NASCAR: The Equestrian Cup

Chapters

Best of Radioactive: Daytona
Race 2: Las Vegas
Best of Radioactive: Las Vegas
Equestrian Sweethearts: Daytona and Las Vegas
Race 3: Auto Club-California
Best of Radioactive: Auto Club
Race 4: ISM-Phoenix
Equestrian Sweethearts: Auto Club and ISM
Race 5: Atlanta
Best of Radioactive: Atlanta
Race 6: Homestead-Miami
Best of Radioactive: Homestead-Miami
Equestrian Sweethearts: Atlanta and Homestead
Race 7: Texas
Best of Radioactive: Texas
Race 8: Bristol
Best of Radioactive: Bristol
Equestrian Sweethearts: Texas and Bristol
Race 9: Richmond
Best of Radioactive: Richmond
Race 10: Talladega
Best of Radioactive: Talladega
Race 1: Daytona
Best of Radioactive: Phoenix

Best of Radioactive: Daytona

Author's Note

Welcome to the first installment of Radioactive, after every race there will be a set of radio highlights from any and every driver in the field with chat from wrecks, close calls, angry ponies, and a lot of complaining. :unsuresweetie: The radio chatter will be split into teams and they will be color coded.

Crew Chief: Orange
Spotter: Black

Joe Gibbs Racing: Turquoise
Hendrick Motorsports: Violet
Penske/Roush: Blue
Ganassi: Red
Stewart-Haas: Green
JTG-Daughtery Racing: Light Blue
Richard Childress Racing: Pink

The main 6 are the exception

Best of Radioactive: Daytona

11 Lightning Dust

Pre-Race

"Check, outside pole today. Let's bring this one home."
" You want me working the front today?"
"You'd be up front anyway Dust. I know you better than that."
"Sky looks clear today, good hunting."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Pre-Race

"Radio check clear, got a lot of teammates up here."
"Better than I could have hoped for. Keep in touch with the #9 and #24, I think I'll need the help today.

24 Viral Velocity

Pre-Race

"Read me Viral?"
"Loud and clear Neon, feels good to be on home turf."
"You know the deal, let's get it done. How does it look up there?"
"Not a cloud for miles, this one is finishing normally.

40 Akula

Pre-Race

"I'll let you run your race today. How's the car feel?"
"Feels good, a lot different here than back in F1 but It'll warm up to me."
"#42 is close by if you need any help. A lot of other Chevy's up front so we'll be with the lead pack most of the day."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 5

"Trash on the grill."
" Figures, temp is rising. Am I clear behind the #18?"
"Half back behind her. No room yet."
"I'll put it through... she's gonna push you into the turn."

19 Spitfire

Lap 9

"The call came in, pit this time. Right sides only."
"Better now than never. Coming in, let's make this quick."

10

Octavia Melody
Lap 12

"I feel like I'm driving a {expletive} yacht. Way too tight on the exits."
"Copy, hold it together. We'll adjust the wedge next time you come in."

88 Starlight Glimmer

Lap 17

"Still outside and in line behind you. Got one spinning in front, keep it straight. Caution's out."
"Was that the #1?"
"Yep, she kept it off the wall. Coming back around for the stage, we got some points from that."
"And I just won a bet, she is never gonna live that one down."

9 Pinkie Pie

Stage 1 Finish

"And stage one winner, #9."
"Can we celebrate yet?"
"Win this race and we'll party all night."

3 Oscura Galaxia

Lap 27

"If the #41 sends me into the corner one more {expletive} time there is gonna be one heck of a wreck back here."
"Copy, she needs to get her head on straight."
"That whole team needs to get their head on straight!"

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 35

"Really loose off of the corners! {expletive} I don't know how much more of this I can handle."
"Bring it in if you need to, no sense in risking the car this early."
"I think I can handle five more laps."

95 Danger Dean

Stage 2 Finish

"That's five straight Toyota's in the top 5 that stage, good work."
"As much as I would like to lead, I don't mind helping out the team for now. How many laps for the final stage?"
"Sixty, at least one more stop this race."
"I want a gas and go if we pit under green."

2 Rarity

Stage 2 Finish

"Go, go, go!"

"Where are we at?"

"Checking the tower now... #18 beat us at the line. We got the outside lane on the restart."

"I can make that work."

9 Pinkie Pie

Lap 41

"Green, Green. Go get it."
"...Contact up front, still moving.. keep digging we're still green."
"I'll give it about 8 laps before that tire blows out."

2 Rarity

Lap 41

"Still there... clear if you want the bottom... Inside!"
"I'm sorry, but clear is supposed to mean that there isn't any cars beside me!"
"#18 got a big push last second."
"Yeah, and I know her well enough that she would never move out of the way if she was there."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 48

"Still inside of two... got one wrecking up top. you are clear low. Clear high, cautions out."
"Wait... was that the entire outside lane that just wrecked?"
"Yep, you are 7th on the monitor. Welcome to Daytona."

40 Akula

Lap 48

"Just hold it right there on the bottom, got a push coming... One spinning up top! Low, low, low. Clear all around. You are clear."
"That was a {expletive} mess!"
"Well be ready for another, we are only half way done here."

6 Scootaloo

Lap 48

"Stay with it, you still got one inside. Spinning up front, check up! Check up!. Just stop, stop. Let them roll down, you are clear. Go around the outside"
"I caught the #10 in the jam up, hows the front look?"
"Looks fine, just about all of our team got caught up in that one. Sweetie's getting out, #21 has half the right side torn off."

95 Danger Dean

Lap 51

"Green, Green.... #11 is clear. #40 is right with you. You are clear bottom."
"...Is the #40 clear?"
"#40 is clear, #24 is coming"

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 51

"Green... you are clear low to come down. #95 outside, #40 coming to your quarter. Ah {expletive} there he goes."
"Son of a {expletive}!"
"#24 coming high, clear behind her."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 63

"Clear 5 lengths back to the #11. Just stay with them."
"Feels like 2011 all over again eh Neon?"
"Sorry, but Trevor Bayne isn't on track right now. Just stay with them until pit stops or a caution."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 71

"We are about ten laps out on fuel. Ten laps on fuel"
"Still in line behind you, lead pack... one spinning. Get low low low low low! Clear! Holy {expletive}!"
{Expletive} he just about clipped me... how is he?""
"Window net is down, he's getting out"

95 Danger Dean

Lap 72

"We're wrecked in three, talk to me Dean. You alright."
"...Yeah, {expletive} tried to save it. It's killed, I'm getting out."

40 Akula

Lap 72 (Under Caution)

"{expletive}, I feel really bad about that. I didn't mean for it. He's OK?"
"He's good. I talked with them, no hard feelings. Just move on, we're pitting this time. Full tank and four tires."

20 Fluttershy

Lap 87

"You are clear high girl. Watch it... clear high if you want her. Just get back up to her, inside."
"That, was close. Come on Rainbow, let's go."

37 Vapor Trail

Lap 92

"#47 in behind you, spinning up front stay high. Oh, big hit behind you. Caution is out. Sky has the window net down, #24 is driving away."
"Who turned her?"

42 Sunset Shimmer

Lap 94 (Under Caution)

"#11 hooked the #24 and she collected the #47."
"Are we running a race or playing family fued?"

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 97

"#9 is moving to the middle, #9 middle. You are bottom of three."
"She has officially lost her {expletive} mind."
"No, her crew chief promised her a party if she won."
"Are you {expletive} serious!?"
"I'm looking at her spotter right next to me thinking the same exact thing."

20 Fluttershy

Finish

"Coming to the line... P2. That's second, great work today girl. You did well."
"T-thanks. Glad I made everyone proud."

40 Akula

Finish

"Come on, bring it home. Beat 'em there! P5. Top 5 at Daytona, good job today."
"Good, alright I'll bring it around and go find Dean. Gonna see how he is doing."

Race 2: Las Vegas

Author's Note

I will be using single car qualifying across every track during the season. I know this is not how they do it in the cup series but it's a shortened field and this would be much quicker.

Race 2: Las Vegas

Monday Night
Daytona 500 Closing laps

Scootaloo was one of the few ponies that had bothered to spend the night watching the race instead of either resting or getting ready for the race at Vegas that was coming soon. Along with her was only Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom had been there to watch the #21 of Matt Dibenedetto, but after an early wreck took him out she retired for the night.

Scootaloo sat behind the pit box of the #6 team for her mentor Ryan Newman. The laps were now winding down and he was in prime position for a good finish. She had managed a top ten in her own race and after surviving the initial wreck that took out most of her fellow Ford's brought Roush Fenway Racing a solid finish as the highest placing Ford in the field.

Similarly Ryan and his teammate Chris Buescher in the #17 were both running very well. In fact, they were top 5 at the moment with Denny Hamlin leading and Sweetie Belle's mentor Ryan Blaney holding strong as well.

Heading into the final lap Newman was in the prime position, and Blaney was ready to go. The pair of Ford's pushed on and powered ahead of the #11. Going down the backstretch they were now one and two as Scootaloo cheered on Newman. Sweetie Belle also had joined in with her friend as the pack raced into turn four. Denny gave Ryan Blaney a big shot into the turn but Newman held his line. As they exited the corner he caught up to Newman and got him loose. He was able to correct it and looked to be able to hold on, but Blaney had little control over his car.

The second time Newman wasn't so lucky, he was turned into the outside wall violently coming into the tri-oval and flipped over slowly onto his side. As Sweetie watched the race to the line between Blaney and Hamlin Scootaloo witnessed the #6 spin around on its side… Right in front of a charging Corey Lajoie.

Time began to crawl as the Ford was punted into the air by a car hitting it at nearly 200mph. The impact denting the driver side of the roof severely. The scoring came in shortly after as Denny was credited with the victory. For a few seconds Scootaloo stood silent and motionless. It took a few seconds for her world to come back to her. Sweetie Belle's voice only barely registered in her mind.

"Scootaloo… You ok?"

Scootaloo had only one thing on her mind. She immediately jumped the pit wall and began running for the overturned car that sat in the entrance to turn one.

"Ryan!"

Las Vegas
Mobil 1 200, Qualifying
Wednesday

"Your last on track today squirt, good luck out there. I'll be seeing you on track Friday. I need to go find Kyle, he's gonna tour me around his hometown for a while." Rainbow encouraged her adopted sister. While racing they were competing against each other, they still treated each other with respect. Rainbow was the first to console Scootaloo after the incident involving Ryan at Daytona.

"Alright, Rainbow. Have fun." She replied as Rainbow began to walk away in search for Kyle Busch after a fourth place qualifying effort. Just as Scootaloo was about to enter her garage to get suited up she was surprised by a special person waling up to her and squatting down to greet her.

"Hey kid, looking good today." Ryan greeted his protege. He had been released from the hospital just earlier that day, posting a heart warming picture with his daughters. While he would not be cleared to race at Vegas, he was still going to spectate the weekend. That included the Mobil 1 200, the race the ponies would be in on Friday.

Scootaloo met Ryan with a strong embrace before the two entered the garage together. In the garage sat the #6 Oscar Mayer Ford. Just like the Monster Energy Cup car it was orange, but streaks of purple racing stripes adorned the side and hood of the car making it more unique and distinguished for Scootaloo. She was on track in 3 runs, the last to qualify.

Another Ford was on the pole lap, Applejack. Her car was bad fast this week, as were most of the Ford's. Rarity had qualified 5th, Sweetie Belle 8th, and Apple Bloom not much farther back in 13th. On track ahead of her were Viral, currently running her lap, and Octavia was coming on after her. Viral came around to complete her second lap which bumped her up from 7th to 4th, bumping Rarity and Rainbow both down a spot in the process as well as Lightning Dust.

The #10 pulled out on track to start it's out lap as Scootaloo got harnessed into the car she would be racing. She strapped on the helmet once again as the team rolled the car out onto pit road.

"Alright kid, I have some business to take care of while I'm here. Good luck, take care of the car tonight."

"No problem Ryan, thanks."

As Scootaloo waited for her turn on track the #10 Smithfield Ford came around to complete it's first lap. Coming off of turn 4 the back end slipped out sending the car into a spin. The car rear ended the wall hard and swung around to smack it with the right front. The bang was heard well from pit road with no other cars on track. Soon enough, Octavia climbed out of the car, visibly frustrated that she wrecked the car on the out lap. After the wreck was cleared Scootaloo was given the green to run her lap.

Her run into turn 1 was near perfect, easily one of the best as she went into the corner. She couldn't quite hold the car all the way on the bottom but the car did not get too tight or loose. She got a good run off the corner on to the back straight. Hugging the wall all the way into turn 3. She about clipped the apron in the corner, but managed to make it stick, though she barely got out of the throttle. She came off turn 4 with a good pace as she crossed the line.

"28.514, that's 7th quickest. P7 on race day. Let's bring the car back."

Scootaloo would not get a chance to run two laps.

#22 Applejack 28.463
#19 Spitfire 28.477
#48 Twilight Sparkle 28.480
#24 Viral Velocity 28.492
#18 Rainbow Dash 28.502
#2 Rarity 28.505
#6 Scootaloo 28.514
#11 Lightning Dust 28.529
#12 Sweetie Belle 28.542
#42 Sunset Shimmer 28.552
#95 Danger Dean 28.558
#9 Pinkie Pie 28.568
#40 Akula 28.580
#21 Apple Bloom 28.588
#20 Fluttershy 28.603
#4 Vinyl Scratch 28.609
#88 Starlight Glimmer 28. 619
#3 Oscura Galaxia 28.633
#14 Lyra Heartstrings 28.652
#8 Bloothy 28.669
#1 Trixie Lulamoon 28.679
#37 Vapor Trail 28.687
#41 Derpy Hooves 28.698
#47 Sky Stinger 28.720
#10 Octavia Melody (DNQ)

Mobil 1 200 at Las Vegas
Friday Morning.

"Welcome back to the Nascar Equestrian Cup sponsored by Dollar General. Save time, save money, every day. I am Mike Joy joined today by Larry McRenolds and Jeff Gordon. Larry good to have you with us this week, what are your thoughts on both this race and last week at Daytona?"

"Well Mike I am definitely excited this week for Vegas. Last week at Daytona Joe Gibbs Racing got the Daytona weekend sweep with Rainbow Dash and Denny Hamlin. that team showed a lot of promise last week with a 1-2-3 finish. We'll see what they can do here today."

"Speaking of Dash, Jeff let's talk about sponsors. A lot of new sponsors in this week as well as some old ones returning."

"Indeed Mike, let's start with last weeks winner Rainbow Dash who struck a deal with Nos Energy Drink, a company who sponsors Kyle Busch's Xfinity series rides as well as a planned sponsor for cup driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Her teammate Lightning Dust also got a new sponsorship deal with Gatorade, she'll be running several schemes with them and FedEx throughout the season. Also, Twilight Sparkle was able to get Liberty University on board the #48 along with Lowes returning to re-sign with the team."

"Also Jeff, Viral Velocity I'm sure you're aware partnering with Hot Wheels. Applejack will be running Home Depot on her cars during the season, a company that once sponsored Joey Logano, and Derpy Hooves and Stweart-Haas partnering with UPS. Plenty more partnerships are on the way too, including Stanley, who once sponsored Marcos Ambrose's #9, returning to likely partner with the #40 team and a return from Budweiser who used to sponsor Dale Jr's #8 in the early 2000's coming back to support the #88. This is of course only a small portion of new sponsor's to come this season."

"Thanks Larry, when we come back we will be getting the call to fire engines here at Las Vegas for the Mobil 1 200."

"Checking in, can you hear me alright kid?"

"Yeah, read ya loud and clear."

"Spotter?"

"I hear ya, track looks good. No rain or wet spots, we are good to run today."

"Good... alright, 200 miles today. 134 laps, let's have another good day. Ryan is here, let's do him a favor."

"Driver's, start your... engines!"

As the #6 team finished up their check and got the command Scootaloo and the rest of the field fired up the engines of their cars. Applejack and Spitfire led the pack away, followed by Twilight and Viral, Rainbow and Rarity, and then Scootaloo rolled away alongside Lightning Dust. Eventually the entire field pulled away to begin pace laps. The announcers began to discuss the starting grid.

"Starting on pole today is Applejack in the #22 Pennzoil Ford, running an orange and yellow scheme today. Alongside her is Spitfire in the Bass Pro Shops #19, Truex will be starting 2nd as well on Sunday. Row 2 with Twilight and Viral once again starting side by side, Twilight in the Ally #48 and Viral in the Hot Wheel/Axalta #24. Row 3, last weeks winner at Daytona Rainbow Dash starting in fifth and Rarity next to her in the Blue Deuce this week."

"Row 4, Scootaloo in the #6. Mike we got word that Ryan Newman was released from the hospital on Wednesday, and Lightning Dust who had her own flip at Daytona last week is starting next to her in 8th. Row 5 and right behind Scootaloo is the #12 of Sweetie Belle as well as Sunset Shimmer to her outside in the Credit One Bank #42. Row 6 Danger Dean bouncing back from a hard crash at Daytona and Pinkie Pie in the #9 looking for a second top 5 finish."

"Speaking of top 5 finishes, Row 7 features the #40 of Akula who had a great run last week and the #21 of Apple Bloom to his outside. Row 8, Fluttershy who finished second at Daytona and Vinyl Scratch looking to make up for an early wreck last week. Row 9, Starlight Glimmer in the Nationwide #88 and Oscura in the Dow #3."

"Row 10, Lyra Heartstrings looking for a solid finish and Bloothy in the #8. Tyler Riddick her mentor had a show stealing performance last year in the Xfinity series, could she come from the back and be a threat? We will have to see. Row 11 has Trixie Lulamoon who feels right at home in Las Vegas and Vapor Trail to her outside. Row 12 Derpy Hooves and Sky Stinger, and bringing up the rear after a crash in qualifying is Octavia Melody."

"The rain has died down for now and no sign of it returning any time soon. Let's have a chat with a driver as we wind up the field, Let's see if we can get Spitfire on the line Larry."

The broadcast view switched to an onboard with the #19 as Larry McReynolds keyed in on Spitfire's radio.

"Afternoon Captain, this is Larry up in the broadcasting booth. How are you today?"

"I'm feeling great today Larry, but you don't have to refer to me by title."

"Alright. Anyway starting on the front row today as the highest starting Toyota. You had a third place finish last week, are you hoping to get a second win for JGR?"

"I mean why wouldn't I be? Truex gave me a lot of good pointers from his experience here. The car has been running great all week and I'd love to add on to Dash's win last week."

"Yes, speaking of Truex. He's probably one of the best drivers at a track like this. Do you think having his expertise on your side gives you and the Toyota's an advantage?"

"I can't say for certain, but that isn't a bogus statement. I remember his 2017 run he won most of his races at tracks like Las Vegas. I'd say I and the others have as good a chance as any to win today."

"Alright, thanks for the talk ma'am."

"No problem sir, any time."

"Let's get some late breaking stories from pit road starting with Vince."

"Thanks Mike, on pole position today is the #22 of Applejack who got caught up in last weeks big crash at Daytona. Today the spirits of that team are much higher thanks to a very fast race car. She set a great lap on Wednesday and has yet to say anything bad about her car. Matt?"

"Thanks Vince, the Toyota's were very good as a group last week at Daytona with Rainbow coming out on top alongside Fluttershy and Spitfire. However, Lightning Dust missed out on a good finish after getting turned coming out of turn 4. Her mentor Denny Hamlin has never won here at Las Vegas compared to Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. We'll see if maybe she can break that dry spell for the #11 team. She starts 8th today Regan."

"Well we've talked about a Ford and a Toyota so let's take a look at a Chevy. Sunset Shimmer in the #42 struggled to keep the car running the high lane in qualifying. However, the team at Ganasii has since tightened the car up to better allow her to stay straight running up high. She is one of the few drivers that are comfortable running up in that groove Jamie."

"Well from one Chevy to another, the #48 of Twilight Sparkle despite starting third today was loosing her marbles over how tight her car was during her run. The exact opposite of Sunset's complaints. The car has since been loosened significantly, we'll see how she adjusts to the car when the green flag drops. Mike Joy."

"Thank you Jamie. Larry why don't you set the table for us tonight, what do you think the best strategy is?"

"Well Mike, let's take a look at my race analysis. Two thirty lap stages with a 74 lap stage to complete 200 miles here at Vegas. I see two ways of playing this out. One is pitting at the end of stage one, you know you'll make the fuel window in stage two but you're at a bit of a disadvantage coming into the final stage as you will need to pit much earlier. Stay out in stage one trying to make stage two and you run the risk of running out of fuel at the end of the stage and losing a ton of time. Also, it has been raining here at Vegas this week. The track is mostly dry, but there is not as much grip here as it normally is. Once we run a few laps I think the drivers will know what it best for their plan."

"Thanks Larry, pace car is pulling in this lap. Let's get ready for the green flag at Las Vegas."

Scootaloo's nerves were not on her side, especially so during the pace laps. She knew Ryan was watching, then again so too were all the other cup drivers. Something about it seemed different today. She sensed something in the air coming onto the backstretch. Suddenly a feeling of relief washed over her, like all the stress of the pressure was removed in an instant. She wanted to put on a good show for both Newman and the fans watching. Plenty of moments of triumph in the sport had come after tragic events. She learned about the passing of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona, and how both Kevin Harvick and Dale's son Dale Jr. had big wins after.

The field came around turn 4 as the pace car pulled in. The #22 of Applejack having taken the inside lane also had launch control.

"Coming to the flag... Green, go get 'em kid!"

Scootaloo did get a good jump off the line, but not as good as Rainbow in front of her who immediately jumped inside of both Twilight and Viral attempting to take third. Her momentum was slowed by the #22 who spun the tires on the launch, allowing the #19 of Spitfire to gain the lead into the first turn. Scootaloo got under Rarity in the corner, but the Penske Ford's power was greater than its Roush racing counterpart and she pulled away down the backstretch. Viral got hung high in the third lane and fell to fifth as Twilight managed a power move to keep third from Dash. Behind them the field was scrambling two and three wide. Spitfire came around to lead the first lap.

Lap 13

The field was beginning to spread out as the laps began to pass by. Both Spitfire and Applejack had pulled away with the #22 beginning to hunt down the #19. Behind them and Twilight in third Viral was attempting to make a move on Dash but to no avail. she couldn't quite find the speed in the middle lane. Rarity was in view of Scootaloo, but behind her Lightning Dust was the problem. She was notably aggressive and had a much better long run car. She had been looking for the spot for some time. Finally, going into turn three she caught Scootaloo's draft and moved inside.

"Looking at ya, inside. Watch her coming back in front. Clear low, alright get back at her."

Scootaloo was now in 8th, but her chances were far from over.

Lap 20

"The car is holding well, little free off of turn 2 but nothing I can't handle."

"Alright keep it steady, you got 9 tenths on the #42. Let's bring home some stage points."

"Leaders are getting into lap traffic, watch for slow cars up ahead."

Lap 28

"You've stretched the gap with the #42 by an extra tenth, keep digging. Stage is over in two laps."

Scootaloo was now sitting comfortable in eighth, but a few turns ahead trouble was brewing. Both of the leaders had lapped four cars. Twilight had gotten by three of those same cars, but one was giving her problems. The #1 of Trixie, who was blocking her runs every time she tried to get by. Eventually, Twilight had enough of her antics, and going into turn 3 Trixie got on the brakes a little bit more than she should have. Twilight in turn used less brake than normal. This ended up with Twilight's #48 punting Trixie into the corner and getting her loose. As she spun around Twilight went around the outside. Trixie managed to keep from spining up the track and got the car onto the apron, spinning the car around on the bottom of turn four, bringing out the first caution. Scootaloo being in turn two did not see this happen, but her spotter did.

"Got one spinning in three, caution is out. Back it down, we got some points from that."

Up in the both, the commentators got the whole story as they followed the #1 and #48 for a few laps.

"...and Larry she is not letting the #48 go."

"At this point Mike she's already a lap down, it's more of a personal vendetta. These two have history outside the sport and I think Twilight will only tolerate this for so long...."

"Oh, there she goes. The #1 around for the second week in a row, she keeps it off the wall again. This time however, she got help. A lot of help. That will put an end to stage one here at Vegas. Spitfire will get the playoff point.

Stage 1 Results

Spitfire 10 Points/+1 Playoff Point
Applejack 9 Points
Twilight Sparkle 8 Points
Rainbow Dash 7 Points
Viral Velocity 6 Points
Rarity 5 Points
Lightning Dust 4 Points
Scootaloo 3 Points
Sunset Shimmer 2 Points
Akula 1 Point

"Let's take another look at today's first caution, bringing an end to stage one."

A replay of the first angle, a zoomed in backstretch shot, was brought up first. The contact was clear as day."

"Yep, that might have been personal." Larry pointed out first.

"Well Larry, notice the #1 getting hard on the brakes going into the turn. She checked up a lot going into the corner, and Twilight either wasn't ready or something. Either way, Trixie once again go's around, doesn't hit anything, and she's gonna get away with this one. Vapor Trail will get the free pass, as the first car a lap down not involved in the wreck. Trixie was the first car a lap down, but bringing out the caution means she is not eligible for it. Cars likely to come down pit road we'll see as we come around."

As the cars came around to an open pit road several Chevy's came down to make stops. This included all the cars from Hendrick, 2 from Ganasii, and both RCR cars.

"Looks like we got some takers, Vince?"

"Mike, Viral overall happy with the car but came on the radio early saying the car was very tight on the exits of turns 2 and 4. The #24 team will be making a wedge adjustment to the car along with 4 tires and fuel. Jamie?"

"Thanks Vince, Twilight in the #48 notably upset with the #1 following the caution but no complaints from her about the car. She's happy with the adjustments that were made, she will get four tires and fuel. Regan?"

"Sunset Shimmer complaining that the #42 is now too tight in the corners after the adjustment, they are gonna bring the track-bar back on her car and send her away with four tires and gas. Matt?"

"Thanks Regan, Akula came over on the radio complaining about the car saying quote "It's looser than Strict's grasp on sanity" referring to one of his friends from home. The #40 team making a large adjustment to the wedge to sort out the car, and he is away Mike."

"Ok, that one cracked me up a bit Mike."

"No kidding Jeff, some things you just don't expect. We'll be back for the start of stage two right after this.

With most of the Chevy's pitting during the caution Scootaloo had been bumped up from eight to a slightly more favorable sixth. Lightning Dust now on her inside with Rarity ahead of her alongside Rainbow Dash. The field came back for the green flag once again. Scootaloo now suck on the outside got a good jump as did pretty much every car around her. Rainbow took a peak at her teammate but backed off entering turn 1 allowing Spitfire to retake the lead. That didn't last long, as Dash took another look down the backstretch into turn three. She barely got underneath Spitfire, but just managed to clip her ever so slightly. the #19 drifted up the hill but held straight as Dash checked up to lay off her. This allowed the #22 on the outside to pull away and Rarity soon attempted to follow along.

Scootaloo, being right behind the action, ended up with her hooves full.

"#11 inside, contact ahead, check up... keep digging no caution."

Lap 42

Scootaloo learned something from being stuck on the #11's outside for a couple laps. She liked the outside grove. Once she had managed to pass Lightning back for fifth she began running the line. Most of the Chevy's that had pitted last caution were charging to the front quickly, with Twilight currently residing in 9th and closing in. Scootaloo was keeping her pace strong, and managed to catch Rarity down in turn 3. With most of the cars preferring the inside line and tires beginning to wear faster Scootaloo finding success in the high lane was a wild card that no pony saw coming. coming through four she came around the outside of the #2. The entered the front stretch side by side while the live camera watched the battle. The commentators were also watching.

"Here we have a battle for fourth between Rarity and Scootaloo." Mike pointed out. "Scootaloo up top in the #6, and she's been making it work so far as she clears the #2 going into one. Scootaloo picks up the fourth spot."

Lap 56

The green flag run had been going on for some time. With the field heavily spread out in terms of position. Applejack had maintained the lead all stage, Rainbow attempting to close down on her. Right behind them, Scootaloo was catching Spitfire for third place. She came out of four to complete the lap only a few tenths behind the Toyota. They took their respective lines into the corner, Spitfire on the bottom lane as usual. Scootaloo went further up, trying to find a better line into the corner than she already had.

Suddenly, the #19 shot up the racetrack in front of her. with only fractions of a second to react she cut the wheel hard left, her spotter watching as the Toyota in front of her slammed the wall in turn 2. Scootaloo slid the car down the track, keeping out of the way of oncoming cars while also staying clear of the wrecked car up top. Spitfire rode the wall all the way through the corner before coming to a halt on the exit of turn two alongside the barrier, in flames. Scootaloo caught her car and spun it back around on the bottom of the track before beginning to roll again, her spotter giving her praise for the escape.

"Close one, good work. Bring it in and we'll change the tires. We needed to stop soon anyway."

Up in the booth, Larry and Mike were watching the #22. Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon was watching the action in turn 1 and was the first to catch the #19 crashing.

"Oh Mike, we got one in the wall in turn 2 it looks like."

"Spitfire, in the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, slams the wall hard in turn two. Fire! Under the hood of that car as she comes to a stop and quickly gets out. Also spinning on the backstretch is the #6 of Scootaloo, she drives away and it seems like no damage on her car."

"Spitfire looks alright but let me tell you Larry, I know what it's like to hit a wall going that speed and it hurts bad. You can see, even as strong as she is she's sitting down and catching her breath after that one."

"Caution number two, on lap fifty-six. She was running third at the time, but Larry we were getting into the part you were talking about where we weren't sure whether or not some drivers could make it."

"You're right mike, and she had that contact early in the stage and saved it. It could be perhaps that the tires got flat-spotted and it finally let go."

"Let's grab a replay and see what happened coming off of turn two."

The first shot was an aerial view following both the #19 and the #6. In turn 2 Spitfire's #19 suddenly shot up the racetrack right in front of the #6.

"Yep, that's definitely a flat tire. Looks like a left front to me...."Jeff began

The replay continued as Scootaloo swung her car around to avoid the wreck.

"...and what a great job by Scootaloo to avoid hitting her as she came up. Folks it might seem like it was easy for her but to do something like that at about 170mph takes talent and quick reflexes. Great job by the young mare."

"And Jeff, she does really well keeping it off the inside wall as well. Sometimes you turn the car so suddenly like that and you drive it into the wall but she locked the brakes and spun it around."

"Another look in real time"

They got a full speed replay from the turn two wall. the car slamming the wall a few dozen feet from where the camera was placed. They also brought up an onboard with the #19. The view from the hood showed both the sudden and violent impact as well as the fire erupting from underneath the right side of the car. By the time the live feed returned Spitfire was already in the ambulance. She was unhurt, but was still catching her breath from the crash. The wrecker pulled the #19 away while the cleanup crew cleared the track of any fluids left by the car.

Stage 2 Results

Applejack 10 Points/+1 Playoff Point
Rainbow Dash 9 Points
Scootaloo 8 Points
Rarity 7 Points
Lightning Dust 6 Points
Twilight Sparkle 5 Points
Viral Velocity 4 Points
Pinkie Pie 3 Points
Sunset Shimmer 2 Points
Sweetie Belle 1 Point

Eventually pit road opened up for the field. This time it was everyone but the Chevy's that came in.

"Cars coming down onto pit road, Jamie?"

"Mike the #22 really happy with the car in long runs. She has been running up front consistently, four tires and no adjustments for her. Regan?"

"Thanks Jamie, a near disaster for the #18 team prior to the caution as Rainbow Dash came on the radio calling out a vibration in the right front, likely due to contact with her teammate. The team checking the right front to make sure there isn't any damage, four tires and she is away. Matt?"

"Rarity's #2 good on the short runs but not so much in long runs like the #22. They are gonna make a wedge adjustment and tighten up the car... oh problems with the jack on the #2 while putting on the left sides. A disastrous stop for that team."

"Yeah Mike looks like the jack fell off the #2 while they were putting on the left sides. No damage to the car but she's gonna lose a ton of time from that."

"A lot of positions too Jeff. Might even lose a lap if they can't fix it quickly enough."

After realigning the jack and lifting the car once again the team finished the stop, barely managing to keep Rarity on the lead lap. She would restart dead last. Scootaloo's team made a great stop, and with Rainbow's team checking for damage she gained an extra spot. Lightning gained two after Rarity's mishap on pit road and Dash found herself behind the #11 with Sweetie Belle next to her.

Twilight would inherit the lead with Viral on the outside, behind them Akula and Sunset, then Pinkie and Starlight in row three followed closely by Oscura and Bloothy with the lapped cars behind them. The field was given the green for stage three. At the front of the pack Akula dived into turn 3 three abreast with Hendrick Chevy's. Twilight backed off in the corner but Viral did not, leaving the two friends to battle for the lead.Sunset continued around the outside looking for third as Pinkie assumed fifth over Starlight. The action also began to heat up with Scootaloo's group. She and Applejack split the #1 ahead of them as Trixie was still a lap down. Rainbow and Lightning soon followed.

After a couple laps all the cars with fresh tires began to close on the Chevy's that pitted in stage 1.

Lap 72

Viral had finally taken control over the race, with Akula not letting up on bottom lane. Twilight was holding third from Sunset with Pinkie closing. About a second back Applejack was hot on the tail of Starlight after passing the RCR cars. Dash had worked her way ahead of Scootaloo and Lightning Dust and was in the middle of passing the RCR cars as well. They were side by side going into turn one. Dash had nowhere to move to to get by. On the backstretch she gave the #3 a big push to get clear of the #31. It worked, and also shoved the #3 way too far into the corner as Oscura had to catch the car as it drifted up. Scootaloo passed Bloothy cleanly and Lightning followed her line. After about another lap they got by Oscura as well.

Lap 81

The Chevy's were starting to pit for their final stops. both of the Ganasi cars had come in the lap before and made clean four tire stops. Twilight came in next, her pit box being a little bit behind Viral's who was coming in the next time by. Twilight completed her stop just as Viral was coming in for hers. Twilight found herself in the way of the #24 trying to get in and as a respectful teammate gassed it just a bit to allow the mare to easily enter her stall. This would be Twilight's undoing, as she would speed through one of the middle sections of pit road, receiving a pass through penalty. As much as she hated it, she complied with race control and served the penalty. It put her a lap down to the #22 who inherited the lead following the first cycle of green flag stops.

Lap 89

The field was very spread out. Scootaloo was running with cars that were either a lap down or catching up after their pit stops. Applejack had two seconds on Rainbow who in turn had three on Scootaloo, and she was another two ahead of Lightning Dust. All of the slower cars were giving the front runners room as usual. Twilight was working on getting her lap back and eventually did on this lap. Applejack put up no fight to Twilight's #48 which had much fresher tires. She was comfortable in the lead with 30 laps to go. However, all of the Ford's and Toyota's still needed to pit. That time frame was closing fast.

Lap 93

Scootaloo's crew chief made the call, she was going to pit this lap. She ran it all the way the end of her fuel run, any longer and she risked running dry on the track. She had led for two laps following Rainbow and AJ pitting on lap 90 and 91 respectively. Lightning Dust had also pitted, but received a pit road penalty for speeding on her entry. Her team put on four tires and served their penalty immediately.

"You want 2 tires kid? We can make it quick..."

"Hold up, one in the wall in turn 2. Cautions out, did we make the commitment cone?"

"Yeah I got there."

"Four tires, four. Looks like luck is on our side today."

The #6 team quickly grabbed an extra set of tires and serviced the car, replacing all the tires and adding a full tank of gas. She would not need another stop for sure.

The commentators figured out who it was that hit the wall in turn two. The #14 of Lyra Heartstrings, who clipped the apron and spun the car around, catching the outside wall with her left front. The damage was mitigated by her low speed as she spun and she was able to drive away from the wreck.

Pit road opened, and some of the front running Chevy's stopped for tires and to top off. Twilight managing to get her lap back allowed her to regroup with most of the front runners. Scootaloo would restart with the lead.

"Pick a lane, you have launch control."

"Outside lane this time."

Picking the outside lane put Rainbow beside her on the restart. On lap 98 the race once again went green. Rainbow proved to get a better start and pulled ahead slightly on the inside. Scootaloo came down slightly to side draft her bigger sister opening the door for the #22 to charge to the outside on the backstretch.

"Middle of three, three wide."

Scootaloo had little choice but to back off, or risk wrecking three of the best cars including her own. She checked up and pulled low. She had an advantage, she had four tires while the #18 and #22 only had two.

Lap 120

The three lead cars had stretched out their gap on the cars behind. A full two seconds back to the #48 which had fought it's way back into the top 5, and she was coming fast. Applejack still held the lead, but Rainbow was right there waiting for the opportunity to go back to back. Scootaloo waited it out, hoping to not have to defend from the charging Hendrick Chevrolet.

Lap 129

Twilight was right behind them now, and Scootaloo did not want to risk making a move. She could go around the outside, but she held the bottom in order to make sure that she kept pace with the two leaders. They came around to complete lap 129.

Five laps to go.

One the backstretch Rainbow took a glimpse outside, eventually pulling out of line and getting alongside the #22. With two tires this did not work. Scootaloo seized her oppurtunity and got under the #18. She cleared her for second, but Dash wasn't gonna let it go. She cut back for a crossover and got back underneath the #6. Applejack began to pull away and Twilight inched ever closer. Dash passed Scootaloo back in turn four.

Four Laps to go.

Now Rainbow was playing catch up again. Scootaloo knew that they weren't gonna catch the #22. On the backstretch she gave Rainbow a push. It worked, and Rainbow once again caught Applejack's draft going into turn three. She closed in on the front stretch.

Three laps to go.

Dash wanted the lead bad, and Twilight was now a big threat in Scootaloo's mirror.

"Don't pay attention to her, just keep going. you still got a couple tenths before you need to worry." Her crew chief encouraged her.

She took the words to heart, no more looking in the mirror.

Two laps to go.

Rainbow pulled a zig-zag move down the back stretch going down then up and Applejack covered both sides of the move. It was the third move that worked for Rainbow as she got underneath her quarter going into three. Scootaloo was right there behind her should she make the move. The #22 fought back on the outside and she nosed ahead lead the lap.

Final Lap.

Going into turn one Applejack intended to take the low line in the corner, Rainbow wouldn't let her. She stuck her nose in under the Ford. The pressure of the #22 coming down onto the #18 shoved the Toyota onto the apron and caused it to wiggle. As Dash caught the car it clipped the car above her and they began a dual slide. Dash caught her car, keeping it mostly intact, while Applejack slid up the track a little more and kissed the wall with her right side.

This gave the lead to Scootaloo, with Twilight riding right behind her. Scootaloo needed to outrun the #48 through two more corners.

The broadcasters called every shot like a play by play all the way from the backstretch.

"Dash looking for the lead, going for two in a row. She looks inside, now outside, inside again!"

"She's there, she's there going into three."

"The #22 fighting back on the outside, Scootaloo waiting behind them with the fresher tires and Twilight closing fast. On lap to go here at Las Vegas and it's gonna be a fight! Going into turn one... contact! Both of the leaders slide, the #22 into the wall! That will give the lead to the #6. Two more corners!"

"This is great!"

"Track is clear, no caution coming out. Scootaloo down the back stretch. What an emotional roller coaster for that #6, following the injury of Ryan Newman. Roush Racing has never won on a non-superspeedway since 2012. The last time the #6 went to victory lane was with David Ragan in 2011. Coming through three and four that's gonna change now. Scootaloo, wins in Las Vegas! What a finish."

"What a great effort by that team, even after last week they never gave up on her."

"You're serious?!"

"Girl you are a NASCAR winner here at Las Vegas."

"Thank you, thank you everyone. I'm so glad Ryan could see this!"

Scootaloo pulled the #6 Ford Mustang onto the front stretch. She spun the tires and brought the car around, first making a #6 with the smoke before doing a couple spins. Eventually she stopped, with the car facing towards turn 4 and away from the crowd. She took off her helmet and climbed onto the side of the car. She put her hooves up before the cheering crowd as her crew raced up to meet her. She followed it up with a back-flip off the car, a celebration she learned from former Roush Racing star Carl Edwards. Jamie Little met her on the track to interview her.

"Scootaloo, this must mean so much to you after last weeks events. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I... I just don't know what to say. I really can't find the words. I know Jack Roush and Ryan Newman are somewhere in the back watching this whole thing. Luck was on our side through the whole day, and we pulled through in the end."

"What was goinng through your head as you entered the backstretch after taking the lead?

"I really wasn't ready for it. I expected it to be between Rainbow and Applejack and I was ready to bring home a top five. When they slid up the track I took what I was given."

"Alright, I'll let you celebrate with the guys. Scootaloo, first win here at Las Vegas. Regan?"

"Jamie I'm here with Twilight who weaved her way through for a second place finish. You ran into some trouble early in the race with the #1, anything to say?"

"What is there to say about her that isn't obvious. She's full of herself and she hates me, not much else. She brake checked me into the corner and payed for it."

"You had to battle back from a speeding penalty, and fought back up for a second place finish. How did it work out?

"I had a great car all race, we ran up front for most of the day. I'm still a little upset about the penalty since i was trying to give the #24 some room on pit road, being respectful, but it all worked itself out. Got a great finish for Ally and Hendrick today."

"Matt?"

"Here with Rainbow Dash after finishing 5th following the last lap contact. You were racing for the win, what happened?"

"Pulled inside of the #22 and she pinched me into the corner. Car got loose on the apron and I slid up. Real shame, had an awesome car today. Gotta thank NOS for hopping on board this week, and we'll get at 'em next week."

"So you're saying the #22 caused the accident?"

"Well yeah, what do you want from me?"

"He wants the truth sugarcube, and don't think I forgot about Daytona either."

"That was Rarity, not you or me."

"She forgave you, so did I. I ain't gonna let you talk your way outta this one. You run me or any of my Teammates like that again and I'm not letting you go for any reason. Ya hear?"

Her point made, Applejack walked back to her garage spot. Rainbow excused herself as Matt gave coverage back to Mike.

"Congratulations to Scootaloo and the #6 team for a triumphant win here at Las Vegas. As always, I'm Mike Joy for Larry McReynolds and Jeff Gordon. Good night."

Finishing Positions.

Scootaloo 40 Points/+5 Playoff points
Twilight Sparkle 35 Points
Viral Velocity 34 Points
Sunset Shimmer 33 Points
Rainbow Dash 32 Points
Applejack 31 Points
Pinkie Pie 30 Points
Rarity 29 Points
Fluttershy 28 Points
Starlight Glimmer 27 Points
Danger Dean 26 Points
Akula 25 Points
Oscura Galaxia 24 Points
Sweetie Belle 23 Points
Vinyl Scratch 22 Points
Apple Bloom 21 Points
Octavia Melody 20 Points
Bloothy 19 Points
Lightning Dust 18 Points (1 Lap Down)
Vapor Trail 17 Points (1 Lap Down)
Derpy Hooves 16 Points (1 Lap Down)
Trixie Lulamoon 15 Points (2 Laps Down)
Sky Stinger 14 Points (2 Laps Down)
Lyra Heartstrings 13 Points (3 Laps Down)
Spitfire 12 Points (DNF Lap 56)

Standings

In Playoffs by wins
In Playoffs by points

Rainbow Dash 98 Points (6 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Scootaloo 79 Points (5 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Twilight Sparkle 91 Points
Applejack 78 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Pinkie Pie 76 Points (1 Playoff Point)

6.Sunset Shimmer 72 Points

7.Viral Velocity 71 Points

Fluttershy 70 Points
Rarity 65 Points
Spitfire 64 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Akula 64 Points
Starlight Glimmer 59 Points
Lightning Dust 57 Points
Oscura Galaxia 47 Points
Sweetie Belle 46 Points
Octavia Melody 46 Points
Danger Dean 45 Points
Bloothy 44 Points
Derpy Hooves 40 Points
Lyra Heartstings 40 Points
Apple Bloom 39 Points
Vinyl Scratch 39 Points
Vapor Trail 39 Points
Trixie Lulamoon 36 Points
Sky Stinger 30 Points

Best of Radioactive: Las Vegas

Author's Note

2 new things. calls by race control such as penalties or calls for photo finishes will be displayed with Italics while calls from announcers both in the booth and over radio will be in Bold.

