s very enjoyable for me,” Wilbur agreed. “But I just love being with my family. They’ve supported me through my career and the least I can do is return the support and love that they’ve shown me.”

“This sport is more of a family sport than we realize at times,” Anthony noted. “For example, your father Philza, a former driver and a two-time Cup Series champion, and you’re following in his footsteps, and your brother Technoblade has been your crew chief for a few years.”

“That’s not even mentioning my mother, my baby brother, and my girlfriend,” Wilbur added with a grin. “But my family’s support is all meaningful, no matter who it is.”

“How important is their support to you? Does it make you feel better when you get in the car?”

“I mean it’s great, their support means everything to me. Even on the days when I run horribly or I don’t finish the race, my family is still there with me and they make me feel a bit better after a rough race. You know how rough this sport can be some days.”

“I’ve had quite a few of those rough days,” Anthony nodded as he shifted in his seat. “Family helps, though.”

“It really does,” Wilbur smiled. “I swear, Tommy, my youngest brother, is probably my biggest fan. He’s worn some merch to school many times, and it’s so odd to pick him up from school while he’s wearing a shirt with my name plastered on the front and back, but it’s so endearing at the same time.”

Wilbur and Anthony laughed as Anthony moved on to the final question.

“Well speaking of favorite drivers, did you have any favorites other than your father while growing up?”

“I did, actually,” he replied. “It was Sneeg. He was my favorite driver aside from my Dad when I was growing up and it’s cool to race against him now with him being like a mentor to me. My Dad didn’t even mind it, either. Sneeg was a good friend of his.”

“Your father was an influence to many of us older drivers,” Anthony stated.

“A lot of people told me that when I started showing up to races as a kid,” Wilbur recalled.

“How much of an influence has your father been to you?”

“Oh, Dad’s been a great influence. He’s taught me a bunch of stuff, and I just have to thank him for the great things that have happened through my career so far. He’s taught me how to be humble and I think it’s paid off well.”

The interview went on for a few more minutes, and as it ended, Wilbur shook Anthony’s hand before he left the studio with Tommy, and he fulfilled his promise of ice cream.

A few weeks later, Wilbur was sitting in his team owner’s office with his teammates Charlie, Fundy, and Quackity as Sam, the team owner, discussed the upcoming season and the team’s plans.

“I don’t want any internal issues here, especially from you two,” Sam said as he pointed towards Wilbur and Quackity, clearly upset. “You two did a horrible job at being teammates last year and both of you are capable of doing better. It was disappointing, but you two will work together and that is an order. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir,” the two drivers replied.

“And for you two, Charlie and Fundy,” Sam said as he moved on. “The mechanical issues you two had weren’t your fault, but the inconsistency needs to be resolved.”

Charlie and Fundy nodded as they looked at each other and then back to Sam.

“Finally,” he addressed them all. “You four boys are some of the most talented drivers in the field, and I have no doubts that we can win the championship this year. You boys can go get it done, so let’s work towards that.”

Wilbur glanced up to the trophy cabinet inside the office, spotting the nine championship trophies lining the cabinet. Just one championship was an achievement, but the team itself had nine. Five of the nine titles were won by Wilbur’s father, while the other four were won by various drivers, including Sneeg before he left and went to another team.

When the meeting broke, Wilbur walked into the shop where the cars were being built, stopping by Techno as he was working with the car chief.

“Hey Tech,” Wilbur said as he stood beside his brother.

“Hey Wilbur,” Techno replied. “How’d the meeting go?”

“It was just a meeting,” he stated. “But Sam did tell us that we had to work together more.”

“Yeah, you and Quackity really need to.”

Wilbur opened his mouth to speak before Techno continued. “Wilbur, you’re my brother, and I love you, but those incidents weren’t entirely his fault. You made some of those incidents happen, especially the one at Kansas.”

“I’m still sorry about that,” Wilbur mumbled.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, though. That was last year and hopefully that won’t happen again.”

“I’ll try to not do that again,” he sighed. “But I can’t promise anything, y’know?”

“Yeah, you never can promise anything,” Techno said, playfully bumping his slightly older brother’s shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Wilbur scoffed. “I should get going now, just to not bother you while you work with the team.”

“Alright Wilbur,” Techno replied. “See you later.”

“See you later, Tech,” Wilbur smiled, throwing his arm around Techno’s shoulder and pulling his brother into a side hug. “Love you, little brother.”

“Yeah, love you too, old man,” Techno replied.

The season was just one week away from the Clash in Los Angeles, leaving a few more days for Wilbur to spend time with his family before flying to the track for the weekend.

To highlight the week, he’d spent two days with Tommy, a day with Techno, a day with his mother and father, and now he was walking through a mall with Niki as the two talked quietly, smiling the entire time.

“This is nice,” Niki said quietly.

“What is?” Wilbur asked.

“Being here with you,” she replied, smiling up at Wilbur. “The fact that it’s nice and quiet, and we’re spending time together,” she then added on.

Wilbur smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as he pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “Yeah,” he agreed. “This is nice, I’m happy to be here with you, too.”

Niki sighed happily, resting her head against Wilbur’s shoulder and holding onto the hand that was resting on her shoulder, squeezing his hand gently. Both of them were happy to just exist with each other, never speaking but occasionally smiling at each other as they walked.

“I love you, Niki,” Wilbur whispered after a moment.

“I love you too, Wil,” Niki replied as she kissed Wilbur’s cheek. “You’re just too nice to me.”

Wilbur smiled as he kissed Niki’s forehead, resting his arm protectively around her. “I’m supposed to be nice to you.”

They continued to walk silently for a few moments before leaving the mall and walking into the parking lot, stopping to say their goodbyes for the weekend. After a short kiss, they went their separate ways for the weekend.

Wilbur sighed as he sat in his bed, the night before leaving for LA. He was ready to get in the car again, and he had a really good feeling about the new year. Last season, he had been pretty good all year, but the good runs amounted to nothing when he showed up to Phoenix for the championship race, and he lost the championship.

But this year, he felt like he’d capitalize on it. He’d try his best. For his family, for his team, and for his fans.

Chapter Text

Wilbur walked over to his car and began to climb through the window, slipping his earplugs in and his helmet on, starting the engine for first practice.

Last season for him in LA had no positives. He ran poorly in practice, qualified outside the top 20, and only made the race because of the points provisional for his third place finish the previous season. Not to mention the fact that he got spun halfway through and finished 17th.

He closed his eyes for a minute, clearing his mind when he felt something knock against his helmet.

“Hey!” Techno called, leaning through the door as he began to talk. Wilbur truly couldn’t understand him, the car was too loud and the earplugs were too good. He did hear Techno say something about different setups though, so he figured the team was going to try something completely different from last year.

When he got the order to move into the track, he followed another car through the tunnel and out onto the track and began to run some laps as he got into a rhythm.

“How’s the car?” Techno asked over the radio.

“It feels okay, how are we on the timing chart?”

“We’re third in this group, sixth overall.”

“Damn, that’s way better than last year was,” Wilbur chuckled. “What a difference a year makes.”

“Exactly. Now get moving, you can do a bit better.”

Halfway into Wilbur’s last practice run in the third round, he felt better about his car, and the times showed it with him running 13.5 second laps and being third overall. Of course, he made some mistakes but otherwise it had been a clean session before he locked up the rear tires.

“Oh shit,” he mumbled. “We’re good.”

“Wilbur! Do not randomly say ‘oh shit’ in the middle of a practice session!” Techno requested.

“My bad, Tech,” Wilbur replied with a quiet chuckle. “But the car is handling great, maybe that’s a positive?”

