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When the playoffs started, Wilbur felt a little bit confident considering he had the points lead after winning the regular season championship and way more playoff points than the nearest driver in points. He should have been safe through the first two rounds, right?
Well, it wasn’t that easy. He had to deal with crashes in the first race in the Rounds of 16 and 12; a spin in Darlington and tire failure in Texas.
Needless to say, he had horrible luck so far in the playoffs, and going to Talladega—the most unpredictable track in NASCAR—that weekend wouldn’t help settle his nerves.
But when he led off turn four on the last lap, he felt great.
Off of turn four, the field was three-wide behind Wilbur and the #12 of Schlatt had momentum going to the line.
“#12’s coming with a big run! Move up!”
“Haha! Yeah baby!” Wilbur pumped his fist and looked out the right-side window of the car, giving Schlatt a thumbs-up as Schlatt congratulated him. “Good shit boys!”
“That’s my brother,” Techno said as he celebrated in the pit box with the team. “Great job out there, Wilbur.”
“We needed this one. Needed it badly.”
“We’re in the Round of 8, boys,” James said.
As he did with every win, Wilbur stopped at the start/finish line and smoked the rear tires. The fans loved it; the fans loved him. He’d won the Most Popular Driver Award the past four years, and it wasn’t for no reason.
Getting out of the car, Wilbur smiled as he heard the fans cheering him on. It was an amazing feeling to win.
“…last week was hard for your team, but you’ve punched your ticket into the Round of 8 with this win. How was it?”
“First off, I want to thank the fans,” he said, pointing to the crowd with a grin. “You guys are awesome, we couldn’t do this stuff without you all. Happy to see a bunch of #9 hats in the stands, glad to know I have fans, love them. Not just my fans, but this entire sport has the best fans.”
“Well, you can celebrate with your team tonight. Great job in today’s race.”
“Thank you.”
When Wilbur drove into victory lane—which had changed since he last won in Talladega—he smiled as his team and his family were standing to the side as he climbed out of the car with the checkered flag in hand.
The confetti began to rain from the sky as the water and champagne began to soak Wilbur and the car.
“Yeah! Let’s go!” Wilbur hopped off of the roof of the car, meeting his mother and father with a smile.
“Good job, mate,” Phil smiled as he ruffled Wilbur’s hair.
“Thanks Dad,” Wilbur grinned, before turning to his mother and smiling again as she kissed his cheek. “Hey Mom.”
“Good job, sweetheart, I’m so happy for you!” Kristin said as she cupped Wilbur’s cheek with her hand, smiling as Wilbur melted into the touch like he did as a little kid, back when his father originally drove the #9.
Wilbur felt partially embarrassed, but didn’t mind the affection from his mother.
However, he couldn’t help the coo that escaped his mouth when Tommy hugged him. The kid was endearing, and Wilbur couldn’t help the fact that he loved Tommy.
“Aww, hey Tommy!” Wilbur kissed Tommy’s forehead, smiling as the kid giggled. Wilbur hadn’t shaven in a month and Tommy always said Wilbur’s stubble tickled.
“Hi Wilbur,” Tommy buried his face into Wilbur’s shoulder.
Techno smiled a few feet away from his brothers, and Wilbur quickly hugged Techno after Tommy let go of him.
“You did great with the strategy,” Wilbur praised his brother/crew chief.
“You kept the car in one piece today, so it wasn’t all me.”
“Yeah, I know,” Wilbur said as he looked away and towards the car, admiring how the car was covered with yellow-and-black confetti. “Man, no matter how many times we win, the car still looks great with confetti on it.”
“I can’t help but agree with you,” Techno said.
Wilbur zoned out for a moment before he felt someone tap his shoulder. He smiled as he turned and saw Niki.
“Oh, hey Niki,” Wilbur said as he wrapped his arm around Niki’s shoulder and the shorter woman rested her head on his shoulder.
Even if she was his PR representative, he had a close relationship with her.
“Wilbur, can I tell you something?” Niki asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Wilbur replied. “What is it?”
“I decided that I’m not going to be your PR representative next year, or rather, I’m not going to be anyone’s PR representative next year,” she said.
“Oh… well,” Wilbur stammered. “Why not?”
“I just don’t feel like it next year, it’s a bit stressful. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it, I really like being with you, but it’s just that it’s a bit too stressful for me.”
“So… after Phoenix, you’re done?”
“Yeah,” Niki said, nodding as she looked up at Wilbur. “I really like being at the track with you, though.”