Best of Radioactive: Las Vegas

22 Applejack

Pre-Race

"Let's get it, we got the car to beat today. Gook luck today everyone."
"Daytona was a minor setback partners, let's get at it."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Pre-Race

"Weather looks good from here, let's have a good day."
"#24 on your outside again."
"Always a pleasure being in the presence of a pony that knows what their doing."

10 Octavia Melody

Pre-Race

"All right, Wednesday never happened. Let's have a good race."
"Yep, never happened. I'm good."

12 Sweetie Belle

Pre-Race

"All right focus up. All respect to Ryan and the #6 team. Let's run our race, have fun, bring it home today."
"Best of luck to her, #21 team as well."
"Coming to the green this time"

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 12

"Inside, watch it..."
"(Expletive), does she ever know when to quit?!"
"You do realize who your talking about right?"
"I don't need your sass today Neon, please. Car is good. really good actually."

42 Sunset Shimmer

Lap 18

"Plowing tight, I cannot run the high line with this (Expletive) mess!"
"Pit this stage?"
"Do you need to ask me?!"

40 Akula

Lap 23

"...Do you need me to make it clear? Fine. The tail is about drifting coming off of turn 2 and in case you didn't know about Formula 1 enough... I don't really know how to deal with a car that is drifting in a banked (Expletive) corner!"

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 26

"About eight tenths back, save those tires you aren't gonna catch her."
"(Expletive) Egghead has a better car than us? What a (Expletive) joke."

19 Spitfire

Lap 28

"Spinning behind you, caution is out. Yes ma'am stage winner, The Captain."
"What? No syallbles? Come on man Truex gets MTJ, why can't you find something for me?"

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 28

"If she blocks me one more time shes gonna.... (Expletive) stupid little rotten (Expletive)"
"...You good?"
"I'll be fine, how does it look"
"No visible damage, let's come in for four tires."
"After dealing with her for five laps I think I deserve it."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 31

"Ready, Green, green! Outside, three wide ahead of you..."
"Three wide for the lead, contact between the JGR teammates!"
"..Watch it, keep digging. watch the #19 up top."
"It was only a matter of time before winning overtook teamwork."
"#6 still outside"

2 Rarity

Lap 42

"Coming to your quarter, outside. Still there, clear."
"Well look at her go."
"She's been working the outside a lot. Might be some grip up there."
"I might start working with it, seems like it might do me some good."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 53

"(Expletive), bad vibration on the right front. can't get it to turn in 1 and 3."
"Ease up, let's just bring it home. You're doing great."

19 Spitfire

Lap 56

"Oh hard hit, the #19 hard in the wall in turn 2."
"You alright?"
"...I'm fine, (Expletive)"
"Just get out of it, it's on fire we aren't bringing that back."
"How is she?"
"She's getting out, but it's killed."

20 Fluttershy

Lap 57 (Under Caution)

"Watch for debris coming around."
"Oh.. my. Is she alright?"
"Her crew was talking with her. she's fine"

4 Vinyl Scratch

Lap 57 (Under Caution)

"Damn, sucks for her. She had a really good car today."
"Mhm."

2 Rarity

Lap 59 (Pit Road)

"Jack problems on the #2, a lot of time is gonna be lost for her on this stop"
"Excuse me, what just happened?!"
"Jack just slipped out from under the car while we were putting on the left sides"
"(Expletive)"

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 61

"Three wide middle, three middle. Clear inside, #42 coming up top."
"Yeah no, not gonna throw it in there like that. That's asking for trouble."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 61

"Three wide top. #48 is backing off, #40 is on your quarter, inside."
"You want a race mate? You're gonna get it!"
"Oi, Sheila. Play nice with him alright?"
"Heh, no problem. I got all I need to outrun him."

3 Oscura Galaxia

Lap 72

"Love how the #18 decided to shove me all the way into the corner!"
"Just hold onto it. We're pitting soon and the drivers behind have fresher tires."

8 Bloothy

Lap 75

"I'm hungry, do you have any mango's?"

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 81

"#48, too fast section seven. Pass through."
"Got a pass through penalty. Too fast section seven."
"So, if my day already hasn't been hard enough race control is gonna penalize me because I gave the #24 room on pit road. Absolutely brilliant."

1 Trixie Lulamoon

Lap 82

"Watch it here, #48's coming in to serve a pass through.
"Trixie smells karma in the air."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 91

"Easy... damnit she locked it up."
"Too fast."
"Yeah I (Expletive) know I was too fast. Just put four on there and I'll come back around."
"#11, too fast section 1. Pass through."
"There it is. Alright bring it around, that's gonna put us down a lap."

14 Lyra Heartstrings

Lap 93

"Clipped the apron and kissed the wall."
"Kissed, but nothing too bad. It'll make it."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 95 (Under Caution)

"We missed out on the free pass because the #6 passed the #41 on pit road as the caution was coming out?" Control, seriously?! I need that lap more than her!"

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 115

"You are catching them every lap. Keep at it."
"Four tires beats two every time. How are the laps?"
"three tenths faster than the #18 and #22 per lap."

22 Applejack

Lap 129

"Five to go this time, she's coming."
"I'd expect nothing less from her, call out those moves for me."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 130

"#6 coming to ya, coming to push."
"Alright squirt, you wanna move? Let's move!"

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 134

"Watch them up top, clear. Dig, you got two corners to get her."
"I don't think I got enough in me."

24 Viral Velocity

Post-Race

"I passed the #18 and #22 in turn three so who won?"
"The #6."
"Really? Damn, good for her."

12 Sweetie Belle

Post-Race

"#6 got the win today.
"She did?! Yes! Oh, that must feel so good for her."

21 Apple Bloom

Post-Race

"#6 got the dub, she still can't believe it."
Neither can I really, but that's so good for her. I know she's probably loving it right now. I'll go find the #12"

Equestrian Sweethearts: Daytona and Las Vegas

Author's Note

Props to Sandstorm94 for giving me the idea to make this set of bonus chapters. Based on a show hosted by Jimmy Spencer between 2010 and 2012, Equestrian Sweethearts takes a look back and finds the best and worst of the drivers and gives them awards based in their actions. These bonus episodes will be every two races and will recap events that happened in those races.

Equestrian Sweethearts: Daytona and Las Vegas

"...and Steve we have something returning this year. Jimmy Spnecer is with us. Jimmy, what brings you here today?"

"Well, I'd ike to make an announcement. I like these new drivers in the Equestrian Cup so much that I'm gonna give them their own little talk show. Equestrian Sweerhearts, based on my old show on SPEED. It will be biweekly, and we shall take a look at the goods and bads of the races"

"Well Mr. E, anything for us today?"

"Yes, Daytona and Vegas. Lets start with Daytona. First, a cigar for Rainbow Dash and the #18 team who made a good call early and dominated the later portion of the race. Hats off to them. Also, one for the #40 team. If you can take a mid pack car driven by someone from another country and bring home a top five with lessons from Kurt Busch and not get angry you have surprised me.

"Quite a few positives for Daytona Jimmy, anything else?"

"Sorry, we are done with positive feedback. Lets start with the #11. Good work taking care of the trash on lap 5. But that's where her good luck ends. The #24, her daughter, leading the race, and she turns the poor Pegasus around. Not only that, but she comes back up the race track and collects the #47! Lightning's brother! Sunset in the #42? She summed it up perfectly.

"Are we running a race or playing family fued?"

"But hold on, it gets worse! Coming to the finish, karma strikes and she gets turned by the #19 and flips. She finished outside the top fifteen. Lightning Dust, here's a pair of glasses. One, for not seeing you own daughter getting collected by your brother. Two, for not getting to see your teammates finish without you."

"Anything else for Daytona Mr. E?"

"Well. This is called Equestria Sweethearts. Lets take a look at my Radio Sweetheart of the week. The #48, for her comment coming to the finish."

"She has officially lost her (Expletive) mind!"

"Sparkle, dear. That's your teammate! I know she can drive you up the wall, but don't say that to her, she doesn't understand."

"Ok, anything for Vegas Jimmy?"

"Absolutely, first cigars for everyone on the #6 team. Except for Scootaloo, she isn't old enough, but great job by that team putting themselves in position. However, what happened to the #2? Pitting at the end of stage two and the team loses the Jack! How?! More so, the problems continue for the #11. Speeding on pit road. Lightning, seriously, stop giving me reasons to give you these glasses. But, she isn't worst Toyota of the day no. That honor goes to the Daytona winner Rainbow Dash, who gets the Radio Sweetheart of the week, the bar of soap award, and... *sniff* the crying towel."

"(Expletive) Egghead has a better car than us? What a (Expletive) joke!"

"*sniff* that's not all! I think we have our first confirmed case of a pony getting Vickernism. Look here on the restart. She dives too far into the corner and clips her teammate. Several laps later Spitfire is in the wall! That's not all! Then, coming to the last lap she drives it too hard under the #22 and wrecks her and herself. The reason i know its Vickernism is because of the chat she and the #22 had after the race. It's a textbook case!"

"Alright Jimmy thanks for being here today, perhaps we'll see you next week."

Race 3: Auto Club-California

Author's Note

Ok, sorry for taking so long to finish this race/chapter but I got completely swamped by work with a ton of my coworkers getting injured, going on leave, or getting let go for various reasons. I really like this chapter, the California race is one of my favorites on the schedule and Auto Club is a top 5 track of mine. I had some fun writing this one and there will be some lasting events from this race that will shape the future of the season. A rivalry will be born today and the journey to a championship will start.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and sorry for making you all wait.

Race 3: Auto Club-California

Auto Club Speedway, California
Clover Valley 200, Qualifying
Tuesday Night

"Bon Bon, nice of you to greet me on this fine day. Finally decided to use that pass I gave you?" Lyra knowingly asked her fiance.

"Well, of course. It's more or less just to be sure you aren't making everyone else miserable."

"Really, because Clint and I are getting along very well. I dare say we were made for each other. He has a good sense of humor."

"Well, I'll be watching from the stands as usual. Just don't get yourself hurt alright."

"Yeah, no problem... best friend."

"You proposed to me Lyra, this is more than friends now." Bon Bon knowingly smirked, which Lyra returned.
Lyra was the most consistent of the Stewart-Haas drivers up this point. Vinyl's wreck at Daytona had put her behind in points, Octavia's crash at Vegas during qualifying ruined her chance at a good finish, and Derpy had yet to finish inside the top fifteen.

Yet a top ten at Daytona and a steady recovery from a late spin at Vegas put Lyra near the cutoff line. The playoffs were still months away but if she could keep up the consistent finishes she would be in good shape. Auto Club was looking to be her best so far.

Clint Bowyer had recommended a set up for her to run during qualifying due to his multiple years of experience with the car. It was one she had good confidence in. Soon she would be qualifying, the second to last before Twilight Sparkle.

Currently holding the pole lap was the #40, who caught the entire field by surprise with a blistering lap. Other drivers like the #24, #88, and #11 had gotten close but had yet to topple the F1 veterans lap. It was Lyra's turn.

She left pit road and into the backstretch to set up her out lap, she had good pace coming to the green. Her goal was to see of she could set the fastest lap on her team. Currently that lap was held by Octavia in 10th. She took the green and got down into her line in turn 1. Most of the drivers were setting good laps on the bottom lane but some others were also experimenting with the top.

She exited turn 2 about on pace with the top ten, she begin to look for that little bit of speed. She remembered the #24 gaining significant time in turn 3 in the high lane. There was grip there, but it was a fragile line to follow. She made the attempt in three and the car stuck. She came out of turn four and cut it down onto the apron to save time. She managed to squeeze out an extra spot, qualifying 8th for the time being. Satisfied, she pulled into the pit lane again as the #48 began her own lap.

Twilight got one of the best starts coming to the line, and into turn one hugged the corner solid. Coming off turn 2 she had the fastest split time of any car. She kept the inside line throughout turns 3 and 4 as well. The lap was perfect, and definitely pole worthy. She crossed the line to set the new fastest lap. A 38.853, which knocked the entire field down one spot including Lyra who was now listed as 9th on the grid.

#48 Twilight Sparkle 38.853
#40 Akula 38.867
#24 Viral Velocity 38.870
#11 Lightning Dust 38.889
#88 Starlight Glimmer 38.901
#9 Pinkie Pie 38.903
#2 Rarity 38.912
#42 Sunset Shimmer 38.918
#14 Lyra Heartstrings 38.924
#18 Rainbow Dash 38.927
#22 Applejack 38.932
#10 Octavia Melody 38.940
#20 Fluttershy 38.958
#19 Spitfire 38.966
#4 Vinyl Scratch 38.970
#12 Sweetie Belle 38.973
#6 Scootaloo 38.982
#95 Danger Dean 38.995
#1 Trixie Lulamoon 39.003
#8 Bloothy 39.012
#21 Apple Bloom 39.023
#37 Vapor Trail 39.027
#41 Derpy Hooves 39.032
#3 Oscura Galaxia 39.034
#47 Sky Stinger 39.043

Clover Valley 200 at Auto Club Speedway
Friday Afternoon

"Welcome everyone back to the Equestrian Cup presented by Dollar General. I'm Mike Joy joined today by Jeff Gordan. Jeff you have a long history with this track. Three wins here, you were raised here in California, let's get some track info from you today. Tell us a little more about Auto Club."

"Well Mike it's a very long track comparable to Daytona but the difference is in the banking. eleven degrees on the front stretch and fourteen in the corners. These cars will be shooting into turn one at well over 190MPH. Even more so, the track is incredibly flat on the back stretch going into turn three. Now look at this, track width... 70 feet. You could put twelve cars side by side at this track and with so little grip you'll need all the space you can get."

"Yeah four wide very common here, but they will be going five wide on the pace laps here in just a few minutes. Do any particular driving styles benefit you at this track Jeff."

"Dirt track experience helps a fair amount, but very big is that you have to be aggressive on those restarts. Push the car hard but don't overdue it. Four wide here can cause giant wrecks."

"Thanks Jeff, here in a few minutes we will be ready to race in sunny Southern California. The Clover Valley 200, right after this.

"Looking good today Lyra, rains cleared out and let the sun shine. Let's have some fun today."

"Fun is what I'm here for. So let's have fun indeed."

"Try to stay conservative early on today, the field is gonna be wild on the start here I'm sure."

"Drivers! Start your... engines!"

Lyra set and started her #14 Ford, sitting in the fifth row to the left of Daytona winner Rainbow Dash's Snickers Toyota Camry. First to leave pit lane was Twilight and Akula, followed by Viral and Lightning. Starlight and Pinkie in row three as well as Rarity and Sunset. Finally Lyra pulled out of pit lane alongside Rainbow to begin pace laps as the remainder of the field joined them.

Driving the pace car for the race was none other than seven time cup champion and Twilight's mentor Jimmie Johnson. It would be his final race at California, his home track. Today he led the field of newcomers to the sport around to start the race. After a couple laps Lyra's radio sparked again.

"Control wants you in the second line, third car in line between the #18 and #22."

As this call was forwarded the cars began to line up in five rows of five with Twilight's #48 lined up directly behind the pace car driven by her mentor. A five wide salute was given to the future hall of fame driver as the crowd stood up and also saluted for him. The first lane consisted of five Chevy's including all four of the Hendrick Motorsport teams, the #9, #24, #88, and his team the #48 as well as the #40. As they completed the lap the field began to reset itself into its starting positions.

"Amazing, Jeff let's take a look at the starting lineup. Twilight Sparkle, two top tens this season and her first pole and starting to her outside Akula who had a top 5 at Daytona. Row two Viral Velocity, top 5 for her last week, and Lightning Dust. Row three a pair of Hendrick Chevy's once again. This time Starlight Glimmer in the Cincinnati #88 and Pinkie Pie representing a new sponsor this week in the #9 with Oreo's. Row four, another new sponsor for the #2 driven by Rarity, Belle Beauty Products, and Sunset Shimmer in the McDonalds #42."

"Lyra Heartstrings with a solid lap sits in 9th and Daytona winner Rainbow Dash to her outside. Row five Applejack and Octavia in a pair of Ford's. Row six filled up by Fluttershy running a Dollar General scheme and Spitfire who had a hard crash at Vegas. Row seven, Vinyl Scratch in the Jimmy John's #4 and Sweetie Belle running the Belle Kids sponsor this week."

"Row eight, last weeks winner Scootaloo and Danger Dean in the black and red Rheem #95. Trixie and Bloothy round out the top twenty. Apple Bloom and Vapor Trail behind them, then Derpy, Blitz, and Sky Stinger rounds out the entire field. A couple laps to green let's check in with our pole sitter today in the #48. Jeff?"

"Hey Twilight, it's Jeff Gordon in the commentary booth. How are you doing?"

"Oh, Jeff! I'm doing well. Been getting a lot of attention from the fans. Jimmie's hometown crowd gave me a warm welcome."

"Good to hear, this is my hometown track as well. On pole today, little nervous out there?"

"Jeff, do you need to ask me? I'm at the home track of a seven time champion who is also my mentor and I'm driving a car owned by a NASCAR legend who just so happens to be talking with me right now. So, maybe I am a bit nervous down here."

"Alright Twilight, don't have a breakdown. Have fun today and no pressure. Take care of the car and have fun out there."

"Yeah, thanks Jeff."

"Well Jeff, let's hope she can gather up some composure before the green flag. A couple more laps to go so let's get some late breaking stories starting with Matt."

"Well Mike pretty much all of the Toyota's struggled during qualifying with most of them 10th or worst. The one car in the fight today is the #11. Lightning Dust has been doing really well for the team, but she keeps running into barriers. A late crash at Daytona and a speeding penalty at Vegas have produced sub-par results. She's looking for a mistake free race for Gatorade this week, in the Lemon-Lime Toyota. Jamie?"

"Matt when Akula brought the #40 to track for qualifying a couple days ago he found himself pleasantly surprised with the tracks layout. Auto Club is a very wide and mostly flat track that has complimented his driving style. He'll start on the front row today and looks to have a great race. Regan Smith?"

"The #6 team still riding off the emotions from last week's win a Las Vegas, it's gotten them energetic. They have been working hard on the car all week. Despite starting about midpack today they are gonna run hard all day long and hope to grind out a good race. Vince?"

"The wheels have all but fallen off the #18 team today at California. Not only has Rainbow Dash not been happy with her car at all since qualifying but Spitfire and Fluttershy have also been struggling to find speed in their cars. After a talk with their teams they did something that few would expect and have changed their setups to match the #11. Dash seems to have benefited the most from this change, we'll see how this helps her during the race. Mike."

"Thanks Vince. 100 laps here for 200 miles. Fuel window 45 to 48 laps, pit road speed is 55 MPH. They'll do two 25 lap stages and finish it with a 50 lap run to the finish. We'll be going green next time by."

Lyra took a second to gather herself to get ready for the start. She found herself in the midst of a lot of front running cars. The #18 to her right having already won a race, the #22 behind her who had been competitive all season, and several other cars that were top tier. Stewart-Haas wasn't a pushover team by a longsot, having top tier drivers like Kevin Harvick, but in this league full of the best she and the other Stewart-Haas Ford's were being outperformed by faster and more experienced drivers. This was her chance to prove that she and the other "background ponies" could be just as fast as the others.

"Coming to the green... steady, steady... Green Green!"

Lyra's jump was brilliant, getting along the inside of Rarity. She held the inside going into turn one, and the field began to spread out quickly across the track. At the front, Lightning's Toyota gave the #40 a big shove into turn one while Twilight easily spun the tires. The #40 cleared her going into one and Lightning got on her inside with Viral coming from down low. Starlight got the advantage over Pinkie, and Rainbow took Rarity, Sunset, and Lyra four wide going onto the backstretch.

Lyra managed to clear Rarity in turn three as well as Sunset, but Dash's Camry continued to fight. They ran side by side down the front stretch as Akula led the first lap.

Lap 7

Even after several laps, Lyra and Dash were continuing to fight for 7th. Behind them Fluttershy and Spitfire were also gaining time with their setup switches. On lap seven Fluttershy stuck a nose under Lyra and she and the Toyota's went in three wide. Lyra gave some room to Fluttershy out of respect for the timid pegasus, but on top Rainbow was struggling to hold the car. Midway through turn two the car wiggled. She held it firm, but they continued to run three wide down the backstretch. In turn three the Camry could not hold the line and wiggled once again, this time stepping out and beginning to spin.

"Three wide middle, still middle. Watch it up top, check up! middle middle, clear. Wrecking behind you."

Though Lyra managed to thread the needle and drive through the smoke, Dash ended up spinning down the embankment right in front of the #20. Fluttershy slammed on the brake in an attempt to stop and locked the car into a spin. the adjacent sides of both cars made contact, but Fluttershy's attempts to avoid hitting the #18 were enough to mitigate the damage both cars suffered. After collecting their cars they both drove away with minor damage as the first caution came out.

Jeff and Mike in the commentary booth were watching the battle for seventh as the #18 came around.

"..still three wide going into three. this is great racing Mike..."

"Oh, Rainbow... not gonna get this one back. Oh and collects the #20 as well. Caution's out."

"Not a lot of damage to either of those cars Mike. I think they might be able to get away with that one."

"And Jeff, that started all the way back in turn one. You saw her wiggle there, and it just kept on building into turn three. First caution of the night on lap 7. For a two car spin in turn 3. Jeff let's get a replay."

Indeed they received a replay, an aerial view that started on the front stretch. They first saw the wiggle in turn one which Rainbow managed to catch. The second one in turn three caused her to go around.

"Jeff, she's been fighting that car since the start of the race. Even though three wide is easy here at Auto Club when your car is that loose you can't really do much about it."

"Yeah, and poor Fluttershy with no where to go. Committed to the bottom."

One more replay was shown, a shot from the infield. This replay Jeff noticed Lyra's near miss.

"Woah... Lyra through the smoke, I think she made it through that."

"Let's go onboard, first with Rarity a little behind this."

"Half back to the #10, coming inside. Easy, stay high. Clear inside, caution's out"

"Very good, no panic. Just drove right through it."

"Let's go onboard with the #14."

"Three wide middle, still middle. Watch it up top, check up! Middle middle, clear! Wrecking behind you."

"That'll take your breath away. With Dash this time."

"Still three, you're top of three... easy, hold the brake... Nothing else is gonna hit ya. Get it rolling caution's out."

"Just far too loose Jeff."

"Yeah, and you do want your car to be loose at this kind of track with the banking being so flat but too much in will cause you to spin out."

It didn't take very long for the track to be cleared with no debris or wrecked cars to be taken care of. After a couple laps the track resumed green flag racing.

Lap 25

The remainder of Stage one was largely uneventful save for a few attempts from Lightning Dust to take away the lead from Akula to no avail. Under green, he crossed the lap to win stage one.

Stage 1 Results

40 Akula 10 Points (1 Playoff Point)
11 Lightning Dust 9 Points
48 Twilight Sparkle 8 Points
88 Starlight Glimmer 7 Points
24 Viral Velocity 6 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 5 Points
14 Lyra Heartstrings 4 Points
19 Spitfire 3 Points
2 Rarity 2 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 1 Point

The field all came in for a pit stop, Lyra among them. She pulled into her box cleanly and her car received fuel and fresh tires. However, when she went to shift into first and leave the box the gear fell dead and the car did not move. It was a feeling any Stock Car driver dreaded.

"I've lost first gear!"

"Alright, set it in fourth. Push, push."

With some helpful instructions from her crew chief and thanks to her crew pushing the car away she was able to leave pit lane under her own power. However, not only did the loss of first gear ruin her track position for stage two but now she was on high alert. She needed to run as much of the race as possible in fourth gear. If she switched between the gears to much she risked loosing the other gears to broken parts from the first. She caught up with the field, finding herself at the tail end for stage 2. The green flag was shown once again.

Up front, the positions had shifted from pit stops with the #24 having found herself on the outside of the #40. She got a tremendous push from her teammate and cleared the #40. Starlight also got alongside Akula as well. Both drivers, despite their history, race each other side by side cleanly down the backstretch. In turn three Akula got well down onto the bottom of the corner with Starlight hugging the top. They were as far apart as possible. exiting turn 4 they stayed apart.

Neither of the drivers wished to provoke the other, and they raced cleanly into turn one again. Akula's entry on the bottom was good, but the car bottomed out in the middle of the corner. He fought with the car to bring it back, but as he slid up the low banking in the corner he had not much else he could do. His Chevy made significant contact with Starlight's, and the #88 Cincinnati Chevy was sent careening across the backstretch infield and into the wall on the backstretch with significant force. Caution was called immediately, and Starlight was quick to put down the window net and climb from the car with her helmet being held in her magic.

Under caution the field came back around onto the back stretch. Starlight, still with her helmet, began to walk up closer towards the track. But after eyeing up the #40, she though better of it and retreated back to the ambulance.

When the announcers got hold of the replay, Jeff was quick to point out that the contact had been completely accidental as Akula had bottomed out on the bottom of the corner and could not bring the car back down the track. However, judging by Starlight's body language once she got put of the car, she definitely took it personally when she got out of the car.

The Chevy was brought off the track and the field was once again given the green flag. On the restart Twilight jumped inside of Viral and cleared her teammate going into turn one. After a couple more laps she began to pull away from the field.

Lap 47

Twilight was holding firm up front with Akula and Lightning attempting to run her down. Jamie Little was at the infield care center.

"As we completer lap 47 let's check in with Jamie Little who has managed to get in touch the driver of the #88. Jamie?"

"Thanks Mike, indeed I'm here with Starlight cleared from the infield care center. Glad to see you're okay after that hit."

"Yeah, a bit sore since I've yet to take one. It sucks too because the team knew we had a fast car today. Alex Bowman has also been really fast and we though we had a good chance to win today."

"Any thoughts on the crash?"

"Not much else other than the #40 needs to learn his place. He should know better than to wreck some pony on the corner like that. I don't see why anyone can like him, learning from one of the dirtiest racers in this sports history. It really doesn't surprise me, so I'm gonna be the bigger pony and walk away."

And walk away Starlight did, not bothering to say goodbye to Jamie or the camera crew. On the track, Twilight held her own for the remaining three laps of the stage and brought home her first stage win of the season.

Stage 2 Results

48 Twilight Sparkle 10 Points (1 Playoff Point)
40 Akula 9 Points
11 Lightning Dust 8 Points
24 Viral Velocity 7 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 6 Points
2 Rarity 5 Points
19 Spitfire 4 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 3 Points
14 Lyra Heartstrings 2 Points
22 Applejack 1 Point

With no drivers opting to pit at the end of the stage it left Twilight in the lead once again for the 50 lap segment of stage three. The restart was very similar to the start of the race, Akula getting a big push from Viral into turn one and Lightning jumping to Twilight's inside to take third. Once again, the #40 began to pull away from the field followed by the #24 and #11.

Lap 74

"we are gonna have to pit eventually, and first gear is completely bust. Short pit, fill the car and four tires, then get th car rolling again. Pit this time by driver."

"Copy, coming in this time."

Lyra had not fared well on the restart, falling all the way back to around 13th. She was in a comfortable spot, and was ready to get her final stop over with. She pulled the car in cleanly, and took the long coast to her box in the final section. The team quickly serviced the car and pushed it away. She was gone in about 16 seconds, but fell a lap behind. After a couple more laps, some other cars eventually settled in and brought their cars in for four tires and fuel. Most of the leaders from 10th and up stayed out and on the lead lap. There was however one exception.

Viral came down pit road from third place and also brought in her Chevy for four tires, the #24 team making quick work of the stop. So quick in fact that she stayed in the lead lap.

Lap 85

The leaders had also now taken their final stops, all of them taking only right side tires. Lyra's short pit strategy had payed off and she was running around the top ten right behind Sunset Shimmer. Viral had found her way back to 7th after her pit call, but had been making up time with her fresh tires.

Lyra caught Sunset's draft going onto the backstretch, and looked to make up a position on the car ahead of her. Suddenly, the left rear tire on the #42 blew apart, firing sheet metal and rubber across the track as the car spun down into the infield a few hundred feet from the entrance to turn 3. She found the inside wall, pancaking the right front along it and coming to a stop. After a few seconds, her window net came down and she began to climb out of her totaled car. Caution was out, and that changed everything.

Sunset's car was cleared from the track, the left rear completely sheered away from the car. After cleaning up the drbris, the track was given the green with 9 laps to go.

Akula's start was unchallenged, and he maintained the lead in turn 1 followed behind by Lightning and Twilight. Viral used her fresher tires to get the jump on Rarity and Spitfire and Lyra followed the pegasus into the corner. They both had four tires and easily cleared the pair of cars. As the laps began to count down Viral kept moving up. She passed Pinkie with eight laps to go, then powered around the outside of Twilight and Lightning with 5 to go. Lyra also passed Pinkie as Viral began to chase down the leader.

Akula came around to complete the lap, Viral being a couple seconds back. 5 Laps to go.

Lightning Dust finally cleared Twilight in turn two and began to break away from her, Viral mimicked Akula's line in turn three and gained a couple tenths. 4 Laps to go.

At three laps to go Viral had cut the gap in half, but Lightning had begun to push her car to follow her daughter's draft and Twilight also began to do the same to the #11. They also began to gain ground leaving Lyra to fend hold her position.

Two laps to go, and the gap between the #40 and #24 was just under a second. You couldn't fit a car between them, and Lightning and Twilight were working together to catch them. The two locked bumpers on the backstretch and gained on the two leaders going into turn three.

The white flag was waved, one lap to go. None of the four drivers fighting for the win had won yet during the season.

"One more lap to go sponsored by Credit One Bank. Viral gonna take a look to the outside but no run, Akula running the middle in one and two. Down the backstretch for the final time. The #11 and #48 side by side behind them that's all they need to see. Through three an four! Viral to the outside, drives it in deep!"

"She's there! It's gonna be a drag face to the line!"

"Here they come! Too close to call! We'll wait for Nascar."

"I wanna say it was Viral Mike."

"nine one-thousandth's of a second....#24 car."

"Yes! Good job girl."

"One of the closest finishes at Auto Club... I've ever seen."

The field began to relax on the backstretch, Twilight in the #48 coming up alongside the #24 to praise her teammate fr a job well done. After Twilight and the rest of the field pulled into out lane the #24 began to do a long burnout. As Viral crossed the finish line in burnout she spun the car around making a #33 in smoke to celebrate her past. She brought the car to a stop in the infield, climbing onto the side of the car. She spread out her left wing, first putting her middle feathers together to mimic the shape of two V's then folding all but one of them for her first win of the season before climbing out of the car.

It was Matt Yocum who came out to interview her.

"Viral great win here at Auto Club, lone of your favorite tracks and the hometown of Jeff Gordon and the Hendrick team as a whole. This must be big for you."

"Very, but I'll give props to the #40. He raced me and made me earn it. Thanks to Axalta and Hot Wheels for helping out the team, I think everyone did well today."

"Late race call to take four tires, do you think that helped your chances coming to the line."

"Might have, some drivers can make two work but I gotta thank my crew chief for the call. I've known her for years now and she knows me well. Team made quick work of it, I think that's what got us in position today."

"Thanks for your time. Mike back to you."

"Thanks Matt, Jeff actually already left the booth to go celebrate with the team. So, I'm Mike Joy for Jeff Gordon and the rest of the broadcast team. Thanks for watching."

Finishing Results

24 Viral Velocity 40 Points (5 Playoff Points)
40 Akula 35 Points
11 Lightning Dust 34 Points
48 Twilight Sparkle 33 Points
14 Lyra Heartstrings 32 Points
2 Rarity 31 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 30 Points
19 Spitfire 29 Points
22 Applejack 28 Points
18 Rainbow Dash 27 Points
95 Danger Dean 26 Points
10 Octavia Melody 25 Points
6 Scootaloo 24 Points
4 Vinyl Scratch 23 Points
20 Fluttershy 22 Points
12 Sweetie Belle 21 Points
8 Bloothy 20 Points
1 Trixie Lulamoon 19 Points
21 Apple Bloom 18 Points
37 Vapor Trail 17 Points
41 Derpy Hooves 16 Points
3 Oscura Galaxia 15 Points
47 Sky Stinger 14 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 13 Points (DNF Lap 85)

25 #88 Starlight Glimmer 12 Points (DNF Lap 26)

Standings

In Playoffs by Wins
In Playoffs by Points

Rainbow Dash 125 Points (6 Playoff Points- 1 Win)
Viral Velocity 124 Points (5 Playoff Points- 1 Win)
Scootaloo 103 Points (5 Playoff Points- 1 Win)
Twilight Sparkle 142 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Akula 118 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Pinkie Pie 117 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Lightning Dust 108 Points
Applejack 107 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Rarity 103 Points
Spitfire 100 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Fluttershy 92 Points
Sunset Shimmer 89 Points
Starlight Glimmer 79 Points
Lyra Heartstrings 78 Points
Danger Dean 71 Points
Octavia Melody 71 Points
Sweetie Belle 67 Points
Bloothy 64 Points
Oscura Galaxia 62 Points
Vinyl Scratch 62 Points
Apple Bloom 57 Points
Derpy Hooves 56 Points
Vapor Trail 56 Points
Trixie Lulamoon 55 Points
Sky Stinger 44 Points

Best of Radioactive: Auto Club

11 Lightning Dust

Pre-Race

"Kind of crowded up here with all these Chevy's. No help, nothing."

"Fight through it, we got a strong car. Everyone's running your setup today so show 'em how it's done"

42 Sunset Shimmer

Pre-Race

"Sunny southern California, stiff competition today. #40 is looking strong today so let's try to keep up."

"High line all day."

9 Pinkie Pie

Pre-Race

"Twilight about had a breakdown on national TV."

"I wouldn't put it past her, classic Twilighting."

40 Akula

Lap 4

"Clear way back, #11 and #48 are fighting for real estate. Go get after it."

"On it, car is running perfect today."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 7

"Still three, you're top of three... easy, hold the brake... Nothing else is gonna hit ya. Get it rolling caution's out. We spun off of turn two. Nothing serious, check the left side when you bring it around."

"Yeah, car is way to
(Expletive) loose. Extend my apologies to the #20, that was all me."

20 Fluttershy

Lap 7

"Bottom of three, #14 right on your outside. Spinning up top, back it down down down. We're in it. Gather it up, whatcha got?"

"Nothing bad, might have flat spotted the tires. Sorry."

"It could have been worse, good job. Dash wants to apologize."

"Accepted."

19 Spitfire

Lap 7 (Under Caution)

"#18 and #20 are rolling again. Sounds like they kissed and made up."

"Dean isn't gonna like Fluttershy trying to steal his girl."

40 Akula

Lap 25

"And that my Changeling friend is how you with a stage."

"Kurt, I'm just getting started."

"Well, keep (Expletive) going then."

88 Starlight Glimmer

Lap 27

"Still inside, way on the bottom. Coming up to your door... are you serious? Hold the brake, hold the... We're wrecked. #40 just sent us on the backstretch."

"...Im gonna give him a piece of my..."

"You Alright?"

"She already climbed out."

"Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

40 Akula

Lap 27

"#88 to the outside. #88 outside. Coming to her door...#88 is wrecking! Dig, dig, dig! ...Clear, caution's out,"

"That (Expletive) got what she deserves, blocking me off."

"Is the car okay?"

"Yeah. Car's perfect! Just had a tangle with somepony I don't like."

"No damage visible from up here. Stay out."

1 Trixie Lulamoon

Lap 28 (Under Caution)

"Oh, she's definitely looking for him."

"Starlight doesn't normally back down from anything."

22 Applejack

Lap 28 (Under Caution)

"Ah reckon this ain't gonna be pretty."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 28 (Under Caution)

"Watch your lane here, I think the #88 might be looking a little bit of him."

"That's not gonna be a pretty sight."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 28 (Under Caution)

"...She backed off."

"That's probably the best outcome we could have had. Knowing those two, it isn't over yet."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 30

"Green, green. Outside, your bottom of three. Clear all the way up top."

"Alright, smooth sailing. I got this."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 36

"I'm starting to see why Kyle hates these (Expletive) cars this year. Got no (Expletive) grip, tracks a (Expletive), and I'm getting my flank run over by every pony behind me."

37 Vapor Trail

Lap 44

"I've been flirting with the wall for a few laps now. Might end up kissing it if I'm not careful. Tight on exits."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 50

"And... stage winner #48 car."

"Alright, rack 'em up and bring it home."

"Now you're speaking my language."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 65

"Outside, outside. Still on your corner."

"Alright, I'll get her in three."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 65

"Low, coming up.... Still there."

"Yeah, run me up into the wall why don't ya. Fine, have it. Don't think I'm gonna let ya run away with it."

40 Akula

Lap 76

"Watch for cars pitting this time by, a lot of back markers are short pitting."

"Copy, gap on the #11?"

"Four Seconds."

"#24 is coming down this time by as well."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 76

"Loosing grip in the right sides. I think I'm gonna come in soon."

"A lot of the back markers coming in for four. Pit this time, we'll get four on ya and get you back out there."

42 Sunset Shimmer

Lap 85

"What the (Expletive)?! That was terrifying."

"You alright?"

"Yeah fine, but I can see out the entire left side of the car. I'm getting out."

2 Rarity

Lap 91

"Inside, middle of three. #14 coming inside as well."

"Ooh, I can't catch a break!"

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 95

"Coming outside, three. Middle of three. Clear high, still inside."

"The (Expletive)? What does she have nitrous now?"

40 Akula

Lap 98

"Right on ya, don't give her what she wants. She isn't gonna sit behind ya."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"#11 and #48 closing, 3 lengths back."

24 Viral Velocity

Final Lap

"Come on, come on. Inside, get there... I think we got it!"

"On the camera. #24, then #40."

"(Expletive) Yeah we got it!"

"Yes! YES! That's how it's done boys and girls. California baby! Heck of a call Neon."

"Am I ever wrong?"

Race 4: ISM-Phoenix

Author's Note

This one came through quick, but after Auto Club got delayed I thought I'd give you all this one as quickly and efficiently as possible. So far it's been my favorite race to write with so far the most action in all fronts. Rivalrys, wreckage, and much more. Enjoy.

Race 4: ISM-Phoenix

ISM Raceway, Phoenix Arizona
Drinks in the Desert 250 Qualifying
Wednesday Morning

Vinyl was enjoying a simple moment of peace, which to her was blasting bass through her headphones in the team garage. It was one of the few times during the week she got to do so, since once in the car all of her music would be drowned out in favor of her spotter and crew chief getting her through the race. It was a necessary compromise, but when she was in the car she preferred to be focused and silent. She wasn't very talkative, and while her crew was a little afraid this would make adjusting the car to her liking more difficult she preferred to let the setup take hold and stay that way. Kevin Harvick was a seasoned veteran on the track with almost two decades of experience in the cup series alone. She trusted that what he setup for her was gonna do it's job. Aside from a crash at Daytona, the car had held up. But she was looking for a breakout moment.

"Hey, Scratch!" Vinyl looked up from the ground to see Viral Velocity.

"Oh hey, Double V. Nice job last week by the way."

Viral, aside from sharing Vinyl's taste in both listening to and creating music, was one of the few ponies outside of her team that Vinyl opened up to.

"Appreciate it, and hey good luck out there. I'd say you got a great chance today, Kevin's known well for dominating here. If any day is gonna be your day for a strong showing, it's today."

"Hey thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

"No problem, i'll see you on track later this week. I gotta go run my lap."

Indeed, Vinyl's mentor and driver of the #4 Stewart-Hass Ford Kevin Harvick "Owned this track" as they called it. 9 Wins and 17 top five finishes. He always knew a great setup for the track.

While the sun was blistering outside, she got strapped into her fire-suit and got settled into her car. The team was not looking up to par with Derpy, Lyra, and Octavia all qualifying outside of the top 15. Many of the top drivers were posting good laps, but nothing nearly what one would expect. However, Akula was once again showing promise. Two weeks in a row now he had posted a pole worthy lap. This one would be tough to knock down, but Vinyl was gonna give it a go. The #24 finished her lap, top 5 worthy but not enough to knock down the car she beat to the line the week before.

ISM Raceway had gone through a layout rework, with the start/finish line being moved from the pit lane wall to the dog leg on the opposite end of the course. Vinyl brought the #4 Busch Light Ford onto track and immediately felt good about it. The car was very responsive in the corner, and turned without being ordered to. One out lap later and she was on the clock, and she was flying. Despite how slow her teammates had been, it was obvious her car was not out to lunch. It clocked in on time and got to work.

She sailed through turn one like a master, the car settling through the middle of the corner very well, and she was one of the few cars on pace with the #40 coming onto the new backstretch. She went in deep into turn three, a bit too deep. She clipped the apron and the car wiggled, though she kept it straight. When she crossed the line she had missed the pole time by under two tenths. She was temporarily placed second.

As more of the field passed by to do their laps, both of the front row laps stuck. Then the #18 came out on track. Once again sporting the colors of Nos Energy, Rainbow Dash began her lap. After fully disliking the setup that she had borrowed from her teammate at California she had put together an entirely new one for this specific track. It looked to be fast, and indeed it was. She managed to knock Vinyl off the front row, only barely missing the pole time. A couple more mid-pack cars followed and eventually the grid was set for Friday.

40 Akula 26.053
18 Rainbow Dash 26.067
4 Vinyl Scratch 26.072
11 Lightning Dust 26.083
24 Viral Velocity 26.091
19 Spitfire 26.103
9 Pinkie Pie 26.114
48 Twilight Sparkle 26.127
22 Applejack 26.131
6 Scootaloo 26.136
2 Rarity 26.145
95 Danger Dean 26.153
21 Apple Bloom 26.166
12 Sweetie Belle 26.176
88 Starlight Glimmer 26.188
42 Sunset Shimmer 26.192
1 Trixie Lulamoon 26.206
20 Fluttershy 26.212
10 Octavia Melody 26.230
47 Sky Stinger 26.238
14 Lyra Hearstrings 26.241
8 Bloothy 26.244
37 Vapor Trail 26.256
3 Oscura Galaxia 26.273
41 Derpy Hooves 26.286

Drinks in the Desert 250
Friday Evening

"Good evening, and welcome to the Drinks in the Desert 250 presented by Monster Energy in Phoenix. I'm Mike Joy with Jeff Gordon, and Jeff... looking at all these cars today I can't help but be thirsty."

"Yeah, well Mike special weekend race today. Most of the teams this week are running beverage sponsors. Energy Drinks, Soda, the whole list. And you know what Mike, I'm thirsty too. That's why I brought myself a can of Rockstar for this special occasion."

"Enjoy, but Jeff let's talk about the drivers. In particular one Vinyl Scratch. Impressive showing in qualifying, and her mentor Kevin Harvick, the modern day Desert King, nine wins here at this track."

"Yeah Mike, and from what I've seen with Kevin Harvick it has a lot with how he sets up his cars here. Obviously he and Vinyl are sharing similar setups and she is very fast."

"Three races, three manufacturers with winning performances, let's see who can double up here in the Desert when we come back."

Confidence was ever present in Vinyl's mind. She knew her car was strong, she had proved in qualifying that she could handle it. It was gonna be a long race, and one that would stretch all the way until the sunset. She climbed into the car, but immediately as they began the radio check something was amiss.

"Alright, radio check. How are we looking up there?"

"Could use a drink, but we are all good up here."

"All right, Vinyl you read me?"

"..."

"Check, Vinyl you there?"

"..."

"I'm not picking up anything. Hey, show me a hoof if you can hear me."