“Yes it is, but you almost gave me a heart attack and I am way too young for one,” he added.

“Well technically you could have one at any-”

“I didn’t ask for you to say anything else, Wilbur!” Techno sighed on the radio as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just… just get back out here and I’ll talk to you.”

When the session came to an end, Wilbur drove back to the garage area and got out of his car, taking off his helmet and turning to face his brother with a small grin.

“I am going to kill you, Wilbur,” Techno muttered as he punched Wilbur in the arm.

“I didn’t mean to scare you there, Tech,” Wilbur laughed. “I didn’t even mean to spin out, I just made a mistake.”

“Look, it’s over now, just… don’t worry about it.”

Wilbur ruffled Techno’s hair before leaning against the car and crossing his arms. “Anyways, who was fastest?”

“It was Schlatt, he ran a 13.32.”

Wilbur couldn’t help but smile a little bit. Schlatt was one of his best friends, and he was happy to know he did well.

On the other hand, Wilbur felt like he could do better than Schlatt, and he was ready to do just that in qualifying, but qualifying was in a couple of hours, meaning he had some time left before he had to worry about it. So he just decided to sit in the hauler to pass the time.

He was sprawled out across one of the sofas in the lounge area at the far end of the hauler, with his head resting on one of the armrests and his feet hanging off the other one.

“Bruh,” Techno sighed as he walked up to his brother. “You’re taking up the entire couch.”

Wilbur sat up and moved his legs, allowing Techno to sit beside him as he looked at his phone. “There,” he said. “Happy now?”

“Yeah, just don’t take up the whole couch, other people have to sit, y’know?”

“Nobody was sitting here a while ago.”

“But you were still taking up the entire couch.”

“I don’t want to argue right now, Techno.”

“No, we’re gonna argue,” Techno said.

Wilbur groaned. “No, we’re not gonna fucking argue.”

“We already are, though.”

“Just shut up, Technoblade!” Wilbur laughed.

James and Ash, Wilbur’s spotter and car chief respectively, walked in on the two brothers as they argued, looking at each other and then back to Wilbur and Techno before sighing.

“What are you two gonna kill each other over now?” Ash asked them.

“Nothing,” Wilbur replied. “Literally nothing.”

“He was taking up the entire couch when I walked in here,” Techno added. “So it’s not nothing.”

Wilbur rubbed his eyes and sighed loudly.

The sun had gone down and the track was illuminated by the lights around the stadium. Wilbur was set to be one of the final cars to go in qualifying, due to finishing third in points last season after a disappointing race in Phoenix.

Out of the cars that had gone, the fastest time was about half of a second slower than the fastest time in practice. But there was one issue with the qualifying format that carried over from the previous year.

Drivers were complaining about the tire temperatures and Wilbur was not looking forward to his lap when he got into his car. To prevent the issue, he made an attempt to hit the gas and slam the brake repeatedly, burning the rear tires and heating up the brakes in the front.

“This feels horrible to drive now,” Wilbur stated as he drove out onto the track.

“It’s not ideal, but just give it everything Wilbur,” James replied.

For two qualifying laps, Wilbur tried. For his efforts, he managed to sneak his car into sixth with two more cars remaining.

“That’s a front row start for a heat race tomorrow,” Techno assured Wilbur. “Good job.”

Wilbur sighed, but he wasn’t truly bothered by it.

At least it was better than 27th.

The next day, Wilbur was standing in the infield with Schlatt as he watched the first of four heat races with him. It was calm for a while, before all hell broke loose.

He wasn’t surprised. Even though he’d only been in the Cup Series for six seasons, he knew how much respect had been lost in the garage area. Drivers were now quick to beat the front bumper off of their cars to pass someone and they didn’t care if it tore up someone else’s car.

“These guys are so stupid,” he muttered.

“Yeah, I know it,” Schlatt replied. “It’s so annoying too, like damn, just don’t fucking slam into the car ahead of you. It’s not that hard!” he chuckled.

“It’s just gonna get worse at the end of the actual race tonight. I just wish someone would do something about this stupid demo-derby short track racing.”

“Y’know, you could do something about it. You’re seen as the face of this sport so I think you could get something moving better than the rest of us could. Plus you can use your words better than everyone else.”

“Schlatt, I don’t have that much of an influence on everything else. I’m a driver, not some political leader.”

“Maybe in another life, you are.”

“You seem like you would be one,” Wilbur added. “But we’re just NASCAR drivers, not presidents.”

“Yeah, so back to reality,” Schlatt said, and the conversation went back to ranting about how drivers became less respectful. Not much later, both Wilbur and Schlatt were getting into their race cars and tightening the seatbelts as they started their engines.

With ten laps to go in the second heat race of the afternoon, the caution came out for the #6 car getting spun out by the #14 in turn 3.

“And who the hell caused that caution?” Wilbur asked James and Techno over his radio.

“It was Skeppy, he just dive-bombed Eret into turn 3 and spun him. Pretty much did it on purpose.”

“I swear, I’m gonna scream if this race becomes a shitshow because of that,” he sighed loudly.

“Just don’t worry about it. Fundy’s going to choose the outside here so just go inside and let him jump down in front of you,” James told Wilbur.

When the green flag was out again, Fundy jumped down in front of Wilbur and they both drove away from the rest of the field for a few more laps before another caution came out yet again for another spin.

“What happened there?” Wilbur asked.

“Schlatt got punted by Skeppy in turn 1 so he dumped him when they got to turn 3. Can’t say the #14 didn’t deserve it, he’s been a idiot this whole time.”

“This race was going so fucking smooth and now I think hell’s gonna break loose now. Dammit.”

“As I said earlier, don’t worry, Wilbur.”

“Well, I am worried right now,” he replied. “Someone is going to be really desperate and do something stupid.”

“We’ll worry about that if it happens, Wilbur. Just focus on driving the car and we’ll worry about anyone else if they’re being absolutely stupid, okay man?”

“Alright,” Wilbur sighed. “Alright.”

The next restart wasn’t as calm as the last one was.

“Green, green, green. Fundy’s clear, Schlatt’s on the outside right here,” James told him as Wilbur felt someone run into the back of him and he got knocked out of the way, right into Schlatt’s door.

“Fuck, who the hell hit me?”

“It was the #11, just focus on driving,” James’ shockingly calm voice managed to calm him down.

For the final three laps, Wilbur worked towards Sapnap’s rear bumper and ultimately punted him out of the way to finish third in the heat race.

“Don’t tear the car up, Wilbur,” Techno sighed over the radio. “And don’t piss off Sapnap, either.”

“Well, he pissed me off!” Wilbur responded. “I’m not gonna let people run over me anymore.”

Techno exhaled one last time before he took off his headset as Wilbur pulled the car into the infield.

Wilbur wasn’t shocked to see Sapnap walking towards him after the race was over and he was getting out of the car. He sighed and rolled his eyes as he got out and looked around for a minute. It was about time he told Sapnap how he felt about the way he raced him.

It was funny, the way Wilbur always found himself around Sapnap, and how it would always end up the same. They’d make contact and it would cause some argument, but Sapnap could get to him, Techno moved in front of Wilbur and blocked both of them from starting anything.

Wilbur remembered the one time a few seasons ago where Sapnap was upset and went to talk to Wilbur after the two had made contact on the race track, and Sapnap made the huge mistake of shoving Techno out of the way. Long story short; they were both placed on probation for the rest of the season due to fighting each other and Sapnap never made that mistake again.

“I told you to not do one thing, Wilbur,” Techno said as he stood in front of his slightly older brother.

“Sorry Tech,” Wilbur sighed. “I just got really frustrated.”

“It’s alright, just don’t do something stupid tonight, okay?”

