Cujo braced, gripped the steering wheel, and yanked it so that his car stayed in the inside lane, away from the pile-up that was unfolding near the wall. No longer the seventh car behind the leader, he caught up to the lead car, but a plume of smoke coming out of the engine forced Cujo to move to the right as the lead car now headed off to the pit.
Cujo looked at his rearview mirror. There were now ten cars behind him, a far cry from the start of the race 390 miles earlier. Cujo was now the lead car. A car drifted behind him, and Cujo kept pace and distanced himself from the trailing car while trying to block any lane for passing. Nine miles to go became eight miles, then seven. Last time he was this close to winning, Caleb had been racing by his side. What he wouldn’t give to have Caleb
