[b][center][h2]Joel Nicolosi[/h2] [/center][/b]

The engine howled happily with a downshift and settled into a gentle pur as Joel approached the small fold-up tent. The nose bobbed slightly in front of his view as the suspension rolled over divots in the concrete tiles composing the taxiway of the crosswind runway at Old Sol International. His eyes glanced up and down, partly watching his approach while also checking the readouts on the steering wheel display: Brake temps, tire temps, oil and water readings. The [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5046245]Aston’s[/url] V12 snarled heartily as he dropped one more gear into first. He popped the DRS one more time just for fun glancing in the mirror to see the wing open and seeing the function come active on the small screen before it snapped shut with another press of the button. He glided beneath a second tent flanked by toolboxes and bordered by the massive [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4585428]hauler[/url] that Tommy had bought, still emblazoned with #75 and Joel’s 300ZX, although the words [i]Sol City GP Champions[/i] and picture of the trophy had been added. 

Stepping out, Joel removed his helmet along with the tethers from his Hans device and set the whole apparatus on the roof of the car, running his hands vigorously through his matted hair before pulling his ear plugs. Music played from the hauler’s speakers, dropping in and out randomly as they had also tuned in with ground control. Joel glanced over his shoulder in the distance at the sound of heavy underwing engines whistling with steady throttle as a UPS 767 eased in on approach on the main left, north-south runway, gear down and flaps extended, the wingtips rocked with each adjustment by the pilot. Joel glanced past as the tires touched down, watching the steady movement of the clouds of midafternoon as sunlight blinked shadows over the open expanse. It wasn’t a busy afternoon and getting the time on the unused area of the airport was no problem, he turned to a small table with a laptop and slid a pair of sunglasses on to shield the brightness of the concrete pads from his eyes.

The keys rattled beneath his finger prints while a voice came up from behind:

“Well, how’d it go?” The Neo City accent of Joel’s old crew chief, Lou, was unmistakable. As usual, he had a headset halfcocked off one ear and a tablet in one hand. 

Joel shrugged, “Definitely nice having the engine back in front of me again,” Joel chuckled. His eyes scanned the laptop screen without looking back. “Fronts don't wanna get up to temp fast enough, I don’t wanna burn through tires before we learn anything,” He said, his face twisted quizzically at some of the data. “The Brits definitely build a different car than the Germans.” He said scratching his head.

“Otha guys workin’ on ya ride, gotcha soft eh?” Lou chuckled. “Looked good from where I was sittin’.”

“Ha!” Joel cackled. “They do what they get paid to do and I… I do what I get paid to do.”


“Drive and look pretty, huh?”

“Yeah there ya go,” Joel smirked. He turned and lifted an air hose from the ground and hooked it into the hood port. The car immediately jumped up a few inches onto its jackstands. Kneeling down, he ran his fingertips over the shape of the right front tire and tilted his head slightly looking at the suspension. “Brakes felt good, seemed like they were right in the range, we can probably close the ducts up some more, we’ll be going wide open long enough to keep them cool I think. Bump stops could probably be shaved, give us some more flexibility…”

“Whad else is on your mind?”

Joel snorted at the question and shook his head, not looking up. [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4544024]Lou[/url] knew him about as well as anyone. “Nah, nothin.” He said with a shrug. “Same ol’ shit ya know.”

“Women gotya inna bind again? I thought you had settled on the redhead.” Lou asked.

“No, not that,” Joel said standing up and wiping his hands. “Just seems like the city’s changing and I don’t know if it’s for the better.”

“You been listenin’ to that conspiracy crap in the middle of the night again?”

“Nah, all you gotta do is read the paper now, it’s been that way for a while,”

Lou chuckled a bit, “Well that’s the way it goes sometimes, why yous thinkin about gettin out?”

“Yea, before they raise my taxes any more.” Joel snickered. The breeze across the airstrip picked up a bit and he breathed it in heavily. “Just feels like I’ve got everything I can outta this town lately, might be time to do somethin’ different.”