“I’ll try not to,” Wilbur responded.

Techno smiled a little bit, awkwardly hugging his brother.

“Aww,” Wilbur teasingly cooed into Techno’s hair. “My little brother wants a hug.”

“Shut up, you nerd,” Techno mumbled.

Later on that night, Wilbur was leading the Clash before the halftime break in the middle of the race. He felt better than the previous season, running in the top 5 after moving up from tenth on the first lap. It wasn’t hard once he got to the bottom of the track.

Luckily, NASCAR allowed the drivers to get out of their cars during the break, so Wilbur climbed out but he decided to sit on the door, resting his arms on the roof. Techno handed him a bottle of water as he stood beside him, and Wilbur appreciated it. He drank half of it in a few seconds, which he felt would be a mistake later.

“I guess you’re having more fun this year?” Techno asked him as he leaned against the car.

“Way more fun,” Wilbur chuckled. “Last year sucked so bad and I’m glad we moved on from that nightmare.”

“That was our goal, now have fun in the last half of the race. It’ll only get worse from here,” Techno deadpanned.

“Yeah,” Wilbur sighed. “I know it, these guys are idiots.”

“Very blunt statement,” Techno chuckled.

“What can I say? I’m a very blunt guy,” Wilbur laughed.

“You being blunt was a pain in the ass for me, especially for the first two years we worked together.”

“I told you how it was, and you’ve gotten way better as a crew chief the past few years,” Wilbur told his brother, managing to get him to smile. “You’re great at it, hell, you’re one of the best now!”

They continued to talk for a while until Wilbur saw everyone else getting into their cars, so he put his helmet back on and sat back in the seat, buckling the seatbelts one more time. Now it was the second half.

When the race restarted, Wilbur drove away again before the caution flew with 26 to go. On the following restart, he missed turn 3 and gave up the lead to Schlatt and Charlie. Following that mistake, he spent lap after lap running down the #12 and #24 cars, eventually finding his way past Charlie and right behind Schlatt.

The laps flew by quickly. There were only three to go when Schlatt made a small mistake and allowed Wilbur to end up on his rear bumper.

“He’s overheating the rear tires now, just keep the pressure on him. Two to go next time.”

Even if Wilbur and Schlatt were best friends, a little bit of rough racing wouldn’t hurt a little bit, especially in a race that wasn’t for championship points. So Wilbur used the front bumper, and he moved Schlatt with force.

The white flag was out and Wilbur was side-by-side with Schlatt as they drove down the backstretch with half of a lap to go. It was ‘checkers or wreckers’.

“He’s still there, beat him back to the gas!” James cheered on as the checkered flag flew.

Wilbur slid sideways down the entire frontstretch, but it wasn’t enough to get the win over Schlatt.

“Damn, that’s second,” Techno sighed, slightly disappointed since Wilbur had been so dominant to start the race, only to make a mistake and finish second.

“Woah! Haha, that was awesome!” Wilbur laughed over the radio. “What a race, that was fun! Loved it! Sorry about that mistake near the end, that’s on me, but second is a great improvement compared to last year!”

“At least that’s a positive,” Techno smiled.

“We’re ready for this season, I think.”

Wilbur parked the car in the infield and looked out to the frontstretch where Schlatt was celebrating his win with his team, barely visible from all of the smoke left in the air. He smiled at the sight. Schlatt hadn’t won in almost a year, so it was a well-deserved one.

And even if Wilbur wasn’t part of Schlatt’s team, he still ran over to the frontstretch and jumped the wall separating the actual track from the infield, taking his own helmet off as he poured a bottle of water over Schlatt.

“Oh, what the hell?!” Schlatt jumped. “Fuck, Wilbur, you scared the shit out of me!”

“I just had to,” Wilbur laughed. “Great job, Schlatt!”

“Thanks Wilbur,” Schlatt smiled. “That was great racing for the win at the end. I just wish you weren’t beating my back bumper off there with two to go.”

“Oh, come on,” Wilbur chuckled. “Can’t I race my best friend a little bit rougher for a win?”

“I guess so,” Schlatt shoved Wilbur’s shoulder. “Thanks for not wrecking me, anyways. Then we’d have an issue.”

“If I do wreck you, it’s not on purpose.”

That night, Wilbur sat in the bed in his hotel room, smiling as he talked to Tommy. Tommy seemed a little bit disappointed, which didn’t surprise Wilbur, seeing how he barely lost the race but he wasn’t too upset.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t win that, Toms,” he said.

“It’s okay Wil,” Tommy replied. “At least Schlatt won.”

“Yeah,” Wilbur chuckled softly. “At least you like him too.”

Tommy suddenly yawned and he turned off his bedroom light. “I’m so tired, Wil,” he mumbled.

“Then go to sleep, sunshine,” Wilbur grinned. “I’ll call you tomorrow morning, okay Toms?”

Tommy thought for a moment, before slowly nodding.

“Alright, I’ll call you tomorrow Tommy. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Wilby,” Tommy mumbled as he crawled into his bed back at home, and hung up the phone.

Wilbur missed Tommy that weekend, but he and Techno were headed back home the next day, so he’d be able to see Tommy and give him a hug when they got back. But for now, he was heading to sleep, and he was ready for the full season to begin again. NASCAR was back.

Chapter Text

Daytona Speedweeks was one of the most important weekends of the season, as it started what would eventually become a driver’s start to their championship season, and it would also become the start to a nightmare of a season for other drivers.

But Wilbur was sure the new season couldn’t go that poorly, he’d already finished second in the Clash and was prepared for the Daytona 500, standing beside his car with his hands resting in the pockets of his blue fire suit.

“It’s time to get in,” he mumbled to himself as he began to climb into the car and start the engine, pulling his helmet on and strapping the seatbelts in preparation.

“Green flag, keep the pedal down.”

Wilbur moved down the banking as he exited turn 4 and kept the throttle pinned to the floorboard, crossing the start-finish line for his one and only qualifying lap in the final round of qualifying. The engine kept running and he could see the sparks flying from the rear diffuser as it scraped the ground, before straightening the wheel out and sticking his left hand out of the window as he flew down the Daytona Superstretch.

As the car drove into turn 3, it bottomed out harshly but Wilbur still ran full-throttle through the 31-degree banking as he charged to the line.

“Checkered flag. 49.54, that’s the pole!”

“Haha, yeah boys! Let’s go!” Wilbur cheered, shutting the engine off as he coasted back to pit road.

“Great job tonight, Wilbur,” Sam complimented him over the radio. “What a lap, too. Congratulations on the pole.”

“Thank you boss, glad to earn another pole for the team.”

When he came to a stop on pit road, he began to climb out of the car with a bright smile on his face, immediately being met by his family and team as he quietly celebrated his first career Daytona 500 pole.

“How did you like that, Techno?” Wilbur asked, setting his helmet back into the car as he met his brother in a hug.

“Hell of a lap, Wilbur,” Techno replied, smiling slightly as he patted his brother’s back. “It seems like we’re ready to get ourselves a Harley J. Earl trophy.”

“Oh, we are getting one this year,” Wilbur said with a wide grin on his face as he looked away from his team and towards the rest of his family. “Should’ve had it last year.”

“Yeah, I know. Just don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Techno, you know I worry about a ton of shit. I’m a nervous wreck sometimes.”

“God, I’m gonna sound so sappy saying this,” Techno muttered to himself. “I know, but as your younger brother, I am contractually obligated to be here for you.”

“Aww, Techno said he’s got Wilby’s back,” Wilbur teased. “Seriously though, thanks Techno.”

“You suck, Wilbur. A lot.”