“I mean, I agree with you. It’s enjoyable for me to be with you, I like it too,” Wilbur stated before Niki kissed his cheek and caught him off guard. “I- I- uh… well…”
Niki giggled and rested her head on Wilbur’s shoulder again. “I’m glad you like hanging out with me, too.”
“Are we going to ignore what just happened?!” Wilbur asked, feeling his face turn red.
“What happened?”
“You- you just kissed my cheek,” Wilbur stuttered.
“Yes, I did,” Niki said simply and smiled.
“It’s really sudden, Niki, but can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Niki looked up at him again.
“Did you actually mean to do that or…”
“Of course I did,” Niki replied. “I only kiss the people I love, Wilbur.”
“Then does that mean-?”
“That I love you? Yes, it does,” she said, smiling as Wilbur’s face continued to turn a deeper shade of red.
Wilbur heard James calling his name, and Wilbur remembered that it was time to take the victory lane photos, including a picture with the Talladega laurel that all drivers got with a win at the 2.66 mile superspeedway.
“Hold on a minute,” Wilbur said as he walked away, turning around when Niki didn’t follow him. “Hey, aren’t you going to join the photos?”
“I don’t want to intrude on your celebrations,” Niki said.
“You’re not intruding. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a part of this team, and you should celebrate too.”
Niki thought for a moment. “Okay, I’ll join.”
The different pictures went by quickly, and the smiles still lasted as the pictures came to an end with Wilbur posing next to the trophy with different people.
He had a good laugh when he took a picture with Tommy, since Tommy wanted to stand next to him instead of next to the trophy, even though Tommy had been told multiple times to stand on the other side. Wilbur just smiled and took Tommy into his arms and hugged the kid as the photo was taken. Their parents said it was adorable.
Techno barely smiled, James seemed more excited than usual, Phil and Kristin looked as proud as ever, but the picture with Niki was another thing.
“Come on, Niki,” Wilbur waved her over as she smiled and stood next to him. Right before the picture was taken, Wilbur smiled as he kissed Niki’s forehead.
Niki blushed and looked up at Wilbur with a small smile.
“You kissed my cheek so I got to kiss your forehead,” Wilbur whispered with a smug look on his face. “It’s a fair trade, in my honest opinion.”
The picture was taken as they smiled at each other.
“Since when did you become a bargainer?”
“Not entirely sure,” Wilbur said. “But does it matter at all?”
“Not really,” Niki giggled.
Wilbur continued to smile before the smile faded away. “Oh, I’m sorry if I pushed it a bit too far,” he mumbled.
“No, you didn’t push it at all! I didn’t mind it, Wil,” Niki quickly said with a smile.
“So you wouldn’t mind if I kissed you again?” Wilbur silently asked, staying quiet.
“I’d be happy if you did.”
Suddenly, Wilbur leaned down and kissed her. It caught both of them off guard, but neither one complained. Niki felt happier than she had felt in a while, and Wilbur just felt better than he already did after winning.
“I love you,” Wilbur whispered when the kiss stopped, pressing his forehead against Niki’s.
Niki grinned and wrapped her arms around Wilbur’s neck. “I love you too,” she said sweetly, her voice quiet.
Wilbur kissed Niki’s forehead again as he heard Schlatt’s voice a few feet away from him.
“Congrats, Wilbur,” Schlatt said as he turned around.
“Thanks man,” Wilbur said as he shook his hand. They’d been friends for a while, even having a few run-ins that were easily solved by a can of Busch Light and a handshake. “Sorry to take the win from you like that.”
“Nah, it’s fine, man. I don’t mind as long as you don’t wreck me,” Schlatt smiled.
“So basically as long as it’s not like the Clash last year?”
“Yeah,” Schlatt laughed along with Wilbur. “Anyways, I just wanted to congratulate you on the win. Where did you even come from?”
“I got a big shove from Sapnap on the restart, and then jumped up in front of Foolish. He gave me a hell of a shove in those last two laps.”
“You were lucky to have a good amount of manufacturer teammates with you.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have won it without Foolish’s push,” Wilbur said. “Anyways, nice talking to you.”
“Nice talking to you too, Wilbur.”
Schlatt walked away with a smile, and Wilbur turned back to look at his team and his family.
That night, Wilbur slept peacefully, no longer worried about the next race and feeling comfortable. It’d been a great race weekend, and he was ready for the last five of the year, hoping to win his first championship.