Fat Lady
At the grand nationals in nineteen ninety-eight Brandy's left hand pulled in on the clutch lever as her right leg balanced the center weight of the drag bike between her slender legs.
This allowed her left foot to push the shift lever down connecting the eight hundred plus horse power engine to the tranny and the tranny to the rear tire causing the Fat Lady to jerk and sink down as the built to the hilt mill stood ready.
She placed both her feet firmly on the black top as she held the only thing keeping the Lady in place.
She shoved her buttocks back as she lay her long six foot slender body on the fuel tank as her face went tight into the instrument panel.
Brandy's eyes, mind, and soul focused her whole body on the Christmas tree of lights just to her left.
With a slight push her front wheel broke the beam triggering the white light at the top of the tree signaling her readiness of her appoint. In seconds the second white light came on signaling the ready set go wood start in two more seconds.
With the first green light her right wrist cracked the throttle causing the Fat Lady's raw power to jump to attention. She could feel the newly found power her brother's had unleashed in the Lady.
She knew at this second in time the Lady was the most powerful drag bike in the world.
The lights on the tree started to move. The first red light flashed on and then the second just under the first another amber, amber then green.
The tree lights moved with perfect timing as did Brandy's fingers off the clutch; her wrist rolled the throttle and time froze at the last amber light.
She started to relax at the first amber light. By the time the green hit the rear tire was starting to crinkle from the torque the Fat Lady had just released.
She could feel the Lady starting to move away from the line the G-Force pushed her back side tight into the seat.
It felt like a perfect light her mind told her; not taking her focus from the task at hand.
Her foot was at the shifter as her eye caught the tachometer needle approaching the shift line. She felt the sweet spot and slammed the shifter causing her to grip tighter around the handle bars, fighting the acceleration that was trying to pull the Fat Lady out from under her.
The surge of raw power lift the front wheel off the asphalt causing the traction bars to push down on the black top quickly moving away from her and the Lady.
Again she felt the sweet spot and Brandy slammed another gear causing her eye's to water as the force pushing at her seamed to double every second.
Her eyes were blurred as the force seamed to be more than she could handle. Never before had she turned the Fat Lady fully out like this.
Every tenth of a second seamed to push at her harder and harder.
It had taken a lot of arguing to convince her brothers to set the Fat Lady up, no holds barred.
She said, let's go for it. This isn't just another drag race; it's the grand daddy of all Nationals for Gods sake.
Nothing could stop her until her brother's gave in.
Everything was tweaked for maximum power and speed. She would allow the Fat Lady to pull her and push it's self beyond the laws of physics and nature.
The front wheel hadn't started to settle down like it normally would have by now.
Then she punched another gear and the wheel came up further.
It was past the maximum safe level her instincts told her. It couldn't be or I would go up and over her mind said. Any further and she knew she ran the risk. Her first instinct was to back of the throttle, just a little.
'NO!' her mind screamed.
She forced herself to concentrate and focus trying to control her fear.
Then the thought of letting her brothers down became more fearful than racing a drag bike. She new in her soul the Lady wouldn't let her down. Then her fear was gone and her mind was back in the race.
Two more gears ran through her mind, just two more gears. Over and over she pushed the impulse to get of the throttle out of her mind.
Bam! The Fat Lady surged forward faster and faster.
Only one more gear to go and again her body and mind told her to back off. But she couldn't. What would she say to her brother's after the display she had put on in front of them; trying to convince them she was ready.
The acceleration was trying to rip her hands off the grips, then BAM! the last gear.
The Fat Lady was screaming more than she had ever dreamed she could as she saw the red light glaring, telling her the nitro had kicked in. she could see the finish line it seemed so far but so close.
Brandy knew the Fat Lady had just gone from eight hundred horsepower to sixteen hundred horsepower and she could feel it.
Over half way down the track she felt a pain in her left leg. But her mind wouldn't let her feel it anymore. She knew she had to let the Fat Lady finish what she was built to do.
She tried to push her body forward up the tank as far as she could; her mind told her to push the front wheel down. As though her hundred and forty five pounds would make a difference against the G-Force the Fat Lady was inflicting on her body.
She was thin, yes but strong. Never before had the Fat Lady pushed against her so hard as her mind told her it would be over in another half second.
The finish line was a blur as it flew under her. She rolled the throttle down quickly as her thumb flipped the kill switch that stopped the fuel and spark to the engine.
She didn't see the time and speed because she flew by so fast.
The shoot caught and the Fat Lady was pulled back in a sudden reverse motion that it felt like it had run full force into a brick wall.
This threw Brandy's body forward into the gauges. She had prepared for the jolt but it was more than she had ever expected.
Her face shield hit the tachometer before she could do anything about it. She wondered if she had released the shoot to early.
She could tell she was really moving. She knew she had gone over two hundred miles per hour. Had she opened the shoot too early? Was the Fat Lady moving slow enough for her to really take control?
As she finally rolled to a stop, she looked back over her shoulder to see her opponent still way back on the track.
He must have blown an engine she thought as her foot pushed the kick stand down.
She could taste blood in her mouth and the pain came back to her leg as she put her full weight on it.
Her crew of brother's pulled up in an old truck. Her brother Paul was off the truck and at her side before the truck had come to a full stop.
"You did it!" Paul screamed as he came to Brandy's side.
Paul grabbed Brandy and swung her around three times before sitting her down. He pulled back and looked at Brandy as she removed her face shield.
Phil one of her other brother's was screaming she had broken the record.
Brandy smiled at John as he said.
"You're bleeding."
Brandy tried to tell Paul she bit her lip.
Paul grabbed Brandy and laid her down on the asphalt. He began to assess the severity of the peace of metal sticking out of her leg.
Brandy looked at her leg for the first time, remembering the pain she had felt during the race.
She felt the pain return as her mind began to realize her injury.
It looked like a peace of motor block from her opponents drag bike. It had to be she thought.
Then Brandy's mind heard her brother, Paul's voice screaming. She asked looking into her Brother John's eyes.
"I broke... what record?"
"Well Miss Brandy Ann Miller." John replied.
"No other person in the world has gone a quarter mile... on two wheels that is."
"John... please... tell me."
John started over with the long version when Brandy shook him and pleaded, then he said.
"You broke the world's record for the quarter mile."