“Yeah, I know I do,” Wilbur replied, beaming as he pulled Techno into a hug and buried his face in Techno’s hair. “But I do love you, little brother.”

“Love you too Wilbur,” Techno mumbled in response.

For the rest of the night, Wilbur sat in his motorhome and tried to sleep, tossing and turning in his bed before sitting up and grabbing his phone, reading through some news reports, ranging from his first Daytona 500 pole to the stories about the new teams attempting to make the race.

A small knock echoed through the motorhome bedroom, before Tommy walked in, rubbing his eyes as Wilbur scooted over on the bed and lifted the covers, allowing Tommy to crawl into bed and snuggle against his chest.

“Aww, hey Toms,” Wilbur cooed. “Everything okay?”

Tommy nodded, yawning. “I’m just really tired.”

“I am too,” Wilbur chuckled. “But I can’t sleep well.”

Tommy yawned again, scooting impossibly closer to Wilbur as Wilbur began to hum quietly, running his hand through Tommy’s golden hair.

“Can you sing?” the boy asked. “It helps me sleep better.”

“Of course, Tommy,” Wilbur replied. “Anything for you.”

He began to sing quietly, and even though Tommy was out like a light in a minute, he didn’t stop until his own eyes became heavy and he fell asleep.

On his way to the garage the next morning, he ran into a couple of fans and signed a few autographs and took some pictures, smiling the entire time as the fans thanked him, and he kept walking to the garage. Once he did get to the garage area, he walked up behind Techno and patted his brother on the back.

“Hello,” Techno said as he turned to look at Wilbur.

“Hey Techno,” Wilbur smiled. “How’s preparation for the Duels coming along?”

“It’s alright,” Techno replied. “The rear diffuser is kinda scratched up and stuff but it’s not bad enough to cause issues. The main problem is that Quackity’s team reported that the engine sounded rough on his car.”

“That shouldn’t affect us, right?”

“I’m sure it won’t, Wilbur. But Quackity might go to the rear on Sunday so you might not have a teammate on the front row. Just try to help Charlie as much as you can tonight in the Duel so you’ll at least have him up there.”

“I was going to do that anyways,” Wilbur stated.

“Well, now you really have to. Best case scenario is that Quackity’s engine isn’t an issue and that Charlie and Fundy win in their Duel races. It’d be a 1-2-3-4 for the team.”

“Well, anything to make the boss happy.”

“Yeah,” Techno nodded his head. “Just remember to help Charlie tonight and not wreck the car. We can’t win the race tonight, after all. Got that?”

“I’ve got it, Techno,” Wilbur smiled. “Thanks.”

“No problem, Wilbur,” Techno said before walking back into the garage stall to talk with Ash.

Wilbur stood in the garage for a moment, before walking towards Schlatt’s garage stall to talk to him.

Teams pushed the cars to pit road as the first of two Daytona Duels was approaching. The goal of the Duels was simple; to win. While qualifying would set the front row, the Daytona Duels would sort out everything else. Including the four open spots for the Daytona 500.

Wilbur, due to his fast lap on Wednesday night, would start from the pole in Duel 1.

“Last night was incredible for your team, how much does your first career Daytona 500 pole mean to you?” Minx, one of the reporters from FOX Sports, asked.

“It means a lot to the team, Minx. This #9 team worked so hard over the offseason that I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am for everyone. As for me, it’s kinda cool to get one, but on the other hand, it doesn’t give any rewards other than track position at a Superspeedway.”

“Your father was the last driver to win the Daytona 500 from the pole, and he won his Duel race a few nights before that, so do you think you could do the same?”

“Well, I’d like to, but I’m not concerned about it. Nobody remembers you if you only win a Duel, but they remember if you win the Daytona 500.”

“On the topic of the 500, how confident are you in your chances to win on Sunday?”

“I try to be humble instead of confident, but this team is one of the best on pit road and on the track, so I’m relatively confident if I had to say so.”

“I know you don’t like to remember Daytona from last year, but how much do you let the disappointment affect you, if any bit at all?”

“I don’t like to remember it, but I’ve tried my best to forget it. It stings but I think we can redeem ourselves this year. That’s what you have to do as a driver,” Wilbur said, smiling slightly for the camera.

“Thank you for your time, Wilbur.”

“No problem,” he replied, walking back towards the car and putting his helmet in the seat.

The first Duel race was calm, with no big moves made until the last three laps, which would set up an overtime finish as an accordion effect involved two cars and would bring out the final caution of the first Duel race.

“James, please check the nose,” Wilbur sighed. “I don’t know what happened there but I didn’t mean to wreck the #2 right there. I had the #47 all over my ass.”

“Looks fine. There’s a small dent under the headlight but I don’t see any holes. Just bring it home.”

“I’m not coasting around these last two laps, I’m helping Charlie win this thing.”

“Wilbur,” Techno’s voice came over the radio. “Don’t worry about it. You’re not close enough to him.”

“I’m still helping him,” Wilbur replied.

“Fine, but if you wreck the car, I will kill you.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to kill me tonight.”

For the final restart, Wilbur managed to find Charlie and began to push him for the final lap and a half, leading up to a huge run down the backstretch and sending both of them from outside the top 5 to fighting for the lead.

“Charlie isn’t clear yet, you have help from the #7,” James said as Wilbur drove into turn 3. “Keep pushing him.”

Off of turn 4, Wilbur gave Charlie one last shove that sent him out in front and allowed him to clear the #19.

“Checkered flag, P3. Great job pushing Charlie there,” Techno said over the radio. “But a better job that you didn’t wreck the car right there.”

“I told you I wouldn’t wreck the car, Tech,” Wilbur hummed happily. “Do you not trust me?”

“Not one bit, Wilbur,” Techno sighed. “But in all seriousness, great job tonight.”

As Wilbur drove to pit road and came to a stop, everything suddenly felt peaceful. He wasn’t worried about losing the Daytona 500 again and he felt confident. He felt like it would be his year, but he knew that racing a stock car in the NASCAR Cup Series wasn’t easy in the slightest.

As he loosened the seatbelts and got out of the car, he hummed happily and looked into the night sky.

“Techno,” Wilbur began, looking at his brother. “How do you feel about becoming Daytona 500 champions?”

The morning of the Daytona 500 arrived quickly, and along with it came the anticipation of a new season. Most of the drivers had already raced in the Clash, but there were no points given out to the drivers who raced.

As the pre-race ceremonies concluded, Wilbur hugged his family, high-fived all of his crew members, and prepared to get in the car to start the race.

“Wil,” Niki whispered as Wilbur hugged her and kissed her forehead.

“Yeah, love?” he replied, looking into her eyes.

“Be safe out there, please.”

Wilbur smiled as he pressed his nose against Niki’s and chuckled softly. “I’ll be safe, Niki. I promise you that.”

“You better keep that promise,” she giggled. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said, leaning in to kiss her before climbing into his car.

Techno then walked over to the car and kneeled by the window. “As your crew chief, I’m gonna tell you to not do anything stupid,” he said. “But as your brother, I’m gonna tell you to kick their asses and show them how it’s done.”

“Thanks Techno,” Wilbur smiled, putting his helmet on.

As Techno put the window net up, Wilbur tested the radio.

“Radio check, radio check.”

“Loud and clear, Wilbur,” James replied.

Wilbur closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was finally time to go and try to win his first Daytona 500.

As soon as the command to start engines was given, Wilbur flipped the switches and let the engine come to life. For a moment, everyone sat on pit road before the pace car began moving and Wilbur would lead the field.

The first few pace laps allowed the anticipation to build up, and as Wilbur led the field down pit road to check the speed limit on pit road, he felt his heart begin to race, and when the lights on the pace car finally went out, he realized that everything was really happening.