Vinyl raised her left fore hoof, indicating she could in fact here the crew chief and spotter.

"Damn, alright gonna have to deal with it but we got nothing but static on your end. Command is coming so we're gonna have to role with it, especially since we got no leads on the cause."

"Driver's... Start... Your... ENGINES!"

Vinyl fired up the Ford engine, she was running silent. Most would find this a disadvantage. However, this was little of a problem for her in particular. And even so, Ryan Blaney has proved in 2017 that you could win a race even though your team couldn't hear a word you said. She left pit lane immediately behind Akula and Rainbow Dash.

"Pace laps are under way so let's take a look at this refreshing starting line up. Akula on pole sporting a Pacific Punch Monster Energy #40 and Rainbow Dash in the Nos Energy #18. Row two. Vinyl Scratch in the Busch Lite Ford and Lightning Dust sporting Fruit Punch Gatorade. Row three, Viral Velocity, last weeks winner in the Rockstar Energy #24 and Spitfire to her outside with Red Bull returning for a one race deal. Row four, Pinkie Pie in the Diet Dew #9 and Twilight Sparkle representing Pepsi Max, three top tens in a row for her so far this season.

"Row five has Applejack in the White Claw Ford and Scootaloo in the Regin Energy #6. Row six, the #2 Millar Lite Ford returns with Rarity and Danger Dean to her outside. Row seven, Apple Bloom piloting the Snapple #21 and Sweetie Belle to her outside in the #12. Row eight will be shifting to the rear of the field, illegal adjustment on the Sunkist #42 and the Budweiser #88 will be heading to the rear for replacing a radiator."

"Moving on to row nine. Trixie Lulamoon will be taking on the McDonald's scheme in the #1 and Fluttershy on her outside, Mug Root Beer sponsoring her this week. Row ten, Octavia Melody with the #10 Gold Peak Tea Ford and Sky Stinger will be on her outside. Row eleven, Lyra Heartstrings on the 7UP Ford and and Bloothy to the outside in the Coca-Cola #31. Row twelve has Vapor Trail and the Coke Zero #3 with Blitz. Finally rounding out the field is the Dr Pepper #41 driven by Derpy Hooves."

"Now Jeff we were gonna have a chat with the protege of nine time winner of this track Kevin Harvick but we are gonna have to go straight to late breaking stories. Jamie what's going on with the #4?"

"Mike, the #4 team seeming to have one way radio problems. They have confirmed that she can hear them in the car but they are getting nothing back from her. However, they are gonna push on. Ryan Blaney won at Pocono I'm 2017 with a similar problem so it is doable. Matt?"

"Jamie two weeks in a row Akula has had a dominating showing in qualifying. The thing he is worried about right now is putting last week behind him. Fresh day for the #40 team along with a fresh look Regan."

"Thanks Matt, #42 to the rear of the field for an illegal adjustment on the car. Though Sunset was complaining about being far too loose during qualifying she knows she has a fast car, but after sorting out the issue she will be starting in the back."

"Regan, also starting in the back today is the #88. What a rollercoaster they had at Auto Club last week. After wrecking out of the race on Friday, they came back and won with Alex Bowman in the cup race. We'll see what they can do today. Back to you Mike."

"Thanks, Larry McReynolds has some race analysis for us. Larry?"

"Thanks Mike, Stage two is a bit longer here than stage one today, 50 laps compared to 35 but with a fuel window of 90 to 95 laps that will likely not be a factor. What will be a factor is how these cars are gonna change as the race progresses throughout the day. These drivers are gonna have to make adjustments on the fly as we go from day to night here at Phoenix."

"Thanks Larry, we will be running 159 Laps here at ISM Raceway. Our polesitter has elected the outside lane for the start of this race. Pace car is in, green flag in the desert..."

Green flag was given, and a mess was already beginning to form. Dash started by missing a shift, which allowed Vinyl some room under her. Dash immediately blocked and contact was made. Vinyl checked up off the #18 and Dash gathered up her car as the field began to fly by. They both found themselves in line behind the #24. With the #40 being the only car on the front row it began to pull away, leaving Lightning and Viral side by side as Dash and Vinyl gathered up their cars. They went down the backstretch bunched up tight together. Dash got a good run in turn three and Viral went down into the Dog Leg to get some space to work with. As Rainbow began to fill the spot the #24 came back on the track.

Behind the Demon Lord, all hell broke loose. It started with the #18 clipping the #24 and sending it into the #11 hard along the wall. The #18 bounced back off them and caught a fourth car, the #19. They also met the fence a few feet further up. Behind them many cars began to check up. Vinyl was lucky enough to be down low and out of harm's way when the #18 and #19 got together and she got away clean. Pinkie got on the brakes behind that, and was completely punted by the #22 which KO'd the entire front end of the Ford. This set up a big impact for the #9, which hit very hard on the inside barrier and rebounded. Right behind Applejack had been Rarity who got under her teammate to steer clear of the chaos up top. It was a terrible mistake. The #9 rebounded hard off the wall and was sent back into the path of the #2. The most violent of the hits during the wreck occurred here as the pair were redirected into the outside wall further into turn 1.

A couple more cars were stuffed into the pile of cars on the outside, most notably Twilight and Scootaloo. While Scootaloo got away with most of her car intact, Twilight was helpless to do anything but get jammed into the back of the #11. Out of all the cars involved, she was lucky enough to drive away. Applejack did as well, but as she did so the smoke began to build in the engine and the car died a few hundred feet later as she pulled off the track.

In total, 9 cars took damage that was noticeable and 7 of those cars were wrecked. As the field began to clear a way through behind the mess the Red Flag was immediately displayed, ordering the cars still under their own power to stop on the backstretch. Vinyl lined up right behind the #40 and the survivors behind them also took their positions, leaving the mess on the front stretch.

Viral and Lightning's cars were side by side, caved in where they had impacted both each other and the wall. Further up, Dash and Spitfire were mangled together, the #19 having been nosed into the wall from the contact which caused it to rebound and sheer away the #18's entire right front. The worst sight was further into the turn, where the #9 was little more than a piece of scrap. The entire front end was unrecognizable and the right side door had been pounded. Finally, Rarity's #2 had been completely folded inward from both hitting the #9 and then the outside wall.

"...Woah contact between the #4 and #18. They keep it straight going into turn one. Akula will take the lead."

"Mike, Dash had a really slow jump. Not a good idea to block so far down the track, and as you can see she cost both herself and the #4 a couple positions."

"Viral and Dust side by side for second, Dash with a good run off the corner! #24 running down low, you can run down there since there is no out of bounds here... trouble! Two cars in the wall, and more piling up behind them."

"Oh the #9 with a hard hit, several hard hits Mike."

"Red Flag immediately flies, and on Lap two it looks like we've piled up about a half dozen cars. As Darrell would say, looks like a junkyard. Oh tough break for the #6 team after a great start to the year. Last week's winner in the outside wall with the #11. Applejack's White Claw Ford has been cracked open, she's gone straight for the garage. The #9 and #2 up together in turn one."

"Mike it might be easier to say whose not involved. Man, been a while since we've piled up this many. I remember there being a wreck in 2011 that took about 13 cars out but it's been a while since."

"The big one, at Phoenix takes out the Daytona Winner, last weeks winner in California, the points leader, and a whole host of others. Well Jeff, crack one open because it's gonna take a while to sort this one out."

An airborne replay was given first, beginning from the very start of the race.

"Starting here with the #18 on the start."

"Yeah, looks to me like a missed shift going into second gear. Regardless she blocks the #4. Tightens up the field, clean here. She gets a good run in three, #24 comes down and when Dash tried to fill that hole Viral came up... And they made contact."

"Yeah looks like that was what started it, tried to fill a gap that wasn't there... wow big hit for the #2 and #9. Good to see them climb out."

"Yeah, Rarity seemed a bit shaken up but looks like every one in gonna be fine."

"Let's ride onboard starting with the #95 further back."

"Still outside, gonna have a look at your corner. Spinning middle, go low low low. Watch the #9, stay low. Good job, red flag coming out, stop on the backstretch."

"Great job by Dean maneuvering his way through and his spotter guiding him along. He's gonna come out of this third. Looking back from the #40"

"Lined up behind you, clear one back inside. Wrecking behind you, big wreck on the front stretch. Get ready for a red flag, stop on the back."

"With the #11 this time."

"Still inside, coming three to your corner. Inside...hold it up there. We're wrecked."

"Lightning Dust not able to catch a break this season. With the #2 this time, hold on folks."

"Outside, #95 looking for a run. Easy get down. Outside, outside, watch it!.... We're done, #9 got us in turn one. Hold it up there, let me know if you're alright."

"Gosh, couple of hard hits there. First with the #9 then again into the outside wall. A Massive pileup covering the front stretch all the way into turn one, here's a list of the cars involved as we head to break to get this mess cleaned up."

2 Rarity

6 Scootaloo

9 Pinkie Pie

11 Lightning Dust

18 Rainbow Dash

19 Spitfire

22 Applejack

24 Viral Velocity

48 Twilight Sparkle

The course was red flagged for around a half hour. As the cars were cleared and and track was cleaned up Vinyl had some time to compose herself. Most of the tip tier competition has must wrecked out. With the exception of the #40 all the cars around her were running mediocre laps during qualifying. The field began to refute as the course went from Red to Yellow and she lined up on the front row, Akula once again electing the outside line.

Soon enough, the field was given the green flag to resume on Lap 5. Both Vinyl and Akula had great launches and battled for several laps side by side, but eventually experience previaled and the #40 cleared the #4. Vinyl settled down, and began to take defensive lines to retain second position from the cars behind her.

Lap 22

Several laps after the initial crash Regan Smith made his was to the infield care center in order to find some drivers from the crash to interview. He managed to catch up with two of the Hendrick drivers, Viral and Pinkie.

"Jeff let's head down with Regan Smith who is having a word with a couple drivers from the early crash. Regan?"

"Thanks Mike, here with the drivers of the #24 and #9 respectively. Glad to seeb you both are ok, Viral let's start with you. Any idea that the #18 was coming up behind you when the wreck started."

"No, not that I didn't expect her to try and force it in a place where she couldn't make it work. There's a time and place for being aggressive and she neither did it at the right time nor the right place. She tore up herself and she tore up a lot of good cars with her. Rockstar was really excited to partner up this week after Auto Club and I feel bad for dissapointing them so early."

"Thanks for your input, Pinkie you had several hard hits as did Rarity. We saw you and her walking out of the care center together a few moments ago, anything to add?"

"Regan, one might not think about it but me and her are good friends. Viral here knows better than any pony that you have to respect those around you in this business. I was just making sure she was ok after what happened. She can be a little soft at times so she just needs a little help every so often."

"Thanks for the words girls, back to you Mike."

Lap 35

Ever since the massive wreck at the beginning the field had calmed down. The two obvious favorites had begun to pull away from the field with some cars like the #95, #21, and #12 having solid top 5 runs. Stage one came to a close with Akula getting his second stage victory of the season, the first driver to do so. Meanwhile Sunset Shimmer had battled back from starting last and managed to barely edge out Lyra for stage points

Stage 1 Results

40 Akula 10 Points (1 Playoff Point)
4 Vinyl Scratch 9 Points
95 Danger Dean 8 Points
21 Apple Bloom 7 Points
12 Sweetie Belle 6 Points
20 Fluttershy 5 Points
1 Trixie Lulamoon 4 Points
6 Scootaloo 3 Points
10 Octavia Melody 2 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 1 Point

After lining up the field once again, the track resumed green for a fifty lap stage 2. This time the #95 Toyota got the jump on the cars ahead and powered along the inside, clearing both cars and taking the lead. On the back stretch Vinyl yielded to the #40 and retained third position. It was best to save what her car had for now. She knew she could fly by them at any time.

Lap 43

Dean was trying desperately to hold off the hard charging Chevy tailing him every lap. Akula would not be denied, chasing him down lap after lap for several goes. Dean kept his defensive line, forcing the #40 to run the inside line and keeping Akula out of his comfort zone. Akula did not wish to have a repeat of Daytona with the #95 but Dean was beginning to push his luck.

Into turn three, Akula took a shot at the inside line and Dean cut down low in front of him. At the end of his patience, he waited for his moment in turn 1 the next time by. He lined the #95 up in the corner and forced a bumper into him. Not too hard, but enough to wiggle the car out of the grove and out of his way. A textbook bump and run move. He regained the lead and began to pull away.

Lap 67

The sun was beginning to set over the desert, and the lights of ISM were beginning to shine over the track as the cars continued to race along. Vinyl had kept a brisk pace, getting distance on the cars behind her but not pushing the tires very hard. There was not much left in stage two, but as the laps began to continue to wind down the cautions lights were displayed.

"One in the wall in turn three, cautions out."

As Vinyl slowed the car down coming through the corner she got a good look at the #6 against the wall. It had not been that big of an impact, and the window net was already down on Scootaloo's car.

After further investigation in the replays, Jeff and Mike had concluded that the cause was a right front tire, likely helped by the damage sustained in the early crash. She has beem running close to wall on the front strerch when the tire blew out. It was a quick cleanup, and the field resumed racing shortly after. Dean could not outshine Akula on the restart and after a dozen or so more laps the #40 claimed it's second stage win of the day.

Stage 2 Results

40 Akula 10 Points (1 Playoff Point)
95 Danger Dean 9 Points
4 Vinyl Scratch 8 Points
12 Sweetie Belle 7 Points
20 Fluttershy 6 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 5 Points
21 Apple Bloom 4 Points
10 Octavia Melody 3 Points
1 Trixie Lulamoon 2 Points
14 Lyra Heartstrings 1 Point

For the first, and likely only time that night the cars still running made pit stops. Most of the cars got in an out cleanly, but one exception happened. Akula's stall had been very close to the entrance of pit road. As such, he was among the first to get into his stall and get out. As he did, the #88 happened to be coming into her stall. There was minor contact, and no significant damage was caused, but the #88 was spun backwards into its stall. The team serviced the car and Starlight spun the car around, but at the cost of significant time. Meanwhile Akula's fast stop allowed him to retain the lead despite the incident, and Vinyl's crew gave her a spot during the cycles.

Once again she was on the front row. On the green flag Akula got a massive jump and some help from Sunset Shimmer who and also grabbed a couple spots during the cycle. While he cleared the pack, Sunset and Vinyl raced each other for several laps. Eventually the #4 previaled and pressed on.

Lap 124

The race was becoming very calm and most of the cars were now significantly spread out. Despite her best efforts Vinyl could not keep pace with the much more experienced driver ahead of her. He had now built up a gap that was impossible to overcome. Akula had now gotten well into lap traffic, most of it respecting him as his much faster car began to fly through the field.

Vinyl was not upset at her performance. Second was easily a great outcome compared to her previous races and while not quite as good as what Kevin Harvick was likely to do it was surely enough to catapult her up the standings.

Suddenly a caution was called, a change of pace. However, there was something she didn't expect.

"Well, new leader.. #4"

If Vinyl could, she would have questioned her spotter to make sure she heard him right. But as she coasted by turn 3 she need not know why she was suddenly the new leader. Against the outside wall facing the wrong way was indeed the #40 Monster Energy Chevy. The angle of impact judging by the left front being killed suggested this was no accident.

Mike and Jeff were also redirected to the #40.

"Caution, the #40 in the outside wall hard."

"The leader, Mike that's a very odd angle of impact especially on the straightaway like that. I don't think that could have been a tire or..."

The camera cut Jeff off as the feed switched to the #88, which had some minor damage on the left front fender.

"..oh"

"Well Jeff, you know what it's like getting upset here in the desert. I think the #88 finally got pushed over the edge. And looking at Akula he is hot. Helmets off."

"We might want to wait until she comes back around. This might get ugly."

With helmet firmly in his hold and rage at its tipping point, Akula patiently waited for the #88 Chevy to come bback around. He need not wait long for his opportunity. Unlike the pony in question, when he was upset he was a lot more up front about it.

As the car came by, he took direct aim and without hesitation or holding back threw his entire helmet at the windshield of Starlight's car. It bounced off helplessly, and ended up being deposited further down the embankment, but he made his point. As she passed by, Akula took his opportunity to hiss at the pony he despised with all of his being.

"A page out of Tony Stewart's book Jeff, well let's get a replay of this one. From the #48 right behind them."

While being several laps down, Twilight was still running laps on the track. Down the backstretch the #88 left a large hole for the leader to fill on her inside. It looked as if she was letting him go, until she turned dead left into his quarter panel and put him in the wall entering turn 3.

"Well Jeff that's a picture that tells a thousand words."

With Vinyl inheriting the lead after the most recent caution, she elected to start on the inside lane with Dean to her outside. The field resumed racing and Vinyl got off the line better than the Toyota could. She pulled ahead in turn one. Sunset Shimmer, who had battled back from starting last, was now hot on Dean looking for second while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle began to duel for fourth.

After a few laps the field began to spread out, Dean successful in defending second while Sweetie Belle overcame her friend for the position behind them. But up front it was all down to Vinyl Scratch. After surviving the initial melee and inheriting the lead following Akula and Starlight's run in, it left her as the undoubtedly best car on the track. As the laps wound down she began to stretch the gap further and further.

Lap 158

She had now stretched the gap to 5 seconds, it was now all but certain as she took the white flag.

"One to go sponsored by Credit One Bank. And not surprising to see the #4 leading the pack. Today it's not Kevin Harvick driving that car. Today the King of the Desert watches on as his princess brings home the flag. Vinyl Scratch wins in Phoenix!"

"Yeah! Way to go girl! I know you can't say anything but we knew you could do it."

She brought the car back onto the front stretch. Then, sticking a left forehoof out the window, began a series of donuts in front of the grandstands. She handled her car like she would a DJ table and put on a show for the fans in attendance. As she brought the car to a stop, she took the wheel off the car and brought it up to the roof before slamming it down like a record and climbing free. The first win of the season for her and Stewart Haas, and the second win for Ford.

"As the #4 team celebrates their victory, I'm Mike Joy for Jeff Gordon and everyone here with us a Phoenix. Good night!"

Finishing Results

4 Vinyl Scratch 40 Points (5 Playoff Points)
95 Danger Dean 35 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 34 Points
12 Sweetie Belle 33 Points
21 Apple Bloom 32 Points
20 Fluttershy 31 Points
10 Octavia Melody 30 Points
1 Trixie Lulamoon 29 Points
14 Lyra Heartstrings 28 Points
37 Vapor Trail 27 Points (1 Lap Down)
8 Bloothy 26 Points (1 Lap Down)
3 Oscura Galaxia 25 Points (1 Lap Down)
47 Sky Stinger 24 Points (2 Laps Down)
88 Starlight Glimmer 23 Points (2 Laps Down)
41 Derpy Hooves 22 Points (2 Laps Down)
48 Twilight Sparkle 21 Points (9 Laps Down)
40 Akula 20 Points (DNF Lap 124)
6 Scootaloo 19 Points (DNF Lap 67)
22 Applejack 18 Points (DNF Lap 2)
9 Pinkie Pie 17 Points (DNF Lap 2)
2 Rarity 16 Points (DNF Lap 2)
19 Spitfire 15 Points (DNF Lap 2)
18 Rainbow Dash 14 Points (DNF Lap 2)
24 Viral Velocity 13 Points (DNF Lap 2)
11 Lightning Dust 12 Points (DNF Lap 2)

Standings

In Playoffs on Wins
In Playoffs on Points

Rainbow Dash 139 Points (6 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Viral Velocity 137 Points (5 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Scootaloo 132 Points (5 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Vinyl Scratch 119 Points (5 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Twilight Sparkle 163 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Akula 158 Points (3 Playoff Points)

7.Fluttershy 134 Points

Pinkie Pie 134 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Sunset Shimmer 129 Points
Applejack 125 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Danger Dean 123 Points
Lightning Dust 120 Points
Rarity 119 Points
Spitfire 115 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Sweetie Belle 113 Points
Lyra Heartstrings 107 Points
Octavia Melody 106 Points
Starlight Glimmer 102 Points
Apple Bloom 100 Points
Trixie Lulamoon 90 Points
Bloothy 90 Points
Oscura Galaxia 87 Points
Vapor Trail 82 Points
Derpy Hooves 78 Points
Sky Stinger 68 Points

Equestrian Sweethearts: Auto Club and ISM

Author's Note

My typing fingers are quicker than my will to fall asleep, and so, I've made this one early. Hope you like it, Jimmy is just so fun to wrote and impersonate. :rainbowlaugh:

Equestrian Sweethearts: Auto Club and ISM

"Ah yes, welcome back. My name is Jimmy Spencer and welcome to this episode of Equestrian Sweethearts. Today, I have a couple bones to pick and a new award to show you all. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. First Auto Club."

"By far one of the greatest finished at California I've seen in some time. A cigar for Neon Shock, the crew chief of the #24 car. Good call, putting Viral in position to take one for Hendrick and Chevy. As for Pheonix, solid performance by the #4 team. Expected, but not unwelcome to see such an underrated driver come out on top. Now, enough with positivity. I know why you are all here. Let's head back to California, where one Rainbow Dash appears to still be suffering the effects of Vickernism. Here in stage one, simply loses the car in the corner. And, her mistake caused a teammate to crash as well. Luckily both cars made it out in one piece and the two teammates made it up after."

"Yeah car is way too (Expletive) loose. Extend my apologies to the #20. That was all me."

"Accepted."

"Oh, how sweet. Hey girls, I have this little gift for you two. It's my new award, a friendship bracelet. Always keep a positive attitude on the track around other drivers. Something our radio sweetheart of the week could learn from. Ah yes, Lightning Dust. Can't stand being slow can ya?"

"What the (Expletive) What does she have nitrous now?"

"This isn't a family gathering scatterbrain move over! I'm two laps ahead of you!"

"Hey sweetie, be a nice little daughter and move out the damn way when your mother tells you too!"

"Fastest Toyota on track right now."
"No (Expletive). What made you think that? I'm the only one inside the top ten."

Wow, I guess it's true. Pegasi are indeed very passionate about competition. But hey, if you thought I was done with Rainbow Dash.. oh you are sadly mistaken. Pheonix, on lap two. See that gap there? Between the #11 and #24? Well, she sure did and that lead to a third of the field wiping out. Hey, let's hear what another Toyota driver had to say, Spitfire to be precise.

"And for the third week in a row, "Crash" has lived up to he nickname."

"*sniff* You see this? It's a towel rack. I have this because I'm just getting started. *sneeze* Rainbow, you heard it from the captain herself. Your nickname is literally Crash! Hey, I have a new idea for a mentor for you. How about Steven Wallace, or maybe Brian Scott! You might learn a thing or two from them about making a proper wreck. *sniff*"

"No, I have to move on. Next up, the pony you all knew was coming. It's the #88! Back to Auto Club. Here you can see the accident between her and the #40. Just that, an accident. But she ceratinly didnt see it that way. She even berated Kurt Busch!"

"It really doesn't surprise me with him learning from one of the dirtiest racers in this sports history."

"*sobbing* Starlight, that's my job you little rascal! But here, a consolation prize. It's a straight jacket. No it's not about your history of cults, but I will say that you must be crazy to do the following. Assume the wreck was purposeful, blaming a driver that had nothing to do with it, wrecking the leader the following race, and all of that while doing jack to preserve your image. Not even Junior Nation likes you!"

"*sneeze* Oh I'm gonna save this one for the best, it's a special towel. It's has the #1 on it. Kurt! You blew your lid over a race you weren't even a part of! *sniff* I really wanted to give you a Radio Sweetheart but that's too easy. Instead, let's give it to Viral Velocity. Because if there is one thing that is for certain, the Toyota's are always gonna screw something up."

"Why is it always the (Expletive) Toyota's?"

I've been Jimmy Spencer, thanks for stopping by. Now if you'll excuse me I need to clean up all these towels for next time on Equestrian Sweethearts.

Race 5: Atlanta

Author's Note

Why did this take so long, well I am an employee in essential retail in a shortened staff. Yeah, that's a lot of work to do.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Really sorry I made you all wait so long.

Race 5: Atlanta

Atlanta Motor Speedway, Atlanta Georgia
Pedigree 300
Thursday Morning

"Sis, I'm fine. It wasn't even anywhere close to Daytona. I didn't even hit anything!"

"Sweetie, I'm just glad your ok. It could have been much worse."

"You don't have to he so overbearing. I'm just trying to stretch the car. Ryan Blaney has been giving me a lot of tips and after Scootaloo won in Vegas I'm ready for my time. She and Newman still haven't shut up about it."

Sweetie had come into the garage following her early stage qualifying run. She had posted a competitive first lap, but trying to push it on the second had spun out on turn four and skidded across the infield. Her #12 had minimal if any damage and her lap had been solid enough to hold a top fifteen spot on the grid for now. Her sister Rarity had been the first of her teammates to come see her. They had lucked out, Penske only had three rides available and Rarity, along with Brad Keselowski's insistence, had managed to get Sweetie Belle into the third car alongside her and Applejack. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo has also gotten rides in Ford's with Wood Brothers and Roush Fenway respectively. Penske and the other teams were in a way working between each other thanks to the connections between each pony.

However, other than Scootaloo's last lap pass at Vegas the work had yet to pay off. Daytona was a mess with every single car crashing out or going laps down. Auto Club had been dominated by Chevy's, and Phoenix has been over for Rarity and Applejack before it even really started.

Soon enough, Applejack also entered the team garage. Her face was stoic, and she had run a good lap which cracked into the top 5. The Toyota's big three of Dash, Dust, and Spitfire had dominated the lap times. Eventually Twilight split them and placed second on front row with the #19 but it was clear that JGR had speed this week. Then again, so did Penske. The two cars that did qualify were in the top ten and Rarity was to come up soon.

"Hey sugar cube, you doing alright?"

"I'm fine darling, just making sure Sweetie Belle is alright herself."

Sweetie grunted and walked away, leaving Rarity to talk either other teammate.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. Apple Bloom hates overbearing siblings too."

Rarity only sighed.

"I'm not really bothered by that Applejack. It's more or less how I've been racing. Last year, I was with a mid pack team at best. We had our moments but we could never break through. Now I'm given a chance by a top team and my consistency is nowhere near solid."

"Well, I had the same problem early in my career."

Brad had somehow snuck up on the ponies in question. He had been a nice fit as a mentor for Rarity as a team leader, former champion, and even a businessman in his own right with his truck racing team BKR which had brought future talents like Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, and other stars into the spotlight. The unicorn had much respect for the veteran driver, and he likewise respected her.

"Ah Brad! You caught us off guard."

"Ah no worries, just listen up. Your gonna have off weeks and all that. Remember 2011? I snuck into the Chase by the the paint on my bumper. One year later, I beat out Jimmie in his own playing field for the cup. You'll have your moments, and know this. Everything bad that has happened has not been of your own doing. Just bad luck."

"Heh, thanks"

"Don't mention it, now you have a lap to run."

"Yes of course."

Once out of her trance, Rarity placed the helmet around her head and horn properly and got suited up into her #2. This week her sponsor was Discount Tire, a sponsor that had followed Bad Brad since his days in the Xfinity series, then the Nationwide series. The practice sessions had been a good sign, she had speed for sure. But she needed to find it.

Her out lap was smooth as ever, giving her a good run out of then four on the intermediate oval. The flat front stretch allowed for a fast entrance into turn 1. Rarity getting on the brakes at a good time, keeping her momentum without getting right in turn 2. She was on pace with the pole sitters on the backstretch. Her turn three entrance was near perfect, but she barely let out of the gas feeling the car get wobbly underneath her on exit. Something she would need to work out during the race. Either way, a competitive lap. She placed fifth with a 28.854, beating Applejack's lap by a fraction of a second and only barely slotted behind Dash's #18. So long as she had a clean race Atlanta was shaping up to be a solid run for her.

#19 Spitfire 28.843
#48 Twilight Sparkle 28.845
#11 Lightning Dust 28.849
#18 Rainbow Dash 28.852
#2 Rarity 28.854
#22 Applejack 28.859
#9 Pinkie Pie 28.862
#24 Viral Velocity 28.870
#95 Danger Dean 28.873
#6 Scootaloo 28.877
#40 Akula 28.884
#42 Sunset Shimmer 28.887
#88 Starlight Glimmer 28.895
#4 Vinyl Scratch 28.897
#12 Sweetie Belle 28.904
#21 Apple Bloom 28.915
#1 Trixie Lulamoon 28.924
#20 Fluttershy 28.930
#14 Lyra Heartstrings 28.945
#3 Oscura Galaxia 28.947
#8 Bloothy 28.956
#47 Sky Stinger 28.961
#10 Octavia Melody 28.967
#41 Derpy Hooves 28.975
#37 Vapor Trail 28.985

Friday Afternoon

"Welcome back the NASCAR's Equestrian Cup, presented by Dollar General. Good evening folks I am Rick Allen and joining me today as always retired NASCAR drivers Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. I don't know about you Jeff but Dale and I are excited to be here for our first race with this new series."

"Well Rick, I am excited. Just watching these drivers over the last few weeks has made me excited. Atlanta has a rich history and is known for great last lap pass finishes."

"Sure is Jeff, I have a couple ponies I'm looking out for during this race and I'm sure we will have some great racing tonight. " Jr. added to Jeff's point.

"We'll be getting the call to fire engines shortly, for the running of the Pedigree 300."

"All set Miss Rarity?"

"Yes dear, all good to go."

"Alright, let's try to have a good day. There is a lot of fast cars out there today but we know we can compete."

"Little cloud cover today, but nothing that will warrant rain. Good luck today, let's try to bring home a good finish."

"Driver's...Start, your engines!"

The engine of the #2 Penske Ford sprung into action. It was Spitfire and Twilight who pulled away first, followed by Dash and Dust. Then, Rarity and Applejack pulled away on the third row as the field joined together onto the track. As they did so, Rick, Jeff, and Dale took turns announcing the lineup starting with Rick.

"Today looking at our starting grid, Spitfire in the #19 Auto Owner's Insurance Toyota and Twilight Sparkle to her outside in the Liberty University sponsored #48. Row Two, Lightning Dust in the Sport Clips #11 and Daytona winner Rainbow Dash in the #18 with the classic M&M's sponsor. Row three Penske teammates Rarity and Applejack in the Discount Tire and Autotrader Ford's respectively."

"Row four has Pinkie Pie in the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet and Viral Velocity, winner two weeks ago in Auto Club, in a red and blue Hertz Hendrick Chevy. Row five has Danger Dean who had a solid finish at Phoenix starting from 9th today and Sweetie Belle in the Pennzoil/Menard's Ford alongside him. Row Six, Akula. Had last week won up until a late race crash and to his outside is his Ganasii teammate Sunset Shimmer in the Advent Health #42.

"Row seven, Starlight Glimmer and last weeks winner Vinyl Scratch. Row eight a couple of good friends, Scootaloo who won in Vegas and Apple Bloom. Row nine Trixie Lulamoon in the Gear Wrench Chevrolet and Fluttershy in the Irwin Toyota."

"Finishing up here, Row ten Lyra Heartstrings who posted a strong finish at Auto Club and Blitz. Bloothy and and Sky Stinger in row eleven. Stewart-Hass Racing's Octavia and Derpy in row twelve. and Vapor Trail will receive the tail position on row thirteen. Late breaking stories coming up. Let's start with Jamie."

"Thanks guys, let's start with both cars on the front row, the #19 and #48. Both Spitfire and Twilight are going to be pitting right here with me in the first two boxes. Twilight has had 3 top ten finishes in the last four races, but today looks like one of her best shots so far this season Regan. Fast car, on the front row. We'll see how it turns out today for the pony under the seven time champion."

"Thanks Jamie, I'm over here at the very end of pit lane at the #18 team. It's been quite a long hangover since the win in Daytona, with three crashes in the last three tracks of varying severity. Even though Dash's spot is already locked in if she has any hope on making far she'll need some good finishes. Her team has been working with her on managing her aggressiveness, similar to that of her mentor and defending champion Kyle Busch. Steve?"

"Regan it's a tense atmosphere here in the #40 box, as most of the team has not forgotten about the incident at ISM. Most certainly Akula's mentor Kurt Busch who has been coaching his driver from the box during the last few races and giving him tips. Starlight Glimmer is starting one row behind the #40, and following the crash NASCAR has warned both teams about any further incidents involving the drivers. Matt?"

"Steve I'm over here with the #24 team, who have also been quite vocal about the incident last week especially their driver Viral Velocity. I got a chance to talk to her before she got in the car and she hopes that the two can settle their difference. Starlight being a Hendrick teammate and Akula a friend going back some time. She will be starting 8th today, back to you Rick."

"Thanks Matt, cloudy day today but no rain posted on the radar, we are coming to green in just a couple laps. It's our first 300 mile race going for 195 laps. Two 55 lap stages followed by a 85 lap third stage. Fuel window is just above the cut at 58-62 laps but look at that tire window. 30-40 laps. Could we see some drivers come in for tires early to try to get ahead on the next stage Jeff?"

"It's possible Rick, and we saw it in effect at California where the #24 took tires early to gain track position later and win. We could very well see some others try to do a similar strategy. We should also look out for a lot of tire problems for those who choose to stay out. We've seen how bad some of these hits to the outside wall can get, pole-sitter Spitfire took a nasty hit in Vegas. It's gonna be a lot about managing those tires through the race."

"Pace car coming in this time by, coming to the green!"

As the field was coming to the green, Rarity had been a little nervous. It was only last week she took a nasty hit twice over in Pheonix. But, with Applejack to her outside the field was given the green flag.

"Ready...green flag. Green flag."

The start was a bit of a shock, unlike Most Atlanta starts where the inside line had a certain advantage both of the cars in the outside line got great jumps on those beside them. Seeing the jump their lane had got Dash gave Twilight a soft bump forward which allowed the Chevy to clear the #19 in turn one as Dash got alongside her teammate. Lightning also got a good jump, and dived low the first chance she got. This left the three Toyota's three wide as Spitfire gave Lightning room, which in turn side drafted Dash killing her momentum. Further back, Akula also got a good start and immediately pulled alongside Dean to get a head start on Starlight. Dean gave him room, and Scootaloo was also forced up.

As the field circled around for the lap, Twilight continued to pull away unimpeded as the three JGR cars fought to take chase of the #48. It would be Lightning who would clear them first in turn four. Then on lap two Spitfire was able to succesfully defend third from Dash. After all she did to get Twilight up front, she had gained no positions in the end.

Lap 4

Rarity had managed to hold her 5th place on the start and was trailing Dash as the field began to spread out. She was running the bottom, while Rainbow was running a middle lane experiment to see how it would work out. This made Dash a tad slower, and on lap 4 Rarity had finally caught up to her. She caught the draft down the backstretch and dipped low, Dash being conservative and giving her the lane. They went into the corner two wide, but Rarity had been feeling how loose the car had been during qualifying. Now, with the effects of a car alongside her it was amplified.

The initial bobble caught her by surprise, and as she attempted to correct it the car bottomed out on the apron. It was sent back onto the bank, and she cranked the wheel hard to avoid hitting the wall straight. Her momentum sent her into a slide, but with correct oversteer she was able to collect the car. She lost all of her momentum, and gave up her spot to the #22 in the process as Pinkie and Viral began to close.

"On your outside, outside...easy, easy. Come on come on! Good save, good save. #22 is clear, #9 is two back, closing."

"loose, very loose. I felt it in qualifying, but it's too much."

"Copy, pit early. keep the tires best you can and we'll give you some trackbar."

Lap 12

Rarity had recovered from the initial issue quite well, and had actually gained some ground on Pinkie who had been having the opposite problem she was having. Further back was the continuing battle for tenth, and by proxy for Rainbow Dash's attention, between Scootaloo and Dean. Neither having let up since the start and trading the spot between each other. Coming off turn four Dean had the advantage, but Scootaloo jumped inside as they crossed the line. She attempted to stick it in, but did not get on the brakes as much as was needed. She drove up into the #95 and they both began to go around. Dean was able to control this slide and drove the entire corner sideways before straightening it out as he exited the corner. Scootaloo was not so lucky, while managing to keep out of the wall she was not able to straighten out her car and spun into traffic. Most cars got by easily, but the #31 had to change lanes last second and ended up going around her missing the #6 by a close margin. Once she managed to lock the brakes she righted her #6 and continued on, her spin bringing out the first caution.

After she caught up to the field, the announcers got a couple replays. The one that got the most attention was an onboard replay with the #31.

"#3 outside, clear up 1 back. Got a couple spinning up top, stay down, down...watch it! Woah...good one. Caution's out"

"A very close call for the bat pony. Last second decision but it worked out." Jeff Burton commented on the car he retired with in 2013.

As many suspected might happen, pretty much every team came in to change tires and top off to make sure they lasted until the end of the stage. Rarity pulled into her box, and following tires, fuel, and adjusting the trackbar to tighten up her car she was away, falling a spot to the #9. The #48's crew was swift in their work and kept Twilight out front while the Toyota's shifted their positions with Rainbow inheriting 2nd followed by Spitfire then Lightning. Further back, some pit crews did great times, most notably the #88 team who brought Starlight up three spots to break into the top ten after falling back on the start.

Twilight Sparkle
Rainbow Dash +2
Spitfire
Lightning Dust -2
Applejack
Pinkie Pie +1
Rarity -1
Viral Velocity
Akula +2
10 Starlight Glimmer +3

After some caution laps green flag racing was resumed. This time Twilight got the jump on the inside line, but Rainbow held her ground until turn 2 where she fell in line behind the #48 as the field began to once again spread out.

Lap 51

The green flag racing had been going long after the initial caution in lap 12, but Rarity's #2 had become better as the race progressed. She got around Pinkie only a few laps into the run and eventually Applejack let her by after she ran down the #22. She was back in the top five.

Meanwhile, Pinkie was beginning to drop fast, first giving up a spot to the #24 and continuing to lose pace. On the back stretch she pulled down into the apron as the cameras picked up where she was. Jeff Burton was the first to notice her problem, a right front tire that was beginning to fall apart from a long green flag run and a car that was too tight. However, either by her team letting her know or just straight up sense she was able to make it to the pits before the tire shredded or she spun. This allowed the race to continue green, but put her a lap down.

As the laps ticked down, Dash would not let Twilight out of her sights. But the #48 simply managed to pace just quickly enough to stay ahead of the #18 and the other Toyota's as stage one came to a close.

Stage 1 Results

1 #48 Twilight Sparkle +10 Points (+1 Playoff Point)

18 Rainbow Dash +9 Points
19 Spitfire +8 Points
11 Lightning Dust +7 Points
2 Rarity +6 Points
22 Applejack +5 Points
24 Viral Velocity +4 Points
40 Akula +3 Points
88 Starlight Glimmer +2 Points
95 Danger Dean +1 Point

Stage 2 soon followed as the field came in for stops once again to top off. No cars were lapped during the green flag and Pinkie was given the wave around to gain a lap back, but she would need to start from the back and make her way to the front once again.

Now happy with her car, and the field bunched up once again, Rarity began to make some moves. On the restart the inside line simply got going better as the #48 cruised to the lead and the #19 got alongside the #18 for second. Coming onto the back stretch Rarity got a big run but instead of jumping inside, she used her momentum to give the Wonderbolt Captain a shove into turn three. The move gave both cars enough speed to pass the other Toyota's with no problems.

Lap 63

Rarity could have easily passed Spitfire for a couple laps, but actually found from her times that both she and the #19 were gaining on the leader just running one behind the other. Eventually on Lap 63 Spitfire was the first to make a move on Twilight, jumping inside of her. Twilight gave her a lane, but as she passed by Rarity began to fall back enough that as Spitfire cleared the #48, Twilight had time to shut the door on the #2. Rarity would need to wait for another chance.

Lap 76

Rarity was stuck, simply unable to make a move on the #48. She would have to be content with third unless something happened.

Further back, around 7th, a three way battle was being waged by three drivers who knew each other very well. The #24, #40, and #88 were bunched up fighting for points as they entered the backstretch. Akula had the lead between them, having passed the #24 a couple laps before, but the Hendrick teammates used a good draft to catch the Ganasii Chevrolet.

Viral pulled along the outside of Akula at his corner, but Starlight attempted to use her own momentum to split the middle on both of them. Akula was only told by his spotter that he was two wide, and as he went up to side draft Viral it forced the #88 up the track. Starlight's momentum carried her into the quarter of Viral's #24 and she was turned towards the backstretch wall, but Viral was in no way helpless yet.

As her car spun, it clipped the #40. This contact was not enough to spin Akula but it was enough to move some of Viral's momentum in her favor. In a Split-Second she turned hard right away from the wall. Now she was heading away from the inside wall, but back towards the track. She turned the wheel again, and repeated a fishtail like maneuver until the car settled heading into turn three. The crowd that was watching on the big screen from the stands began to roar at such a brilliant save. It was so good, that NASCAR prematurely threw a caution as she was spinning, concerned that the Pegasus would have crashed. Even if it was for nothing, the yellow was out. Even more, as Viral caught up to her place in the field which was now 9th she was not at all happy with what had occurred.

She drove up to the door of the #88, and gave her a sturdy tap on the side to let her teammate know she wasn't happy with what had occurred before she settled back into her line. She was warned by officials, but no penalties were given to her.

The race resumed as normal, and most of the field retained their respective positions on the restart. Viral got a substantial run coming off turn two, but Starlight came down to block and cut off her momentum forcing the #24 check up. Now at a boiling point, Viral came around to the front stretch another time. Going into turn one she had another shot on the #88 This time on the outside. Once again, Starlight cut off her momentum. Without much of a choice she pushed the #88 down the backstretch, and far into the braking zone.

Starlight came around as she got on the brakes and Viral went around the outside. The #88 sliding down the embankment out of the way of every other car. Another yellow was called, and this time there was a black flag called on the #24 to put her a lap down. This didn't bother her, as her point had been made. She dropped out of line to the back of the field, complying with what she had been given. She just wanted to finish the race in one piece.

Once again, the green flag was given with no further issues.

Lap 93

The tires were beginning to wear for most of the cars on the field, and Rarity was ready for her green flag stop. She came off turn four right behind the #19 and did a near perfect entry. Her crew did their part in getting her out quickly. Soon enough more of the leaders began to come in.

As the green flag sequence continued Trixie came in to do her stop, but as it happened one of the tire changers lost a front wheel that rolled out of the box. It was recovered safely, but she was given a pass through. A more costly mistake happened to the #41 team as they had problems getting their lug nuts on the left side tires and lost a lap due to how far back Derpy already was.

Lap 110

Rarity's stop had been quick enough to gain her second during the cycles. Now, she was only behind Twilight again. Stage two came to an end, but for the first time she would be restarting on the front row for the final stage.

Stage 2 Results

48 Twilight Sparkle +10 Points (+1 Playoff Point)
2 Rarity +9 Points
18 Rainbow Dash +8 Points
19 Spitfire +7 Points
11 Lightning Dust +6 Points
22 Applejack +5 Points
40 Akula +4 Points
95 Danger Dean +3 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer +2 Points
12 Sweetie Belle +1 Point

The final stage was lined up, Viral given her lap back as she was the first of the lapped cars on the grid. Rarity on the outside of Twilight, who had so far dominated the race by winning both stages and leading the most laps. Behind them, Rainbow who had given Twilight her initial lead at the start, and Spitfire, the only car other than Twilight to lead thanks to working with the #2. As the green flag fell for the final time the two lead cars were pushed along by their respective Toyota's behind them.

It took a couple laps, but eventually Twilight was able to clear the #2 and take the lead. Rarity began to defend from Dash. In turn four Dash did get by her, but Rarity pulled a crossover on the front stretch and held her line. Unlike before, her car had much better handling and she was able to hold the bottom and get her spot back. She began to pull away, now it was a matter of catching up.

