CHAPTER 2

ON THE TRACK

Gently, Tony pressed his foot down onto his kart’s accelerator. WHOOSH! The kart responded instantly. He steered onto the racetrack.

After months of waiting, he was finally on the track with his new TAG kart. It was just a practice run, but still, energy pumped through Tony.

Tony drove from the starting line to the first turn, which was called the Lefty.

At the Lefty, the track made a slow left turn. Just ahead of Tony was another kart. He decided to see if he could pass. Tony stepped on the gas and passed the kart easily.

Then Tony looked back at the driver.

Oh man, he thought. That was Devin. He is not going to like that.

Tony knew from watching Devin race that he hated it when anyone passed him.

Tony turned the kart left as he drove through the Lefty.

Vroom! Devin roared past Tony in the straightaway.

Tony turned left into the Swing Back. This turn went around like a half circle. Tony drove all around the curve.

It was awesome. The kart handled the turn perfectly. There was a straight part of the track after the Swing Back, and after the straightaway was the Hairpin — a really tight, sharp turn.

Tony took a deep breath and carefully turned the steering wheel right as he went into the turn. He felt the kart start to slip off the track, and pulled the steering wheel left. The kart went back onto the pavement.

I better slow down, Tony thought. This kart is way faster than my old one!

Next up was the Double S, two giant S-shaped turns in a row. Tony looked ahead, trying to map out the straightest path through the turns that he could see. He knew he’d never win a race if he ended up off the track.

He eased up on the accelerator and the kart slowed down. On his right, Tony could see Corey coming up behind him.

Vroom! Corey sped past Tony. Jon was right on Corey’s tail. Vroom! Jon flew past him too.

Tony followed Jon and Corey on the line. One after the other, they moved through the turns in the straightest line they could drive. Tony realized he’d been holding his breath as he kept the kart on the track. As soon as he reached the straightaway, he relaxed and pressed his foot down on the accelerator. He smiled. His kart could really fly!

Tony turned the kart left again and there was the starting line. One lap down and a whole day of racing to go!