“You’re the control car,” James reminded him.

As Wilbur approached the start-finish line, he was on the gas and the green flag was out for the Daytona 500.

The caution was out early as a couple of cars had spun off of turn 4 on the third lap, ending with two cars hitting the wall and a few others getting minor damage.

“What happened there?” Wilbur asked over the radio. “Did they just lose it or…?”

“The #15 and #51 just lost it, the #62 and #77 got clipped and both hit the outside wall pretty hard. They’re both out of their cars and the #51 is in the garage.”

“Okay. If this goes green until the end of the stage, do we pit halfway?” he asked Techno.

“We’ll pit around halfway, give or take,” Techno answered.

“Just making sure,” Wilbur mumbled quietly.

As the race restarted again, Wilbur led the outside lane for multiple laps, until Schlatt moved ahead on lap 38, taking the lead as Wilbur fell back to 7th. With 20 laps to go in the first stage, the first pit cycle of the day began, as Wilbur led a pack of cars down pit road.

The first pit stop of the day was just to fill the car up with gas to get to the end of the stage, and he was back on the track with Quackity, Fundy, and Charlie all lined up behind him and pushing as they caught the other pack of cars.

“Prepare to switch lanes, this second group might jump in front of you and try to split our group apart.”

“Copy,” Wilbur replied. “It’s not my first race, James.”

“I know, Wilbur. I’m just reminding you.”

“Well thanks for that,” he chuckled as he drove between the #18 and #21 cars, moving back into the top 5 with his teammates pushing him forward.

“No problem. #5, #48, and #24 still pushing.”

As the end of stage one grew closer, some drivers began making aggressive moves, which seemed a bit too early to be sacrificing a shot at winning a race just for 10 points. In fact, it seemed so early that Wilbur had decided to back out of the front along with Charlie, Quackity, and Fundy.

“I’m not wrecking the car this early,” he stated.

“Good, because they look like they’re about to wreck up there,” Techno observed, before the #31 gave the #54 a much bigger push than necessary, ending in the inevitable.

“And… they’re wrecking, slow down, slow down, go high.”

“These guys never fail to surprise me,” Wilbur groaned. “Seriously, why are we racing that hard for a stage? It makes no fucking sense at all.”

“Didn’t think you’d get that heated over something you weren’t involved in,” Techno butted in.

“It just pisses me off,” Wilbur mumbled. “It’s stupid.”

“I know. Just shake it off, don’t worry about it.”

The stage would end under caution, and Schlatt would win the first stage of the Daytona 500, winning his first stage on a superspeedway in a year while Wilbur finished 16th.

Yellow flag pit stops began, with most cars changing tires and filling back up with gas. After the cycle, Wilbur had moved into the top 10 again while Schlatt would lose the lead to Dream and Fundy would be hit with a speeding penalty, dropping him from 17th to 32nd.

“60 laps to the end of stage two, stay calm Wilbur,” Techno reminded him. “We’ll be up front at the end.”

“10-4, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Stage two would be lackluster compared to stage one, as a debris caution came out halfway through the stage and allowed drivers to pit under caution, but unfortunately, Wilbur had a slow stop and would lose multiple positions.

“Oh, what happened there?!” he asked, sighing.

“The jack broke on the stop. I’m sorry about that, Wilbur, but it just broke when the car lifted up. Good thing we have the backup jack to lift the car up from now on,” Techno answered him. “But remember, stay out of trouble here. We will be up front at the end of the day, I swear.”

“I’ll try my best, Tech. I’ll try my best,” Wilbur replied.

When the race restarted again, Wilbur stayed near the back of the pack, moving back up the field in the last two laps of the stage and finishing the stage in 9th, earning two points along with it.

“Great recovery there. Charlie and Quackity got some good points there, along with you,” James said as Wilbur drove around under caution, the track lights turning on.

“Where did they finish?”

“3rd and 5th. Dream won the stage, Eret was 2nd, Charlie in 3rd, Connor in 4th, and Quackity in 5th.”

“Okay. Where did Fundy finish there?” he asked again.

“He was in 12th, not far behind you.”

The radio remained silent for a while before pit road opened and Wilbur pitted, although it was a much smoother stop that put him back into the top 5 again.

“Hey Techno?” Wilbur asked.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Techno quickly replied.

“How is everyone doing up there?”

“Oh, Mom and Dad are talking and Tommy’s half-asleep on Niki’s shoulder. She just started scratching his hair and he dozed off,” he answered. “Tommy said he didn’t get that much sleep last night.”

“Aww,” Wilbur cooed. “That made me feel warmer than this hot-ass race car does.”

“You softie,” Techno teased him.

“Like you’ve never adored our baby brother,” he huffed.

“Anyways, get focused here, we’re going green next time, and don’t forget to choose the inside lane right here.”

“I know, Tech. Time to go for it now, I guess.”

When the pace car pulled onto pit road, the green flag was out and the final stage was underway with 70 laps to go, but for the first 27 of the 70 remaining laps, the entire field of drivers were running around the top of the race track, before the first move for the lead was made.

“Eret moved to the bottom, Quackity is pushing him,” James said as Wilbur began to go behind the #21 and #5 cars. “Big push coming from the #22.”

The inside lane began to move forward, propelling Wilbur to 3rd as green flag pit stops quickly approached with 40 laps to go in the Daytona 500.

At least, the plan was to pit with 40 laps to go.

“Caution’s out, there’s a big crash behind you.”

Wilbur immediately slowed his car down and shut the engine of his car off, coasting around the track as the pace car pulled back onto the track.

“They wrecked?” he asked, wondering what happened.

“The #17 pushed the #11 a bit too hard, and it caused a chain reaction on the backstretch and a few cars were absolutely destroyed. At least ten cars were involved, but everyone’s getting out,” James told him.

“Alright, good that they’re okay,” Wilbur mumbled.

“We’ll pit under caution right here for two tires and gas,” Techno stated in the midst of the radio silence.

“Tell me when pit road opens and I’ll come in.”

“It’ll be a while. The #20 was leaking fluid as they drove to pit road so the cleanup crew is getting that situated. I’ll assume we get the race restarted by at least 30 to go.”

Wilbur drove around patiently under caution, checking the pit entry light every time he drove by the pit entrance, before it eventually turned green and pit road was open. As Wilbur stopped in his pit stall, he was ready to hit the gas and go again when Techno told him to go.

“Go for it, go!” he shouted. “Yeah, we got the lead!”

“Hell of a job, team! Great stop there!” Wilbur stated, keeping calm even when he was getting excited about his chance to win, and it felt great.

“It’s not over yet, Wilbur, but this pit crew is awesome! Joe and Mark hit it perfectly on the tires,” Techno sighed, taking a deep breath as he grinned. “The race will restart with 30 to go, so just do what you did in stage one and hold the lead for at least 30 more laps, okay?”

“I will try as hard as I possibly can, Techno. I can’t promise anything, though.”

“I know you can’t promise a win, but I know you will try,” Techno said quietly. “You are my brother and you are fully capable of getting us a Daytona 500 win tonight. Now go out and show them how it’s done.”

“Oh, I will, Technoblade,” Wilbur replied, chuckling lightly.

Techno grinned and readjusted his headset. “Now I know we’re talking.”

On the restart, Wilbur cleared Eret nearly immediately with help from Quackity and Charlie, but the laps felt longer and longer as the race approached lap 200 of 200.

But with 7 laps to go, Eret made the move for the lead.

“#21 is looking inside… and now he’s outside! He’s side-drafting and has help from the #22 and #12.”