Lap 156

Rarity had at least kept pace with the car ahead, and at the same time had extended the gap on the Toyota's behind her. Now it was time for the final stop. Twilight had come in the lap before, but had made an air pressure adjustment to help with her car getting loose on long runs. Rarity did not need an adjustment, so if the stop was perfect they could gain some time on the leader. She came in one last time. Despite the lingering memory of the dropped jack, the stop went off without a hitch and she rejoined the track. As she got on the backstretch the #48 came around just as she crossed over the line to rejoin. it was now a matter of keeping up with Twilight and waiting for the right moment.

Lap 162

As Rarity continued to catch up, the broadcast caught up with #48 team, as well as Jamie who had been hanging close to their pit stall throughout the race.

"...and Rick out of all the teams so far without a win this one has been very consistent..."

Daytona 6th
Las Vegas 2nd
Auto Club 4th
ISM 16th

1st in Points

"...and despite not having a win yet, she carries the points lead with 3 top ten and 2 top five finishes."

"Thanks Jamie, but don't start the celebration yet cause here comes the #2."

Lap 179

Rarity's moment came more than 20 laps after pit cycles. Twilight's adjustment had done what she needed, but by the time Rarity had caught up it was too late for her to stretch the gap. With no other cars around other than some light lap traffic Rarity finally caught up to her going into three. She once again looked low, finding all night that it was her best shot at passing Twilight. Twilight did not let up on the outside and they were two wide coming off four. They both went to side draft at the same time.

Shades of Jimmie and Brad in 2012, they collided on the front stretch and bounced off each other as they crossed the line. Both drivers kept going straight, and continued to fight in turn three as Rick, Jeff, and Dale watched them battle on.

"Side by side, they touch as they cross the line!"

"If that was the finish right there it would have been to close to call Rick."

"Now, still side by side going into one. Rarity in the #2 on the inside, the #48 up high."

"Look at these two go at it! Close friends fighting for everything on the line tonight!"

"Neither of them have one a race so far this season, and they don't want to wait for another shot to fight in the playoffs."

Neither pony wanted to let the other by, but with her preferred lane and Twilight being stuck out of the grove Rarity was able to complete the pass on turn 2. It was the first time all season she had the lead. She came back around to lead the lap now with only about fifteen laps to go. It was now about holding off Twilight.

Twilight made her first move on lap 183, getting a good run off turn 2. This time it was Rarity that had to give way. Once again they were side by side, but the #48 had a loose exit and dropped behind the #2 once again. Then on lap 186, Twilight went for a similar trick, but faked high thinking Rarity would block. When she didn't, Twilight checked up and lost the momentum she had. What they were not aware of was Rainbow Dash closing on them quickly, about 2 seconds back.

On lap 190, Twilight gave it one more try. This time she went for the move to the outside on the front stretch and did get alongside the #2, but Rarity still had the preferred line and with how much wear was on the tires Twilight could not hold the outside line and fell back. This time there was no catching up. She now had to be worried about defending her own spot from a group of hard charging Toyota's.

5 laps to go, and Rarity extended her gap on the cars behind her. It was now almost certain. She began to settle into a rhythm and made sure to not make any costly mistakes. about a second and a half behind was Twilight now with a mirror full of rainbow candy, and Lightning hot on both of their trails.

4 laps to go, further back Pinkie and Viral had climbed back from being a lap down and were now fighting for the tenth spot. Viral pulled the last move on her teammate to secure the stat as Rarity continued to pull away.

3 laps to go. Lightning went to the outside of Rainbow for third, but Rainbow made a block. It defended third for herself, but it allowed Twilight to pull away. Not that it mattered, she wouldn't catch the #2.

2 laps to go, and Rarity could all but feel it. Bad Brad was up in the box with her crew chief watching as the laps counted down. She came around three and four, the cars behind her too far away to make a difference.

"...One lap to go, and four more corners away from her first win of the season. Big gap back to the #48 as she enters turn one. Brad Keselowski, the 2012 champion watching from the box, you see him there on the side of your screen as Rarity comes down the back stretch. Through three and four... win number one of the season for Rarity! The fifth different winner this season and the first of the season for Roger Penske and his team."

"Yes, fabulous driving there Rarity. You really showed 'em what we do here."

"Fabulous? Oh dear, you flatter me."

Rarity completed a cool down lap, receiving a nod from both the #22 and #12 on the backstretch as they made their way back around. She spun the car around on the front stretch before collecting the flag, a ritual done by Brad as well, and performing her burnout driver side facing the crowd.

It wasn't long before she arrived in victory lane, where Matt Yocum was waiting as she climbed free of the car and took off her helmet.

"That was a great piece of driving Rarity, and congrats on the first win of the season. Can I get your thoughts?"

"Matt, your such a gentleman. The team worked really hard today to get me out front. Brad has been great to work with, and I'm just glad every one's hard work today payed off. Twilight and I had a good race, but we came through in the end."

"Yes, very good work today. I'll let you celebrate."

"Yes, thanks Matt."

"Jamie?"

"Thanks Matt, Twilight so close today. another great race I'd say."

"Yeah, I'm happy with how it turned out in the end. We had the car to beat today and well, Rarity beat it. She's a good pony, I tried racing her clean as possible. I know we got into it a little back there but no hard feelings. Rubbing is racing."

"You have been putting up good finishes, hoping it all comes together for a win?"

"Well, the win is the first step towards the playoffs. Helps that Jimmie is finding ways to make me better every week. Got to thank Liberty University for hopping on board today, been an honor having them on the car. We were this close to getting it done today, but we'll be back next week."

"Thanks for your time Twilight."

"No problem."

"Steve?"

"Here with the driver of the #24, Viral can we got your thoughts on the race?"

"I'll get it out of the way, yes I'm gonna be the first to admit I was in the wrong. I let myself get out of control. The team deserves better than that, but they also deserve a better driver than what Starlight is becoming. She's...."

Viral was awkwardly cut off by Akula jumping her from behind in an embrace. Likely coming from their now shared resentment of the unicorn driving the #88.

"Well, I'll leave you two to your own devices."

"Yeah....thanks Steve." Viral acknowledged, as she turned her attention to the changeling that had come from nowhere.

"Alright Rick, I'll let you take it from here."

"Alright thanks Steve, thanks for joining us tonight here from Atlanta Motor Speedway. Take care everyone and from Dale Jr. and Jeff Burton I am Rick Allen. Have a good night."

Finishing Positions:

2 Rarity 40 Points (+5 Playoff Points)
48 Twilight Sparkle 35 Points
18 Rainbow Dash 34 Points
11 Lightning Dust 33 Points
19 Spitfire 32 Points
40 Akula 31 Points
22 Applejack 30 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 29 Points
95 Danger Dean 28 Points
24 Viral Velocity 27 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 26 Points
20 Fluttershy 25 Points
12 Sweetie Belle 24 Points
88 Starlight Glimmer 23 Points
6 Scootaloo 22 Points
14 Lyra Heartstrings 21 Points
3 Oscura Galaxia 20 Points
10 Octavia Melody 19 Points
8 Bloothy 18 Points
21 Apple Bloom 17 Points
4 Vinyl Scratch 16 Points
37 Vapor Trail 15 Points (1 Lap Down)
1 Trixie Lulamoon 14 Points (1 Lap Down)
47 Sky Stinger 13 Points (1 Lap Down)

25 #41 Derpy Hooves 12 Points (2 Laps Down)

Standings:

Rainbow Dash 190 Points (6 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Rarity 174 Points (5 Playoff Points- 1 Win)
Viral Velocity 168 Points (5 Playoff Points- 1 Win)
Scootaloo 154 Points (5 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Vinyl Scratch 135 Points (5 Playoff Points- 1 Win)
Twilight Sparkle 218 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Akula 196 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Lightning Dust 166 Points
Applejack 165 Points (1 Playoff point)
Spitfire 160 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Pinkie Pie 160 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Sunset Shimmer 160 Points
Fluttershy 159 Points

14.Danger Dean 155 Points

15.Sweetie Belle 139 Points

16.Lyra Heartstrings 128 Points

Starlight Glimmer 127 Points
Octavia Melody 125 Points
Apple Bloom 117 Points
Bloothy 108 Points
Oscura Galaxia 107 Points
Trixie Lulamoon 104 Points
Vapor Trail 97 Points
Derpy Hooves 90 Points
Sky Stinger 81 Points

Best of Radioactive: Atlanta

9 Pinkie Pie

Pre-Race

" Okie-Dokie, are we ready?!"

"Affirmative. Eddie (D'Hondt) how's it going?"

"Should be easy day, let's just try to steer clear of the Toyota's."

18 Rainbow Dash

Pre-Race

"Great car, like always. Try and keep it clean today, we got a lot of good company up front."

"Teammates they may be, but it's not gonna be any easy."

95 Danger Dean

Pre-Race

"We had a good effort last week, let's keep it going strong Dean."

"It's what I do, you know that (Stevie) Reeves. Just get me through and I'll take care of the rest."

"Yes sir."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 1

"Green green. #18 coming to you , gonna give you a shove. Clear down low, your clear."

"Well, for once Rainbow actually helped me."

"Your clear two lengths back, three wide behind you."

6 Scootaloo

Lap 1

"Green flag... top of three."

"Woah, that was quick. I'll give 'em room this time but I'm not letting them go any easier."

22 Applejack

Lap 4

"Clear 2 back, two wide behind you. Right in front, stay low. Clear, still green. Green, keep digging."

"Woah there, Rarity. Ease up a little."

"She's gonna be pitting early with the team. Come in next yellow."

95 Danger Dean

Lap 12

"#6 looking, on your quarter, door. Still inside. Ugh, hold onto it. Come on, come on...alright buddy nice save. Caution's out for the #6."

"Yeah, that was a damn good ride. I think I flat spotted the tires."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 15 (Restart)

"Coming to the green. Green flag, dig, dig, dig. #48 is still on your door...still there."

"Come on...."

"...clear, one back to the #19. Come on, hold on and go get her."

"Ngh, this damn car is (Expletive)."

14 Lyra Heartstings

Lap 24

"I can feel a vibration in the left rear. It's getting real jumpy off 2 and 4."

1 Trixie Lulamoon

Lap 27

"The damn thing gets tighter and tighter the longer these laps go on. (Expletive) sake I'm using more brake than throttle on the exit."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 43

"Gap on the #9 is four seconds now."

"Something has got to be wrong. She's been running strong with me all day."

9 Pinkie Pie

Lap 51

"Coming in this time. I can sense it, it's coming apart behind me."

"Can confirm, left rear is low. Take four this time, we're gonna be a lap down."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 55 (Stage Finish)

"That's Stage 1, back it down Stage One is over."

"Second one of the season Chad (Knaus). You're getting me some good results."

"Not just me Twilight, You got to be able to drive to keep the lead. We're all doing our part."

19 Spitfire

Lap 63

"For the first time this race it's Spitfire who will take the lead."

"We got a new leader, #19 car."

"Nice to see something go my way for once."

40 Akula

Lap 76

"#24 coming with a run, outside. #88 half back outside. Still outside. #24 around behind you....she kept that car straight I can't (Expletive) believe it."

"I can, she's a damn good (Expletive) driver. Didn't you say we were two wide?"

"#88 poked her nose in between you both and caught the #24. She tapped your corner but nothing's damaged."

"Alright, but how can she be that dumb? There was no way that move would have worked."

88 Starlight Glimmer

Lap 76 (Under Caution)

"#24 is coming back around, I think she wants a word with you."

"Let her talk, she already has a win. She doesn't need points to get into the playoffs."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 80 (Under Caution)

"Put the #24 a lap down, and move them to the rear of the field for the restart."

"Drop to the back, there gonna put us a lap back for that."

"(Expletive), I deserve that. I let my anger get the better of me over a teammate. Sorry, won't happen again."

"Just calm down Viral, she's still in the race and you have time to make it up."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 110

"Two for two on stages, great work so far."

"I have to say it, you guys are working with precision and efficiency that I'm jealous of. Let's bring this one home"

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 183

"Your closing in, two seconds back. Run them down."

"Not a problem."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 192

"Oh come the (Expletive) on Dash. This isn't F1, podiums don't (Expletive) matter anymore! You got your damn win already!"

12 Sweetie Belle

Lap 195 (Finish)

"P13, car is in one piece. Good effort today, #2 got the win. Roger (Penske) is happy with the day."

"Alright, good effort today. I'm gonna go celebrate with my sis!"

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 195 (Finish)

"P10, top ten effort."

"Could have been so much better."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. We got Homestead next week."

"We're gonna have our work cut our for us then."

Race 6: Homestead-Miami

Miami, Florida
Wednesday Afternoon

It was supposed to be qualifying for the Homestead race that week, but instead of getting ready on track for what she was hopeful to be her best performance so far...instead Vapor Trail along with her teammate/coltfriend Sky Stinger were in a hotel room in the Miami area holding up as a storm raged outside.

There was not anything they could do about it, and they had gotten word that since qualifying would be cancelled. The race, when it was to occur, would have a start grid determined by current point standings. For the two JTG Daughtery drivers, they would be forced to start at the very back of the field.

It was in spite of some actually good news a few days before. With JTG Daughtery being a lower funded team compared to the likes of JGR, Hendrick, and Penske they had been struggling to make due with the resources they had for both their Monster Energy Cup and Equestrian Cup teams. Eventually, the team struck a partnership with Ganassi who in turn was sharing their engines with the team to make them more competitive in the series. This would only take effect in the Equestrian Cup while the teams Monster Energy cars still used in house equipment. It was similar to other agreements that Penske had with Roush and Hendrick with RCR. This made the teams more evenly competitive with a low field count compared to the Monster Energy Cup.

The ponies had been eager to test their new cars, but the storms had delayed this. There was hope, race day as scheduled was forecasted as clear but the race had a limited window as a storm was likely to arrive in the races' closing laps.

The shower in the shared restroom turned off as Viral stepped out into the room with her Aunt and Uncle.

It just so happened that at the same time, Lightning Dust, Sky's sister and Viral's mother stepped through the door to the room from the hall.

"I see you made it." Viral acknowledged.

"Yeah, only because I don't really have anything I can do related to the race." Lightning retorted, making her way to the nearest chair. "I heard about your luck with Ganassi. Good for you, shame it wasn't a JGR engine but hey we can't all be winners."

"Excuse me, who is the driver with a win so far this season?" Viral added in, giving her mother a cheeky smile.

Lightning in turn returned the smile, the once bitter rivals that were mother and daughter may have been competitive. But they managed to make good fun out of it.

"You know what, I'll give you that. This isn't like before though sweetie. I've got a winning car this week."

"If you actually win, I'll let you drive my R8 to Texas."

"Big mistake."

Vapor could only chuckle at the antics of her relatives, though she was thankful they weren't at each others throats.

Starting Positions

48 Twilight Sparkle
42 Sunset Shimmer
18 Rainbow Dash
20 Fluttershy
40 Akula
11 Lightning Dust
2 Rarity
19 Spitfire
9 Pinkie Pie
24 Viral Velocity
22 Applejack
95 Danger Dean
21 Apple Bloom
1 Trixie Lulamoon
12 Sweetie Belle
8 Bloothy
88 Starlight Glimmer
10 Octavia Melody
6 Scootaloo
14 Lyra Heartstrings
3 Oscura Galaxia
4 Vinyl Scratch
37 Vapor Trail
41 Derpy Hooves
47 Sky Stinger

Reese's Take 5 200
Homestead Miami Speedway
Friday Morning

"NASCAR, live from sunny Southern Florida for the running of the Reese's Take 5 200. NASCAR's annual trip to Daytona Beach's southern neighbor has always been in late fall, and for the last 19 years has been the race that decides the championship. This year we come to Homestead early, Mike Joy here along with Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon, we are in Miami in March this year instead of November."

"That's right Mike, but as usual it's been raining all week. A lot of drivers have not been able to get much track time, there was a limited practice session that was cut short but it looks like we are good to go."

"A mostly clear sky for now Jeff, but keep an eye on the skies today there may be some storms on the horizon. Not only the weather a factor but the heat as well. These cars are going to start handling very differently as the day progresses on. Jeff take us around this track."

"Thanks Mike, I like this track but one thing to watch out for is that this track has progressive banking. Eighteen degrees on the bottom, twenty up top. You can run very fast on the bottom, but as the grip starts to go away you might see a lot of drivers come towards the top, and a lot of them probably will."

Vapor Trail got comfortable in her car. It was going to be rough ride, but she was hopeful that the new engines in her #37 Chevy would give her car just enough to get a decent finish. She was starting on the final double file line with Sky right behind her in last on the inside. The Grand marshal gave the call to fire engines, and as she did so she waited as the field began to pull away. She eventually followed, she would be starting 23rd.

Mike and jeff ran through the grid as the field got warmed up.

"Alright, taking a look at the starting grid. The drivers in points standings 1st through 11th picked out for spots in that area of the field. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer getting the front two spots. drivers between 12th and 22nd did the same and the three remaining cars at the back start from their spots in the standings. Late breaking race stories starting with Jamie."

"Thanks Mike, and a great starting position for the #20 team this week. Fluttershy is growing into the spot on the team quite well with some encouragement from Erik and company. History is also playing on their side today, Out of all active cup drivers, Toyota's have accounted for half of the race wins here at Homestead all of them by JGR run cars. Steve?"

"Jamie, the rain put a hold on a lot of drivers testing out some new ideas but none as much as the #40 team. They are trying a new setup that will be taking advantage of the higher downforce package being used as Mile and a half tracks like the one here at Homestead, but they didn't get an adequate amount of practice for Akula with the new setup. He'll be starting fifth, looking to make use of his F1 experience."

"Steve you heard what Jamie said, A total of five wins for Joe Gibbs at this track. One car has two of those wins, and that's the #18 driven by Rainbow Dash today. Kyle Busch in fact won in this car last year when he won his second championship. All eyes are on her today looking to repeat the defending champions success. Matt?"

"Well if there is one driver who may have long term history on their side it's the #11. Denny Hamlin like his teammate also has 2 wins at Homestead and looks to take his third in his so far incredible opening to the 2020 season. Lightning Dust is feeling good about her car this week, she'll be starting sixth at the drop of the flag Mike."

"Thanks Matt, Jeff I'm sure you're looking forward to this. Let's have a chat with the driver of the #24 today."

"Morning V, It's Jeff and Mike up in the broadcast booth. How you doing?"

"...Jeff, sorry you caught me listening to music. I'm here."

"Good hearing you again. Different time of year for Homestead isn't it?"

"Yeah, feels different being here so early in the year. A bit warmer, pretty early in the day too but we got to make time for the drivers tomorrow."

"Looking forward to the racing today?"

"It's not quite like it used to be here without the championship atmosphere, but it feels good to be back especially driving one of your cars again."

"Alright, you look great with the #24 car. Keep up the good work V."

"Always a pleasure Jeff."

"Viral starting tenth today, already locking up a spot in the playoffs at California. five of the six cars starting up front have yet to win this season, the only one who has is Dash starting 3rd. We'll be coming to the green next time by.

Vapor readied herself for the start. The good thing about starting near the rear of the field is there was no cars behind to worry about slamming into her if she didn't get a good start. She also had the most time to react if something where to happen up front.

Her spotter gave her the go ahead as the green flag was dropped. Up ahead, Dash's launch was well timed and it catapulted her to the inside of the two Chevy's up front, ultimately clearing the front row as the field made their way into turn one. Vapor as such moved low to try to get as good a run out of the first two turns as possible. It was a good move, and she found herself on the bottom of three wide with the #3 and #4.

"Bottom of three, three wide..."

That's when the field suddenly began to scatter up front as around mid pack a collision occurred that seemed to travel up the field. Lucky for Vapor the contact happened near the top of the track. Further up, the #1 and #95 came shooting down the track kicking up tire smoke. She got off the gas as the #1 came barreling off the track into the inside wall. The #95 was turned back, and as Vapor went to come through the bottom Dean had corrected his spin and had begun to lock the tires to avoid coming back into traffic. Vapor had only a moment to react, but she did so quickly enough to pull the car to the right and avoid the Toyota that was slowly coming back around.

As she continued on, she passed by two more damaged cars. The #4 came out around the same place she did, but had made severe contact with another car and had torn the right front fender off. The #12 also pulled away with a severe tire rub on the right side. Eventually the #95 also pulled away sporting a few flat tires but no visible damage along with a couple cars that checked up heavily in the incident. When it was all said and done there were two cars of note that did not pull away. The #1 and #21, Trixie's car settling down near the inside wall where it had come around and smacked it with the right front and Apple Bloom having nosed into the outside wall and been hit in the rear end by the #4 off the rebound.

Vapor came out of the crash completely unscathed, and after catching up with the field found herself behind the #22, in 12th. Her miraculous dodge had allowed her to climb up 11 positions.

The broadcast team was just getting warmed up as the crash happened.

"...and like a rocket, she's gonna take the lead. Sunset will pick up second, Twilight drops to third..."

"Trouble already Mike!"

"Three cars around..."

The broadcast camera ended up following the #1 as it slammed hard into the wall.

"...heading for...ooh a hard hit for the #1 that is Trixie. A couple more cars near the outside wall."

"#21, lot of heavy damage on that car. #95 pulling away."

"Dean, looks like the #4 as well that's Vinyl Scratch our winner at Phoenix couple races ago. Oh significant damage for the #12 as well.... Jeff let's take a look at this one first, from our Direct Tv Blimp."

As Mike said it, the first replay was brought up. An overhead view following the mid pack cars. It was Jeff who pointed out the contact between the #1 and #12.

"Ooh, right there."

"Yeah, and that's just a racing mistake Belle is trying to get side draft of the #1... at the same time she s moves over to get some off the #21. No spotter at fault just bad timing on both of their parts."

"And of course when those two make contact, with these cars so close together on these starts sometimes a wreck can happen behind you and cars getting turned around will carry their way up the field and take cars that weren't involved. On board with the #22 looking back."

"Outside you, clear half back to the #95. Spinning, wrecking behind you
All clear, cautions out."

Next was a shot at the field coming down headlong into the camera, as the field and wreck passed by Jeff and Mike got a good look at Vapor's split second move.

"Woah, the #37...sneaks her way through there. Almost makes me think Preece is driving that car cause you won't believe how Vapor shot the gap and got through there."

Finally was a close up of the head on hit on the #1, a serious blow that lifted the rear tires momentarily as the car pounded the SAFER barrier head on.

After cleanup and a field reset it was now the #18 who would lead the field to the restart. Dash would easily pull away with another great launch and the field managed to go without another wreck.

Lap 30

Vapor held her own quite well, only losing one spot to the #8 late into the first stage. At the front, Dash had easily spread her gap on the field with a fast car, but as would be expected it was the #20 and #11 who would be the ones to keep pace with their teammate. On the last lap of the stage Dust made a last ditch attempt on Fluttershy and managed to sneak second spot away from the timid pegasus to gain an extra point as well as the front row for stage two.

Stage 1 Results

18 Rainbow Dash 10 Points (+1 Playoff Point)
11 Lightning Dust 9 Points
20 Fluttershy 8 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 7 Points
40 Akula 6 Points
19 Spitfire 5 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 4 Points
2 Rarity 3 Points
48 Twilight Sparkle 2 Points
24 Viral Velocity 1 Point

The restart for stage two was uneventful for Vapor as there was little to watch out for. Her launch was on par and she managed to hold onto her 13th place spot as the race continued.

However, as the race for the lead went on ahead between the #18 and #11 trouble began to arise. They battled back and forth, trading the lead as the Toyota's nosed ahead of each other. Lightning Dust running high in the traction compound as Rainbow Dash held the inside line in her Fudge M&M's #18.

This battle continued on for several laos, all the way up to lap 38. In turn 3, Lightning once again went up high. She drove it in a little harder than Dash has anticipated, and got very close to the #18's quarter. As the #11 Gatorade machine went close around the outside the car beneath wiggled before snapping around, the momentum carrying the car up the track as the rear end crumpled like paper against the barrier. The #18 stayed up near the wall exiting turn four facing the wrong direction and a yellow flag was displayed. The stage one winner, was now wrecked.

Dash was understandably upset, even in her radio before she got out, but she climbed out of the car and checked to the ambulance as mandated. Not before she let her team know she wasn't happy, as any driver learning from Kyle Busch would have done.

Her car was taken away, the debris cleared. After a few caution laps, green flag racing resumed. It wasn't long before more troubles arose.

The pole sitter, Twilight Sparkle, had been notably struggling the entire race and had dropped back outside the top 15. Despite this, no one on the #48 team could figure out the problem. The problem was soon found. On lap 45, the #48 detonated like a smoke grenade. After a short panic attack, Twilight pulled the car onto the apron and brought the car to a stop. Her race had literally gone up in smoke.

Without really noticing, Vapor found herself restarting in 11th. Following the DNF of the #18 and the #48 dying off she had gained more ground. On the following restart she had a great launch, and pulled alongside her niece in the #24 entering turn one with the #11 blasting ahead of the pack.

The #37 and #24 raced for 9th place for the remainder of the stage, but ultimately Viral's experience prevailed and gave her the spot. Despite this, it was still Vapor's first stage point of the season

Stage 2 Results

11 Lightning Dust 10 Points (+1 Playoff Point)
42 Sunset Shimmer 9 Points
20 Fluttershy 8 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 7 Points
2 Rarity 6 Points
40 Akula 5 Points
19 Spitfire 4 Points
22 Applejack 3 Points
24 Viral Velocity 2 Points
37 Vapor Trail 1 Point

Pit stops were largely uneventful save for some back markers trading spots. Everyone in the field did full stops. They had good reason. Now that the race was past half way any rain that came over the track would cause the race to be declared. As such, they all wanted full tanks to make sure they could go as far into the final stage as the weather would permit.

"Vapor, we've got storms on the radar about an hour out. Take it easy, and try to save fuel if this green flag goes on for a long run." Her crew chief directed her, having checked the radar in the local area. There was a minor storm not too far out but even a small amount of rain was dangerous on banked oval surfaces.

She restarted tenth, so she had to endure the outside lane getting the short end of the stick as the #11 once again pulled ahead with now the #42 and #9 giving chase.

Lap 102

As her crew chief had worried, the green flag run had went on for some time. Far longer than anyone expected. Despite the rain being just about on top of them plenty of cars were running out of fuel as they all went well past what they were going for. Vapor had initially dropped back to 14th in an effort to conserve. It had done the job.

Slowly, the field began to pit ahead of her. However, she was still second. After escaping the pressure behind her, Lightning Dust was basically running 3/4 what she could have. Her fuel had lasted much further than most of the field.

As such, the two cars were 1st and 2nd despite being on opposite ends of the track.

Finally, on lap 102 the #11 pulled into the pits. The #37 team saw this as their time to pit as well and Vapor came in close behind. As she came into her stall and the car was lifted by the jack man the yellow flag was called.

The rain had begun to come down in turns one and two. Listening to the radio chatter of drivers in that section of the track and subsequent camera footage was enough evidence for control to give a yellow. However as there were no red flag conditions as of that moment the #11 and #37 teams were able to finish their stops and rejoin the field in their respective positions.

The rain was mild, nothing serious. At pace car speed there was no risk of any wrecks. Further more, this batch of rainfall lasted only a few minutes. With the help of some jet dryers the track was dried off in a reasonable amount of time.

A large majority of the field had made it around ahead of the two lead cars, getting their laps back. The #14, being the first car a lap down, was given the free pass. This put a total of 16 cars on the lead lap.

The safety car pulled away as Vapor and Lightning began to roll off. On Lightning's go the race went back to green. Vapor held her own, but simply could not keep up with the Toyota. She settled in as they went through one and two. On the backstretch the #42 gave her a huge push before Sunset jumped outside her and took second. Then on the frontstretch Pinkie caught up and got under her in turn one. Vapor soon realized she was out of her league, being passed by several faster cars as she began to drop down the order.

As the laps continued on, she soon found herself back in 11th just as the #24 went around her outside with 10 laps to go. To Her relief, there was a sizable gap to the next place car. So long as she didn't make any critical mistakes she would take home a solid finish.

Another five laps went by as the #37 cruised around the track, not too far behind the #11's rapid pace and fresh tires had rocketed Lightning Dust far ahead of any competition. It was no show, she had dominated the day leading every lap following Dash's crash. A total of 93 Laps up to that point.

Every lap she closed the gap on the #37. And with two laps to go she was close enough for Vapor's spotter to tell her she was fast approaching. Another fast approaching type of Lightning was not far away. The #11 exited three and four and cleared the #37.

Suddenly, as the #11 took the white flag a thunderstorm in the distance discharged a lightning bolt. The live broadcast feed had a camera positioned as such that it caught the bolt in the distance near turn four as the car passed through in view.

"Lightning in the distance in torn four, but Lightning Dust has taken the white flag. Four more corners for the #11." Mike announced as the storm grew ever closer. Dust was not deterred, in fact it made her more focused. She blazed through the lap with no issues to take her first win of the season, becoming the 6th different winner in 6 races.

She just happened to be right behind the #24 as she crossed the line. Viral met her stride and rode with her as they came back around. Eventually, the storm came in at full force pelting the area with some rain. The winds were calm, and undeterred by the storm Lightning decided to test the tires with a very wet burnout. While the smoke was nowhere to be seen, it didn't stop her.

She even climbed out after she was done, and as the rain drenched her and her racing suit she took a page from her Daytona incident and spread her wings wide, bowing to the crowd Kyle Busch style.

Mercifully, Matt Yocum soon came with an umbrella to interview her on the win.

"Lightning you are completely soaked right now bit you don't seem the least bit bothered. An absolutely dominant performance today."

"Yeah. Denny, Gibbs, and Toyota put a lot of effort into the car this year. That, that was the best damn car I've driven in a long time. Of course gotta thank Gatorade, it's a pleasure having them on the car. It, it's so great being in victory lane."

"That's good to hear, I'll let you get dried off. Enjoy that win."

"I will Matt, thanks."

"Mike?"

"Thanks Matt, good luck staying dry down there. For my colleague Jeff Gordon I am Mike Joy and we'll see you again soon."

Finishing Positions.

11 Lightning Dust 40 Points (+5 Playoff Points)
42 Sunset Shimmer 35 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 34 Points
20 Fluttershy 33 Points
2 Rarity 32 Points
19 Spitfire 31 Points
40 Akula 30 Points
22 Applejack 29 Points
88 Starlight Glimmer 28 Points
24 Viral Velocity 27 Points
37 Vapor Trail 26 Points (1 Lap Down)
8 Bloothy 25 Points (1 Lap Down)
95 Danger Dean 24 Points (1 Lap Down)
10 Octavia Melody 23 Points (1 Lap Down)
6 Scootaloo 22 Points (1 Lap Down)
14 Lyra Heartstrings 21 Points (1 Lap Down)
47 Sky Stinger 20 Points (1 Lap Down)
3 Oscura Galaxia 19 Points (2 Laps Down)
41 Derpy Hooves 18 Points (2 Laps Down)
12 Sweetie Belle 17 Points (4 Laps Down)
4 Vinyl Scratch. 16 Points (23 Laps Down)
48 Twilight Sparkle 15 Points. (DNF Lap 45)
18 Rainbow Dash 14 Points (DNF Lap 36)
21 Apple Bloom 13 Points (DNF Lap 1)
1 Trixie Lulamoon 12 Points (DNF Lap 1)

Standings:

Lightning Dust 225 Points (6 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Rarity 215 Points (5 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Rainbow Dash 214 Points (7 Playoff points-1 Win)
Viral Velocity 198 Points (5 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Scootaloo 176 Points (5 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Vinyl Scratch 151 Points (5 Playoff Points- 1Win)
Akula 237 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Twilight Sparkle 235 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Sunset Shimmer 211 Points
Fluttershy 208 Points
Pinkie Pie 205 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Spitfire 200 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Applejack 197 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Danger Dean 179 Points
Sweetie Belle 156 Points
Starlight Glimmer 155 Points
Lyra Heartstrings 149 Points
Octavia Melody 148 Points
Bloothy 133 Points
Apple Bloom 130 Points
Oscura Galaxia 126 Points
Vapor Trail 124 Points
Trixie Lulamoon 116 Points
Derpy Hooves 108 Points
Sky Stinger 101 Points

Best of Radioactive: Homestead-Miami

20 Fluttershy

Pre-Race

"Alright, been doing well so far. We have a chance of rain late in the race, don't be afraid to tell us if you need any changes."

"Okay, thanks. Rick (Carelli) are you doing alright?"

"Just fine and dandy up here, got my umbrella just in case."

42 Sunset Shimmer

"Front Row?"

"Affirmative, outside the #48"

"I'll be damned, (Tony) Raines? we got sunshine up there?"

"Right now yes, not sure how long that will last. Push hard, try to hold that spot."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 1

"Yellow, yellow. Wrecking behind you."

"What the (Expletive)? I got no launch, didn't miss a shift, no wheel spin. Damn thing is stiff in 3rd and 4th, and I can barely get it going"

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 1

"Yellow, back it down. That was a great start Dash. You have lane choice on the restart, take your time. It may take them a minute to clean this one up."

"Aw yeah, this one isn't even going to be a fight."

12 Sweetie Belle

Lap 1

"Outside, Three wide behind. #6 coming with a run, pick her up if you want it... Hold onto it, come on. Stay middle, clear. One coming outside. Alright guys coming to you with right front tire rub."

"Was that me? I went to pick up the #6 and she just crossed my nose. Every body alright?"

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 30

"Inside....clear. Coming to the stage, P2."

"Alright, weather?"

"All clear for miles out still, we can stay out but try to conserve if the green runs the whole way through."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 30 (Stage End)

"Stage, that's stage one. Good work. Hey Tony (Hirschman) is your seat still dry?"

"Can confirm seat is dry."

"Heh, I love working with you guys. Add that to the playoff points lads."

"Kyle is tallying them as we speak."

Lap 38

"That (Expletive) idiot!"

"Dash, calm down."

"(Expletive) calm down?! I just got wrecked by my own teammate and you expect me to calm...(pop)"

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 38

"#18 isn't happy with us right now."

"Take a look at the damn replays Chris(Gabert)! I didn't touch her. She can (Expletive) all she wants but that ain't going to un-wreck her car.

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 39 (Under Caution)

"I'm expecting those two will be exchanging some words after tonight."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 45

"Just park it Twi! Park it and get out, you're worth more than the car. Right there, the truck is coming just stop. Get out."

"She's out, I see her."

9 Pinkie Pie

Lap 60

"Twitchy tail...watery eyes. Rain on the way boys."

42 Sunset Shimmer

Lap 61

"We have confirmation of rain over the horizon."

"Copy, I'll hold out as long as I can."

2 Rarity

Lap 97

"Out, running out. Coming in this time.

"Alright, bring it in easy. Leader is half a lap back."

20 Fluttershy

Lap 100

"Okay, pit this time by. Pit this lap."

"Okay, coming in now."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 102

"Everyone but the #37 has come in, pit now while we still have time."

"Gap on the #37?"

"Half a lap."

"Good entry...3...2...1..."

"Yellow, yellow for rain in one and two. Still P1."

19 Spitfire

Lap 104 (Under Caution)

"So what are the chances this last's more than 30 minutes?"

"The fronts on it's way out right now, but we have a bigger storm coming about an hour away. It will be close but if it goes caution free we'll make it."

"And Dash?"

"She's settled down, funny enough she and Twi are chatting with Gibbs about his history as a football coach."

"Dash and sports...heh, should have known."

40 Akula

Lap 125

"#37 on the bottom, this is for position."

"She held her own so far, good for her. I like what we've done with the car by the way."

"A lot of fans don't exactly agree with the downforce package, but it certainly works for you. Ten laps this time by."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 134

"Track is still green, racing all the way back...coming to the checkard. Yes sir, that's one hell of a drive Dust."

"YES! I don't (Expletive) care if it's pouring out there in 5 minutes. Nice job everyone we earned this."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 134

"Final lap V, #11 finishing behind you so you have no pressure. P10."

"I'll let her savor this one for a bit. Neon, could you please fetch the keys to my Audi?"

Equestrian Sweethearts: Atlanta and Homestead

As the camera for his show began rolling, Jimmy was unfortunate enough to already be in the middle of a crying towel moment.

"Oh *sniff* sorry, hello everyone and welcome back. I bet your wondering why all these crying towels are here? Simple, so much to be upset about. Teammates getting mad at each other, reoccuring mistakes, and some drivers just not understanding what air loose is. Now, I know what your thinking. How can I have so many of these towels lying around? Well I'll tell you. But first, I need to introduce you to someone. Our special guest, and my 'best friend', the driver of the #1 Ganassi Chevrolet Kurt Busch."

"Jimmy...is it nice to see you?"

"Why yes it is Kurt, and hey it's nice to see you racing for Ganassi like I did when I was your age. First team you won a race with since Penske. Took you long enough."

"That's real funny, hey why am I here?"

"Because, I thought you would like to talk about things that make me upset."

"Ok...what do we have?"

"Let's start with where we left off from at Phoenix. Heading into Atlanta there was some... let's say tension between a couple drivers. Let's go to the second stage, where we see a three way battle for a top ten spot."

"Oh yeah I remember that, it was a stupid move."

"For once I agree, Starlight certainly showing off the straight jacket I gave her and nearly taking out the #24 in the process. Viral was none to happy, and on the following restart expressed her anger by spinning her teammate. But let me tell you, she wasn't the only one to get mad at a teammate. May I introduce to you, our Sweetheart at Atlanta. One Lightning Dust."

"Oh come the (Expletive) on Dash. This isn't F1, podiums don't (Expletive) matter anymore! You got your damn win already!"

"Outside, bottom of three. Clear."

"That was very nice of you to give me some room for once ma'am."

"So you're telling me I've done everything right so far this race and we end up losing two spots on a pit stop to adjust the car and you somehow made it worse?"

"Do you want us to change it back?"

"Well if you can do it without dropping me 5 spots."

"Copy."

"Mad about the car, sounds just like you Kurt."

"I've gotten better about it."

"Yes, you have. However, there is someone who hasn't. We'll get to him later. But it was a great race, down to the final laps. Homestead however was a complete steal for the aforementioned driver of the #11. Of course, not before this."

Jimmy then played a clip of Rainbow's stage 2 crash and subsequent rant with full radio playback. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey Dash, get this. You have a perfect record when it comes to being directly involved in a crash. Daytona, contact with the #2 and cutting her tire. Vegas, last lap skirmish with the #22. Your spin at California, the mess you caused at Phoenix that woukd make Kenny Wallace smile. More contact at Atlanta that almost wrecked the #2...again. *Sniff* and now this! Dash! Damnit! This was not Dust's fault, if you want to blame someone...blame yourself. Cause that's your car!"

"There there Jimmy. Hey, I did get those clips you asked me for."

"You did?!"

"Yeah...all from Kyle."

"We'll I'll be damned, thanks Kurt. You know what this means right? Its time for a special moment. May I present to you for the first time ever. Kyle Busch, Radio Sweetheart."

"What the (Expletive man! God he's so stupid why is he leading?"

"Our cars suck. Gone from sixth to eleventh, cool! (Expletive) awesome."

"Left side, #00"

"(Expletive), they are so stupid. They don't even know to get out of the way when there's a guy on the bottom of them."

"I've got no short run speed, I've got no long run speed. This sucks."

"We (Expletive) Suck. Suck. Suck."

"On the splitter taking off?"

"You know it, (Expletive) pleasent"

"God it would be nice to have a faster car, I can't go anywhere. #10 just blew by us. (Expletive) on the bottom, I'm stuck on the bottom going backwards."

"I'm just a boat anchor. I'm just in the way. They go by top. They go by bottom. Just in the way."

As the highlights began to close Jimmy and Kurt shared a rare laugh together at the misfortune of the defending cup series champ.

Author's Note

All of the lines for Kyle Busch are official and can be found in the Radioactive highlights for the races in NASCAR's official channel on Youtube.

Race 7: Texas

Texas Motor Speedway
Panasonic 250
Tuesday Night

"They say everything's bigger in Texas. Seeing this place, and after practice, ah reckon that's an honest statement." Applejack noted as she, Rarity, and their respective sisters walked into Texas Motor Speedway.

"I believe it myself dear...." Rarity responded. "Longest Non-Superspeedway track on the schedule. Barely even used the brakes all week."

"Well no time to go sightseeing Rare, we have work to do in the morning so it's best we find Roger and the team before long. See what we're looking at."

"Yes, right. After you."

It took some time, but the four of them were able to locate the haulers that drove their cars to each race, along with the haulers for the Monster Energy Cars. Brad and Joey were waiting along with a third that none of them were familiar with.

"Evening Brad, Joey. Sweetie, you and Apple Bloom can go ahead and rest now. We'll be with you both shortly."

The younger sisters said their goodbyes, leaving the elders to talk.

"Hey girls, I'd like you to meet Austin Cindric. He drives the #22 car in the Xfinity Series and drove for me once in trucks." Brad said, introducing the young driver to them. They managed a short chat before heading to rest. The Equestrian Cup qualifying sessions would be in the early morning.

Wednesday Morning

Applejack had the pleasure of being able to wake up early, Rarity was not able to manage such a feat. Lucky for Rarity, her run was much later than AJ's who would be setting the pace to beat as the first to qualify. Much like Daytona and Talladega, Texas Motor Speedway was fast and had few braking zones. In some cases you could het awau with running flat out. The main difference was the lack of restrictor plates, allowing cars to just about reach 200mph on the straights.

However, it was also a long track. About as long as Daytona. Applejack took her flying lap with the entire garage watching. Texas was one of the few tracks that still had grass in the tri-oval, but it was equally as dangerous as it was unique. There had been several instances where cars were torn apart when running into the grass. It would be even more of a risk during the race, as the forecast called for rain the night before the event.

When it was all said and done, Applejack felt good about her lap. She quickly made haste for the garage as the #9 made it's way out ahead of her. She found Rarity freshening up in preparation.

"Don't know what good that will do you with a helmet on."

"Oh please, I do need to look my best in case of an interview."

"Yeah, sure. Hey good luck."

"Yeah, thanks." Rarity took a glance at the tower. "That's, going to be a hard lap to top."

Applejack hadn't even payed attention to the lap she had posted. She didn't expect perfection, what she got was all but.

26.887

By comparison, the fastest single lap ever was set in 2017 at 26.877.

As the day went on and the field completed their runs no pony stood a chance at AJ's pace. Even the second fastest car, the #18, was a couple hundredths off at a 28.903. Starlight came out with strong pace, but clipped the apron entering turn 3 and tank slapped the outside wall before she had a chance to set a lap. The #88 team was sent to unload a backup car. The only car left to run was the #2. Applejack watched Rarity from pit lane, her Money Lion Ford Mustang powered by the same Penske Engine.

Rarity's pace was equally as strong, and despite the near record setting lap the #22 has set the #2 did get the pole. A 28.884. Rarity had a stride in her step as she returned to the garage. Applejack only stood by in genuine amazement.

It would be a Penske front row.

Starting Grid

2 Rarity 28.884
22 Applejack 28.887
18 Rainbow Dash 28.903
11 Lightning Dust 28.907
24 Viral Velocity 28.913
95 Danger Dean 28.923
19 Spitfire 28.930
48 Twilight Sparkle 28.934
20 Fluttershy 28.942
9 Pinkie Pie 28.945
42 Sunset Shimmer 28.957
40 Akula 28.971
3 Oscura Galaxia 28.980
12 Sweetie Belle 28.991
4 Vinyl Scratch 28.993
6 Scootaloo 28.998
14 Lyra Heartstrings 29.005
8 Bloothy 29.013
1 Trixie Lulamoon 29.023
37 Vapor Trail 29.032
21 Apple Bloom 29.037
10 Octavia Melody 29.046
47 Sky Stinger 29.049
41 Derpy Hooves 29.054
88 Starlight Glimmer DNQ (Crash)

"The Lone Star state, home of Texas Motor Speedway. The Equestrian Cup makes it's rounds for the Panasonic 250. Howdy folks it's Rick Allen joined today by Dale Jr. and Clint Bowyer. Boys you know it well here, one of the fastest circuits on the schedule getting well over 200mph on these straights"

"True Rick, and these corners are very fast. Not much breaking used at this track with the new package so the draft is going to be very beneficial." Clint acknowledged.

