Dream to Race Paige Dougherty

Turning around the sharp corner and onto the straightway, the car next to me, number 32, inched closer and closer to the inside of the track, forcing me to move to the outside. While trying to speed up my pace around the next curve, my car’s front tires began to skid, the back tires started to slide, and before I knew it I was spinning out of control.

During that first spin, all I could think about was finishing the race. Before I lost control, I had been in second place and nothing could have stopped me from cruising my way up to that first place position. That one car ahead of me, number 32, was nowhere near as fast as my brand new stock car. All during that first spin, I imagined myself standing up on the first place pedestal giving my winner’s speech and receiving my trophy. Everything was in slow motion, and although I should have been worrying about the effects of the spin out, I wasn’t; I was worried about the ten cars that were passing me every couple seconds and what I could do to get back to my place in the front. Trying to steer my way back into control of my car, I only made it worse; I hit the wall with force and at that moment, I knew I was not going to win the race.

My brand new, freshly painted car was totaled...