The pass for the lead made it much more difficult, and suddenly, Wilbur was in the worst possible position as the #18 came out of nowhere and passed him. He was stuck in the middle and falling back. His Daytona 500 hopes felt like they had been destroyed right in front of him.

“Go low, go low! They’re crashing ahead! Go low!”

Wilbur immediately slammed the brakes and steered to the apron of the race track.

“Big one, that’s going to be a red flag. You alright Wilbur?”

Nothing. Just radio silence.

“Wilbur, are you okay? Answer me.”

“Holy shit! How the hell did I make it through there?! I closed my eyes and it fucking worked! Hahaha!”

“Is there any damage?” Techno asked Wilbur as the red flag was thrown, stopping the cars on the frontstretch.

“Steering’s straight, it doesn’t feel broken. Where should we be running when the race restarts?”

“I’m not entirely sure. I just know that the caution saved our asses,” Techno quickly replied. “We would’ve been way farther back, but I think we’ll be in the top 3.”

“That’s better than I thought,” Wilbur grinned. “Is everyone alright after that crash?”

“Everyone’s getting out except for Punz in the #10. He’s upside-down so the safety team has to flip the car back over so he can get out.”

“Oh,” he mumbled. “Is he alright, though?”

“The window net was loosened, so I’m pretty sure.”

“That’s good. What exactly happened there? I only saw the #22 come across the track in front of me.”

“Schlatt was pushing Ted and I guess it was too big of a push and it wrecked him. They just started stacking up before the #10 got tagged and lifted up into the air.”

A few more minutes passed before the red flag was lifted with 5 laps to go. For a few laps, the pace car led the field before the lights atop the roof were shut off, signaling the one lap to go before the green flag would fly with 2 to go.

“Okay, we’ve got two laps here to go for it. You’ll be 3rd on the restart,” Techno told him. “My heart is pounding, so I assume it isn’t any better for you. Just calm down here and go get us a Daytona 500 win.”

Wilbur took one last deep breath. “10-4.”

“Green flag, the #12 couldn’t get to the #21, the #18 is going to clear him here,” James began to speak as Wilbur drove into turn 1 after the restart.

As Dream took the lead and led the field in the Daytona 500 for the first lap of a two-lap overtime, Wilbur had moved up to 2nd and was in the outside lane with a huge push from Quackity, allowing him to pull up beside Eret’s door down the backstretch and moving to turn 3. Wilbur was close to winning the Daytona 500 last season, but this was the closest he had ever been.

“You’ve got help from the #5, but the #18’s getting a push from the #21 right here, you’ll get the white flag this time. #5 still pushing you here.”

As the field passed the start-finish line, the white flag was waving to signify the last lap of the race, and Wilbur was still on Eret’s door as they drove into turn 1.

“#18 and #21 got disconnected, #5 is still on you. You’re going to pass the #18 right here, keep the pedal down.”

The crowd stood on their feet, watching the giant screens in the infield as Quackity gave Wilbur one last push.

“You’ve cleared the #18, get down in front of him!”

As James told him, Wilbur moved down as Dream had one last shove from Eret, but the push did nothing when the two drivers were stuck in line as Quackity began to side-draft Eret and slow him down before Wilbur led the field off of turn 4 for the final lap.

“Check your mirrors, the #18 has a run! He’s going outside here, move up! Move up!”

Before Dream could even make the move, Wilbur blocked him and they both crossed the start-finish line.

“Checkered flag!” James began to cheer.

“Did we just win it?! Did we just fucking win it?!”

“We just won the Daytona 500! Hell of a job out there Wilbur!” Techno cheered.

“Oh my God, thank you guys! You guys are awesome! Great job on the pit stops, boys! This win is all on you, this is the best team I could ever ask for! Let’s go, boys!”

“Hell, you’re the best driver we could ask for,” Sam said over the radio. “That was a great race today, Wilbur. Great job out there, kid.”

“Oh, I just drive the car, boss,” Wilbur chuckled. “You built this team, you should get the credit for it. Thank you for this opportunity you’ve given me to drive this car.”

“You’re welcome, Wilbur.”

The confetti and champagne absolutely coated the car as Wilbur climbed out in victory lane and stood on the door, waving the checkered flag around before jumping off of the car and hugging Techno.

“What a day, huh Techno?” Wilbur asked quietly.

“Yeah, what a day,” Techno replied, hugging his brother tightly before pulling away and smiling. “Without a driver, we couldn’t have won this race.”

“Without a great crew chief, we couldn’t win.”

Techno huffed. “Take credit for once, Wilbur. You’re a great driver, you deserve this. It’s not selfish to be proud of yourself for winning.”

“Thanks, Techno,” Wilbur grinned. “But still, thank you for being a good leader for the pit crew. Everyone on the team did everything right, I was just lucky to drive the car.”

“No problem. After all, I’m just your supportive brother.”

They hugged one more time, before Wilbur pulled away and walked over to his mother, father, and Tommy.

“Wil!” Tommy grinned as he ran forward, practically leaping into his oldest brother’s arms. “You won!”

“Yeah Toms,” Wilbur smiled, nuzzling his nose into Tommy’s hair and kissing his forehead before pulling back to look at Tommy. “We won.”

Phil and Kristin smiled as they looked at him, and Wilbur smiled back at his parents.

“Wil, mate,” Phil chuckled. “We’re so proud of you!”

Wilbur smiled as his mother kissed his cheek, before running forward and hugging his father, burying his face into his shoulder as Phil did the same. “I love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, son,” Phil whispered back. Wilbur was sure that picture of him and his father would go viral on Twitter but he was going to save and retweet it with no hesitation.

When he pulled away from his father, Wilbur looked up and saw Niki standing a few feet away. It took nearly three seconds before Wilbur was holding Niki in his arms as he spun her around, both of them laughing happily as their lips met in a quick and happy kiss.

“Oh my gosh, Wil, you won it!” Niki cheered, wrapping her arms around Wilbur’s neck as she nuzzled her nose against his.

“I know, and I can’t believe it, Niki!” he replied. “Oh, this makes up for last year, doesn’t it?”

“It does, Wil!” Niki giggled. “Oh, I’m so happy you won and I’m so happy that you’re safe!”

“I promised that I would try my best, love,” Wilbur grinned as he kissed her again. “I couldn’t guarantee it but I was going to try my best to stay safe.”

“And you did stay safe, Wil,” Niki smiled.

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing her gently.

They both sighed happily, and Wilbur decided that being with her and with his family was probably the perfect way to spend the night of his first Daytona 500 victory.

Chapter Text

The new season started off well for Wilbur, even after his win in the Daytona 500. He had put together some solid runs during the West Coast Swing, with top 10s in California and Las Vegas followed by a top 5 finish in Phoenix and another top 10 in Atlanta.

He would even score his second win of the season at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, dominating the race by leading 58 of 68 laps and winning both stages. However, the momentum would stall out with a flat tire ending his day late in Richmond and a bit of a struggle on the dirt in Bristol. As a result, his points lead had shrunk from the very comfortable 53 point gap down to a 24 point gap.

A rebound would be needed as the Cup Series headed to Martinsville Speedway, a track where Wilbur had seen much success prior, scoring multiple wins, including his first career Cup Series win at the Paperclip in his rookie season in his first trip to the track.

But first, Wilbur had to deal with a clingy, sleepy Tommy.

He was lying in bed in his motorhome with Tommy curled into his chest as the sun began to rise in Martinsville, waking up both brothers. Wilbur sat up, before Tommy’s arms wrapped tightly around his torso.

“No,” Tommy mumbled. “Stay.”

“Tommy,” Wilbur chuckled fondly as Tommy pressed his face into his neck. “Toms, I have to get up eventually.”