"Sure is Clint, and one thing to be really careful about is the size. the corners are very wide, but the straight bottles up at the start finish and can cause some wild moments coming to the line. The grass is also like a snake, it can come out of nowhere and bite you."

"Happened to you a few years back didn't it Jr? Call to start engines is coming up shortly here at Texas."

Applejack took a good look in her mirror at the Interstate Batteries Toyota behind her. Rainbow, competitive as always, but this Rainbow was not one Applejack was fond of. They enjoyed friendly competition off and on for sure, but Rainbow often seemed irritant. Ever since their tussle at Vegas, Applejack had kept a keen eye on her. Joey had mentioned many times about her mentor Kyle Busch, it was at Las Vegas a few years ago that he threw punches at Joey following contact during the finish of the race.

To Applejack, Kyle's attitude was rubbing hard on Dash. Every race she seemed to get more bitter, and the words of Jimmy Spencer helped none. It only fueled Dash's urge to fight in the front. She had about reached a breaking point at Homestead, and with the #18 starting right behind her Applejack was prepared for anything. She didn't wish to go any further, and she certainly did not want to purposefully wreck Rainbow either.

The call to fire engines was given, and she pulled away right alongside the #2 as the field followed them.

The commentators read off the starting grid, Rick Allen starting them off.

"Penske front row here at Texas. Rarity, winner at Atlanta starting on pole today and Applejack looking for her first. Joe Gibbs controls row two with Rainbow Dash and last's weeks winner Lightning Dust. Row three, Viral Velocity and Danger Dean. Home track for Levine Family Racing. Spitfire on the inside of row four and Twilight Sparkle. Seven time Jimmie also has seven wins here at Texas, the most of any active driver. Row five occupied by the #20 and #9, both looking for their first win."

"Row 6 holds a pair of Ganassi Drivers, Sunset Shimmer in the #42 and Akula in the #40. Formula 1 racing at Circuit of the Americas here in Texas, so perhaps a little closer to home for him today. Row 7 holds some promising drivers, Oscura and Sweetie Belle. That Penske Ford is very strong today so look for the #12 to cut her way through the field. Pair of shock winners in Row 8, Scootaloo and Vinyl Scratch. don't count the #4 out though. Kevin has been dominant so far this season."

"Very much so Clint, and moving to Row 9 Lyra Heartstrings driving your #14 as well as Bloothy trying to follow up a stellar performance last week. Trixie hoping for a bounce back after lap one ending her race at Miami, but another great finish at Miami went to the #37, Vapor will be starting alongside her. Row 11 occupied by Apple Bloom and Octavia, Sky and Derpy behind them, and Starlight starting in the rear with a backup car."

"Let's head straight into late breaking stories. Matt?"

"Thanks Rick, the #88 was fast all week but as we know they're starting at the rear with a backup car. They've had to completely scrap their game plan for the race. Good news, Starlight is still comfortable with the car, see if she can fight up to the front."

"Well Matt I had a great chat with the #48 team as they were getting ready to head out. Jimmie Johnson holds a track record 7 wins here. The team has recovered well after their engine problems last week, they will be starting 8th Regan."

"Well the #18 team has one major goal today, and that's to simply finish the race and get some points on the board. They've already locked their spot in with a win at Daytona but crew chief Adam Stevens knows they can do better. The letter of the story? 2 DNF's in the last three races. We'll see if Dash can change her fortune here today."

"Alright Clint wanna break this down for us."

"Sure thing rick, 167 laps for 250 miles here at Texas Motor Speedway. Stage one and two will be 45 laps and the final stage will be 77 laps meaning we might see green flag stops in the final stage if there isn't a caution. This track is very fast, we've seen a lot of issues on lap 1 here before. We'll have to see what happens."

"Alright pace car coming in this lap, the #2 will bring them up to speed as they come to take the green."

"#2 has launch control, coming to the green. Ready...green green. Let's get at 'an girl."

In the front of the field there were a lot of very good starts. The Penske Ford's on the front row came up to speed quickly and went side by side into turn one while the #18 edged ahead of the #11 looking for space. As the field scrambled for position behind, the #40 and #3 made some slight door to door contact as Oscura tried to fit her car in a hole that was not available between the Ganassi cars in front of her. Akula was not afraid to shut that door quickly and the #3 was forced to check up. As the leaders entered the backstretch Rarity was able to get a nose in front of Applejack as Dash put the bumper of her Camry right up to the tail of the #2. They rounded turn three and the #2 drifted up towards the outside exiting four. With her teammate still alongside her corner she tried to move back down to give some room, except Dash had already moved to her left fender and stuck a nose in.

Rarity crossed over the nose of the #18 and drove the Ford straight into the grass, grass that was still drying from previous rain. The initial impact tore the entire front splitter and lifted the Mustang a couple feet up before it crashed back down and slid across the remainder of the infield. Rarity's car came to a halt just shy of pit road when the caution came out.

Rarity, while initially stunned by the violence of the impact, was quick to establish she was alright. The front splitter taking a majority of the bumper with it, among other parts of the front axle and suspension. The car was simply immovable due to the severity of the damage sustained.

With the #2 totaled, it was the #22 that inherited the lead. But Applejack was not worried about where she was positioned. Dash had done what she had feared would happen, and her carelessness had caused a wreck that totalled not only another car but her teammate.

She wouldn't be letting the #18 go without a good fight.

The race was restarted from lap 6, Applejack electing the outside lane for the restart. She was able to get a good jump on Dash from the line, but the #18 held it's ground going into one. However, it wasn't long before the superior car won out and the #22 was able to clear the #18 in the middle of three and four.

"Clear, clear. Watch for them to hook up."

It took a couple laps, but the #11 and #18 worked their way back into the fight for the lead. On lap 12 Dash made another wild move under the #22, but Lightning was not about to be outdone as she drove the car hard into three on the outside of both cars. Dash did have more momentum, but there was no way Applejack would make it easy. She pinched her down hard coming off turn four trying to keep her at bay but Dash held her lane. Not wanting to repeat Las Vegas she was forced to stick the middle on the exit.

There was one problem. They were three wide now, and the front stretch was far too narrow for it to work. As Dash inched ahead she tried to force her way up into the #22 to stall it's momentum. Applejack in turn was having none of it. As the #18 came up into her she held her ground. At the apex of the tri-oval the #18 clipped a section of the grass, jolting it across the nose of the #22 and towards the outside wall.

"Middle of three, tight bottom, bottom. In your door, door....coming up hold onto it. Come on come on. Clear, clear. Caution, caution."

"Woah nelly. (Expletive) (Expletive) Dash. You've lost your marbles."

As the #22 rounded one and two the #24 and #19 followed. Soon, the yellow was replaced by a red flag and Applejack was instructed to lead the field back to pit road. She was curious as to why. But a quick look at the serious imprint on the barrier and even some scorch marks said everything she needed to know.

After the #18 had crossed her nose, it crossed the #11's path on its way for the wall. Dash hit the wall with the right front with such force that it lifted the rear wheels for a moment, and Lightning took a large part of the remaining force to the left front as the FedEx Express Camry was pinned against the wall. As the momentum carried both cars along the wall into turn one a large fire broke out along their contact point, most likely from the #11's oil line getting severed from the impact. The field managed to maneuver their way by, and as they lost speed they rested at the bottom of turn one in a shower of sparks. The in-car extinguisher putting the fire out on the #11 momentarily as the previous weeks winner climbed free of the smoldering rubble. Dash soon followed, leaving the two JGR Toyota's a heap of junkyard metal.

Despite the violence of the impact both of them seemed to be unfazed by the incident. Taking their helmets off and talking for a second. However, while Lightning went to head towards the ambulance, Dash dropped her helmet at the car and began to head for the pitlane where the cars had parked.

Applejack had been getting out of her car at the time, as were most of the other drivers. It was common for drivers to pass time during red flags as cleanup would likely take some time. Behind her, Viral and Spitfire struck up a chat as the three were completely oblivious to who was approaching. That was, until the crowd looked at the screen that showed the camera following Rainbow Dash to pit road.

Applejack wasn't suspecting it, but as the crowd began to get louder something felt off. She looked up towards her box, and noticed Joey getting down from the crew chief's box in a hurry. As the crowd got louder, it made her completely oblivious to what was coming. That was until a cyan figure jumped over the hood of her Pennzoil Ford and brought her down to the pavement.

The scuffle was brief, Dash only getting an initial hit in before Viral, Spitfire, and other members of nearby crews stepped in to separate the pair. Joey was quick to get in between them, and as one would expect Kyle Busch also soon presented himself into the scene. The respected mentors tore the bitter rivals away, Kyle taking Dash to her mandatory ambulance trip and Joey checking over AJ.

"I'm gonna be fine Joey. Gonna take more than a little whooping to keep my down for long."

"It was only a matter of time before something like that happened, this sport has fights all the time. I'm sure Kyle remembers the time I roughed him up a good one a few years back."

"Well, she's going to be visiting the trailer after they check her over that's for sure." Viral commented, while Spitfire sighed in disbelief.

It was a 20 minute red flag period for the clean up of the track. The race would resume after some caution laps on lap 15. Once again, Applejack would take the outside lane, this time with the #24 to her inside and followed by the #19 and #95. Good launches all around the front of the field, but Viral made way for the #22 after a brief battle. Applejack would hold the lead for the remainder of the stage.

Stage 1 Results

22 Applejack 10 Points (+1 Playoff Point)
24 Viral Velocity 9 Points
95 Danger Dean 8 Points
19 Spitfire 7 points
48 Twilight Sparkle 6 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 5 Points
20 Fluttershy 4 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 3 Points
40 Akula 2 Points
3 Oscura Galaxia 1 Point

The #22 led the field for post stage pitstops, her stall being on the far end of the pit lane. She came in for four tires, the #95 of Dean stopping in his stall right in front of her. As AJ's front tire changer rounded in front of her mustang the #95 was dropped off the Jack and peeled out. Two tires, and he wasn't the only one. With the team working on the left she had to sit and watch the #3, #42, #10, and #37 pass by her taking right side tires only.

"Go, go, go! We're at the front of the fours. Cars in front took two."

After a few caution laps, Dean would lead the field to the green. His long time nemesis Oscura was no match for the powerful Gibbs Toyota engine and settled in second, Sunset quickly following.

Lap 51

After having restarted 6th, Applejack was having to deal with some traffic on her way to the front. She found herself in the slipstream of Octavia, a fellow Ford. The #10 held the bottom lane solid and Applejack found it hard to get a run around the outside and as such was stuck in dirty air.

Behind her, Viral had an ace up her sleeve. She had been struggling with a loose on exit car, but had tightened the wedge on the stop. She got a run on the backstretch and drove hard into three on the outside. Getting her around the outside of the #22 and up to the #10's quarter. The #10 attempted to stall the #24's momentum, but Viral's run was too strong and Octavia conceded giving the spot to the Chevy.

Lap 63

Having gotten around the #10 with some trial and error, Applejack continued to chase after the time she had lost to the #24, who was now closing in on the #42.

Further back, it was a battle for stage points as the #9, #20, #48, and #40 were in a heated and congested fight for 7th through 10th. Akula lined up behind Twilight, the pair getting a good run going into turn three. The #40 then ducked low, and went three wide with the #48 and #20. Both Fluttershy and Twilight dropped off quickly, and not being able to judge the braking correctly Akula slid up the track.

His instincts kicked in, and he cranked the wheel hard to avoid pancaking the wall. It was enough to avoid serious impact, but the car had enough momentum to graze the wall in turn four and scrape away the T in Texas. This also checked up the #48 and #20 and allowed the #9 to pull away.

Akula barely slowed down, not taking any noticeable damage other than some paint scrapes and even managed to hold his position. This dive bomb like move would later be dubbed by fans as a "Kamikaze".

Lap 72

"As the battle for 8th continues here let's check in the infield with Jamie, what you got for us?"

"Thanks Rick, here with Lightning Dust just getting out of the infield care center. Can we get your perspective on the crash on lap 12?"

"I don't got much to say, this is actually my first time seeing the replay. Yeah, the #18 getting in the grass. Hey running racing, I'm not shy of butting heads every so often. Damn shame, went from hero to zero this week. FedEx wanted the car this week, glad they came aboard. I thought we had a car that could win today."

"You took a nasty hit, seems your alright."

"I'm no stranger to hard hits, the fire was a bit of a shock but I don't think I had any serious burns. All we can do is look towards the future, pack it up and get ready for Bristol."

"Thanks Lightning, take care."

Lap 88

Viral had taken third from Sunset Shimmer with relative ease and with two laps to go was closing to about two seconds off the #3 and #95 who were in a heated duel for the stage.

Oscura had driven the wheels off the #3 to catch up to the stallion she hated oh so much. But in her urge to catch the leader she was not taking care of the left side tires she had driven all race. Dean had been much more consistent and cool, maintaining the lead as well and sometimes looking at the #3 in his mirror just to grin.

With one more lap to go, Oscura made one more last ditch effort, and going into three drove deep on the outside. Sadly for her, the wear on the tires was far too great and exiting two the left front gave. She smacked the wall, but not enough to total the car. Instead, she coasted on as the #95 pulled away and the #24 passed her going into turn three. To add insult to injury, the #42 also passed her by a couple hundred feet from the line as she made her way around, likely screaming in rage.

Applejack was soon to follow, finishing 5th.

Stage 2 Results

95 Danger Dean 10 Points (+1 Playoff Point)
24 Viral Velocity 9 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 8 Points
3 Oscura Galaxia 7 Points
22 Applejack 6 Points
10 Octavia Melody 5 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 4 Points
40 Akula 3 Points
20 Fluttershy 2 Points
48 Twilight Sparkle 1 Point

Pit stops once again reshuffled the field, the two tire takers from before now taking four. The race restarted with the #24 and #95 leading the field. It wouldn't take long for the field to start getting wild.

The third row was split, Pinkie taking the #9 in between Sunset and Octavia. Oscura was also keen on getting into the action and found her way into the middle on the backstretch following The #9. The three leaders Dean, Viral, and AJ began to pull away as the field bunched up three wide in several areas.

Going into turn three, Octavia was shuffled out of line, but caught the car easily. It checked up Pinkie, and Oscura jumped down onto the apron to avoid Pinkie only to find herself swerving hard to further avoid the #10. Frustrated, she came up off the embankment a few spots further back.

Of course, she came up into the #40 and forced her way in to make room. The mess kept building, as Bloothy who had jumped some spots in pit stops jumped to the outside of the #48 who was already to Akula's right. 4-wide on the backstretch, there would be all take but no give. The corner was wide enough for them all, but as they came onto the front stretch Oscura pushed up to clear the grass, nudging Akula into Twilight. This put the #48 up against the #8, and into the wall. Akula rebounded off the #48 and door slammed the #3, sending it towards the infield. Oscura corrected the car, overcorrected. Big mistake.

The tires caught, the she was door checked by a pair of oncoming Ford's, the #14 hitting her square and #6 pile drove her rear fender and sent her backwards along the outside wall. In the aftermath the #37 swerved hard left to avoid the head on collision, catching the tail of the #19 and sending them both spinning through the grass, but both cars survived without major damage and recovered. The #3, #14 and #6 did not, and lay totaled in various locations along the front stretch. There was also some minor damage scattered throughout the field behind them, but none of it would put any of the rest of the field out of commission.

Rick, Clint, and Dale Jr. Began to dissect the crash, starting from the backstretch.

"This is coming down the backstretch, #10 gets shuffled out of line there and the #3 gets checked up.... 4 wide through three and four....just no room for that move."

"Yeah Rick, and as a driver you have to make that decision. Oscura doesn't want to give up any more positions than she already has but there's a time and place to be aggressive. It's only the beginning of Stage three and we still got more than fifty laps to go." Clint added on.

Dale Jr. Brought up an onboard with the #19.

""one outside tight, one back to the #20. Check up, check up. Low...ugh. hold the brake, get it rolling when you can."

"Oh, clipped at the last second. Almost got through there."

"The wrecks keep getting bigger at Texas, We'll be right back."

"What's the plan here?"

"We'll need to stop at least one more time, We're the fastest of the cars that took four on the first stop...."

Applejack was getting through discussing strategy with her crew chief. Her tires were easily much faster and less worn than the #42 and #95.

"Think we can get away with just gassing?"

"Nah, the tires will be too worn at the end. Stay out this time, do right sides under green, should put you in a good spot."

The field passed by the pit lane under caution, no cars coming down pit road. The race was restarted on lap 96. Viral got the early jump, coming out to lead the race being followed by Dean. Applejack took over third soon after and the rest of the field continued on clean.

Lap 134

"Pit this time, this time by."

The #22 was one of the early takers in pit cycles, taking right side tires and topping off on fuel, the #24 followed a couple laps later, doing a similar stop. However, the #95 stayed out much longer than anticipated. Dean came in at lap 139, near the very end of the cycle. The #95 came into the stall right in front of Applejack's team, and did a gas and go. He was gone in seconds.

With only thirty or so laps left, the #95 team threw themselves into good position with a nearly full lap lead on the #24 and #22. Now it was up to Dean to hold them off with worn tires.

Lap 160

Dean had done his part, even with the second and third place cars creeping up he still held a three second lead with under ten laps. Meanwhile, Applejack had caught up to Viral, and had caught the Pegasus sleeping, taking second place.

However, even with the lead getting smaller every lap. Dean seemed confident he had the race all to himself. Which is why on Lap 165 he was stunned to find an orange Ford closing fast out of turn two. The #22 looked outside with a good run, but the #24 took it to the third floor.

Viral drove in too hard, kissing the wall on the exit of four. Applejack however made the move stick and took the lead with two laps to go.

Dean tried to fight back for it, but with his tires all but worn out he was too far back to make a pass. Viral got a run off turn four coming to the white flag and finally made the pass for second. She was not going to give this one up easily. She caught The #22's slipstream, once again charging along the outside.

She was going for a repeat of California, but it was done too late. She had her nose along the door of the #22 at the finish, half a car length short of the win. Applejack became the 7th different winner of the season, and the third different Ford. Viral gave her a friendly tap, and a congratulations as the #22 took its cool down lap.

The field pulled into pit lane, and Applejack took a run up for a quick burnout spin, before bringing the car to victory lane. Removing the wheel from it's position and thrusting it into the air. Joey had retrieved her Stetson, which she placed atop her head as a pair of smoke cannons went off behind victory lane.

Finishing Positions

22 Applejack 40 Points (+5 Playoff Points
24 Viral Velocity 35 Points
95 Danger Dean 34 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 33 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 32 Points
20 Fluttershy 31 Points
10 Octavia Melody 30 Points
48 Twilight Sparkle 29 Points
8 Bloothy 28 Points
40 Akula 27 Points
88 Starlight Glimmer 26 Points
21 Apple Bloom 25 Points
4 Vinyl Scratch 24 Points
1 Trixie Lulamoon 23 Points
19 Spitfire 22 Points
12 Sweetie Belle 21 Points
37 Vapor Trail 20 Points
41 Derpy Hooves 19 Points
47 Sky Stinger 18 Points
3 Oscura Galaxia 17 Points (DNF Lap 91)
6 Scootaloo 16 Points (DNF Lap 91)
14 Lyra Heartstrings 15 Points (DNF Lap 91)
11 Lightning Dust 14 Points (DNF Lap 12)
18 Rainbow Dash 13 Points (DNF Lap 12)
2 Rarity 12 Points (DNF Lap 2)

Standing's

Applejack 253 Points (7 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Viral Velocity 251 Points (7 Playoff Points- 1 Win)
Lightning Dust 239 Points (6 Playoff Points- 1 Win)
Rainbow Dash 227 Points (7 Playoff Points- 1 Win)
Rarity 227 Points (5 Playoff Points- 1 Win)
Scootaloo 192 Points (5 Playoff Points- 1 Win)

7.Vinyl Scratch 175 Points (5 Playoff Points- 1 Win)

Twilight Sparkle 271 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Akula 269 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Sunset Shimmer 255 Points
Pinkie Pie 246 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Fluttershy 245 Points
Danger Dean 231 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Spitfire 229 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Octavia Melody 183 Points
Starlight Glimmer 181 Points
Sweetie Belle 177 Points
Lyra Heartstrings 164 Points
Bloothy 161 Points
Apple Bloom 155 Points
Oscura Galaxia 153 Points
Vapor Trail 144 Points
Trixie Lulamoon 139 Points
Derpy Hooves 127 Points
Sky Stinger 119 Points

Best of Radioactive: Texas

Author's Note

Sorry about the wait on this, was working on some other things at the time. Enjoy the chaos, there will be a lot of radio chatter without the drivers during the Red Flag portion early on.

Best of Radioactive: Texas

2 Rarity

Pre-Race

"Looking Good on the front row today. Let's have another good race, give Brad and Roger a good show."

"Hm, it will be my pleasure."

88 Starlight Glimmer

Pre-Race

"No, pressure. We have a fast car here. We can be aggressive but don't push too hard."

"Alright, let's give Jr. Nation something to cheer for."

"Loud and clear (Starlight) Glimmer. Green flag this time by."

19 Spitfire

Lap 2

"#24 low, your clear behind her. Dean closing fast, coming...gonna give you a shove. One in the grass off four, in front. Keep it straight, still inside. Caution, caution back it down.

"What happened there?"

"Seemed like the #18 got a bit overzealous."

"Crash is starting the fireworks early it seems."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 12

"Clear half back if you want it, double wide behind #19 and #48...Watch it! Down down down! Wooooh. Good one."

"What the (Expletive)?! That looked bad, (Expletive). What is wrong with ponies today this isn't a (Expletive) derby!"

"Red flag V, your P2 with the #22. See you in a moment, it's gonna be some time before they clean up this mess."

9 Pinkie Pie

Lap 12

"Clear, #20 is half back in line with you. Wrecking up front! Low, low, stay down. Clear, no one around you. Caution's out."

"Woah that was a doozy, hope those two are ok."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 12 (Red Flag)

"And here she comes..."

"I need to go talk to her."

"Twi, if you get involved there's that much more of a chance you'll get caught in the fire. Just let 'em sort those two out. You'll have the chance after it's all through."

40 Akula

Lap 12 (Red Flag)

"Dash just skipped on the ambulance ride. You might want to keep an eye out on pit lane."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she got into it. Kyle has a history of doing the same."

"Both of you kind of get into confrontations all the time."

"I have come to expect this from Dash, but from what V shared with me about Kyle this is going to get ugly quick."

"20 minutes of red flag and we are back under green!"

14 Lyra Heartstrings

Lap 15 (Restart)

"I just about got (Expletive) blasted on that. Seriously who the (Expletive) was that?!"

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 19

"Who stuck a (Expletive) brick in my tires?! Way too tight, no bite off the corner.""

12 Sweetie Belle

Lap 23

"I'm riding on ice here guys, every time I come off 4 it wants to hug the wall. I can only hold this for so long."

3 Oscura Galaxia

Lap 36

"Green, inside....clear if you want it. Alright get after it."

"That stallion won't be in front for very long."

95 Danger Dean

Lap 52

"#3 is closing, two tenths per lap. #24 is closing in the #42."

"Well (Expletive). She really wants me. I mean if she wants to burn her tires trying to catch me let her, it makes it that much more satisfying when I beat her."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 54

"Thank Celestia I can (Expletive) turn!"

"You should be thanking me for busting that brick in your tires. I know how much you like your wedge adjustments."

20 Fluttershy

Lap 63

"#48 down low, #40 taking a look inside her. Three! three wide, just low now. Watch the #40 coming up."

"Oh, I'm a bit surprised. I was worried he was going to hit the wall much harder and I would have needed to hit my brakes."

40 Akula

Lap 63

"You are a (Expletive) madman! Hell Yeah!"

"I think I hit the wall a bit."

"Rubbing is racing here mate. I don't think it will bother you much."

3 Oscura Galaxia

Lap 90

"We got a right front down guys, right front. No damage as of yet."

"*Incoherent Screaming*....I hate the (Expletive) stallion!"

10 Octavia Melody

Lap 91

"Three wide, three....hold onto it. Good save dear, good save. Watch the #3 on the bottom."

9 Pinkie Pie

Lap 91

"...#10 up top, check up! check up! #3 on your bottom. Still up high..."

8 Bloothy

Lap 91

"Room up high if you want it, three wide #48 and #40, watch the #3...tight tight. We caught the wall a bit guys, caution's out."

"Wait were we three wide or four wide?"

"four wide, there was contact on the bottom."

6 Scootaloo

Lap 91

"Bunching up in front of you here, still middle of three. Watch the #3, back it....we're in hard guys. Front's destroyed. You alright kid."

"All good. I'll be fine."

19 Spitfire

Lap 93 (Under Caution)

"Steering is a little stiffer than usual, but I thin I can manage it."

"Right rear looks good from here too, No need to push too hard just finish strong."

95 Danger Dean

Lap 139

"3...2...1...Go....gas it, gas it Dean! You've got 40 laps make 'em count."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 142

"Dean took no tires on his last stop, he has a thirty second gap."

"Do you think we can catch him?"

"If you get on with it!"

9 Pinkie Pie

Lap 165 (Finish)

"Coming to now, P5. Top five today, good driving today."

"And a good day of work from all of you. I see why Chase thinks so highly of his crew."

95 Danger Dean

Lap 165 (Finish)

"So Close, I was so (Expletive) close!"

"We can work with P3 Dean, you've been a great driver all year."

40 Akula

Lap 165 (Finish)

"Another top ten, I'm happy with that."

"Good run, made some great moves out there today. You'll get that dub in no time."

Race 8: Bristol

Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tennessee
Free Practice, Wednesday

"Well it's good to know Newman is almost ready to come back, I know Blaney still feels shaken up over it."

"Chastain has been doing his part, but I get to talk more with him during the races since he's still recovering."

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had just wrapped up their time at practice, though some cars were still on the track. Qualifying would be starting the following day, and Sweetie Belle especially was feeling good. The #12 car may have been the third wheel of Team Penske but Ryan Blaney had been the Cup points leader for a good part of the season. Sweetie was getting her hooves around the car, and some help from Blaney and a little coaching from her sister she was starting to fit into the team. She was posting some fast laps when compared to her fellow Ford's.

"He's going to be back in the car soon, I'll be looking forward to it." Scootaloo said with a hint of excitement as the pair stopped at the #6 hauler. As Scootaloo went to step into the hauler she recieved a wave from a passerby eating a Subway sandwich and wearing a hat with a number 99 on it. Scootaloo eye's gleaned at the sight of the man as she raced over to meet him.

"Cousin Carl!" She shouted in excitement, about tackling the former Roush driver by the legs.

"Oh, hey just who I was looking for."

"Really?! for me?"

"Yeah, I saw that backflip at Vegas. Nice touch."

"Heh, the squirt always did love showoffs." Rainbow Dash appeared hovering over Carl Edwards, touching down next to him. "And I'll say, your pretty good at that yourself."

"It's the one thing I have Kyle doesn't."

"Wait Dash, why are you and Carl together? I thought Kyle Busch was your mentor." Sweetie questioned. Dash looked sidelong at her before answering.

"I needed some change, find someone a little more light hearted. A guy I can relax with while I sit this week out. I'm sure Dean has the car under control, and the #95 team brought in Gallus. Besides I think I can learn a couple things from him, like...well...how to be calm in defeat and own up for my mistakes."

"That's...admirable of you Dash. I need to get back to my hauler though. See you around Scoots." Sweetie bid the sisters and Cousin Carl farewell on her way out.

Qualifying, Thursday Morning
NAPA Auto Parts 250

Sweetie Belle was going out on track late, so she had a good amount of time to study who to watch out for. She was a little surprised to see the #24, #40, and #11 struggling while others like the #1 and #4 running great laps.

The short track was eating up some drivers while others were doing very well. Currently on the pole was the #42 of Sunset Shimmer with Twilight right beside her. Sweetie Belle was the last to make a run. She got up to speed coming off one of the two pit roads, a unique feature Bristol had. She came up to speed in the yellow and blue Ford Mustang.

A lap a Bristol was only around 15 seconds, and the smallest mistake could cost that much more time. Sweetie hit the ground running, and got a well executed apex on the entrance to turn one. Bristol's heavily banked turns meant that getting on the apron would make the car stumble. Riding along the wall coming off turn 2 and diving into turn three at an exact same angle to that of her entrance into turn one. It was a nearly flawless lap but nearly would not be good enough for pole. She would qualify 7th, but for what she had done before it was a promising place for the young unicorn to start.

42 Sunset Shimmer 15.334
48 Twilight Sparkle 15.339
2 Rarity 15.345
9 Pinkie Pie 15.348
19 Spitfire 15.353
18 Danger Dean 15.355
12 Sweetie Belle 15.357
1 Trixie Lulamoon 15.365
4 Vinyl Scratch 15.368
3 Oscura Galaxia 15.370
20 Fluttershy 15.376
88 Starlight Glimmer 15.386
22 Applejack 15.388
11 Lightning Dust 15.393
8 Bloothy 15.398
24 Viral Velocity 15.403
6 Scootaloo 15.407
40 Akula 15.416
21 Apple Bloom 15.426
10 Octavia Melody 15.431
14 Lyra Heartstrings 15.436
41 Derpy Hooves 15.439
95 Gallus 15.443
37 Vapor Trail 15.446
47 Sky Stinger 15.452

"Welcome back to Bristol Motor Speedway as we get ready for the command to fire engines in the NAPA Auto Parts 250. Once again I'm Mike Joy joined by Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer. Our first stop at many short tracks to come, and some new favorites to look out for Jeff."

"Yeah some great qualifying times from drivers you don't often see at the front and likewise some drivers in the midpack who we usually see up front during the races."

"Well Jeff a lot of drivers tend to enjoy driving at certain types of tracks that would benefit their background or driving style."

"As the field gets ready to head onto track we'll get late breaking stories starting with Regan Smith."

"Thanks Mike, JGR
Has been in a bit of turmoil following the events that transpired last week at Texas, but it seems they are in a good place to bounce back. I'm here with the #95 team, Dean's driving the #18 this week, and driving this car is Gallus who also has a promising career in open wheel to his credit. Akula has transitioned well in the #40 this year, let's see how Gallus does today Jamie."

"Thanks Regan, and let's talk about Akula's teammates this year. Sunset Shimmer starting on pole and Trixie in a respectable eighth to start. Both of them have expressed their preference in short tracks, Sunset in particular confident she has what it takes to dominate the schedule. She's starting on pole, so a great start. Matt."

"Jamie let's not count out the #48, just take a look at the finishes Twilight has had so far this season. In the first seven races she has knocked up five top tens and four top fives with a pair of runner up finishes. Her only finishes outside the top ten? A blown engine at Homestead and a wreck in Phoenix not her fault. I had a talk with Chad Knaus just a few minutes ago, he thinks that Bristol is so far the best chance they have getting their first win on the year. Anything else Jr. ?"

"Sure do Matt, I've got a pick for this race and it's the #12 car. Sweetie Belle so far has been slowly improving behind the wheel indeed Ryan Blaney and had a great qualifying time. Dark horse pic, pardon my way with words, but I think she could be an upset winner today."

"Well thanks Junior, pleasure having you trackside today. Let's have a chat with our polesitter today. Clint could you dual up the #42 for us?"

"Sunset, this is Clint Bowyer up in the both with the guys you read me?"

"10-4 Clint what ya got?"

"You've got a good set of finishes under your name so far this season, but this is your first pole if the year. How confident are you that you can turn this into your first win?"

"Well Bristol was one of the tracks I was excited for, lot of great names made a career at this track. Have to be very aggressive for track position, and after yesterday I feel like I've got a car that can do it."

"Strong words there Shimmer, good luck today."

"Thanks Clint."

"Just over a half mile per lap here at Bristol gives us 452 laps in Thunder Valley, two stages of one hundred fifteen and a two hundred twenty-two lap final stage. There will be some beating and banging. We'll be right back for the green flag here at Bristol."

"Junior's rooting for you today, that's something to be proud of. Coming to green this time by."

Sweetie Belle was in as good a position she could ask for the start of the race, on the inside lane and towards the front of the field. Bristol was known for chaotic starts, and over the last few years had several multi car wrecks on the first lap to her name. The green flag was given to the field with Sunset and Twilight going in side by side through turn one. The field continued double wide behind them, with no takers for three wide on the first lap. Sunset and Twilight continued to fight for the lead side by side, Rarity and Pinkie behind them borrowing draft from the two leaders as the field began to spread behind them. By lap five, Sunset finally cleared the #48 and began to pull ahead.

Sweetie had net leveled out on position, settling in 7th where she had qualified. with the #4 and #1 side by side behind her and slowly falling back it would be where she stayed for the time being.

Lap 25

Close behind the #12, the action between Trixie and Vinyl began to heat up with some faster cars. Oscura had already passed then as did Starlight. Lightning Dust, Fluttershy, and Applejack all lined up behind them looking for an opening. Lightning Dust was the first to take a look, as the #1 bobbled in turn 3. Trixie kept the car straight, bumping Vinyl as she did so. The #11 flew by exiting turn four, and Trixie pulled away to follow. As the #20 of Fluttershy also got by without any problems it was evident that the #4 was in trouble.

Vinyl's left rear had been punctured by the side exhaust of the Chevrolet, and going into turn one the tire shredded. The #22 took evasive action down low as the #4 pounded the outside wall with the rear and slid down the track. Vinyl failed to hold the brakes at the right time, and as such was now a sitting duck in the middle of turn 2 as the next four cars of Viral, Bloothy, Scootaloo, and Akula each went different ways around her.

Viral was the first in line and had committed to the outside line to get around the #8. Fully in the gas she found the gap in between the car and wall narrowly avoided a hard collision. The other three went down below and out of harms way.

Just as the caution came out, it would be the #21 of Apple Bloom who made the first error. Taking her evasive line too late, she plowed into the rear fender of the #4 and coasted up into the wall. The left front took considerable damage but she was able to bring it back to pit lane. Vinyl also pulled away, but soon the extent of the damage to the rear was realized and the team cut their losses as they took it to the garage. The rest of the field behind them all passed by on the low line under yellow.

On the first replay it was as easy as finding where the contact point happened between the two cars, and the replay also clearly saw the left rear down on the car. What the replay did give a new angle on was how close the #24 got to hitting the #4. They took an onboard the Viral, watching from her perspective as she shot through the gap with almost no room to spare.

Jeff chuckled a tiny bit.

"Doesn't get much closer than that Mike."

"Well let's hear what she had to say about that encounter."

"That was way too damn close. I just about scrapped the paint off her rear fender.

"10-4, car looks clean from here."

"I'd appreciate not having another moment like that, not having much of a good time already trying to steer a boat around here."

"Tight?"

"Maybe...feels like power steering."

"Power steering problems this early is bad." Noted Clint. "And especially here she's going to be fighting to turn that wheel all day. It's going to wear her down heavily as her day continues."

Green flag racing was resumed, with the #42 pulling out to a much better jump and the #2 pulling alongside the #48. Sweetie maintained pace with the two Toyota's ahead of her as the laps counted away. Lap after lap the #42 pulled out to a huge lead, almost beginning to hit lap traffic as she rounded turn four to end the stage. Stage one was an easy victory for Sunset, and her first stage win of the season.

Stage 1 Results

42 Sunset Shimmer 10 Points (+1 Playoff Point)
2 Rarity 9 Points
48 Twilight Sparkle 8 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 7 Points
18 Danger Dean 6 Points
19 Spitfire 5 Points
12 Sweetie Belle 4 Points
11 Lightning Dust 3 Points
20 Fluttershy 2 Points
22 Applejack 1 Point

Pit stops at Bristol had always been a circus, the field split into two different pit lanes one the back and front stretch to accommodate the entire field. The entire field came down for tires and fuel, 13 on the front stretch and then 12 on the back.

Leading the 13 on the front would be the #42, and Sunset's crew would get her out in front of the rest of the field. On the back the #48 brought the rest of the pack down, and her team also kept her on the front row for the restart. However there was a mix up that the officials looked into.

Trying to make up the positions they had lost, the #3 of Oscura had taken only right side tires. When she merged back into traffic behind Twilight and Spitfire she sped up to cut in front of Dean. Officials seeing that she would not have been there had she not sped up ordered the #3 team to concede to the #18, but it was ignored.

She was then told to come down to her box for a 10 second penalty, and after her crew chief got some sense into her she finally came down to serve the penalty that could have been avoided.

Another thing that could have been avoided was the magical symbol she flashed to the official in front of her car to show her displeasure. NASCAR promptly told her to come back, which she of course protested.

After all that was said and done. They just had nothing they could do but put the #3 a lap down and let her continue, and after an extended yellow flag the race resumed at lap 116.

Lap 137

The normal names were still up front, with Sunset and Twilight being the two clear favorites stretching a gap to third and beyond. Though, the #3 was now two laps down and not because of another penalty. Oscura had been unusually slow compared to her early pace, and the leaders were running by her at full speed. Spitfire, Rarity, and Pinkie also passed her with relative ease. Behind that, Sweetie Belle had the #18 in her sights and the #3 ahead of them at pace in turn 2. The #18 and #12 were nose to tail three lengths apart. Going onto the backstretch they went alongside the #3, and in the most blatant move so far that season the #3 cut across the track and clipped the #18. With no time to react Dean was sent headlong into the inside barrier and grinded slowly to a crawl, shutting it down in the infield at turn three.

NASCAR promptly threw the book at Oscura, who had pushed enough buttons to be disqualified for the remainder of the race. A trip to the garage was carried out in short order.

The field was reset once again, and the usual suspects took the front of the field. Sunset and Twilight were blow for blow, but some adjustments the #48 team had made gave the alicorn the edge she was looking for. After a couple laps she began to lead her first laps, but Sunset was always right behind her waiting for a mistake.

Lap 203

The green flag run was continuing, and the field was spread out all over the track. The leaders were lapping back markers as they went. Towards the mid field, Viral Velocity and Akula were in close proximity in a battle for 15th.

Viral was worn out, the loss of power steering early in the race draining her and despite the efforts to make the car easier to turn, it helped little. By the time she had gone 200 laps she was looking her focus.

She entered turn three far too low for a smooth corner and clipping the apron kicked the rear end out. With the speed she was carrying, even with her quick reaction, she pounded the outside wall with the right rear. The #40 took evasive action and cleared low as the #24 slid down the track and hit hard with the left front and rested alongside the wall.

The experienced driver took a second to compose herself as she removed the wheel and put down her window net, then climbed from the car.

The broadcast crew had several replays, including an onboard with both the #40 and #24. First they took a look at the #24. As the car hit the curb Viral had jumped out of the gas and lost the back end which was followed by the thud when she hit the outside wall, then another on the inside. Second was Akula, who wasn't far behind. His radio was mostly silent at first, but when the car in front of him lost control his spotter was on quick.

"...Spinning up front, just stay on the bottom. Watch her coming off the wall. Clear, nicely done."

Pit road was abandoned by all remaining cars, and the race continued as normal. But after a few green flag laps Regan Smith caught up with a different driver. Dean, whom had just been cleared at the care center.

"Let's head down to Regan who has caught up with one of the early retirements. Regan?"

"Thanks Mike, Dean tough break out there. You had a good car today, didn't turn out well. You're thoughts on the incident."

Dean scratched his neck instinctively. "Yeah, I mean it doesn't get more blatant than that. At least they got her off the track. I mean that's how it usually goes with her, she doesn't want to admit I'm the better driver so she does the one thing she's good at which is trying to kill me down the backstretch."

"Well I'll let you get on with your day. Tough break once more for the #18 team."

The stage soon came to a close, with Sunset continuing her dominance of the race.

Stage 2 Results

42 Sunset Shimmer 10 Points (+1 Playoff Point)
48 Twilight Sparkle 9 Points
2 Rarity 8 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 7 Points
12 Sweetie Belle 6 Points
19 Spitfire 5 Points
11 Lightning Dust 4 Points
22 Applejack 3 Points
20 Fluttershy 2 Points
1 Trixie Lulamoon 1 Point

The entire field got refueled and changed tires for the beginning of the final stage, Sweetie sat comfortably in 5th but was looking to improve her current position.

Once again, the race went green and the same two cars jumped ahead of the field. Some minor contact between the two Stewart-HAAS cars of Lyra and Octavia didn't produce any long term problems for either driver.

Lap 279

Sweetie Belle was now in a tense three car battle for fourth place with Pinkie and Spitfire. The two cars were in front of her side by side and neither could seem to clear the other for very long. She made a choice to help the #19 get by with a tap.

It was enough to help the Wonderbolt hold her spot, but a couple laps later Pinkie repayed that deed and gave the #12 a boost to try and regain her position.

Sweetie's car was in a good rythum, and she was able to pull away slightly before the green flag pit stops commenced several laps later.

She came in for her stop early, for the full service of four tires to make sure she got to the end. Also in the four tire camp were race leader Sunset Shimmer and Rarity ahead in third.

Twilight took a calculated risk, banking on right side tires for a lead change and hoping the traffic between her and Sunset Shimmer would be able to hold the dominant unicorn long enough to secure the win.

Lap 446

Twilight's strategy had gone well for the time being, but while Sunset had initially been stuck behind some slower cars the relatively small field allowed the #42 to gain ground relatively quickly.

They were getting to the closing laps, and Sunset was using every trick she knew to tighten the gap. Running the outside lane, cause she knew Twilight would defend the bottom.

She was now the first car behind the #48 with no traffic between them, it was her chance to finish off the battle. However, the reason she was closing so fast was because it was Twilight who was slowing down.

She thought the traffic would allow her to ease up and bring her tires the distance, but she had needed to push to keep the lead for as long as she did, and her left side tires would not hold forever. On lap 446, less than 10 laps away from a victory, and with Sunset peeking on her outside going into turn two, the left front tire gave way as she went to turn in.

Similarly to what happening between Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth in 2013, Twilight's car drifted suddenly into Sunset Shimmer and pinned her against the wall. The nose of the #48 bounced off the wall, and the #42 turned in and off the wall spinning the #48 down the track in the process. Neither of the cars were damaged enough to be out of the race, but they were not going to be in contention for the win.

The left front contact had punched in Sunset's fender, and likewise for the #48 on the right side and front end. It was a disaster for the two favorites the entire race. Both of them took their cars to the attention of the crews, Sunset's damage was minor and could be dealt with by putting on new tires, she would restart on the lead lap at the back of the field in 16th. Twilight took some moderate nose damage that needed to be cleared of her right front tire which took some time, but her left front did not do any significant damage. It cost her one lap, but she rejoined the field in time and was now 19th.

Now it was the rest of the field to make a choice, fifteen other cars could either stay out and keep position or gamble with tires for the remaining four lap sprint. Sweetie Belle was in 2nd place, on the outside of her sister and teammate. it was up to that point the best race she had all season, and she wanted to stay out. But at the same time, if all the cars behind her pit she would get swarmed by them with one hundred plus lap tires.

But, the call was made. She would stay out, as would Rarity. Pit road was opened, and eight cars took tires. Pinkie, Spitfire, Fluttershy, Trixie, Scootaloo, Starlight, Akula, and Octavia all put on fresh rubber and joined at the tail end of the lead lap in respective order. This brought Lightning Dust who bailed on her stop up to the second row with Applejack.

