Kyle Vandergriff
19 November 2012
Ms. Harmon
Pre AP English 10
Passing the Torch
As the checkered flag is
thrown on the racetrack, success fills my veins. I had done it. I had won my
first race. I see the smiles of my family and friends as I whiz by in the car.
I look at my dad especially, a big smile of happiness on his face.The joy of my
dad being proud of me drowns out the joy of winning. I feel like I accomplished my father’s goal for me. For me to win my first race. As I ride by them to , I
drive onto the scales to see if my car is legal weight. The operator gives me a
thumbs up. I drive off the scales then back to my trailer. As I get out of my
car, I am flooded with congratulations. I had won my first race! I think about
all of the times I had watched my dad win. Now it was my time. I had won.
I’m five years old, sitting with my mom, watching my dad
race. I watch his brightly car go around and around. As I watch, I wish I could
be like him someday. The roaring of the cars fill my ears. I watch as my father
passes more and more cars. I look at the bright lights of the scoreboard to see
who is winning. My dad is in third. A few laps later he passes the two cars
fighting for the lead. The checker flag is waved and my dad wins the race. My
mom erupted in shouts and hoorahs. We all went down to to the track to get the
winning picture taken. Everyone was as happy as could be on the ride back home.
Butterflies flutter in my
stomach as I strap into my racecar.
“Are you ready,” asks one of
my pit crew members. I shake my head yes and he walks away. I put on each piece
of my safety belts on very carefully. I was about to be in my first race. Im
only fourteen and would be racing against people who have been racing for
fourteen years. I put on my helmet and fasten the straps on it. I think about
all of the work we did in the summer to get to this moment. All the sweat and
hard work put into the car, everything lead up to this exact moment. I didn’t
know if I was ready for it to happen or not, but it was going to happen either
way. A voice came over my radio.
“Late models start getting
ready to go out on the track.” It was the race official. It was almost time for
me to start my first race. I put on the steering wheel and make sure it is
locked in place. I close my eyes and think of all the times I had sit in the
stands and watched my dad raced. Now he was sitting in the stands watching me.
“Late models, you can go out
on the track now.” It was time. There was no more delaying the inevitable. I
was about to start my first race. I ease on the gas pedal and the car lurches
forward. I pull out on the track. I look at the crowd of people in the stands.
I look at my dad. I pull into my position. We start coasting around the track
to get into formation. The green flag is waved and just like that I had started
my first race.
Now I am back to my first win.
I stand there with my family as we get the winning picture taken. It was all
smiles from my family and friends. I felt like I made my dad proud. It was like
a passing of the torch. My dad had won a lot of races now he was passing the
torch to me. Hopefully I will be able to someday pass the torch to one of my
children. The flash of the camera blinds us all while we get the picture taken.
Now I was the one getting their picture taken, just like my dad did many years
ago.