“No,” the boy mumbled again. “No you don’t.”

Wilbur smiled, nuzzling Tommy’s hair and kissing the boy’s forehead. “You clingy little gremlin.”

Tommy huffed, readjusting himself and looking up at his older brother with a pout as Wilbur smiled.

“Aww,” he cooed, kissing Tommy’s forehead again and pulling the kid into a tight hug.

“You’re a prick,” Tommy sighed as he buried his face into Wilbur’s chest, relaxing in his arms. “I hate you, Wil.”

“I love you too, Tommy,” Wilbur chuckled again, bringing his hand up to the back of Tommy’s head and gently scratching the boy’s scalp and humming quietly as the kid began to drift off to sleep.

A few minutes later, Wilbur decided that maybe a little nap wouldn’t hurt anything. Sure, he had to get up in a few hours to practice for the race, but he was too busy cuddling with his baby brother, and that was more important to Wilbur.

Plus, a little nap could keep him energized.

Although when Techno walked into the motorhome an hour or two later to wake him up, Wilbur was disgruntled and shoved Techno’s hand away from his shoulder, but eventually got up, much to the dismay of Tommy, and walked to the pit lane with his brothers as practice began.

He grabbed his helmet and pulled it on, flicking the visor up as he began to climb into his car and giving a little wave to Tommy as he drove onto the track for a little bit.

The first laps were fine, he was 5th on the timing charts and the car was okay, handling a bit loose on the entry to the corners, but a small brake bias adjustment fixed that.

“You’re putting great laps together here, Wilbur,” Techno said over the radio as Wilbur kept driving.

“Yeah, the car feels really good,” Wilbur replied, grinning under his helmet as he drove down the backstretch behind some traffic. “I’m really happy about it.”

He spent a few more minutes driving around the track before Techno made the call to park the car with a few minutes left in the session.

For a moment, Wilbur and Techno just sat, discussing the setup and the handling of the car while Tommy sat beside Wilbur, leaning on his shoulder and messing around on his phone. Eventually, Wilbur had to prepare for his qualifying lap and he stood up, patting Tommy on the head as the boy glared at him like a sleepy, angry little kitten.

“Child,” he teased, flicking Tommy’s forehead.

“I’m not a child, Wil!” the kid whined in protest.

Wilbur just rolled his eyes fondly, patting Tommy on the head again when the boy pulled back and acted like he was about to bite his hand.

“Did you just try to bite me!?” Wilbur asked incredulously.

“Yeah! And I’ll do it again!” Tommy responded.

“Like a raccoon?” Techno inserted.

“Yes- no! Not like a raccoon!” the youngest huffed.

Wilbur and Techno laughed as Tommy pouted.

“You guys suck, I hate both of you,” he whined.

“Love you too, Toms,” Wilbur responded, walking to Tommy and engulfing him in a hug, smiling smugly as the boy melted into his arms and lightly wrapped his own arms around Wilbur’s torso.

A moment or two passed before Wilbur pulled away to put his helmet on as he had to get ready to qualify.

The rear tires spun as Wilbur began accelerating off of turn 4 on his final qualifying lap, racing back to the line on the final qualifying run of the day.

“Checkered flag, P6. Nice work, Wilbur.”

“P6? Guess I’ll take that,” he chuckled. “Not the greatest.”

“Eh,” Techno replied. “It’s good enough. You’ve won from farther back than that before.”

Wilbur hummed as he stopped the car on pit road, shutting the engine off and getting out as the qualifying session came to an end. They were both content with starting 6th, even if the car felt like it had pole-winning speed.

He spent a few moments talking with Techno before heading back to his motorhome to rest for the afternoon and night, preparing for the upcoming race, hoping to earn another grandfather clock trophy at Martinsville. As he was lying in bed, he scrolled through his phone, looking at some pictures from the Daytona weekend when Tommy silently crawled into bed, pressing against Wilbur’s side.

“Is it already cuddle time?” Wilbur asked teasingly.

“Shut up,” Tommy mumbled, pressing his face into Wilbur’s shoulder. “I’m tired.”

“I figured that,” the eldest responded, turning his phone off and carding his hand through Tommy’s blonde hair. “You want me to sing you to sleep?”

“Nah,” Tommy replied. “I’m comfy enough just lying here.”

Wilbur hummed, pressing a kiss to Tommy’s forehead. “Okay,” he grinned. “I love you, Toms.”

Tommy simply yawned and snuggled closer to Wilbur, feeling safe and content as Wilbur nuzzled his hair and kissed his scalp. “Love you too, Wilby.”

“Goodnight, Tommy,” Wilbur whispered. “My sunshine.”

The two brothers fell asleep soon after that.

Race day arrived quickly as Wilbur began to climb into his car, pulling his helmet on and connecting the steering wheel as Techno leaned through the window, connecting the radio and talking to Wilbur one last time.

“Remember Wilbur, just keep it in one piece in the first two stages, and then you can push in the final stage.”

“I’ll try my best, Techno. I just can’t guarantee a clean race,” Wilbur replied, muffled by his helmet.

“Good,” Techno said. “You’ll get the command to start engines in a second, so just get ready.”

Wilbur chuckled. “I’ve been ready all morning.”

“Even better,” Techno replied, putting the window net up as the command was given, and Wilbur started the car.

It wasn’t much longer before the cars were on the track and the green flag was out, with Wilbur finding some luck immediately as the car starting beside him, the #41 car, missed a shift and allowed him to get into the inside lane.

“Outside, #8 is still outside here, still there,” James informed Wilbur as he crossed the start-finish line to start his second lap of the race. “Clear when you get to turn 1.”

The first half of the first stage was calm, with no incidents as Wilbur found himself in 5th with 30 to go in the 80-lap stage. However, the green flag run came to an end as the yellow flag flew for a single-car spin in turn 2.

“I take it that we’re not pitting here?” Wilbur asked Techno over the radio.

“Yeah, we’re staying out here. We will pit during the stage break, but not right now,” Techno responded.

“Good to know. Car feels good at the moment, though.”

“Do you want any adjustments when we stop?” Techno asked him.

“None that I can think of right now. It feels fine.”

“Okay,” Techno responded. “Just run to the end and we’ll pit for fuel and tires during the stage break.”

“Sounds good to me,” Wilbur chuckled as the green flag was out again to resume the first stage.

The rest of the stage was rather uneventful, as Dream would lead every lap in stage one and win the stage, scoring his fifth stage win of the season, while Wilbur finished in 4th, earning 7 stage points to add onto wherever he finished in the race.

“Remember, we are pitting this time,” Techno reminded him over the radio. “Four tires and fuel.”

“Sounds good,” Wilbur replied as he pulled down pit road, along with the other drivers.

His pit stall was one of the first ones on pit road, after Techno chose one of the few stalls that had an open spot in front of it, allowing Wilbur to exit the pit stall with little-to-no interference from any other drivers.

The pit stall selection helped, as Wilbur’s crew finished the stop and he gained a spot after the car ahead of him, Ted, got stuck in the pit stall and allowed Wilbur to move up into the 3rd position.

“It’s all on you for this next stage. We will have to pit but we may catch a caution here, so don’t worry about saving fuel or tires here,” Techno said over the radio.

“10-4. Go for the stage win?” Wilbur asked him.

“Sure. Just don’t wreck the car trying to win a stage.”

The second stage of the race was uneventful, as the entire stage went caution-free and Wilbur was stuck in 3rd for the majority of the time before green-flag stops happened and he passed Eret for 2nd.

He would run down Dream, but he just couldn’t get past him quick enough to win the stage.