Suddenly Penske had it's three cars in the top four, and Rarity grabbed the outside lane to pick up Applejack for the restart leaving Sweetie Belle to fend off the #11. The field came through for one final restart on lap 449 with 4 laps to go. Lightning Dust's rear tires spun badly and she fell off the #12 rapidly. Rarity cleared off turn two and covered the spot. Penske first, second, third, and behind them was a cluster of cars with old tires getting shuffled out. In two laps Sunset showed why she was the best car in the field fighting back into the top ten while Pinkie passed Lightning with her fresh tires and began hounding the #22. In turn three the #9 got alongside her but could not complete the move while the #22 was being defensive on the inside. The #12 and #2 began to pull away, leaving sisters and teammates to decide the win.

Two laps to go, but Sweetie was being patient. partially cause it wasn't a good time, and partially cause if she crashed herself or her sister there would be an unpleasant conversation. With a now four car length gap between them and the #9 they hit the white flag lap. In turn one, Rarity made one slip. Loose on the exit of two and it let Sweetie inside. Side by side through three and four but Sweetie couldn't hold her line on the bottom.

She did all she could to stay off her sister, and as Rarity went on to take her second win of the season Sweetie got off the gas in a fish tail and caught the inside with her left rear, but she still finished second. It was her best of the season so far, and while she didn't get the win, a one-two finish with her sister and a top five for all three Penske cars was more than a good day. Sunset would recover for seventh, and Twilight was the best car a lap down in 17th.

As Rarity celebrated her second win, and Penske's third of the season, The #42 drove up to the #48 in the pit lane. She and Twi exchanged words, but no hooves were thrown between them. Twilight admitted fault, which is all Sunset wanted.

Soon enough, Jamie came over to talk with her as well.

"Sunset, great recovery but after the day you had that's got to be a disappointment."

"Yeah, we led basically the entire race with the best car in the field. This team worked hard all week and it upsets us that our win was taken because of a car that was following our tail the whole race. I've got no hate for Twilight anymore, but being a smartass and trying to play strategy screwed her and it screwed me so...maybe next time she'll think about being the driver and not the crew chief."

"Thanks Shimmer."

"Thank you."

Meanwhile, Regan Smith caught up with the other side of the incident and asked Twilight her thoughts.

"Yeah, and I get that she's upset but that's racing. Accidents are going to happen. I took a gamble and it didn't work, and she wants to drive up to me and blame me for something I had no control over. Every pony wants to win, that's how this shit works, and if the entitled one wants to believe she deserves it then let her. I felt like I earned it too, but neither of us are out there so we deal with it. We pack up, we get ready for the next race."

Twilight parted ways with Regan as the feed cut back to the broadcast booth.

"Great race tonight, and with her second win of the season Rarity has guaranteed her spot in the playoffs. Join us at Richmond next time, I'm Mike Joy for Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer....good night."

Finishing Positions

2 Rarity 40 Points (+5 Playoff Points)
12 Sweetie Belle 35 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 34 Points
22 Applejack 33 Points
19 Spitfire 32 Points
11 Lightning Dust 31 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 30 Points
20 Fluttershy 29 Points
8 Bloothy 28 Points
88 Starlight Glimmer 27 Points
10 Octavia Melody 26 Points
1 Trixie Lulamoon 25 Points
40 Akula 24 Points
37 Vapor Trail 23 Points
14 Lyra Heartstrings 22 Points
6 Scootaloo 21 Points
48 Twilight Sparkle 20 Points (1 Lap Down)
41 Derpy Hooves 19 Points (1 Lap Down)
47 Sky Stinger 18 Points (1 Lap Down)
21 Apple Bloom 17 Points (11 Laps Down)
24 Viral Velocity 16 Points (DNF Lap 203)
Danger Dean 15 Points (DNF Lap 137)
3 Oscura Galaxia 14 Points (DSQ Lap 137, 2 Laps Down)
4 Vinyl Scratch 13 Points (DNF Lap 25)
Rainbow Dash 12 Points (DNQ, Driver Change)

Standings

Rarity 284 Points (2 Wins- 10 Playoff Points)
Applejack 290 Points (1 Win-7 Playoff Points)
Lightning Dust 277 Points (1 Win-6 Playoff Points)
Viral Velocity 265 Points (1 Win-7 Playoff Points)
Rainbow Dash 239 Points (1 Win-7 Playoff Points)
Scootaloo 213 Points (1 Win-5 Playoff Points)
Vinyl Scratch 188 Points (1 Win-5 Playoff Points)
Twilight Sparkle 308 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Sunset Shimmer 305 Points (2 Playoff Points)
Pinkie Pie 294 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Akula 293 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Fluttershy 278 Points
Spitfire 271 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Danger Dean 252 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Sweetie Belle 222 Points
Octavia Melody 209 Points
Starlight Glimmer 208 Points
Bloothy 189 Points
Lyra Heartstrings 186 Points
Apple Bloom 172 Points
Vapor Trail 167 Points
Oscura Galaxia 167 Points
Trixie Lulamoon 165 Points
Derpy Hooves 146 Points
Sky Stinger 137 Points

Author's Note

Rarity is now purple in the standings because with two wins she is guaranteed to be in the playoffs, as there will only be 25 races and 16 spots in the playoffs. It is theoretically possible to be knocked out with one win, but there are not enough races for 17 drivers to get two wins.

As such, Rarity is the first driver to completely lock in her spot.

For those who are wondering Gallus finished a respectable 18th. but was not counted in the results since he was not part of the championship. Dash is credited, but with a Did Not Qualify-Driver Change. Lastly, You may have noticed but I moved the wins to be in front of playoff points to correctly label who is where on the current standings.

Best of Radioactive: Bristol

1 Trixie Lulamoon

Pre-Race

"Check, does Trixie read me?"

"Yes, Trixie read's you. Trixie is also feeling good about this race."

"Then let's have a good race."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Pre-Race

"Hey Chad, how long have you been working for Rick Hendrick? You and Jimmie won all seven of those titles as a duo didn't you?"

"Yes Twi, but no need to flatter me with praise. Just keep driving like you have, that's all I need from you "

"Right, thanks."

6 Scootaloo

Lap 25

"Half back, watch your line. Easy, down down. Clear, caution."

"Getting rough already huh? Yikes, you think they would wait a few laps."

21 Apple Bloom

Lap 25

"Clear all around, one up in the wall...down down, high high!...."

"Low, high, make up your mind! (Expletive). What does it look like?"

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 27 (Under Caution)

"Can confirm it's power steering... (Expletive) this is going to be a long day."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 45

"I've got no bite on exit, I'm not going to pass anything with this
(Expletive.) "

22 Applejack

Lap 76

"If someone could, politely, tell the #20 to not cut me while I'm on the bottom. I don't want to turn her, but it isn't my fault if she crosses me."

20 Fluttershy

Lap 78

"#22 isn't happy with your line shifting."

"Well Sorry if I'm trying to find a racing line, maybe if she wasn't riding my tail around every corner I wouldn't be all over the place."

88 Starlight Glimmer

Lap 102

"Right rear vibration, might be a tire."

"Easy, 13 laps. Just keep it intact."

42 Sunset Shimmer

Lap 115 (Stage 1 End)

"Green and white this time, first one of the year."

"Have at it baby! Let's get this."

3 Oscura Galaxia

Lap 116 (Under Caution)

"#3 car sped up on exit, concede position to the #18."

"Right, caught speeding to pass the #18, we'll need to concede the spot."

"Excuse me, I came out of the box ahead of him. Why do I have to be there?"

"They're saying you would have fallen in line behind if you didn't pick up speed on the exit."

"#3 final warning, concede position or take a stop-go penalty.

Lap 117

"#3 pass through, failure to respect the officials."

"Yep, they want you back for that one."

"Isn't free speech a part of this country's constitution? I believe I have the right to express my displeasure for bull(Expletive) rulings."

"Stop! Stop it. Come down, or they are going to park you... They always get the final word Oscura, always."

18 Danger Dean

Lap 137

"Coming up to the #3, inside...hold the brake...talk to me Dean, you alright?"

"...Yeah, just upset about being wrecked by a slower car."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 140

"Green, inside. Still inside, on you're corner. Clear, clear."

"Good job, see if you can get a gap formed. We still have at least another pit stop to do."

"She's going to be hard to pull away from."

42 Sunset Shimmer

Lap 186

"Gap is seven tenths."

"I don't need to know how far ahead she is, I can see her right in front of me. Just let me drive."

40 Akula

Lap 203

"You have a full second on the #14 behind, keep pushing. Spinning up front, just stay on the bottom. Watch her coming off the wall. Clear, nicely done."

"She's ok right?"

"Climbing out as I speak, took a nasty one though."

10 Octavia Melody

Lap 230

"Check the front, I just had some pony about stop in front of me. (Expletive) "

9 Pinkie Pie

Lap 279

"Outside, #19 getting a bump from the #12. #12 is on your door...clear."

"Nice, I'm gonna try that too. Looks fun."

19 Spitfire

Lap 283

"Corner, inside on your door. #12 is clear #9 still on your door."

"I guess we're playing follow the leader today."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 336

"Damnit, what the (Expletive) someone get the #41 out of the damn way! Can she not see me in her mirrors?!"

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 387

"Boat, boat, I'm just out on the ocean driving a (Expletive) boat!"

42 Sunset Shimmer

Lap 446

"Inside, inside...got a couple coming inside, alright clear."

"It's drivable...but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna beat her (Expletive)."

11 Lightning Dust

Lap 449

"#9 outside, clear."

"I told you I'm stuck here driving a boat. What do you expect me to do? I'm doing all I can!"

2 Rarity

Lap 452 (Finish)

"Watch on your corner, corner she's there! Clear, all your's Rarity."

"Number two for the precious blue deuce."

"That's our spot in the playoffs locked in, fantastic stuff."

Equestrian Sweethearts: Texas and Bristol

Author's Note

I'm treating you guys with both the Radioactive and Mr. E today to hopefully make up for lost time. I went the extra length for this one, so I hope you all like it.

Equestrian Sweethearts: Texas and Bristol

As his newest segment started, Jimmy Spencer was not in view, but shortly after the camera turned on he came into view carrying in a FedEx box. He set it down at the table in front of him before addressing the audience.

"Welcome back, It's me Mr. Excitement Jimmy Spencer. I was just picking up this package, look..." He turned the package over. "It has the #18 on it."

Mr. E proceeded to open said package, fishing out several snacks such as Skittles, M&M's, Snicker's and energy drinks. As he finished, he found what he really wanted. A new cigar lighter. He promptly used it on a fresh one, but did not smoke it, instead continuing the show.

"Now, what to do with these." He pondered, before coming up with a fitting idea. He put them back in the FedEx box, dumped Shell Pennzoil all over the contents, lit everything on fire with his new cigar lighter, and tossed the flaming box of candy into a nearby dumpster.

"Right, now that the Texas race has been taken care of, I still have more to say. I do love a good fist fight here in NASCAR, but what I love to talk about even more is those sweethearts on the radio. Hey, let's listen in."

"*Incoherent Screaming*....I hate the (Expletive) stallion!"

After the brief cut to Oscura's infamous Texas radio, it cut back to Jimmy whose mouth had promptly fallen agape, eyes wide, and his hand slowly raised a bar of soap before the Radioactive continued.

"Wait were we three wide or four wide?"

"Here, take this pair of glasses. It might help you find out. and finally let's discuss what happened during the early red flag. Hey Dash, I can relate to what happened. I also got suspended for a race for punching a fellow driver, it was my good friend Kurt Busch. The difference was that the fans actually were on my side, we just found your attempt funny."

Jimmy took a moment to pull out the towels for the inevitable moment.

"Now, let's discus Bristol cause that was a very good race. Sadly for the #42, it did not go so well in the end. *sniffle* damnit Twilight, does tire management mean nothing to you? Didn't you say four tires always are faster than two? Then why didn't you put on four tires? *whimper*."

"It's drivable...but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna beat her (Expletive)."

"Watch out Twilight, she's gonna beat your a**. But she's not the only pony who got upset, and that's ignoring the drama act performed by the #3 car. Listen to what Lightning Dust had to say about her car during the race.

"Boat, boat, I'm just out on the ocean driving a (Expletive) boat!"

"*sniff* a boat! ohoho, Lightning...I'm gonna let you in a little secret about stock cars. They're heavy! Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to attempt to put Oscura in this straight jacket so I can better understand how Vickernism infects the Equestrian's. Hopefully I can find a cure. Until then, I'll be back for Richmond and the absolute train wreck that Talladega may become.

Race 9: Richmond

Author's Note

Finally, this one has been a long time coming. I'm sorry about how long this was delayed while I was working on personal projects, my job, and stuff in relation to my family and Birthday on September 30th. When it comes to prioritizing, I'm not very good.

After Radioactive, next will be Talladega. I have a very interesting storyline planned with Pinkie in the center.

Race 9: Richmond

Richmond Raceway
Richmond, Virginia
Free Practice

Practice for both Cup Series groups was coming to a close, but Sky Stinger was getting on track for one more go around. It had taken him several weeks to settle in to the #47 Kroger Chevrolet and he had payed for it being last in points. Unless he turned his luck around now he had no hope of getting anywhere near the playoffs. He had a few minutes to give the car one last go around the Richmond Raceway, which had proved a challenge to some of his fellow drivers. A short track with low banking and tight exits made it hard to keep the car off the wall if the car was too tight or got too loose, and several cars found the wall during practice.

Sky had taken his time, learning the track as he went and watching his mentor Ricky Stenhouse as well as some of the other Chevy drivers. This time he was going to give it full speed, and after his warmup lap he started a flyer. It was a clean lap, one which he was proud of, but when he came into the pits he had all eyes of the garage on him as he pulled in. He parked the car close to the hauler unsure of why he was being gawked at, but it all became clear when Vapor pointed him in the direction of the scoring monitor.

Sky Stinger 21.057
Martin Truex Jr. 21.061
Chase Elliott 21.065

For the first time that season, an Equestrian out paced the Cup drivers in Practice. And of all ponies, it had been him.

Qualifying, the following afternoon.

Sky's confidence seemed to grow when all eyes were on him, it showed when he was in the Wonderbolt Academy and it showed here. With his performance in practice there was a sort of expectation for the stallion to qualify inside the top ten at the very least. Everyone knew there was an asterisk to his pace in practice, with the most likely reason being that no one else was giving their all. But he had a point to make, and around the halfway point he was set to make his lap. It was Lightning on pole for the time being, the pony in question quickly showing to be the driving force of JGR in terms of consistency, but she was sharing the front row with Rainbow Dash who, despite missing the previous race for her actions at Texas, hadn't missed a step in pace.

The #47 came on track for an out lap as the #2 pulled in from her lap having posted an 11th best time. But Sky was looking for it all, and with confidence took speed to start his flyer. His entrance in turn one as well as his exit put him up to pace with the two front row drivers, but he made a critical mistake on his arc into turn three. He turned too deep into the corner and had to jump out of the throttle as the car dipped into the banking. He got hard on the throttle again, but this only caused his rear to step out. Now more concerned with keeping the car intact he kept his hoof in it to make sure he cleared the outside wall. He then locked up the front tires, his right front giving off an audible pop as it flat spotted on the front stretch.

It was the worst place for it to happen, and even if he hadn't flat spotted his tires he still had to roll with the punches as a second lap was out of the question. Unfortunately, he had crossed the line as he collected his car. the only positive was that his quick actions prevented any damage to the car or worse a backup to be pulled out. It didn't mean he wasn't furious with how it all went down. Even when he was doing well he still found a way to end up dead last.

All Sky could do was watch as the rest of the field took laps, all of them beating the time set by his car sliding across the line. Though there was in fact a shock pole sitter. As the last car on track, Fluttershy in the Pedigree #20 set her first pole lap of the season. This also locked in her spot for the All-Star race. As the team's packed up to make way for the trucks Sky couldn't help but think of what could have been.

Qualifying Results

#20 Fluttershy 21.053
#11 Lightning Dust 21.055
#18 Rainbow Dash 21.062
#22 Applejack 21.066
#48 Twilight Sparkle 21.072
#3 Oscura Galaxia 21.076
#9 Pinkie Pie 21.079
#42 Sunset Shimmer 21.084
#1 Trixie Lulamoon 21.087
#19 Spitfire 21.092
#12 Sweetie Belle 21.098
#10 Octavia Melody 21.105
#40 Akula 21.113
#95 Danger Dean 21.108
#24 Viral Velocity 21.112
#21 Apple Bloom 21.117
#2 Rarity 21.127
#37 Vapor Trail 21.136
#4 Vinyl Scratch 21.146
#6 Scootaloo 21.152
#8 Bloothy 21.157
#41 Derpy Hooves 21.169
#14 Lyra Heartstrings 21.235
#88 Starlight Glimmer 21.247
#47 Sky Stinger 21.673

Saturday Morning
Princess Cruises 200

"From the 1 mile short track of Richmond Raceway it's time for Equestrian Cup action at a track no stranger to a lot of action. Rick Allen joined today by Dale Jr. and someone who is usually out there driving, Brad Keselowski is with us in the commentary box today. Brad good to have you."

"Yeah and thanks for having me, pleasure to be up here."

"Now as the cars get ready to fire, let's talk about Richmond. A historic mile long oval with heavy banking, and a track no stranger to plenty of close racing and also plenty of cautions. What does it take to be successful at this track?"

"Well it's a very hard track to come to grips with, with fresh tires you can get on the gas a little quicker through the exits of the corners but as those tires began to wear out you get more and more likely to hit the wall if you push too hard. The racing is always really close, and it's easy to get caught up in some one else mistakes."

"Thanks Brad, late breaking stories starting with Jamie."

"Rick all is back on track for the #18 team after Dash's one race suspension served last week, but there is a sense of renewed confidence in the team as a whole. They showed great speed in practice and qualifying, and when asked about the incident two weeks ago Dash played it off saying 'There's no hard feeling between us long term, but that doesn't mean I'll give when the race is on the line'. She's starting on the second row. Regan."

"Jamie if the #18 team is confident the team around the #20 is looking ecstatic. You talk about a team that has been slowly improving as the year goes on, and it's not just the team Fluttershy is also growing as the team's driver. The Pedigree Toyota is looking mighty fast with her behind the wheel today. Marty."

"The #2 team mathematically locked themselves into the playoffs last week at Bristol, and there have been talks that the team are taking a step back this week. While Rarity did have a poor qualifying, starting in 17th, she was dealing with major issues throughout practice and qualifying after hitting the wall with the right front during practice. The team opted not to pull out the only backup car they had, so She'll have to struggle home tonight Rick."

"Marty you bring up a good point, the teams are allowed to build separate cars from both The Monster Energy Cup and Equestrian Cup Series but they only get one backup car between both drivers. Now the Cup driver's do have priority in the matter, but this brings up a point. NASCAR states that if both Cup and Equestrian Cup driver require a backup car, then the Equestrian Cup Driver may seek out a replacement provided that it is the same manufacturer and that it passes inspection. Is it worth the risk of getting the backup?"

"It's all about the situation Rick, if you have a spot in the playoffs on the line of course you are going to want to use that extra car. But Rarity already has two wins, she's locked in in every way possible. The team felt like they didn't need to take that risk, but she's going to have a long night."

"Alright, pace car is in as we get ready to go green for 200 laps at Richmond!"

Having to yet again start at the rear, Sky had it all to do as the field came out onto the track. Yet, there was some confidence there. He knew he had the speed, he just needed to find it consistently. He was anxious to get work done, and after some pace laps the field was led to green by the pair of Toyota's on the front row.

The green flag was waved, and the #20 and #11 got off even on the jump with Fluttershy gaining the inside advantage into turn one. The start was not without a mess, as Oscura immediately tried to jump around the outside of the #22. On a track like Richmond this could only lead to chaos. They went three wide with Rainbow into turn 3, and none gave. Oscura was pushed into the marbles and out of the corner.

She was immediately pressured by Twilight on her inside, as the Texas Tangle of Applejack and Rainbow continued side by side for a couple more laps as Fluttershy and Lightning pulled away. On lap 4, Twilight got the run she wanted to get ahead of Oscura, yet locked up while diving in. This inability to stop launched her into Rainbow, who in turn was taken along for a ride into the #22.

Rainbow channeled a little Kyle Busch, and was able to control her spinning #18 onto the apron and around with minimal damage. She would drive away from this one. Applejack was caught off guard by the sudden hit and backed her Ford into the outside wall, while Twilight pulled the big mistake of overcorrecting and went in nose first with the right front before her Chevrolet found the door of the #22. Oscura having been caught out of the groove was forced to check up massively in the wreck and lost out on field position, same for Dash who had to wait for the field to pass by as she found a gear and recovered her car.

"Side by side for third, and for 5th behind them. Into turn 3, the #18 looking to finish the move...as they make contact into the corner! Both of them spin, the #22 into the wall! The #48 caught up in it as well. Dash slides down onto the apron, and for the third time this season...the #18 and #22 make contact, and we have a caution." Rick Allen followed the incident either Jr. And Brad watching along with him.

At least Rainbow could say this one was not her fault. It didn't keep AJ from being visibly frustrated as she got out of the #22, having been all too familiar with the #18 ever since Vegas, and she was about to make sure Dash knew how she felt.

Thankfully, Twilight was just as quick to get out of her Chevrolet and grabbed the earth pony in an attempt to keep her from doing anything stupid. There was an exchange of words between them, with Twilight explaining how the incident was her fault, and the pair walked over to the ambulance together. Not before Applejack glared a dagger into the #18 Toyota passing by at the tail of the field.

The three in the booth got to dissecting the incident, starting with an on board from the #48. It was Dale Jr. That followed it.

"Side by side with the #3 coming into the corner, all good coming in. Oh..she can't get the car to stop. She hits the #18, then into the #22 after a pretty hard hit into the outside wall."

"So, not even Rainbow or Applejack's fault, but both of them fall victim to a mistake from the car behind, and it looks to have cost them both a good race."

The cars were cleared and the race resumed on lap 7, Sky inheriting a few positions and restarting 20th. At the front, it would he a little closer of a fight. On the restart both Chevy's of Pinkie and Sunset have big pushes to the lead pair of Toyotas, but the #20 could not get any traction of the restart and Lightning cleared into turn one. Fluttershy did manage to keep going, and settled into second followed by Sunset, Pinkie, and Spitfire.

Towards the rear, Dash was now on a recovery drive. She immediately got under the #14 for 21st. And after a few laps she was up the rear of Sky's Chevrolet. He was well aware that Rainbow would have been much faster, and didn't give her much fight as she rocketed by. Her incredible pace did give him an idea though.

Lap 25

As the laps continued on and Dash continued her charge through the field, he followed her slipstream. Every move she made, he mirrored as best he could.

For a while it worked, and he found himself in 15th on lap 25 after passing the #2 of Rarity who had been seemingly taking this week off because of her compromised car.

At the front, Dust and Fluttershy were long gone, and the pace of the JGR cars was evident as Spitfire passed both Sunset and Pinkie into third. Also on the move was Dean who was in 7th after a disappointing qualifying. With how quickly Rainbow was charging back through the field there was no doubt the Toyota's were fast this week.

Dash and Sky were in a hot four way battle for the 12th position with Octavia and Oscura. The #10 was having her best run of the season, and her car was somehow keeping Dash at bay, forcing the Toyota to run around the outside. Oscura was also on the outside of Sky, and dove deep around the outside of the #47 with a strong run but was stuffed by Dash's Toyota being planted on the outside.

Lap 40

Oscura was hungry for stage points. She forced the issue into turn three, trying to bump Dash despite her already being two with with Octavia. She got Dash loose, the sure hooves of the cyan pegasus keeping the car straight as the #3 went in between. Sky stayed low, following Octavia as Oscura cleared herself and forced the #18 to back out.

Dash was not gonna be pushed around, and stayed with them for a few more laps as Sky went side by side with the unicorn. He had the edge, and tried to cut off the #3's air on the exit. Oscura then tried to dive beneath into turn 1, but Dash was well underneath her.

Oscura turned herself over Dash's right front, over corrected, and popped the turn one wall with her right front. Dash herself was fine, and all traffic behind managed to slow down as the caution came out. Oscura wasted zero time getting out of the car and waiting for the field, the unicorn having had enough of the bad luck she was gifted for the night.

From the booths perspective, they had the broadcast swap over to the action just as Oscurs impacted.

"And perhaps it will be another stage win for the #11. A very good showing so far for... that team, Oh what a massive hit...Oscura. She continues to have woeful performances. 3rd week in a row she has been involved in a massive incident."

"Rick she was running around where the #47 and #18 were, trying to make up spots through the field."

Brad continued as a replay was brought up.

"They were racing for about 13th spot, #47 in the top, #3 in the middle.... she just turned down across Dash's nose. Ooh, hard hit."

"You're right Brad, just not clear to cut down and make that move, as we ride here with the #18...just comes down into her right front. Overcorrects into the outside wall. Rainbow has been in some incidents, but she's just been a bystander. She keeps getting caught up in situations she can't do anything about." Jr. Added.

The stage ended under caution, but as the #18 came back around Oscura got up to the driver's side and wacked the window net with her helmet. Dash, not wanting to be on even thinner ice, ignored the attempt at violence and continued on.

Stage 1 Results

#11 Lightning Dust 10 Points (1 Playoff Point)
#20 Fluttershy 9 Points
#19 Spitfire 8 Points
#42 Sunset Shimmer 7 Points
#9 Pinkie Pie 6 Points
#1 Trixie Lulamoon 5 Points
#95 Danger Dean 4 Points
#40 Akula 3 Points
#24 Viral Velocity 2 Points
#21 Apple Bloom 1 Point

Stage ending pitstops were standard fare, but the #20 was faster than the #11 team and with Fluttershy's pit box at the very end of the pit lane she was able to pull out and grab the lead by a nose over Lightning. Some other drivers moved up, Akula's #40 team with a brilliant stop allowed him to grab 3 spots, moving up to 5th.

Sky would be restarting the stage in 11th, Rainbow on his outside as the green fell. With the preferred lane, the #20 moved to the front with a little assistance from the #9. Pinkie could not quite clear Lightning, and after a few laps had to sit down in third with all three Ganassi cars running directly behind her.

The Toyota's were on the move as well, 15 laps in to stage two and Spitfire, Dean, and Rainbow had all gotten inside the top ten. Sky was still right behind tenth, and with Vapor in 13th JTG was also having a race to remember. A team not having a good race was Penske.

Aside from Applejack, their only competitive driver that night, leaving the track early. Rarity was struggling with a poorly handling car, Sweetie and Apple Bloom were mostly edging on the top 15, and Scootaloo was having a night to forget in 20th.

Just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. Lap 63, and Rarity was side by side with with the #88 of Glimmer. It was fair racing with no contact, but Rarity couldn't avoid hitting the wall for the second time that week. She kept going, but after a few laps the tire began to rub off on the fender. On lap 67, the tire gave way in the high lane of turn 4 and sent the previous weeks winner into the wall for a third time.

Dale Jr. Caught this one as it happened.

"Sorry guys got a car in the wall in turn 4. Right front tire on the #2, she hit the wall a few laps before and I was watching her struggle. The tire finally goes in turn 4, and it looks like she's had enough. Makes the left turn, straight to the infield."

This one finished the deed, as Rarity pulled the plug on her race and got out with no issue. The hit wasn't nearly anything bad, but she took initiative and called it a night, pulling into the garage.

The stage resumed with 30 laps to go. The two Toyota's in front getting away evenly, but the #19 pushing the #20 ahead. They were trailed by the Ganassi trio, with Sunset and Akula side by side and Trixie following. The #1 needed to have a good result if they wanted to stay on the playoff bubble, and Trixie was a decent short track driver. Both the #40 and #42 held side by side for a few laps, leaving Trixie with little room to work with.

Lap 84

Trixie was getting impatient. She desired more, and when some room opened up between her teammates through turn two she forced her way in. Neither Sunset nor Akula were expecting this crazy attempt, and so when Sunset moved back to to side draft the changeling her left rear crossed over Trixie's right front. This carried both of them into the #40, with Sunset hitting Akula's right front and Trixie ending up in his right rear.

Akula managed to steer his car away from the wall and minimize his damage, while Sunset rebounded into the outside wall and Trixie turned off Akula and hit harder with the right front. Dean behind did an amazing job to get out of the way for Pinkie as both darted down to the apron, and the remaining traffic behind kept clean.

"Look at this, tremendous battle from the teammates. Trixie is gonna have a look as well, in the middle! That can't work! Contact in turn 3! The #42 in the wall, the #1 as well. Once again, caution is out and just like that Ganassi goes from a triple top 5...into what could end up being no cars in the top 10."

Akula was pissed, but Sunset may have been even more upset. Somehow, Trixie kept her car going and stubbornly wanted to continue on. Akula's right front damage was easily corrected and he stayed on the lead lap, Sunset's crew took a bit longer to tape up the right front, and she went a lap down. The #1 team tried to do something, but ultimately the right front was bent inward and the suspension was no longer stable.

When racing resumed once again, Fluttershy stayed strong under pressure and completed the stage.

Stage 2 Results

#20 Fluttershy 10 Points (+1 Playoff Point)
#11 Lightning Dust 9 Points
#19 Spitfire 8 Points
#95 Danger Dean 7 Points
#9 Pinkie Pie 6 Points
#24 Viral Velocity 5 Points
#21 Apple Bloom 4 Points
#12 Sweetie Belle 3 Points
#18 Rainbow Dash 2 Points
#47 Sky Stinger 1 Point

On the subsequent pitstops, there were plays on strategy. Some teams took only two tires, including Lightning who took the lead again, Rainbow who managed to gain an additional 6 spots into third, and Akula mitigating the consequences of the crash and jumping back into the top ten. With the field shaken up, the final stage started.

Now that she was back up front Rainbow was ready to show her speed, but Lightning was slow off the line with only two tires and Fluttershy managed to once again get ahead. The Toyota train raged on, and for once there was some clean green flag racing.

Lap 157

The field was now well spread out, some minor battles that were for back half positions were occurring but at the front the Toyotas could not be caught. Fluttershy, Lightning, Rainbow, and Spitfire led a JGR 1-2-3-4 with Dean right behind.

Green flag pitstops would occur shortly, but the #47 team wanted to shift things around. Sky pitted early, only fueling the car so that it would make it to the end.

They didn't have any sets of tires, but if a caution came out at the right time he would be towards the front of the field.

Of the leaders, Rainbow was next. Finally putting on the left side tires and heading off. Lightning came in on the subsequent lap, also getting left sides as did Akula on the same lap.

Lap 170

Now the four tire cars were soon going to be taking final fuel, but with the fresher left side tires those who had taken two tires after stage two were running faster overall.

Fluttershy finally took the left turn after leading for the entire stage to fuel up, which would have lost her quite a few positions.

Luck was just on her side though, as in turn 2 the #12 cut a left front tire on the front stretch. A third car from Penske getting dropped for the night. Caution out, and with the field slowing down only the #47, #11 and #18 were able to cycle out ahead of the #20.

Ever vigilant, Dale Jr. Was the first to call the #12.

"Car in the wall in turn 1!"

"The #12 in to the wall just as the #20 comes into the pits, so Fluttershy will be able to finish her stop and ever car behind except for the two tire stoppers who already pit will now have to refuel. This changes everything."

"No warning, I don't know if I ran over something or what. It just dropped going into one, I don't know what happened."

"Well Belle obviously upset about that after running in the top ten for a long time this race..."
The replay camera on the front stretch was brought up.
"...Let's see what happened to the #12. Coming off turn four and tire goes...right there just past the flag stand. The #12 into the wall."

"Well Rick it's unfortunate but sometimes when these runs go for so long they can go unexpectedly. I have a fair share of failures in my time, sometimes you get a warning and sometimes it hits suddenly."

"Running around the top ten for most of the day. Pit road is open for any drivers who have not stopped yet."

"#47 is going to cycle to the lead if everyone pits like they should.

The caution was right when Sky needed it, after the two tire cars had stopped but just before the four tires cars began to stop. After the rest of the field pitted for fuel he, Dash, Dust, and Fluttershy stood on the front two rows.

With only 15 laps to go it would be a hard task to keep them behind, but Sky was a confident stallion.

Yet, when the green flag waved Dust sent him into the first turn. He got stuck in the middle and shuffled back behind both of them. Fluttershy then passed him in the next corner. A few laps later Spitfire got around him as well with a smooth bump and run.

By the time he got to the final lap, Dean was all over him. Out of turn two Dean got a nice run, dove in under the #47 and performed a textbook slide job to secure the position.

"Sky, trying to hold on to whatever he can, but up front...she stayed out of trouble, she held her ground, and at Denny Hamlin's home track...it will be the #11, not driven by Hamlin, but Lightning Dust. She'll win at Richmond. Rainbow Dash, recovers to 2nd. Fluttershy did all she could, comes home third, and Spitfire...its a Joe Gibbs Racing 1-2-3-4 finish."

Sky eventually finished 6th, but the Toyotas could not be stopped. Lightning secured her second win, Rainbow had an amazing comeback to finish second, Fluttershy drove flawlessly and was a victim of stategy, while Spitfire did every she needed to secure a solid result.

While it was Lightning celebrating the win, Rainbow did not want to be left out. As the #11 pulled up to the grandstands the #18 drove around an pulled a 180. While it was not planned, both seemed to get the same idea as the Toyota's locked bumpers and spun their tires up.

"And look at that, that's something Kyle Busch would do with his drivers in the truck series. A little bumper to bumper burnout action from the 1st and 2nd place drivers."

When all was said and done, Lightning got out to a standing ovation while the #18 drove away.

Finishing Positions

11 Lightning Dust 40 Points (+1 Playoff Point)
18 Rainbow Dash 35 Points
20 Fluttershy 34 Points
19 Spitfire 33 Points
95 Danger Dean 32 Points
47 Sky Stinger 31 Points
9 Pinkie Pie 30 Points
24 Viral Velocity 29 Points
21 Apple Bloom 28 Points
40 Akula 27 Points
10 Octavia Melody 26 Points
42 Sunset Shimmer 25 Points
37 Vapor Trail 24 Points
88 Starlight Glimmer 23 Points
6 Scootaloo 22 Points
4 Vinyl Scratch 21 Points
14 Lyra Heartstrings 20 Points
41 Derpy Hooves 19 Points (1 Lap Down)
8 Bloothy 18 Points (1 Lap Down)
12 Sweetie Belle 17 Points (DNF Lap 170)
1 Trixie Lulamoon 16 Points (DNF Lap 84)
2 Rarity 15 Points (DNF Lap 67)
3 Oscura Galaxia 14 Points (DNF Lap 40)
22 Applejack 13 Points (DNF Lap 4)
48 Twilight Sparkle 12 Points (DNF Lap 4)

Lightning Dust 336 Points (2 Wins-12 Playoff Points)
Rarity 301 Points (2 Wins-10 Playoff Points)
Applejack 303 Points (1 Win-7 Playoff Points)
Viral Velocity 301 Points (1 Win-7 Playoff Points)
Rainbow Dash 276 Points (1 Win-7 Playoff Points)
Scootaloo 235 Points (1 Win-5 Playoff Points)
Vinyl Scratch 209 Points (1 Win-5 Playoff Points)
Sunset Shimmer 337 Points (2 Playoff Points)
Pinkie Pie 336 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Fluttershy 331 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Akula 323 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Twilight Sparkle 320 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Spitfire 320 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Danger Dean 295 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Sweetie Belle 242 Points
Octavia Melody 235 Points
Starlight Glimmer 231 Points
Bloothy 207 Points
Lyra Heartstrings 206 Points
Apple Bloom 205 Points
Vapor Trail 191 Points
Trixie Lulamoon 186 Points
Oscura Galaxia 181 Points
Sky Stinger 169 Points
Derpy Hooves 165 Points

Best of Radioactive: Richmond

Author's Note

I cannot apologize enough for how long it took me to get this out. But at least I did.

Talladega is the next race, it will be very eventful.

Best of Radioactive: Richmond

18 Rainbow Dash

Pre-Race

"Back at it then boys, one week feels like a lifetime when your watching from the sidelines."

"Good hearing you again, let's keep it cool this week and get some points.

"Cool is in my nature."

"10-4"

42 Sunset Shimmer

Pre-Race

"You know the drill, let's get some work done. We've got a fast car, it's gonna be a good race."

20 Fluttershy

Coming to Green, Lap 1

"Let's have a good one, coming to green. Your the control car this time."

22 Applejack

Lap 4

"Still there on your door, corner. Hold your line... (Expletive) we're done. Backed it in hard guys."

"(Expletive). Guess I'm gonna have the beat the (Expletive) out of her this time."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 4

"Half back to the #3, still by two with the #22. Easy, easy, hold onto it. Gas it, nice save. Straighten it out, cautions out."

"It's like I never (Expletive) left."

"You did good to keep it clean, let's gather it up and push on."

2 Rarity

Lap 13

"Inside, clear."

How did we go from winning last week to getting passed by the #37? (Expletive) this car is (Expletive)!"

19 Spitfire

Lap 23

"I'm liking the pace we have here, 1-2-3 with the #11 and #20."

"I still can't catch them, I'm getting free off the exit of 2."

"Roger that, we'll get that sorted next time by."

"Please do."

10 Octavia Melody

Lap 25

"Door, outside. Double wide behind. Hold your line."

"Hold strong, we have a good case for points this stage."

"I'm doing all I can, just let me drive."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 40

"Am I a (Expletive) idiot magnet?! What do I have to do to stay out of these?!"

"Dash we have a long way to go still. Head down."

"...Yeah."

88 Starlight Glimmer

Lap 63

"Door, corner. One in the wall behind your clear."

2 Rarity

Lap 67

"We're in the wall guys."

"That's it, it's done. I'm not getting anywhere with THIS. I'd rather go sit in the trailer than mess around with it."

42 Sunset Shimmer

Lap 84

"Inside, hold it there. Got the #1 looking inside, corner, corner.... hold the brake, tell me what you got."

"Definitely right front, I think thats the worst of it. (Expletive) that idiot doesn't know what the word patience is."

40 Akula

Lap 84

"Outside, tight on your door. Watch...hold it straight, straight, good job. Bring it in, take a look at the right front."

"That was not (Expletive) on! Any day of week. She's a (Expletive) moron."

12 Sweetie Belle

Lap 170

"Pack it up boys, we're finished."

"Hero to zero just like that, (Expletive)."

11 Lightning Dust

Finish

"Clear, car length back. Let's go baby YOU THE MAN!"

"Woooooo! (Expletive) yes! Great work all around boys. Wow, Denny's home track."

18 Rainbow Dash

Post-Race

"One heck of a recovery there. We had a race winning car."

"Yep, still. I think I got something for her. Great work today, let's bring our a-game next week."

95 Danger Dean

Post-Race

"Looks like the #11 and #18 are locking bumpers on the front stretch."

"Those two, they're just having fun."

Race 10: Talladega

Author's Note

I appreciate the wait for this race, as I've mentioned in the past I had a lot of concerns about writing this chapter due to to some very controversial events that happened at this race in real life as well as many hot topics that persist to this day.

Regardless, Talladega. A race I'm sure many NASCAR fans were awaiting. Enjoy, and please leave a comment if you find any errors and to let me know your opinions. I'm always open to constructive criticism.

Race 10: Talladega

Practice, Talladega Superspeedway

Joint practice for both the Monster Energy and Equestrian Cup Series was underway at Talladega, and for Hendrick Motorsports and specifically Pinkie Pie in the #9 there were high expectations. She had run near the front at Daytona, finishing in the top 5, and the pink earth pony was looking forward to the track’s bigger cousin to the west. Manufacturer alliances were going to be in full force, and the two top Chevrolet teams of Hendrick and Ganassi were running practice together. They were in double file, one line consisting of the Monster Energy Driver’s on the bottom including Byron, Elliot, Kurt Busch, and Bowman and a second line on the top consisting of Twilight, Pinkie, Akula, and Starlight.

The were practicing double file running for the respective races, and coming down the backstretch were fast approaching slow traffic with the #36 Front Row Racing Ford. Byron and Twilight got around him with no problems, but behind that there was some scuffling. As Pinkie moved down to clear the traffic, Akula let off the gas so that he wouldn’t run into the #9, Starlight however did not get this memo and bumped the #40.

The momentum carried the Ganassi driver into the earth pony, and she made subsequent contact with Chase Elliott’s right front with both driver’s sliding onto the flat and making significant contact with the inside wall, bringing out a red flag to the session.

Having one of their cars totalled in practice would have been a loss, but both cars being totalled was a disaster for the entire #9 team. Both drivers got out without any issues, Pinkie checking on Chase, and rode away together.

A short visit to the medical center followed as it was mandatory, and when Pinkie got out she found her three Hendrick teammates Viral, Twilight, and Starlight awaiting her.

"Feeling well?" Twilight inquired.

"Oh it's nothing Twi, not the first time I've been there." The earth pony shrugged off the Princesses concern.

They turned back to head towards the garage as a group, with Twilight striking up conversation.

"So I've been looking into the history of this track, it's quite fascinating. Rumors state it was built on top of a burial ground, or that the track is cursed."

"You and your studying Twilight." Starlight interjected.

"It's an interesting history! And there's a lot of crazy stories that support the claims. And I'm not exactly superstitious but 2009 would be very symbolic if that was the case."

"Keselowski and Edward's coming to the flag?" Viral suspected.

"More than that, the car Brad was driving was owned by the same American Indian people that were said to have been living here when the track was built. And the cars that finished behind him, Newman and Junior, were sponsored by the American Army and National Guard. If I know anything about human history, then that's textbook symbolism."

"Thanks for the history lesson…" Starlight retorted, shortly before bumping into some pony...or rather a changeling.

Viral got in between her and Akula, before the latter could tear the former's skin off her body. Not far behind was the rest of Ganasii, Trixie and Sunset. Twilight put a hoof up to her snout in disappointment.

"Are we really still doing this?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well if some pony could keep her nose clean we wouldn't be having this problem." Akula spat, Viral still holding onto him to keep him from doing anything."

"Boo hoo, it was a fucking accident." Starlight responded.

"Cut the mare some slack, she's still not comfortable driving." Trixie added, trying to back up her friend while respecting her teammate.

"You don't seem to be much better, you left your tail in Vegas." Twilight threw in.

"You talk a lot of shit for some pony who outsmarted herself a couple weeks ago." Sunset inserted herself into the scuffle that was already brewing.

Akula shifted his vision towards the two unicorns behind him, first Trixie.

"At least Twilight knows to not suck on Starlight's horn like a filly.."

Then Sunset.

"And her mentor isn't a racist prick."

"At least Larson could fucking drive!"

"CAN WE FUCKING STOP?!" Viral shouted.

Akula was about to mutter something about Pinkie and Red Bull Racing before Viral, now enraged, boldly slapped him.

"You know what, we're going to work this out. Starlight, you're going to be spending time with Sunset and Trixie. Akula, you're coming over here with us. That way we can talk without any of you bickering like high schoolers."

Silently, every pony agreed. Starlight and Akula swapping places.

"Maybe I should introduce you to Rick, he has a way of stopping this kind of thing. I sat down with him and Starlight after Atlanta. We had dinner." Viral shared.

"Dinner?" Akula inquired.

"Yeah, he gave us Mickey Mouse trays."

Twilight held a hoof up to her mouth holding a chuckle, remembering Hendrick had done this before with Jimmie and Chad. The two friends walked away, and Twilight and Pinkie were left to themselves.

The two of them made their way down the garage, Twilight bringing up the elephant in the room.

"So, Chase is taking the backup car. That means you don't have a car now. Which means you need to find a new one. So, any ideas?" Twilight beamed with an awkward smile.

Just as she finished, they passed by a sat down Darrell Wallace Jr, known by fans as Bubba Wallace. Driver of the #43 Chevrolet, and the lone African-American driver in the Cup Series.

However, the week had not been kind to the young driver. He had appeared on a news network advocating for the ban of confederate flags at races, and though NASCAR had followed up the way he had wanted, the backlash had been immense.

