The last post before tonight had been eight days ago, a grainy photo of a rusted turn-one crash barrier captioned, “Remember when?” It had gotten three replies. Two were just “👍” and one was a broken link to a Photobucket image.
Kenny’s heart did a little kickstart. SteelShoe97 was Colin “The Shoes” Schubert, a former national champion who’d lost a leg in a horrific crash at the 2009 Clay Valley Invitational. He hadn’t posted in three years. The rumor was he’d moved to a cabin in Montana and refused to touch a computer. speedway proboards
This is James Jankowski. I am not in Costa Rica. I am in a studio apartment in Tulsa. And Colin is right. The engine was illegal. I used a magnetic clutch override that boosted horsepower for 90 seconds before melting the pistons. I told myself everyone cheated. I told myself it was just one lap. But Rex called me after the race. He said, “You didn’t beat me, Jimmy. You just broke your bike slower.” I laughed then. I haven’t laughed since. I’m sorry. To Rex’s family. To all of you. The board was the only place I could say it. Where the real fans are. The real ones deserve the real truth. The last post before tonight had been eight
He typed back. The board is barely breathing, Shoes. But it’s not dead yet. Post it. I’ll make sure it stays up. He then navigated to the main board index. Categories like “Tech Talk,” “Race Results,” and “The Paddock Pub.” He did something he hadn’t done in five years. He pinned a new global announcement at the top of every category. SteelShoe97 was Colin “The Shoes” Schubert, a former
It explains why Jimmy sold his shop and moved to Costa Rica six months later. We all thought he was just rich. He was running.
But that was then.