“You were the fastest car on the track at the end,” James told Wilbur under caution as they waited for pit road to open for the stage break pit stops.

“Good to know. Maybe I can pass Dream at the start of this final stage and pull away.”

“Still a long way to go, Wilbur,” Techno reminded him. “Nearly 200 laps left when this thing restarts.”

“I know, Tech. Are we doing a two-stop here?”

“Yes,” Techno affirmed. “Probably stopping at lap 270 and 350, but cautions may screw that up.”

“Well, you’re in charge of the strategy. When the race goes green, do you want me to be conservative or push?”

“It doesn’t matter for the first stint, but save fuel in the second stint and push in the final stint.”

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

When the stage break pit stops had finished, the field was grouped up again for the start of stage three, and Dream led everyone to the green flag and drove into turn one, with Wilbur on his rear bumper on the exit of the corner.

The fight for the lead was close for the first 20 laps of the run, as Wilbur would get to the rear bumper of Dream and tap him out of the way, they’d race side-by-side, and one of them would take the lead before the cycle began again.

After all, they were the top two in points and they were arguably the biggest rivals in the sport at the moment.

Eventually, Wilbur was able to get past Dream and drive away with no issues, pulling away to a 2.7-second lead before the first green-flag pit stops of the final stage.

“Pit this time, pit this time,” Techno called as Wilbur stuck his hand out of the window, signaling to the lapped cars behind him. The long drive down pit road felt incredibly slow as Wilbur spotted his pit sign and turned into the pit stall, coming to a stop as the crew ran around the car.

The stop went smoothly as the car was slowly let down on the left side, waiting for the gas man to finish filling the car up. A crew member stood by the hood of the car and tapped it when Wilbur could drive off. He re-emerged 1 lap down, running in 27th.

After 10 laps, everyone else had finally pitted, giving Wilbur the lead once again for another 30 laps.

“We’re halfway through our run here, Wilbur. You’re doing great with saving fuel, but you can turn it up a little bit more out there. We’re gonna make it to lap 350 with some fuel to spare, but keep saving a little bit, okay Wilbur?”

“Copy, Techno. How far back is the #18?” he asked.

“He’s a second back,” James answered. “There’s a few lapped cars between you and the #18, so don’t worry.”

“Okay,” Wilbur said as he took a breath. “Tell me when he gets closer and I’ll push a little more.”

“10-4,” James replied.

For lap after lap, Dream wasn’t able to catch Wilbur until the caution was out on lap 345 for George, Dream’s teammate, getting spun out in turn 3.

“Caution. #19 spun in turn 3,” James informed Wilbur.

“Are we pitting here, Techno?” Wilbur asked.

“I was aiming for lap 350 but pit road should be open then. We will pit here. Does the car need any changes?”

“Balance felt good there, a bit free in the center, so maybe a minor chassis adjustment? Feels great anyways.”

“Alright,” Techno responded. “I’ll tell the crew what to do here. We won’t make an adjustment if the car feels great.”

“Okay. I’m fine with that,” Wilbur hummed.

When pit road did open, all of the lead lap cars pulled down pit road and made their pit stops.

Wilbur was in and out of his stall quickly, with a solid 9.7 second stop, but it was only good enough for 2nd off of pit road, as Quackity took the lead with an incredible 9.2 second stop, passing both Wilbur and Dream.

“2nd off of pit road here. You have a faster car than Quackity here, so you should be able to pass him.”

“I didn’t want to have to pass someone to win this, but okay. I’ll try my best here, Techno.”

“You’re my brother, you can do this,” Techno assured him.

“Thanks for the encouragement.”

The green flag was out again with 47 to go, and Wilbur drove hard into turn 1 to stay side-by-side with his teammate, pulling ahead out of the corner by half of a car length as he drove down the backstretch.

Quackity stayed on the inside, giving Wilbur plenty of space through turns 3 and 4, which ultimately ended with Wilbur clearing him and Dream moving to the inside.

“You’re all clear, Wilbur. The #5 and #18 are side-by-side for 2nd. Drive away from them,” James told Wilbur.

“I’ll try, James,” Wilbur replied, chuckling lightly as he began to pull away from Quackity and Dream.

The laps continued to wind down, and everyone else’s cars began to get smaller and smaller in his rearview mirror as he approached the final lap with a comfortable 3.7 second lead over Dream, on the way to his 3rd win of the year.

“Two more corners,” James reminded him.

“Hell yeah, boys!” Wilbur cheered as he went through turns 3 and 4 for the final time. “That’s win number 3 this year! Let’s go! Great job on the pit stops, great strategy.”

“Great driving, Wilbur. We needed a good rebound.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Pretty rough few weeks there, wasn’t it Techno?”

“Really rough,” Techno responded.

Wilbur smiled under his helmet as he drove back to the start-finish line, waving to his crew as they stood on the pit wall before he started his burnout, putting his hand outside the window and making a ‘1’ with his index finger.

Tire smoke began to fill the cockpit and he stopped the car, shutting the engine off and climbing out.

The fans cheered as he got out of the car, and Wilbur waved to them as he took his helmet off and ran towards the flagstand to grab the checkered flag.

When he took the checkered flag and walked back to his car, he set the flag on the roof and put his helmet in his seat, taking his earplugs out and ruffling his hair as he turned to face Minx, one of the FOX reporters.

“Another amazing performance by you and your team today, Wilbur, and you are still the only driver to win multiple races this year. Should we be expecting another strong playoff run this year?”

“I think this team has already proven that we can go win a championship this year,” Wilbur stated. “The pit crew has been amazing all season and my crew chief’s been making the right calls, but most of the result falls on the driver, and I haven’t been able to capitalize on some of the good opportunities my team gives me.”

“It seems like you’ve capitalized on every opportunity so far this year, with 3 wins and 7 top 10s.”

“I mean yeah, I have so far, but it’s just the start of the year. I still haven’t performed as well as I could have, but without the team I wouldn’t be standing here with the checkered flag,” he replied, looking over at his team. “I’m thankful for the boss, allowing my brother to be my crew chief. It’s paid off really well so far.”

“How about the fans that have come here to Martinsville?”

“Oh, they’re awesome. I love this track, and these fans are so amazing. I don’t mind if they do or don’t like me, but they’re the reason why we go out every week to race. This track also holds a very special place in my heart, so it’s even better to win here.”

The interview wrapped up, and the victory lane celebrations followed not much later. It all passed by quickly to him. He hugged his crew and his brothers, and when the celebrations wrapped up, he went back to his motorhome with Tommy and Techno.

But if Wilbur’s brothers fell asleep in the motorhome bed with him, and if he pressed light kisses to their foreheads as they slept, then that was just for him to know.

Chapter Text

Okay, so before I go any further, I’m gonna apologize for this going on a two-year hiatus. A lot of stuff has happened in the past two years and life got really busy.

I lost motivation to finish the story near the end of ‘23, and back when I wrote this story at first, I had depression and it was hard to keep it going, especially once I got my first job and while I was still in high school, and not having proper time to finish, but I’m glad to say that I will be back, and I will finish this story before the new year in 2026!

I’ve grown distant from the community and I know there’s been some crazy stuff that’s happened within the community since August of 2023, but I won’t change anything about this story, I will keep this story on the same path that I had originally planned.

I’m not sure if I’ll keep writing the DSMP and NASCAR stories after I finish this or not, but I promise, if I keep this going, it’ll get better and better. I will remain slightly active (or at least try to), but I just won’t write about these two fandoms as much as I did, but I will continue writing stories for other ones.

Anyways, just wanted to write this to let y’all know that I’m not dead, and this story isn’t dead.

- HN9, signing out.