Pinkie knew the moment she needed a new car, who she was going to ask. It was a matter of finding him. After all, making others happy was always her goal.

She glanced over at her lavender friend, moving her eyes in the direction of Bubba. Twilight caught on, and moved along back to her own hauler. Now alone with Wallace, she cleared her throat to get his attention.

He tilted his head up and took off his sunglasses, his mouth curling up ever so slightly in the presence of Pinkie.

"Pinkie, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked, reaching out to her hoof as she pulled him off his behind.

"Business, sadly, perhaps we can have fun another time."

"Let me guess, you want my backup car? Come on, tag with me. We'll bring it back to your spot."

Bubba's team was hard at work on his Primary car, but his backup had been mostly untouched since it had arrived at the track. But soon, it would be getting a fresh set of equipment, courtesy of a Hendrick Motorsports update.

It didn't take long either, her team had the car ready to go by qualifying day. But, it didn't matter that much. She would be heading to the rear of the field anyway.

So she watched the rest of the field do their laps, and to her surprise Bubba Wallace came back over to converse with her.

"Hey, Pinkie. You mind talking in private?"

Pinkie felt it, a sense of sadness over him. Something was deeply troubling him. Why else would he come to her anyway? It didn't take long to find out what troubled him, and it shocked her deeply. Pinkie embraced him as he began to sob into her shoulder.

He had heard news of something in his garage, truthful or not, it would become the talking point of the entire weekend. Whether he intended it or not, Bubba Wallace had become the most controversial driver in NASCAR's modern age.

Qualifying Results:

Twilight Sparkle
Viral Velocity
Rainbow Dash
Lightning Dust
Fluttershy
Scootaloo
Sunset Shimmer
Sweetie Belle
Rarity
Apple Bloom
Spitfire
Akula
Applejack
Lyra Heartstrings
Vapor Trail
Starlight Glimmer
Trixie Lulamoon
Octavia Melody
Vinyl Scratch
Sky Stinger
Oscura Galaxia
Bloothy
Derpy Hooves
Danger Dean- DNQ, Tech Inspection Failure
Pinkie Pie- DNQ, Backup Car

On the morning of race day, Akula returned to the Hendrick garage. Having heard word of Pinkie's choice for her backup car, he very quickly had a soft spot for the pink earth pony that just last year drove a car over top of him. He had a lot of respect for Bubba Wallace, who like his F1 mentor and friend Lewis Hamilton, was a colored driver in a sport dominated by white.

In addition, Cliff Daniels the crew chief for Jimmie Johnson was transferred over to the #40 car, he did not have a spot as a Crew Chief on the Hendrick Motorsports Equestrian Cup team as Neon Shock and Viral had the #24, which moved Chad Knaus to work with Twilight. Not only was his expertise and experience much more helpful for Akula, but this helped the cohesion between the two top Chevy teams, which would help their efforts dramatically.

“Talladega Super Speedway, NASCAR’s largest oval and producer of even larger crashes. Thank you for joining us, I’m Mike Joy with Jeff Gordon and for the first time this season Kurt Busch joins us in the commentary box. Kurt, great to have you with us today, this is a little more in your comfort zone than your previous job in the series.”

“Yeah Mike, it was definitely not something that I would normally have in my job description. I’m actually glad to be out of there and up here with you guys or out on track.”

“While we’re on the subject of the #40 team, great pick for a driver looking for experience. Cliff Daniels, I’ve heard a lot of good things about him. He does a very good job, with the talent Akula has I think we’ll definitely see a great improvement in his already good form.”

“Of course the other big talking point of the weekend for this series is the #9 team, course crashing out in practice and missing qualifying but they managed to find a backup car in the #43.”

“It’s tough, Hendrick Motorsports has always been very strong at Super Speedways. They locked out the front row this race with the #24 and #48 but who do they have starting behind them? Toyota, Toyota, Toyota, you have to get to the 4th row to find the next chevy behind those two. It’s going to be really hard to control the front of the field with so many of their fellow Chevys down the field.”

“Well before we get the command to fire engines let’s get a couple more late breaking stories. Jamie?”

“Mike you just talked about the #9, now the #43 team having to go to the rear of the field, how about the #95. Ran so well at Daytona alongside the other Toyota’s, and they failed tech inspection. Such a shame for a team that is looking to be on the up, but…Dean is a very good driver. We expect him and the #43 next to him to make their way to the front eventually. Regan.”

“At the season opener at Daytona the #18 team was the car to beat, they ran up front, led many laps, and won the race. So far it’s Dash’s only win of the season, but despite an early spring slump they finished second at Richmond. They’ll be starting right behind the pole sitter. Marty?”

“While the guys in the commentary booth may have already brought it up, it's still worth noting. The #40 team now has a new crew chief effective for the remainder of the season. Cliff Daniels, currently the crew chief of Jimmie Johnson. Obviously with the scrambled lineup of crew chiefs at Hendrick there was some trouble initially finding a spot for Daniels, but within the practice and qualifying sessions it seems he and Akula have found a good foundation. We’ll keep an eye out for their progress.”

“Thanks for the extra info on that story Marty, we’ve got twenty-five very fast stock cars about to do 94 laps at the biggest track on the calendar. Join us, for the call to fire engines.”

The Hendrick owned engine inside the chevrolet responded to the call as the #43 was fired up. Pinkie was grateful to have arguably one of the best Crew Chiefs on the grid to guide her around. Alan Gustafson, who worked with Chase in the Cup Series, was a well respected man in the profession. His guidance proved significant for the earth pony’s early races.

“Just going to confirm we’ve got a working phone line.” Alan confirmed, he knew just how to get Pinkie into the right place.

“I’ve got it all coming through.” She responded.

“Good, we’ve got our work cut out for us but we’ve got a fast car and a positive attitude so let’s put those to use.”

It was a bit of a wait to get out on track, starting from the rear of the field, but soon enough they filed out behind the pace car and began warmup laps. As they came around to complete the first of them, a different voice found Pinkie’s ear. It was Jeff Gordon.

“Morning Pinkie, it’s Jeff up in the commentary booth. How copy?”

“Clear as day Jeff, what you need?”

“Just want your thoughts on the situation. You know you have a fast car, you’ve got two teammates at the front of the field, what’s the plan for getting to the front by the end of this?”

“Keeping this car intact would be a start.”

Jeff and Kurt couldn’t help but laugh.

“Aside from that it’s really just picking the right lane to be in, we worked hard on this car to get it ready on such short notice and I’m incredibly thankful to the #43 team for letting us borrow their car for the remainder of the weekend. I know it’s been tough for them, for a lot of us, and it means a lot to me driving this car. I do want to be at the front by the end of this and I know we’ve got the car to do it.”

“Wise words Pinkie, wise words.”

Pinkie hadn't started at the rear for any race yet, but the prospect of pushing through the pack with a competitive car was exciting, and so when the green flag flew she pressed up to the rear of the #41 Ford in front of her and got into the draft. At the front, Viral pulled down in front of Twilight to lead the bottom line, and the two Hendrick Chevrolets were off as Lightning Dust started off leading the outside. It wasn't long before a gap opened up between the #48 and #18 which she filled rather quickly.

As expected the high line was quickly being abandoned early on, but some decided to stick to it. A group of Ford's began to line up, consisting of Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Lyra, Octavia, and Vinyl. They stayed in line, even with the fourth car on the inside but unable to get any forward momentum.

Lap 7

The Ford's up top had begun to lose ground, as the Stewart-HAAS cars began to form up with the bottom line, but the CMC kept running the high line, wanting to stay together.

It was at this time that JGR was ready to make a move, with three cars lined up behind the two Chevrolets in front. The #11 let off for a run, then swung outside followed by the #18 and #20. Viral went up to cover, before coming back to try and recollect Twilight. By the time the #48 got back up to speed Lightning was fully alongside. The #42 pulled up to Twilight's bumper and gave her a good push, which drove her into Viral and allowed the pegasus to regain lane control.

For the next couple laps, she swung up to the high line on the straits before coming to pick up the bottom in the corners. This began to bunch the pack up, and as the pack was jostling for positioning both the #2 and #22 pulled down to the apron and left their spot in the bottom lane. With both of them having already won a race, they figured it would be smart to ride at the rear.

This left holes in the bottom lane that allowed the outside lane to capitalize. Lightning would lead the subsequent lap. Pinkie for her effort had cracked into the top 20, but couldn't make ground quickly. However, ahead her teammates were devising a plan. They remembered what the Toyota's pulled at Daytona and went to one-up them.

At the conclusion of lap 9, all of the Chevy's from Hendrick Motorsports, Ganasii, and JTG Daughtry pulled into the pits for fuel and to bunch up together. Viral would lead them out, and this allowed Pinkie to regroup with them on track. The Toyota's were quick to react, not wanting to be outdone in their own game.

This left the Ford's of Penske and Stewart-HAAS as well as RCR to fight for the stage. Scootaloo would front the field for the remaining 13 laps of stage 1 as there were no longer enough cars in the lead pack to make a substantial move.

Stage 1 Results

Scootaloo (+1 Playoff Point)
Sweetie Belle
Apple Bloom
Octavia Melody
Lyra Heartstrings
Oscura Galaxia
Bloothy
Vinyl Scratch
Derpy Hooves
Applejack

Cars that didn't stop during stage one stopped at the end of the stage, dropping to the rear. This meant that the front row was once again Viral and Twilight. This time being pushed along by Akula and Sunset respectively. The restart was clean, with the changeling giving his close friend a massive push and both dropping down in front of the #48.

After a couple laps, a train began to form. Fronted by the Chevy's and the Toyota's sandwiched between them and RCR with the Ford's holding the rear of the pack together.

That was until Lap 33, when the #3 car made a move around the outside of the #95. Oscura was not keen riding behind Dean and brought some cars to the outside. They gathered a little momentum, and the front was picked up by The #88.

A few more cars moved up the high line trying to gain some spots for the end of the stage, but as cars were making split second decisions it congested the top line. A close call with the #42 and #88 nearly caused an accordion effect down the line as Sunset was going to use the momentum to make a charge to the front. Kurt made the call.

“...and as more and more cars make that move it slows the momentum of the bottom lane because they have to regroup, as here is the #42 moving up…”

“Contact. Two Chevy's get together and the top lane stacks up. We stay green.”

“I’ll tell you Mike I held my breath there, that was a dangerously late move by the #42. Very lucky to keep going after that.”

Conversely, the Toyota's on the bottom line stayed nose to tail and pushed further along. And when the top line collapsed it left only Viral, Akula, Twilight, and Pinkie ahead of them. As it got closer to the stage end, the Toyota's once again pounced on the Chevy's. As a line, they moved around the outside of Pinkie and Twilight. Akula and Viral went up to cover and stuffed the run coming onto the backstretch for the final time in stage two. A push from the #18 to the #11 was carried up the line all the way up to the #24.

Viral had her hooves full trying to straighten out the car but demonstrated brilliant car control. Twilight took the lead while this was happening and Pinkie had checked up to avoid what almost became a wreck. Twilight took yet another stage win for the year, her playoff position seeming relatively safe for now.

Stage 2 Results

Twilight Sparkle (+1 Playoff Point)
Viral Velocity
Akula
Pinkie Pie
Lightning Dust
Rainbow Dash
Fluttershy
Spitfire
Danger Dean
Oscura Galaxia

The restart for the final stage commenced after pitstops, during which a few teams took gambles on strategy for field position. The #3, #8, and #41 taking only two tires to get to the front of the field.

Pinkie restarted 7th, and for the first time that race a car other than a Ford or Hendrick Chevy led as the #3 car got out in front of the field. There was some jostling behind her however, as coming down the backstretch on lap one the #24 was a bit too aggressive with the #41. The HAAS Tooling Ford jumped sideways, but Derpy showed incredible reaction speed, managing to steer the car straight. After falling down the order a bit she settled behind Dash’s #18 Toyota. The chaos behind allowed both RCR cars to line up together. They fronted the draft for several more laps.

Lap 72

Peak Super Speedway action, Double file back to the rear of the pack and three wide in some places. There had been a few close calls, but for the most part every pony seemed to be holding steady fairly well. Pinkie was the second car on the outside line behind Twilight and in front of Akula. Viral was tucked up behind the #8 and #3, wanting to get back to the front quickly.

Coming on to the backstretch, the #8 swung around the outside of the #3. With the aggressiveness of Joey Logano, Oscura tried to close the door. This resulted in left front to right rear contact. Mild chaos ensued, as Oscura was swung towards the outside. The unicorn immediately began counter steering, just as the #8 was moving to the bottom after having punctured a left front tire. They banged wheels again, and ended up down on the apron.

Viral had to take extreme evasive action, checking up hard and finding herself in the middle lane with no help as the #48 and #20 split either side of her. Despite how much happened in such a short amount of time, all parties managed to either keep their cars straight or get off track.

In the case for Oscura, she got below the apron. Despite her erratic move, she got off lightly compared to her teammate. The #8 team had to call Bloothy in to replace the left side tires on the RCR Chevrolet. Oscura stayed out to run alone at the rear.

The #8 was slow getting to pit road with the left front down, enough that the field completed a full lap by the time she got there. They were once again on the backstretch when she made it to her box. It was a quick stop, likely putting her a lap down. As she was exiting, the field was coming out of turn four. Fluttershy and Twilight side by side for the lead.

Every spotter was on the radio about the #8 coming out of pit road, wanting to avoid a massive ARCA style pileup. What they didn’t account for, was the #8 car merging onto the track early, before they even got to turn one. It was a mistake not seen since Kevin Lepage’s Busch Series wreck several years before.

The first two cars, Fluttershy and Twilight, easily had room to move around. It was the second row of Pinkie, Viral, and Rainbow that was too tight to fit. Trying to avoid the #8, Dash had no other move but to run the #24 wide. Doing so not only turned the #43 down onto the apron nearly recollecting the #18 but also pinched the #24 into the #40.

"Hold the brake, straighten it when you can. Nothing coming towards ya just woah it down and get it going." Eddie D'Hondt, the teams spotter, slowly coached her as the car spun itself around onto the apron.

"Everything feels fine, check the left rear when you have a moment."

"Looks like it caught behind the wheel, nothing to worry about. We'll pull that out on the next stop."

The contact to her left rear surprised her, but Pinkie’s spin was harmless. She collected the car on the apron and continued along with no problematic damage. The right rear quarter panel of the Axalta Chevy was hooked to the left front fender of the #40 as they skidded down the wall in turn one.

After covering some distance, Akula slowed down to allow the pegasus to roll her car off his. They were lucky that the damage was not worse, because what happened behind them was much worse.

The next car behind Dash, was Derpy, and unfortunately this mare did not get the memo about what was happening with the #8. The impact lifted the #8’s rear wheels off the ground, both cars spun in opposite directions, and almost instantly the track was entirely blocked.

Some cars riding at the back were able to slow down in time to avoid piling in, among them were the #2, #22, #6, #14, and #47. Everyone else, not so lucky. By the time everything came to a halt, it was little more than a car park in turn two. Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, Lyra, Scootaloo, and Sky Stinger got away with no damage, Viral, Akula, Pinkie, and Oscura managed to drive away with minimal or repairable damage.

Every other car either drove away a mess, or didn’t drive away at all. Sixteen of the twenty-five taken out in one wreck. The Big One had struck. So while safety crews began to work on recovery and cleanup the commentary booth began breaking down the events leading up to and during the crash.

"Now this started on the previous lap, with contact between teammates. We'll see it first from our aerial view…" Mike opened up the discussion. "Right there, Viral pushing the #8 on the inside. The #8 moves up high and the #3 blocks. Contact, now we stayed green but that contact cut the left front of the #8."

They moved to a replay of the following crash, starting from the Start/Finish Line camera.

"Now here is what happened on the following lap."

Mike stayed silent as all three of them got another look at the massive pileup.

“That’s just a poor decision by the #8 car, I’m sure all the spotters are on the radio telling their drivers ‘car on the apron, car on the apron’ but you’re not expecting that car to merge into the pack at such a low speed.” Kurt noted.

“From the #11, right behind the #41.”

Lightning’s hood cam was right on the frontlines as she drove hard into the initial impact. The camera was doused in radiator fluid as the Toyota navigated its way out of the pileup.

“Sunset’s Credit One Bank Onboard.”

Sunset had been the first car on the outside behind Akula, but the #40 ahead was quickly covered by the #41 turning right into her path before the #42 hit it hard and spun around towards the apron.

“Riding with the #2 this time, see it from the back.”

Rarity had been leading the group of cars at the back a distance behind the main pack, and was able to slow down adequately before getting to the accident. The camera panned over to get a better look at the junkyard she was driving by.

“Just a car park on the apron of turn 1... It’s going to take some time to clean this up as we are under yellow for the big one here at Talladega.”

While the clean up was happening in turn 1, Pinkie’s team got to work pulling the fender out and putting on new tires. Also with her in pit lane were the #24 and #40 repairing their own damage from the wreck. All three cars got back on track without going a lap down, Pinkie in particular catching back up to the lead pack now consisting of just a dozen cars. Then, the #24 and #40 went back onto pit road when everyone else did to double check and make sure the cars weren’t compromised. After a couple minutes, both cars went back on track and were up to speed.

After a lengthy clean up, the all clear was given by the safety workers and race officials called the pace car into the pits on lap 78. The field bunched up, led by the #20 and #48 to the green, but this didn’t last long as from several cars lengths back the #24 and #40 both shot around the outside of both lanes and to the lead.

They took advantage of the fact that you could not advance position before the start/finish line, by getting up to speed far quicker than the cars ahead of them. Akula and Viral stormed ahead and began to form a gap, though that gap diminished quickly as the remaining cars began to form up. Pinkie took a couple laps to push past slower traffic and find her teammate and preferred drafting partner Twilight. They hung around on the outside together, eventually being picked up by their fellow Chevy’s. The four of them working together managed to take control of the race and along with Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack formed an 8 car line that broke away from the remaining cars.

Lap 87

"Let's check in with the new duo at the #40 team."

"Cliff, I don't think I need to tell you, but this is the scariest (expletive) I have ever done in my life."

"Yeah, and you're leading too. You may be scared as (expletive) but you're driving the (expletive) wheels off that thing. So keep at it."

"Roger that."

"Well I think it's safe to say it's going well." Kurt noted while he and Jeff shared a laugh.

The front 8 cars had separated from the remaining 4 cars to form a lead pack, lead by the #40 followed by the three remaining Hendrick Chevy’s. Behind them, the JGR Toyota's and Penske Ford's.

Both manufacturers knew that alone they would not be able to do anything about the Chevy's. Despite an attempt at coordination, the Penske Ford's did not align themselves with the Toyota's. Both Rarity and Applejack having problematic experiences with the mare just ahead of them.

As such, the Toyota's got formed up and began a tandem. Similar to how the #40 and #24 had in order to get to the front. They swung to the inside, underneath the #43.

They were moving fast, but Pinkie moved down half a lane to try and take air of the #20's rear. Fluttershy had the same idea on the #48 and they made contact. The #20 wobbled a bit, but kept going straight.

Pinkie fell off the cars ahead and into the two Ford's behind her who gladly picked her up. She was able to get back together with Twilight as the Toyota's formed back up and took 3rd and 4th.

Lap 89

Pinkie didn't need Pinkie Sense to see that the #20 was unstable when they completed Lap 88. But the Toyota's were challenging for the lead. They had the edge coming onto the backstretch.

Then a wiggle formed from the #20, and another. Then a more profound wiggle. Dash was still pushing full force when the right rear tire gave way. This time the car shook violently.

It swung right, but the pegasus turned the car away from the outside line. Preventing a larger pileup.

Instead, the #18 hit the left rear as it swung back. The force brought the car up slightly. Just enough for the air to catch. Dash swung hard left and both cars began to head towards the inside wall.

It was a hard hit for the #18 square on, immediately caving in the entire nose and destroying it, but it was mild compared to the #20. The roof flaps were just barely not enough to bring the car down. It swung around with its rear towards the sky.

The Toyota impacted with the rear first, tearing out a significant part of the protective fencing lining the inside of the backstretch. It dug in, tearing the rear suspension out of the car. Then the car swung around and hit the fence with the driver side before it smacked the ground hard, spinning around on its passenger side. It and the #18 skidded down a couple hundred feet before the #20 rolled onto its lid and the #18 crawled next to it.

Silence rang out for several aching moments, before Dash disconnected her helmet, got out of her car, got down on her chest, and looked inside for her friend. The safety crew arrived, and as they did...Dash looked over and used a wing to give a thumbs up. A collective breath was let out.

After a few minutes, Fluttershy was flipped back right side up and brought out, shaken, but unharmed, putting a wing around Dash as they went to the ambulance and the crowd applauded. Dash’s quick actions were applauded by most fans, some pointing out that her actions were similar to that of Dale Jr at Pocono, when he had got out of his car to check on Steve Park after a violent crash in the early 2000's

This wreck brought out a red flag, the cars left running on track pulling into pit lane on the front stretch and the driver’s having a moment to catch their breaths as they waited for the fencing to be repaired.

Pinkie was mentally devastated, feeling she was in part guilty for the crash that certainly had left a mark on Fluttershy’s soft demeanor. She got out of the car, her head hung low, but her friends quickly calmed her down.

"Hey, Pinkie. Don't let that beat you up, accidents happen." Viral gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"She could have been hurt."

"But she wasn't…" Akula continued. "And that's what is important isn't it?"

"...yeah, I suppose."

"Maybe it's a good idea if we check on her?" Twilight offered."

All of them agreed, and took the walk over while they had the time. They waited outside the medical center, and thankfully before long both Fluttershy and Rainbow walked out with each other.

Pinkie shot up and squeezed the pegasus, thankfully softening her grip before sobbing a bit into her shoulder. Letting out a tirade of apologies for her part in the accident to which the humble pegasus couldn't help but rub her shoulder and explain that she didn't hold anything against her.

The red flag period ended after a 45 minute wait, afterwards the drivers still left in the race got back into their cars and returned to the track. Akula, Viral, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Lyra, Scootaloo, Sky Stinger, and Oscura. Ten cars left to settle it, it was turning into the Bud Shootout that happened at Daytona in February.

On the restart, it was Akula and Twilight who got the edge over Viral and Pinkie on the restart, but it didn’t take long for partners to find each other again. Akula moved to pick up Viral, Twilight let Pinkie catch up to her, Rarity and AJ got hooked up, even the four remaining cars decided to pair up. This was now a race of tandems, and it didn’t take long for things to shift at the front.

Lap 91

Down the backstretch, the #48 and #43 swung around the outside and took the lead. The two Ford’s followed suit rather quickly leaving the #24 and #40 separated, needing to form back up. For the next few laps, Pinkie and Twilight had Rarity and Applejack hot on their bumpers. All the way up to the white flag, where the Ford’s were little more than a couple car lengths behind them coming into turn 1.

At the rear, Oscura pushed Sky too hard in the tri-oval and spun him down into the run off, but there was no caution. The leaders were coming down the backstretch, with the Ford’s charging hard on the entry to turn 3, swinging wide to try and get a run around the outside. The push was too much for Rarity to control, and after a wiggle and catch she lost the rear and spun down onto the apron leaving Applejack to continue alone.

Now it was between Pinkie and Twilight, both of whom had yet to win a race. Pinkie was locked to the bumper coming out of turn 4 and stayed for just a bit. She waited for the perfect place, she knew where it was. Kevin Harvick had pulled this move on Jamie McMurrary a decade prior, but she figured Twilight would be wise to this.

When she moved her nose inside, so too did the alicorn. Just as she thought, she swung to the outside this time and got alongside, using the slipstream overspeed and the drag on the #48’s right rear. She knew she had timed it perfectly, but no one else did.

The run to the line was tense as the two Hendrick powered cars were dead even, right up to when they crossed the line. Applejack barely edged out ahead of the oncoming Akula and Viral. Followed by Scootaloo, Lyra, and Oscura. Then Rarity and Sky much later.

However, everyone was waiting on the verdict for who would be awarded the victory. The timing board said the #43, but the word needed to be made official. And soon it was, by a record margin of victory in the series. Pinkie had edged out Twilight at the line by .001 seconds.

"We get it?!" Eddie was screaming the question.

"Yes sir!" Alan confirmed the results of the finish.

Once she got the confirmation, Pinkie ripped the window net out and shook a hoof in the air all the way around the oval. Getting some nudges from the #24, #48, and #40 as congratulations. It was a long ride back to the grandstands, but when she got there she took time to throw some smoke for the fans in the stands. Once she had decimated her rear tires, she climbed out and was greeted by the team rushing from the pit lane to celebrate. Whilst that was taking place, the rest of the drivers returning to the pits were getting interviews.

Twilight was met by Regan Smith first, happy to exchange some words with the former driver.

"Twilight another stellar performance today in the #48, your third second place finish of the season, getting ever so close to that elusive first win."

"Yeah, the team put a lot of work into the car. It worked great, being at the front all race long certainly helped keep us out of trouble towards the end there. I'm happy for Pinkie, we managed to work well together all race and we kept it clean all the way up to the line. Being on the wrong side of history is still being a part of history. I know Jimmie had a similarly close finish here a few years back."

"In terms of the standings you're currently leading all driver's without a win. Do you expect this consistency to pay off in the end or is the team looking to secure a playoff spot as soon as possible?"

"Well twenty years ago maybe this consistency would be fine as is, but this system rewards victories. You can get away with second or third only so much before it isn't enough. If we have sixteen winners and we aren't one of them, doesn't really matter how consistent we are does it?"

"Wise words Twilight, best of luck to you."

"Thank you."

Further down the pit lane, Marty found the #40 team and managed to get some words in with Akula.

"Akula, yet another top five finish despite a complete overhaul at crew chief. We overheard you and Cliff exchanging some encouraging words. How's the new partnership working out so far?"

"It's good, very good in fact. Cliff's been really helpful and his experience definitely payed off. I think it was a good switch to let Kurt do what he's best at."

"Now, I don't mean to embarrass you at all but one of the things we overheard was that Talladega is quite a frightening experience for you. As a former open-wheel driver has adjusting to such a massive oval like Talladega been a huge hurdle?"

"Adjusting to Stock Car Racing in general was a bit of a task for me, Talladega is just a massive shift in perspective coming from someone who raced on classic circuits for 6 years. Going this fast for this long on a surface that steep, got my nerves a bit tense I'll be honest. The team has my back, got some good friends in the garage and on track, should be alright."

"We overheard Regan talking with Twilight about wins and the playoffs this season, you're the second highest driver without a win so far this season. What's your take on consistency versus aggression?"

"Got to be fighting for that first win at some point, I've been in position to get it before and just got unlucky. I'm confident this team can make a fast car every week and I'll do my best to be in position the get it in victory lane."

"Thank you and congrats on the result."

"Well gentlemen, we are ten races in and we've already had eight winners. Seems we are on pace to have Sixteen winners before we even get to the playoffs. A lot of drivers we expected to have wins by now including Twilight, Akula, Sunset, and Spitfire have yet to secure their spot in the playoffs while some surprise winners such as Scootaloo and Vinyl have shuffled the standings quite a bit."

"Indeed Mike, and look at the schedule we have coming up. Dover and Martinsville, we talked a lot about how strong the Chip Ganassi cars are at short tracks and Twilight too has had a good track record. Charlotte, Kansas, and Michigan after that. The Toyota's have been really strong at Intermediate tracks this season. Notably Spitfire who may have won at Las Vegas if not for a cut tire."

"A lot of exciting action in the coming weeks. Good night everyone and we look forward to you joining us next time when we head to the North East for our first of two races at Dover."

Finishing Positions

43 Pinkie Pie 40 Points (+5 Playoff Points)
48 Twilight Sparkle 35 Points
22 Applejack 34 Points
40 Akula 33 Points
24 Viral Velocity 32 Points
14 Lyra Heartstrings 31 Points
6 Scootaloo 30 Points
3 Oscura Galaxia 29 Points
2 Rarity 28 Points
47 Sky Stinger 27 Points
20 Fluttershy 26 Points (DNF Lap 89)
18 Rainbow Dash 25 Points (DNF Lap 89)
11 Lightning Dust 24 Points (DNF Lap 73)
42 Sunset Shimmer 23 Points (DNF Lap 73)
41 Derpy Hooves 22 Points (DNF Lap 73)
88 Starlight Glimmer 21 Points (DNF Lap 73)
19 Spitfire 20 Points (DNF Lap 73)
95 Danger Dean 19 Points (DNF Lap 73)
21 Apple Bloom 18 Points (DNF Lap 73)
10 Octavia Melody 17 Points (DNF Lap 73)
12 Sweetie Belle 16 Points (DNF Lap 73)
4 Vinyl Scratch 15 Points (DNF Lap 73)
1 Trixie Lulamoon 14 Points (DNF Lap 73)
37 Vapor Trail 13 Points (DNF Lap 73)
8 Bloothy 12 Points (DNF Lap 73, One Lap Down)

Lightning Dust 366 Points (2 Wins-12 Playoff Points)
Rarity 329 Points (2 Wins-10 Playoff Points)
Pinkie Pie 383 Points (1 Win-6 Playoff Points)
Viral Velocity 342 Points (1 Win-7 Playoff Points)
Applejack 338 Points (1 Win-7 Playoff Points)
Rainbow Dash 306 Points (1 Win-7 Playoff Points)
Scootaloo 275 Points (1 Win-6 Playoff Points)
Vinyl Scratch 226 Points (1 Win-5 Playoff Points)
Twilight Sparkle 365 Points (4 Playoff Points)
Akula 364 Points (3 Playoff Points)
Fluttershy 361 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Sunset Shimmer 360 Points (2 Playoff Points)
Spitfire 343 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Danger Dean 316 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Sweetie Belle 267 Points
Octavia Melody 259 Points
Starlight Glimmer 252 Points
Lyra Heartstrings 243 Points
Apple Bloom 231 Points
Bloothy 223 Points
Oscura Galaxia 216 Points
Vapor Trail 204 Points
Trixie Lulamoon 200 Points
Sky Stinger 196 Points
Derpy Hooves 189 Points

Best of Radioactive: Talladega

37 Vapor Trail

Pre-Race

"Big day, gonna be a busy race. Let's put heads down and get to work."

"Looking forward to it boys, remember to have fun,"

20 Fluttershy

Pre-Race

"Alright, last week was good. Focus, let's have another good race."

24 Viral Velocity

Pre-Race

"I would say let's have a good race. but let's be honest this is Talladega. It's gonna be chaos."

2 Rarity

Lap 8

"Didn't take long for the intensity to pick up. I'm kinda stuck here."

"Let's drop to the back as soon and safely as possible."

"Copy."

22 Applejack

Lap 8

"Heads up, #2 is backing off ahead."

"On it, thanks for the info. I'll pull out with her."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 9

"Pit in this lap, this lap. Watch your speed coming in and try to stay with the group."

14 Lyra Heartstrings

Lap 10

"Cars pitting ahead, stay up high if you can. You've got help from the #4 and #41 coming."

6 Scootaloo

Stage 1 Finish.

"Coming to the stage now, don't let them sneak up on you. There you go nice job."

"Those are going to be very helpful come the playoffs. Good run."

"That worked out perfectly."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 26

"Bring on the choo choo train."

"Nothing better than being a conductor of this train. I could do this all day."

88 Starlight Glimmer

Lap 34

"High line has momentum, clear to cover. 2 cars back. Easy up there, #3 is coming your way. Push coming. Watch the #42 coming up."

"What the (Expletive), what was she thinking?! Is she trying to destroy the entire field?"

"I'm with you on that one, just hold it steady. We can still get some stage points."

42 Sunset Shimmer

Lap 34

"#88's moving high, clear tight, watch your quarter. Clear, push coming. Inside quarter."

"(Expletive) that could have gone horribly."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 34

"#20, #19, #95 in line behind you. #88 outside, watch the #42. Keep coming low, low, clear. No caution. Clear outside."

"Got a heck of a (Expletive) view of that one."

"10-4."

40 Akula

Stage End

"#11 coming high, pushing you now. Don't let up we're coming to the stage now. Go high, high, check up. Let her come back to you. Clear, no caution...That's the stage. Holy (Expletive)."

"I tell you V never stops surprising me with her car control."

"She's a hell of a wheelman I'll say that much. Good (Expletive) that stage."

41 Derpy Hooves

Final Stage Restart

"#24 in line with you, push coming. Easy, hang on to it. Good save, no caution. Settle back in here."

"I don't know how I did that..."

8 Bloothy

Lap 72

"Push coming, #24 is with you. Inside corner, inside. Hang onto it. No caution..."

"Right front's down. I've got a flat."

"Bring it to us."

20 Fluttershy

Lap 73

"In line ten lengths back, #48 outside. Car on the apron in the tri-oval."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 73

"Still outside, bottom of three now. Stay off the apron if you can. Get higher, high! High! (Expletive)! What a (Expletive) joke! Caution's out."

"How close was that?!"

"Give or take an inch, but it doesn't look like she caught ya."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 73

"Middle of three, car tight on the apron. Hold your line it's gonna be tight here...Gather it up. Tell me what you got."

"Steering's straight, right front's vibrating."

"Yeah that right front's pretty torn up, but it's not terrible."

"Well if there's one thing we aren't it's quitters."

"(Expletive) amen to that."

2 Rarity

Lap 73

"Clear, you are leading the pack. Check up, big wreck. Really big wreck, slow down when you can and wait for the track to clear...clear to drive through."

"That's a mess..."

"That's why we fall to the back."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 85

"Is there any way we can get the Ford's the pull out with us. I'm not entirely confident we'll be able to pull out and get by the Chevy's."

"I'll see what I can do, I've got (Coleman) Pressley standing next to me up here."

2 Rarity

Lap 85

"#20 and #18 want to work together to get to the front."

"I believe I've been in enough wrecks with Dash to politely decline that offer."

"10-4"

20 Fluttershy

Lap 87

"Alright, back up to the #18 a bit. Swing inside...now! Keep with it, atta girl. (Rainbow) Dash is coming with you hang tight there."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 89

"Inside on your corner, #43 is with you. Stay where your at, got a couple wrecking in your mirror..."

"Oh no...oh that was bad!"

22 Applejack

Lap 89

"Spinning in front of you, stay high."

"Golly, let me know when she get's out of there TJ (Majors)."

20 Fluttershy

Lap 89

"Hey, you alright in there? Just give me a signal."

"Hey...sit tight okay we'll get you out of here."

"Okay."

"You hurt anywhere?"

"I..I don't think so."

18 Rainbow Dash

Lap 89

"You alright there Dash?"

"She's already out of the car Adam (Stevens). It's not making it back without a wrecker."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 90

"Tandem drafting? What year is it 2011?

47 Sky Stinger

Lap 91

"#3 car just spun us on the tri-oval."

"Idiot needs to get her act together."

"Yeah she's on everyone's (Expletive)list."

2 Rarity

Final Lap

"The two car spins coming through turn three!"

"(Expletive)! Too much AJ, too much! It was all going (Expletive) perfect until then!"

"Just finish if you can."

"Oh the car isn't damaged I've just been cursed with (Expletive) luck."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Finish and Post-Race

"Come on, lean on her. Lean on her."

"Camera shows #43 in front of the #48 at the line."

"They're saying the #43 edged us out. P2. "

"We keep finding new and impressive ways to finish 2nd. I mean really its insane. I mean a win for Pinkie is a win for the team don't get me wrong."

"We'll get there. Just keep putting us in position and one of these times it'll bare fruit. Just gotta keep going at it."

Race 1: Daytona

Author's Note

Note: This story will be run in the background of the real life 2020 Nascar Season and therefore some events from there will be mentioned here in varying degrees. Let's get some out of the way early.

Ryan Newman's Daytona crash will not be mentioned in this chapter as the race is on a Friday while his crash happened the week after on Monday. It will come to light next week at Las Vegas.

I decided to get Kyle Larson's cut from Gannasi out of the way early. As such, Matt Kenseth will be mentioned in places where Larson would be during the season.

Some notable stories from the lower series will come up when they are relevant. Watch out for those.

And finally, this is an alternate earth where the Corona Virus did not impact the world and therefore the state of Nascar. I will write the period of which it happened accordingly.

Thank you for understanding and enjoy the story. :twilightsmile:

Race 1: Daytona

Equestrian Cup
Daytona Beach, Florida
Speedweeks: Wednesday
Daytona Equestria 250 Qualifying

“She’s held the fastest lap for almost the entire session. I shouldn’t be surprised, we have the best Toyota engines in the sport.” Spitfire noted to Rainbow Dash.

“We have the only Toyota engines in the series. All of the other teams couldn't muster up any extra cars. Besides, The only reason she still has the pole lap is because I haven’t taken mine yet. I’m the last one on track.” Rainbow replied boastfully.

Lightning Dust currently held the pole qualifying position for the Daytona race on Friday afternoon. They were scheduled to go on before the truck race at night.

It made sense that her #11 FedEx Express Toyota had the fastest lap, it was the exact same as the one Denny Hamlin ran at the Daytona 500 the year prior. Functionally, all of the cars in the Equestria Cup Series were the same as the ones in the Monster Energy Cup. She had the car to beat. Both of the Joe Gibbs teammates had already qualified, Spitfire currently settling in 7th and Fluttershy a little further back in 12th.

Rainbow was informed of her upcoming qualifying lap and was lead to her car as Pinkie Pie’s #9 Chevy just missed the pole time by a hundredth of a second which put her on the front row.

Rainbow got geared up in her racing uniform, the heat resistant suit being tailored specifically for the ponies that would be racing. She also was required to add safety padding to her wings to ensure they were protected in the cramp stock cars. It may have been annoying to her, but safety regulations were just that and she needed to accommodate herself to the changes. She strapped on her helmet as she entered her #18 Skittles Toyota Camry. Unlike Kyle’s rose red Camry, her Camry was Cyan just like her coat but sported the same livery as Joe Gibbs Racing’s two time champion. Her goal was simple, beat the pole lap set by her teammate.

She was the last scheduled qualifier for the day, once her time was done the grid would be set for tomorrow. She pulled away from the garage and out onto pit road. As she was given the go ahead onto the track she stayed on the apron as per regulation before entering on the back straight and picking up speed. She would need a perfect lap to set the new time. She took her warm up lap, which was usually much slower in Super Speedway tracks like Daytona. Coming around she had the 4th fastest first lap. This didn’t mean much, Lightning’s had been the 7th fastest.

The JGR engine was one of the best in NASCAR, and it showed bringing her to it’s top speed as she exited turn 4. The car crossed the line in excess of 190 mph. She held the bottom in turn 1 and 2, remembering Daytona’s fastest line through the corner. Trained like an expert by an expert she exited the corner and hugged the wall down the straight. Her crew chief began taking notes.

“You're ahead of the pace by a fraction of a second, no mistakes.”

She was ahead of Lightning’s pace, but only barely. Turn three was done exactly the same as turn 1. However in the middle of turn 4 the car bottomed out ever so slightly. From an outside perspective it was barely noticeable but the correction was huge for making up time. She went half a lane high and pulled slightly harder to correct it. She would be livid if this cost her lap. The exit of turn 4 was smooth and she crossed the line, awaiting the results of her crew chief.

“45.836, that’s P1. Great job, .012 seconds faster.”

“Yes! Ok I’ll pull it around.”

A solid lap, one that gave her pole. JGR also had the entire front row on lock. If everything went well, this race would go down as a win. However, this was Daytona. Rainbow had to be prepared for anything.

Qualifying times.

P1. #18 Rainbow Dash 45.836
P2. #11 Lightning Dust 45.848
P3. #9 Pinkie Pie 45.858
P4. #2 Rarity 45.862
P5. #24 Viral Velocity 45.866
P6. #48 Twilight Sparkle 45.874
P7. #40 Akula 45.892
P8. #19 Spitfire 45.909
P9. #22 Applejack 45.915
P10. #42 Sunset Shimmer 45.920
P11. #6 Scootaloo 45.923
P12. #4 Vinyl Scratch 45.928
P13. #20 Fluttershy 45.930
P14. #95 Danger Dean 45.936
P15. #88 Starlight Glimmer 45.939
P16. #1 Trixie Lulamoon 45.947
P17. #12 Sweetie Belle 45.953
P18. #14 Lyra Heartstrings 45.959
P19. #10 Octavia Melody 45.972
P20. #3 Oscura Galaxia 45.985
P21. #8 Bloothy 45.994
P22. #41 Derpy Hooves 46.007
P23. #37 Vapor Trail 46.036
P24. #47 Sky Stinger 46.083
P25. #21 Apple Bloom 46.631

Noon, Friday

“Welcome back to our live coverage of the Daytona Equestria 250, I’m Mike Joy joined today by Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon. We are just a few minutes from the starting command and Darrell, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about favorites. Who do you think has the best chance winning here today?”

“Well Mike the way I see it it comes down to 2 things, experience and ability. All of these cars on the grid today are from the top teams in the Monster Energy Cup series. Joe Gibbs, Hendrick, Penske… and at Daytona any of these cars are likely to come home a winner. Looking at the grid here I’ve got two picks and it’s the cars on the front row. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust. They put out great times yesterday and their cars are running well. Denny Hamlin won this race the year before and Kyle Busch is the defending cup champ so these ponies have two of the best drivers teaching them. I’m sure they’ll do great.”

“Jeff?”

“You can call me biased Mike but I like the odds of Viral Velocity, she has the most off season experience in the whole field. She’s starting fifth on the grid today and I know from personal experience that the #24 is fast here at Daytona. I have three Daytona 500 wins in that car and I’m confident in her ability to grab one today. Also, don’t count out Akula. Starting 7th and has just as much experience as Viral. Kurt’s been working with him very hard to get him used to the driving style in stock cars but he has plenty of Open-Wheel experience. Juan-Pablo Montoya and Danica Patrick are both former open-wheel drivers themselves. They have plenty of experience at Daytona. His former mentor Lewis Hamilton in F1 actually once drove a cup car a few years back. Don’t count him out, he could very well be a surprise winner today.”

“Personally, The second row is promising. Pinkie Pie and Rarity. One with pure adaptability and reflexes and one who knows how to take care of one's car. That’s important here at Daytona when talking about The Big One. A multi car wreck known for showing its ugly head at Super Speedway tracks like Daytona. A driver that can avoid these wrecks and stay at the front always has a good chance. Dale, picks?”

The coverage switched to Dale Earnhardt Jr. down in pit lane with the cars about to head onto the track.

“Thanks Mike, I was having a chat with 7 time champion Jimmie Johnson the other day and we shared a similar prediction. His protege Twilight Sparkle driving his #48 Ally Chevrolet. Starting 6th today, she showed a lot of Promise in the off season. Another pony that could come from further down the pack is Vinyl Scratch mentored by former Daytona 500 winner and 2014 Cup champion Kevin Harvick. They seemed to fix the engine trouble they were having in the Stewart-Haas Ford’s so expect them to race to the front. She’s starting 12th today. Back to you Mike.”

“Thanks Dale, when we come back we will be getting the call to start engines. The Daytona Equestria 250 starts right after this.”

Rainbow could barely contain herself. After being stuck in the mandatory drivers meeting and a team meeting on top of it she was finally getting settled into her Joe Gibbs Toyota. To her right, her teammate and friendly rival. Behind her, her closest friend and likely biggest challenge today. And further back, 20 or so other cars that all wanted a chance at winning the inaugural Daytona Equestria race. She secured the helmet to her head and made sure all of the safety features were properly secured. The window net was put up and she gave the NASCAR official the all clear as did every car behind her.

“Radio check, can you hear me Rainbow?’

“Loud and clear.”

“Spotter check.”

“All good, the crowd looks great from up here. I can see your parents.”

“Please tell me they aren’t causing a ruckus.”

“No ma’am, all clear from here.”

“Check. Okay, we’ve got pole position and you have the inside lane for the start. I’m not liking the lack of Toyota’s up front but we’ll make it work. Let’s have a good race, Kyle will be watching. Let’s get this done right.”

“Driver’s… Start… Your… Engines!”

Rainbow fired up the Toyota Camry, the Joe Gibbs Racing engine brought to life. A chorus of engines fired up alongside it. Soon, the pace car pulled away. She and Lightning followed it immediately as the rest of the field followed behind. The pace laps began as drivers began to heat up the tires and brakes of their race cars for 5 laps. While they did so, Mike and Jeff took turns discussing the starting grid.

“While we are waiting for the pace laps to wind down let’s take a look at the starting grid for the race. Row One with a pair of Toyota’s, Defending champ Kyle Busch's protege Rainbow Dash on pole was the last to qualify and last year's winner Denny Hamlin has his protege Lightning Dust on the outside. Row Two, Pinkie Pie in a Chevy and Rarity on the outside taught by 2012 champion Brad Keselowski. Row Three, two Hendrick Chevy's with Viral Velocity and Twilight Sparkle piloting the famous #24 and #48 respectively.”

“On Row Four, Open Wheel veteran Akula in the #40 Chevy, mentored by veteran driver and 2004 cup champion Kurt Busch, and Spitfire in the #19, mentored by 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. Row Five Applejack whose mentor Joey Logano has a win here at Daytona as well as the 2018 championship and Sunset Shimmer who recently got acquainted with her new mentor Matt Kenseth. Row Six the youngest driver in the field Scootaloo and Vinyl Scratch both in Fords mentored by former Daytona 500 winners Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick.”

“In Row Seven another pair of Toyota’s with Fluttershy and recent addition to Joe Gibbs Racing, Danger Dean in the #95. Row Eight has a pair of close friends with Starlight Glimmer, mentored by Dale Jr who swept this track in 2014, and Trixie Lulamoon. Her mentor Jamie McMurray won this race in 2010. Row Nine Sweetie Belle and the pony tutored by Clint Bowyer who once finished here upside down, Lyra Heartstrings.”

“Row Ten, Octavia Melody and Oscura in the #3 with Richard Childress Racing, a team that almost didn’t make the season. Her mentor Austin Dillon won this race in 2018. Row Eleven Bloothy in the #8 and Derpy Hooves mentored by two time cup champion Tony Stewart who owns that car. Row Twelve Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger. Sky's mentor Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has two wins at plate tracks but has never won here at Daytona. And alone on Row Thirteen Apple Bloom who had a spin in Qualifying and didn’t post a fast lap. Trevor Bayne brought that #21 to a victory here in 2011.”

“Let’s have a chat with the pole sitter for this race as we get ready to start, Darrell?”

Rainbow got a key in her radio from a new setting. Kyle mentioned to her that the broadcast announcers would sometimes have in car chats with drivers before the race. She gave her crew a momentary silence and switched channels."

"Rainbow Dash, this is Darrell Waltrip in the broadcasting booth. Can you hear me?"

"Yes sir, what's up."

"Just a couple things to ask you. How does it feel to be on pole for the first race of the season?"

"Feels great, I do pride myself on being fast and I gotta thank Kyle and Joe Gibbs for the ride."

"Good, speaking of. You're getting mentored by the defending cup champion. Kyle has plenty of experience at Daytona, do you think his experience that he shared with you will help today?"

"Most definitely, I'm glad to be taught by a veteran of the sport. I know the fans out there listening are split because of his racing. I'll put it to rest that I'll race like any other driver, but I will race to win."

"Great to hear. Ok, last thing. As I'm sure you are aware Daytona is known for tight pack racing. Do you plan on riding with the pack up front or dropping back if it gets too crowded"

"I'm not one to back down when it comes down to it. I'll do my best to keep the car intact but I'm not backing down when the race nears its end."

"I'm sure any driver would tell you the same thing. Good luck out there today."

"Thanks Darrell."

Rainbow turned her radio back to her standard dial.

"Back in"

"Good to hear, we will be coming around to the green shortly. You have launch control, but we still have a couple more laps."

Back in the broadcast booth, Mike and his companions gave a rundown of race strategy and talked with some reporters in the pits.

“Let’s get some late breaking stories for our drivers from pit road, Steve?”

“Thank you Mike, beginning here at the very front of pit road at the stall of the #24. The plan for today, go big or go home. Viral has yet to say a bad thing about her car all week. She’s starting on the 3rd row today, and her crew chief is very enthusiastic about the race Matt Yocum.”

“Well Steve, so to is the #9 team. Pinkie is starting 3rd this race and she has been fast all of Speedweeks, even outshining her mentor Chase Elliot in some places. Instead of trying to hold back all of her energy her team has recently adopted a new strategy. They are gonna let her have at it today on the track. Expect her to run up front all day. Krista?”

“Well let’s talk about veterans, but not the kind you would expect. I’m here at the #40 pit box for Akula who will be starting this race in row four. Being an open wheel veteran has made the transfer to stock cars challenging for the former F1 driver but he has been getting plenty of lessons from 2004 champion Kurt Busch as well as some help from his other mentor Lewis Hamilton. Back in 2012 Lewis had a chance to run a Chevy cup car at Watkins Glen. The challenge now is that the cup cars in 2020 are very different from the cars in 2012. Word has it that he was racing this track when it first opened up for Speedweeks just to get his bearings. Now he’s got confidence in his car, and he’s ready to get it done Jeff.”

“Well Krista speaking of the Busch family I’m here at the #18 box for this race's pole sitter. Defending champion Kyle Busch has high hopes this race for his protege starting up front. I also talked with last year's Daytona 500 winner and Kyle’s teammate Denny Hamlin, same story for the #11. Both drivers will be starting on the front row, and will be holding nothing back I’m sure.”

“Thanks Jeff, it’s partly cloudy here in Daytona and thankfully no rain in sight. The temperature sitting around the low 70’s while the track is just a bit hotter in the high 70’s. All races this season will be half the length of a Monster Energy Cup race and at Daytona that’s a perfect 100 laps. Fuel should not be a factor in the first two stages but the fuel window is between forty and forty-four laps. Should make stage three a one stop play for most drivers. Pit road speed here is 55mph.”

As the field paced into turn 3 Rainbow eyes up her teammate ever so slightly. The black and green #11 next to her was just as fast as her #18. Kyle made sure to tell her that at Daytona the team meant everything. Working together was a possible strategy. It was comforting to have one right next to her, but her other teammates were a few rows back. She and Lightning would get stuck in a hole with no other Toyota's around. So she made a plan. The field came around turn 4 and onto the front stretch. As they did so, Darrell said an alternate phrase of one of his iconic commentator lines.

"Boogity, Boogity, Boogity… let's go racing at Daytona every pony!"

"Ready? Green green green. Good luck today."

The Toyota's were even on the start, but Rarity's Ford was able to push the car ahead of her ever so slightly. Lightning started to inch ahead of Rainbow but it was all part of the plan. Heading into turn 1 she cleared her and pulled inside. Rainbow pulled in behind making sure the Ford to her outside had no room to fit. The Toyota's were now 1 and 2. Behind them Viral gave Pinkie a shove ahead as well and Twilight cleared low to get behind them. Now there were three Hendrick Chevrolet's behind the Joe Gibbs Toyota's. The pack scrambled behind and by the time the first lap was completed most of the pack had settled in. A large group of Ford's was starting to run the outside behind Rarity while Lightning, Rainbow, and others covered up the bottom. At Daytona the bottom was always the preferred line.

Lap 5

"Trash on the front of the #11, she's gonna want to get behind you to get that off."

"Am I clear behind?"

"Half a car length."

"I'm gonna push her and get some distance."

"I'll let 'em know… do it on the backstretch, she'll cover up in turn 3."

As planned, Rainbow eased up to Lightning's bumper. The draft allowed them to rocket ahead of The pack for a short time. Going into turn 3 Lightning pulled high and around behind her. She soon pulled in close behind, using the air to suck the trash off the grill of the #11

"Trash is off, clear behind to the #48."

Lap 9

"Clear 4 back to the #40. Double wide behind. No one has tried a third lane yet."

"How are the other Toyota's?" Rainbow asked her spotter.

"All inside lane, nose to tail behind the first group of Chevy's."

"I don't like being alone up here with just Lightning behind me. Any way that we can get the team bunched up?"

"We can bring you all in for an unscheduled stop. We'll lose track position for the first stage but you will all be nose to tail." Her crew chief mentioned.

"If everyone agrees I'm all for it."

"I'll patch it through…. Confirmation all around. Pit this time by, remember your signals."

As Rainbow rounded turn four she placed a hoof out the window to signal she was coming to pit road. So too did Lightning, Spitfire, Fluttershy, and Dean behind her. All five Toyota's pulled in for a full tank and two tires. They left in the order they entered.

"Now coming off turn four she's going to lead her fourth lap… wait she's got her hoof out the window signalling that she's heading to pit road as does Lightning behind her. In fact it looks like the entire Toyota crew is heading in, everyone else gets away cleanly and continues on. Marty?"

"Thanks Mike, Rainbow came over the radio just last lap saying she needed more help from the Toyota's up front. The problem was they were all stuck in the back. So the crew chief made the call. Everyone is coming in for two tires and fuel and they are heading out onto the track together."

"Thanks Marty. Some strategy being pulled here in the early stages of this race."

"We've seen the Gibbs cars do this exact thing on Daytona in the past. No surprise that they are utilizing the same ideas from previous races. It's gonna cost them time but together they can keep their speed up enough to stay on the lead lap."

Lap 17

All five Toyota's were now lost to the lead pack, bunched up single file with Rainbow leading them. Her spotter was taking some light work. They were crossing the line to complete lap 17. The leaders were coming into turn four. The lead pack was slightly faster but at the rate they were going they likely wouldn't catch them. He watched them come out of turn four. As they exited the corner a blue Chevrolet got loose on the inside lane and spun down towards pit road. A single car spin, uneventful but necessary to communicate.

"Spinner behind you in turn 4. Keep digging… Caution is out back it down. Stage 1 is over."

In The broadcast booth, the cameras got a much better look at the action.

"Coming this time by, it will be three laps to go in stage one… trouble! One car spinning towards pit road, Trixie. Looks like she's gonna keep it off the wall. That's gonna bring out the caution and the end to stage one with Pinkie getting the first playoff point of the race with her first stage win." Mike announced

"Great job by Trixie keeping it off the wall. Jamie McMurray must have done well coaching her during the off season." Jeff followed.

"As the results come in for stage one let's take another look at this race's first caution…"

The replay was brought up for the broadcasters to see. The view zoomed in on the back half of the field. Trixie's #1 was in full view on the right of the screen coming off turn 4. As it came onto the front stretch it lurched up just a bit and the back end came around. Consequently she spun around.

"Coming off of turn 4, everything looks good so far… Whoa, she just came around."

"You know Mike we never mentioned it in the pre-race but turn four is a hot spot for spins. It doesn't take any contact, but that banking coming off the corner can sometimes wiggle the car just enough to spin it out. It happens to veterans of the sport and no surprise it happened here."

"I expect everyone is gonna pit with the exception of the Toyota's. That's gonna put Rainbow up front for the start of Stage 2."

Stage 1 Results

Pinkie Pie +10/+1 Playoff Point
Twilight Sparkle +9
Viral Velocity +8
Akula +7
Rarity +6
Sunset Shimmer +5
Applejack +4
Starlight Glimmer +3
Vinyl Scratch +2
Sweetie Belle +1

Rainbow was feeling much more confident on the restart. Not only did she still have Lightning next to her, but every Toyota backing them up. The restart was clean, but Rainbow put up a fight off the line. Now that she wasn't worried about being left to dry she wanted the lead to keep. She got it, and Lightning pulled in line behind her as Spitfire let her in. Danger let Fluttershy into line as well making it so all Toyota's were lined up. However, the first car on the outside got plenty of momentum while they were setting up the line and Pinkie got right up to Rainbow' s corner. She tried to block the lane but the #9 Chevy that was pushed by her teammate was too quick to cover. Rainbow pulled back down to cover the bottom again. Now the lanes were even. For every car on the bottom there was one on the top. However, the odd prevailed soon enough and after a few laps the inside lane began to pull away. Soon enough the Chevy's on the outside settled in line on the bottom as the Ford's attempted to bunch up once again, still led by Rarity.

Lap 38

Two laps in the stage left and now the inside was breaking apart. The Toyota's had broken away from the initial pack and settled into their own line. In the second pack the outside lane was beginning to prevail. Rarity and Applejack would come down to cover the lane in the corner and come up in the straights to pick up the draft. Something done by veteran drivers like their mentors Brad and Joey. There was no chance of catching the lead pack so getting stage points was priority.

After two more laps the Toyota's crossed the line to end stage two, Rainbow leading the group.

"That's a stage win. First step towards the playoffs." Her crew chief noted. No cautions during the stage, it was likely that every car would come into the pits.

Stage 2 Results

Rainbow Dash +10/+1 Playoff Point
Lightning Dust +9
Spitfire +8
Fluttershy +7
Danger Dean +6
Rarity +5
Applejack +4
Twilight Sparkle +3
Vinyl Scratch +2
Akula +1

As suspected, every car came down to refuel. What was not expected was the strategy the Penske Ford's pulled off. All five of them took right side tires only while every other car took four. Rainbow barely beat Rarity off the line, maintaining the lead for the next stage. She mentally thanked her crew, as they worked lightning fast to make sure she stayed out front. Now the tables were turned. She had a Ford on her outside. While she did have Lightning still behind her in third so too did Rarity have Applejack behind her. The Ford's, which had been running on the outside line the entire day, were now fighting for the lead by doing so.

On the restart both cars on the front row put their all into the launch, as did their respective pushers in row two. It seemed as if Rarity was about to clear Rainbow and come down. Just as she was beginning to do so Rainbow got a final push. She was still under her. That didn't stop Rarity from coming down into her right front. The contact was minimal and there was no spin as both drivers corrected themselves. That didn't help with how furious Rainbow got.

"Did she just {Expletive} come right down into me?!"

"Cool it, not gonna get anywhere mad. How is it?" Her crew chief reassured her then asked.

"Nothing feels damaged, no vibrations."

"No visual damage from up here, keep digging. Still outside."

Up in the booth the commentators got a good look at the contact between the two.

"Not quite clear! Oh little contact there but they both keep it straight." Jeff pointed out.

"Darrell, I saw a puff of tire smoke there. I think that the left rear might be going down."

"I agree, and none of those Ford's took any left sides on that last stop. That tire could go at any moment."

"I wouldn't want to be in that outside lane if and when it does."

Lap 48

“Still outside… still there.”

Rarity and Rainbow had been trading the lead for several laps. The momentum for both lanes had been equal. On the bottom, the group of Toyota’s were in full force. On the outside, the Ford’s had lined up as well. Problem was with every lap that Rarity pushed the left rear, it got worse and worse from the contact. On the eighth lap, with her leading the race on the outside, the tire blew.

"Still outside, help coming to you. Spinning outside, they're wrecking behind you! You're clear, caution out back it down."

Rainbow got a good look at the tire shred as the #2 came around right next to her. The car did a near full spin before the left front smacked the wall, The entire outside lane buckled like an accordion as Applejack hit first, then Vinyl, Then Sweetie Belle hit Vinyl enough to lift up her car. The #22 was shoved sideways into the #2 as a majority of the bottom lane got away damage free. Behind the initial four cars Apple Bloom got into the wall for some right side damage but was able to check up enough to avoid adding to the pileup. As some of the top lane was trying to get slowed down Octavia was spun into the side of Starlight on the bottom lane by Scootaloo and several cars swerved into the grass to avoid the wreck including Derpy, Lyra, and Trixie. They were lucky to not tear up their splitters and drove away.

The announcers in the broadcast got to see it all in real time.

"...and Trixie? She's recovered from the early spin and is settled in about 18th place." Mike was bringing up the earlier spin

"And I'll tell you Mike it's the final stage, you never know when these drivers are gonna… oh no!" Darrel mentioned before the wreck began to form

"Oh the #2 around, that left rear finally went! And that's gonna stack up the outside lane!"

"Big wreck…" Was all Jeff could muster up to say.

“The #22, the #4, the #12. Several cars spinning into the infield.”

As the wreck finally settled down the announcers began to account for all the cars that had damage.

“Apple Bloom in the #21, the whole right side is torn away from that car. The #88, some right front damage on that car as well as damage on the #10.”

"The #2, major damage to the left front. There's the #4… as well as Sweetie Belle in the #12. Looks like the #22 as well, she's gonna drive away."

“Holy Smoly…” Darrel spoke up.

"Well Darell, what was that you were gonna say?" Mike asked his companion.

"You never know when they are gonna wreck. There she is."

"The left rear tire of the #2 goes down, and just like that half a dozen cars have damage. That's gonna put an end to some races tonight."

When the pile up settled a few cars that simply spun out trying to avoid the wreck began to drive away. Most of the cars in the tail end had little damage. Octavia and Starlight drove away with dents where they had made contact and Apple Bloom’s entire right side was scraped away. The decals were mostly scrapped off including the Menard's sponsor sticker. Finally littered in the bottom of turn 3 were the four wrecked cars of Rarity, Applejack, Vinyl, and Sweetie Belle.

The #2 was caved in on both the left front where it hit and the right side where AJ was slammed into her. The damage to the left rear showed exactly what had caused the massive wreck. Applejack fared the best with some rear end and right side damage. She managed to re-fire the car and drove away. The damage however was severe, she would not run the front for the remainder of the race. Vinyl’s entire rear suspension was destroyed and the front end damage was enough to total the radiator, she was going nowhere. Finally, Sweetie Belle had the worst damage. The entire front of the car was destroyed beyond comprehension and the wrecker would be needed immediately.

By regulation, all three drivers that could not drive away released the window net which was a signal to the safety workers that they were all uninjured.

The pack came back around to turn three in a single file line with Rainbow still in the lead. Her spotter warned her to watch out for any debris which she did pay attention to, but she was still mesmerized by the sight. As she passed by, Rarity had already gotten out of her car and had her helmet off. The unicorn shot a glare into Rainbow’s car before she went to the ambulance as per safety regulation.

“She just eyed me up, and I don’t like it when she stares.”

“Everyone saw it, the live coverage was zoomed right on her.”

“I had a word with her spotter, he owned up. As far as I am concerned it is dealt with.”

“We aren’t in the fuel window. Don’t pit, I’m sure we’ll get more of these soon enough.”

As the coverage continued on during the lengthy caution the announcers were given several replays of the wreck. Up first was a shot from the infield going into turn 3. As it did before, the #2 went around rapidly as it got into the corner.

“Yep, I’ve seen plenty of left rear blowouts and that is exactly what happened.”

“You called it Darrell, and as the #2 goes around the entire outside lane bunches up like an accordion and there is absolutely nowhere to go.”

Next up was a head on shot from the turn 3 wall.

“Coming at you…”

The crash happened suddenly as the field blazed past at over 190mph. The view now switched to a few onboard views.

“Onboard with Rainbow Dash….”

“Still outside, help coming to you. Spinning outside, they're wrecking behind you! You're clear, caution out back it down."

The camera caught the blowout and subsequent spin, then switched to the bumper to watch the chaos in the turn. Up came another onboard.

“From Viral…”

“Still outside, push coming. Wrecking in front, stay low… low… clear. Caution’s out.”

Viral had been 8th in line on the inside lane. As she came into the turn a large smoke cloud began to build on the outside. Suddenly the outside lane buckled as she blasted past.

“That shows you how fast these wrecks can happen, almost no time to react.”

The onboard switched again.

“With Starlight…”

“Stay with it, help is coming. Spinning up top, back it down! Back it down! Low… We’re in it. Get it straight. Coming to you with right front damage.”

Being much farther back Starlight had much more time to slow down. Unexpectedly the #10 came down into her and knocked her sideways.”

“Almost through, a little right front damage but nothing serious.”

The view switched to one last onboard.

“With Applejack here, hang on.”

“Inside, help is coming. #4 is behind you… get low, low! We’re wrecked. See if you can get it going. Alright, bring it back around. What do ya got?”

As the #22 entered the corner there was no time to react as the car in front of her came around wildly. She got on the brakes but was punted from behind and spun around into the #2. As the field carried on the car slowly descended off the embankment onto the apron. As the cars settled around her, the car was re-fired and began to move along.

There was one more replay, a zoom shot of the collision between Vinyl and Sweetie Belle.

“Whoa, Vinyl on top of Sweetie Belle’s hood. That looked like something we saw at the Daytona 500 last year huh Darrell.”

“Yes it is Mike, Almirola and Ragan. And i’m gonna say it again. She’s checking what springs she’s running right there.”

"The #21 also hit the outside wall pretty good. That’s where all that right side damage came from."

A final replay was shown as the broadcast went to commercial.

"The action firing up at Daytona as some contact on a restart leads to this massive pileup in turn 3. We'll be right back."

After a few caution laps the field once again formed a double wide restart. For the third time that day Rainbow and Lightning were 1st and 2nd on the restart. Behind Rainbow on the inside lane was Spitfire, Fluttershy, and Stage 1 winner Pinkie Pie. Behind Lightning sat Danger Dean, Akula, and Viral Velocity.

The green flag was shown and the race restarted once again. Dean gave Lightning a shot immediately and Rainbow put up no effort as Lightning covered up the bottom lane. Dean in turn was shoved ahead by Akula and Viral and was pushed to the lead. Rainbow expected him to follow the team and come down low.

Going into turn one, that did not happen. Not only did the #95 clear both lead cars but so to did the #40 and #24. The three car tandem rocketed ahead down the back stretch as Lightning, Rainbow, and the rest of the pack were left in the dust by the three cars in front. Dean had not only dumped Lightning, he had dumped the entire team in one go.

Lap 62

"As the field comes back around to complete lap sixty-two let's head down to the infield where Matt Yocom is having a word with the driver of the #2. Matt?"

"Thanks Mike, I'm here with Rarity just after her release from the infield care center. How are you feeling?"

"Physically I'm fine darling, just winded after the hit. Little disappointed, Penske and Miller Lite brought me a great car here today and it could have come home a winner. Instead we ended up tearing up a lot of fellow Ford's."

"How about Rainbow Dash, any hard feelings after the run in?"

"Certainly not, yes I was upset with her at first afterwards but it wasn't her fault. I can't exactly blame her for what happened. She works hard at whatever she does and I have to give her the benefit of the doubt."

"So no grudges or anything similar?"

"No, as far as I'm concerned we are still friends."

"Alright Mike, back to you."

Lap 71

The race was now reaching the three quarter mark. All cars had last pitted on lap 40 and with fuel windows that would mean the final stop, if performed under green flag, would be in about ten laps.

Rainbow had settled in fifth behind Lightning as a way to keep pace with the three cars in front. While Dean, Akula, and Viral had maintained a sizable gap on the rest of the field but they weren't at all pulling away. With most of the Ford's that had been running the high line either being wrecked or out of race contention a sizable single file line had built up. Every so often the pack would pass by either the #21 or #22, both of which had returned on track from the first big wreck several laps down.

The lead pack went into turn three a bit bunched up. Akula tucked in behind Dean, but he did so on the right rear. The #40 bumped the #95 ever so slightly but it was enough to send the car down the embankment. Dean attempted to correct the car, but he over-corrected… majorly. The car fishtailed back and slammed the wall violently, momentarily sending it into a wild spin. Viral got down low quickly and passed Akula as he was coming down to avoid the aftermath. Behind them, the second pack was coming fast.

"..Clear all the way, they are still in line behind you. Spin up ahead, wrecking in front of you. He's gonna come down… go high, high, high."

Rainbow reacted swiftly to the directions given by her spotter. As the #95 ricocheted off of the wall, it was set on a collision course with her right front. Lightning ducked onto the apron to avoid getting clipped and Rainbow went up the track to avoid the car coming back down. Behind her Pinkie did the same and by the time the rest of the field came by the wreck was down onto the apron and out of harm's way.

"Clear, cautions out. Back it down. Phew, good work there."

"Thanks for the help, how's Dean."

"He's probably shaken up... but he just put the window net down. He's climbing out now."

"Oh thank Celestia."

While no stranger to heavy impacts at Daytona, the announcers were audibly appalled by the violent crash. It didn’t take long for a replay to be brought up. The first one focused in on both the #95 and #40.

“Alright let’s see what happened here. Coming into turn three…”

“Mike you can see the #40 pushing him, he’s right on that right rear corner. You can push here on the corners but if you push in that right rear it unsettles the car..."

As the contact was made the Toyota began to slide to the left, as it spun back around the tires caught and brought it nose first into the outside wall. The impact knocked the car on two wheels, but the car settled back down on all four tires and came to rest on the banking under turn two.

"...Wow what a hit.”

“You’re right Darell…”

The replay switched to a unzoomed angle.

“...and when the back end comes around you can’t do much but hang on.”

“As a driver who’s raced at Daytona, sometimes it’s better to ride out a spin than to correct it. Especially when you’re that far ahead of traffic. You’re less likely to get hit in the aftermath.” Jeff mentioned, having been a four-time champion in the sport.

“And Jeff, that hit right there… We call that a tank slapper. He hit that wall a ton.”

The feed was switched to a view from inside turn 2, it gave a great wide shot.

“And of course the S.A.F.E.R. Barrier doing it’s job. Dean walked away, but his chances of winning here at Daytona are done. Let’s go onboard with Viral, right behind the impact.”

The footage was brought up to the screen. Viral was tucked behind both of the cars behind her. As Dean began to go around she immediately moved down low. The #95 spun back around and she passed the #40 on the way by.

"Clear 4 lengths back… Watch it, low. Spinning behind you, still outside. Keep digging… cautions out. Big wreck behind you, #95 hit the wall hard."

“Veteran instincts being put to good use. Great job.”

The broadcast showed a second view, from further back.

“From Lightning Dust’s perspective.”

"In line behind you… Wrecking in front of you, get down down down! Clear! Cautions out."

"Whoa, that'll get your heart racing."

"Indeed Mike, glad to see he is ok."

"We've reached to three quarter mark here at Daytona, we'll be back shortly."

Pit stops were largely uneventful. However Rainbow and Lightning both managed to grab a spot from Akula on the cycle. This left Rainbow on the outside lane of Viral Velocity. Viral was likely going to be Rainbow's biggest challenge during any race. A veteran driver and driving one of the best cars in the field. Sure, she was a good sport and Rainbow respected her as well as many other drivers did, but winning meant everything to her and she wasn't gonna let some random pegasus steal her spotlight today.

After a few caution laps, the field was lined up with less than twenty laps to go. It was now or never for Rainbow. She needed the lead on this restart or it was gonna be an uphill battle for the win. The green flag was waved once again.

While Rainbow had a good launch, she did not get the push she was looking for as Akula spun his tires behind her. Viral and Lightning locked bumpers and they were off, Spitfire following close behind. Rainbow had to settle into line in 4th, when Fluttershy gave her the space to line up. After that restart, she was now her determined partner.

"We just got dumped by the #19."

"Yeah, no {expletive}."

"#20 in line behind you."

Lap 87

The field raced into turn four just about three wide. The Gannasi Chevrolet's of Akula, Sunset, and Trixie were working the top lane to try and get a run but to not avail. Some of the remaining Ford's were working the second lane and some other Chevy's were joining that lane. Meanwhile Viral and the Toyota's kept the pace. As the field exited turn two Rainbow felt the car bobble. That subtle bobble soon became a sliding car. She had to slide up the track to hold it, which thankfully was not occupied as she was far enough in front. Fluttershy checked up slightly and moved up to pick Rainbow back up, but in doing so lost the inside lane.

"Hold on to it... dig, dig, dig. #20 is with you, keep digging."

"Holy {expletive} that was close."

"You certainly can handle a car like Kyle."

In the booth, the commentators had the same idea. As they watched the field came off turn 4 the #18 wiggled and went up the track but stayed straight.

"Less than ten laps to go this time by... oh, oh."

"Oh, hang onto it." Darrell encouraged.

"Wow, great save by Rainbow there. Fluttershy is gonna pick her up but that's gonna slow up the whole outside lane."

"Ha ha, you wouldn't know that Kyle wasn't driving that car. Great job keeping off the wall and and going straight."

It wasn't long before they had a replay.

"Again, coming off turn four like with Trixie earlier. The car jumps out and look how sideways she gets."

"Practically drifting in a stock car, and she keeps it off the wall."

"Hey, Jeff. You think Kyle taught her how to do that. I've lost track of how many times Kyle has Managed to save his car."

"I'm not sure how he does it Mike, but she's gonna lose a couple spots from that. Meanwhile Viral now pulling away with Lightning and Spitfire."

Lap 92

It was truly surprising how well the outside lane was doing with two Toyota's leading the lane. Withing a few laps Rainbow had caught up to and passed Spitfire. Now she was running in third, only a nose behind Lightning going into turn 1. Viral came up a little to catch Rainbow's draft in the tri-oval. It was at this exact moment that Lightning got a huge push. Coming in Viral went to cover the bottom and there was contact. The #24 began to spin on the apron of turn 1, but Viral powered it through and kept it down. If she lost the car now, it would go up the track and collect the entire field.

"Still inside, keep digging it's not over. Oh, #24 spinning in front stay high. Keep digging she's still spinning behind you. Wreck, caution's out. Got one in the wall in turn 2."

Miraculously, Viral kept the car on the apron until most of the field went by. As the car finally came of the baking it spun back around. the #47 of Sky Stinger was the last car, and he didn't make it. He hit the #24 hard with the left front. The pair of Chevy's slammed the outside wall and came back down the racetrack into the infield.

Sky's left front was KO'd, the front wheel being completely bent inwards and not responding at all. He quickly put down the window net. His day was done. Viral fared a bit better, but had severe left rear damage from the hit. Luckily, it wasn't terminal nor did it hinder the cars ability to drive. For the #24, aerodynamics was the problem that needed to be solved. She got back running again and headed for pit road.

The commentators once again reviewed the crash, watching the contact between the #24 and #11.

"Right there, that turn Viral down the field. Great job on not wrecking the entire field but couldn't hold the car and Sky with nowhere to go. Well Jeff, that's a bummer."

"Sure is Mike, she was running very well."

"We'll be coming around with five laps to go this time. Buckle up folks it's not over yet."

After a couple laps, Viral rejoined the field in eighteenth. Now two laps down, it was a matter of finishing the race. For Rainbow, as the field came back for the green flag with five laps to go, it was all too familiar. Lightning to her inside, Fluttershy behind her, and Spitfire on her left corner. behind the four Toyota's a series of Chevy's and Ford's that also wanted a win in the first race of the season.

They came back around for what she hoped would be the last green flag of the day. 5 laps to go.

The leaders were dead even on the launch as well as all the way around onto the backstretch. Two wide behind was constant throughout the entire field. Lightning and Rainbow came around in a dead heat, Lightning leading the lap.

4 laps to go.

Now the field was getting wild. Pinkie was done waiting and moved into the middle and made a third lane between Twilight and Akula. Forcing the issue worked and she got right in behind Fluttershy. She gave the #20 a push down the back which transfered into the #18. The middle lane began as the once again crossed the line.

"Still inside, push coming from the #20."

"I know she's still inside. Just let me know what's happening behind me and when I'm clear."

3 laps to go.

Akula started getting some help in the third lane as Sunset Shimmer lined up behind him, but Trixie had been forced out of the pack and was now barely keeping up. Now Viral was third in line running the outside lane, after the quick repairs brought her car back up to speed. She wanted to finish the race proud.

"Look at the #24 up there Jeff, she's fighting back."

"Not racing for position but she's not just gonna lie down and let the pack race."

Now Rainbow was clear of the #11, she had pace control now. It was up to her to block the lanes as they advanced, and she had three lanes to block.

2 laps to go.

"Two laps this time by and Rainbow has the whole field behind her."

"I don't know if they'll make it back Mike."

Another couple big pushes down the backstretch brought Fluttershy to the door of Lightning Dust. Akula was not falling back either, determined to make a statement at Daytona with an early win. The entire field behind Rainbow was coming fast, and now the white flag was coming down.

1 lap to go.

Fluttershy and Lightning got one last good push coming down the backstretch, but Rainbow managed to block the low lane and come back up to grab the push for herself. Spitfire gave Lightning one more shove into turn 3 as a last ditch effort. The push was too much, and exiting turn 4 the back end came around. As the #11 spun into the infield the rear end lifted, and the roof flaps did little to help as the car overturned onto its roof and slide across the pavement coming off turn 4. Ahead of that, the race to the line was on.

"Coming off turn four, it's now a race."

"Oh, got one spinning off of four! Upside down, the #11."

"Here they come to the line, and leading them all back, the Rainbow Rocket. Rainbow Dash and Joe Gibbs... get the victory at Daytona with a 1,2,3 finish."

Eventually as the field settled down Lightning's Toyota calmly flipped back over. Not wanting to be embarrassed by not finishing she started the car back up to cross the line, finishing 17th. The car died just as she did so and she parked it in the infield. Exiting the car to face the grandstands, she extended her wings and bowed. The fans cheered on the display, and as she finished she was brought to the ambulance for a check up.

Meanwhile, the field came back around into the pits, all except for one car. Rainbow began to spin the worn tires of her Toyota before doing several burnout spins in front of the starters stand. After a few spins, she began to drive the car back to victory lane. As she exited the vehicle to greet her crew and others Krista was there for her post victory interview.

"As we finish up the results, let's head down to victory lane where Krista is with this races winner. Krista?"

"Thanks Mike, indeed I'm here with Rainbow Dash and the #18 team in victory lane celebrating the first win of the season. Rainbow how does it feel?"

"It's unlike anything I've felt before really. It was great having Skittles on board for the first race and I'm hoping to get my own sponsor soon enough. Again, gotta thank Kyle, Gibbs, and the team. The guys did great on pit road today keeping me up front and it payed off in the end. I'm gonna go look for Fluttershy after this, I owe her one after all she did to help me out at the end there."

"Well, guys. Rainbow celebrating the only way she can. Steve?"

"Thanks Krista, I'm here with Viral Velocity on pit road after an 18th place finish. Viral you were running up front until the very end how was it?"

"Nothing like it, car was great all day. Shame we about wrecked it with less than ten laps. Axalta and Hendrick have a great car for me this year, and I can't wait to bring it next week. Looking forward to Las Vegas."

"Thanks for your time. Matt?"

"Steve, I'm here with Lightning Dust as she is just getting released from the infield care center. Lightning you had a rollover coming to the finish, what was going through your head as the car came over."

"Well aside from the initial 'oh no' feeling it wasn't that big of a deal. I was more concerned about finishing the race at the time. We were running up front all day with Rainbow and the other Toyota's. Shame we couldn't come home with a better finish than we had. FexEx was looking for a good finish today."

"How about that bow at the finish line, what was that about?"

"Just showing off for the fans. I like putting on a show for everyone watching."

"Jeff?"

"Thanks, down here with the #40. Great performance for you today, a top 5 finish in your first ever Nascar start. How does it feel?"

"It feels amazing, having just come from a season of Open Wheel racing, to racing in cars in circles where the slightest tap could mean the difference between control and a Big One. Bit of a rocky transition during the off season, but I'm getting there."

"I see you have your old F1 team Mercedes sponsoring you this season. Anything you want to mention about that?"

"I'm just glad that the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team came out to support my car and Chip Ganassi Racing. I have no doubt with my driving skill, the combined Mercedes-Chip Ganassi teams and with Kurt Busch's tutelage, great things will come from this season,"

"Good luck to you, have a nice weekend."

"I will, cheers."

"Back to you Mike."

"Well as we close out today, thank you all for tuning in today for the Daytona Equestria 250. Join us next week at Las Vegas for the next race of the series. I've been Mike Joy with Darrel Waltrip and Jeff Gordon and we'll see you this Sunday for the running of the Daytona 500.

Finishing Positions:

Rainbow Dash +40/+5 Playoff Points
Fluttershy +35
Spitfire +34
Pinkie Pie +33
Akula +32
Twilight Sparkle +31
Sunset Shimmer +30
Starlight Glimmer +29
Scootaloo +28
Lyra Heartstrings +27
Octavia Melody +26
Bloothy +25
Derpy Hooves +24
Oscura Galaxia +23
Vapor Trail +22
Trixie Lulamoon +21
Lightning Dust +20
Viral Velocity +19 [2 Laps Down]
Apple Bloom +18 [15 Laps Down]
Applejack +17 [15 Laps Down]
Sky Stinger +16 [DNF Lap 92]
Danger Dean +15 [DNF Lap 71]
Rarity +14 [DNF Lap 48]
Vinyl Scratch +13 [DNF Lap 48]
Sweetie Belle +12 [DNF Lap 48]

Standings

In Playoffs by wins
In Playoffs by points

Rainbow Dash 50 Points (6 Playoff Points-1 Win)
Pinkie Pie 43 Points (1 Playoff Point)
Twilight Sparkle 43 Points
Fluttershy 42 Points
Spitfire 42 Points
Akula 38 Points
Sunset Shimmer 35 Points
Starlight Glimmer 32 Points
Lightning Dust 29 Points
Scootaloo 28 Points
Applejack 28 Points
Lyra Heartstrings 27 Points
Viral Velocity 27 Points
Octavia Melody 26 Points
Bloothy 25 Points
Rarity 25 Points
Derpy Hooves 24 Points
Oscura Galaxia 23 Points
Vapor Trail 22 Points
Trixie Lulamoon 21 Points
Danger Dean 19 Points
Apple Bloom 18 Points
Vinyl Scratch 17 Points
Sky Stinger 16 Points
Sweetie Belle 13 Points

Best of Radioactive: Phoenix

42 Sunset Shimmer

Pre-Race

"Alright, let's have a good night. Fight all the way through, finish strong."

"I like the new look we got going, but damn Akula keeps impressing me despite being the expansion team. Good luck to him today, he definitely has a car that can win."

18 Rainbow Dash

Pre-Race

"Front row, #40 has chosen the outside lane so you'll have the #4 behind you."

"No problem, car feels much better. I got a good feeling about tonight."

9 Pinkie Pie

Pre-Race

"Hm... yep, that's a doozy. "

"Something up?"

"...Yes, but I can't quite point it out. Whatever it is its gonna be a doozy."

40 Akula

Lap 2

"Clear one back, #24 looking low. Three behind, wreck behind ya. Big wreck behind ya, like biggest so far this season big. Quite a few hard hits, #42 and #1 got through."

"Team's intact. What do I have behind me?"

"#4 got through clean, #95 made it through as well. Pretty much 2nd through 9th bit the dust in that one."

95 Danger Dean

Lap 2

"Clear down when you want it.. wrecking in front! Down down, middle. Watch the #9. Clear high, clear good work."

"Woah, what the (Expletive)! How did I even get through that mess!"

"You're a better driver than most give you credit for mate. Keep digging, we got a good car tonight."

24 Viral Velocity

Lap 2

"Still high, got plenty of bottom to work with here. Looking out.. oh you've gotta be kidding. Hold it up there, we got hooked up into the #11."

"Ya alright?"

"Why is it always the (Expletive) Toyota's?"

19 Spitfire

Lap 2

"#9 inside, #48 looking high. Got one still coming low... get down, we're in it. Got the whole left front torn up with the #18"

"And for the third week in a row "Crash" has lived up to her nickname. This time it's an academy record 3 teamates. Wow, first one at Vegas, two at Auto Club, and now she's done it again! (Expletive)!"

22 Applejack

Lap 2

"Done. Crushed like a tin can."

"I'm more concerned for Rarity right now, but I'll get this one back to Y'all before I put it out of it's misery."

2 Rarity

"You Ok down there?"

*sigh* Wounded pride darling. Nothing more, nothing less. The rotten luck follows me like a dark cloud.

"Sorry Rarity."

"Woah... Pinkie.. don't be upset it was a matter of unfortunate circumstances. I'm fine, just let me get this..."

12 Sweetie Belle

Lap 24

"How can a car be this tight on exit and loose on entry at the same time?! This makes no sense!"

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 32

"I think that damage (Expletive) with my steering. Can't get it to turn it that well."

"Alright, take care of it and we'll take a look next time in."

42 Sunset Shimmer

Lap 35

"Solid work, made the top ten and got some points. Keep fighting to the front, #40 is still in the lead."

"I would expect nothing less from him."

95 Danger Dean

Lap 36

"Ready, green green. Outside, bottom of three... clear. Good one, dig dig."

"Let's put on a show for the mares in the garage."

40 Akula

Lap 43

"I respect the guts mate, but the #95 is pushing his luck."

"You're faster than him, don't wreck him, but move him if you need to."

"Way outside, clear 2 back."

"No disrespect, but I have history to make tonight and I can't have him in my way."

10 Octavia Melody

Lap 59

"Good pace, #4 is running well and we have the second best position on the team."

"Always nice to know Vinyl is having a good time. Keep me posted on her speed, see how we compare."

6 Scootaloo

Lap 67

"Right front, I'm fine but it's done."

"Alright good to hear, yellow is out and the truck is on its way. Just sit tight."

88 Starlight Glimmer

Pits (End of Stage 2)

"coming, three... two... one... damnit. Go go."

"For (Expletive) sake! How does it look?"

"Nothing serious, get it turned around when we finish up."

40 Akula

Pits (End of Stage 2)

"And.. Go go go! Agh, keep going. We still have the lead."

"Alright, good work I'm starting to get tired of the amount of times I've run into her. She doesn't even have a competitive car today."

21 Apple Bloom

Lap 103

"Good run so far, keep it up and let us know of you have any problems."

"Other than being really tired I think everything is good."

47 Sky Stinger

Lap 116

"Top 15 right now, even if half the field is wrecked."

"At this rate I'll take all the points I can get. I'm sick of being the caboose of this series."

"Just stay clear, leaders are coming by this lap."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 124

"Clear all around, 3 back. Watch it stay low, clear. Cautions out."

"#88 And #40?"

"Yep. Clear as day."

"They are gonna need more than a wrecker to clean up the mess that's gonna spill. And no, I'm not elaborating on that. I don't want to talk about what he might do to her on national coverage."

40 Akula

Lap 124 (Under Caution)

"DO NOT LET HER OUT OF THIS (Expletive) CIRCUIT OR SO HELP ME..."

"Kurt!"

"DON'T KURT ME, HE HAD THIS DAMN RACE WON! I HATE PHOENIX, THEY LET KENNY WALLACE DRIVE MY CAR HERE ONCE! DANICA LIVES HERE! WORST (Expletive) RACE TRACK EVER!"

1 Trixie Lulamoon

Lap 125 (Under Caution)

"So, I'm sure you know Starlight pretty well. What do you think..."

"Trixie has no comment."

20 Fluttershy

Lap 152

"Clear two back to the #10, 5 to go next time by. Keep it smooth, you have a top ten car."

"I still want to thank you for getting me through all this, especially that wreck early on."

"Just doing my job, you're doing Gibbs and the team proud despite the circumstances."

37 Vapor Trail

Lap 158 (Finish)

"#4 crossing the line ahead of you, P10. Top ten today, solid work."

"I'd say it was more luck than anything else. Half the field is in the garage."

"Don't get so down on yourself. You did good today, Preece is happy and so am I."

48 Twilight Sparkle

Lap 158 (Finish)

"Checkered flag this time by, good work bringing it home."

"Thank Celestia, I feel like I've been driving a boat the last few hours. Let's hope Starlight doesn't say or do something she'll regret in the hauler tonight. I'm not saving her this time."

Author's Note

I must apologize for taking an age and a half to publish this Radioactive, but I was unsurprisingly distracted by other forms of media. Oops, hope you enjoy this anyway. Next up is Atlanta Motor Speedway.

And for those of you who may have recognized the Kurt Busch line, you know what it's from.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD8Eb8k6TJE