"Hey Bo, you planning on taking the General out of 4th gear sometime during this race or what?"
"Dang it Luke, will you stop being such a back seat driver!"
"Only trying to make sure you don't wind up ruining the General and spending money we don't have on new parts."
Howdy Folks, and welcome to another typical Saturday in Hazzard County. As usual the sun is shining and Bo and Luke Duke, our favourite good ol' boys, are powering their car, The General Lee, round a race course. O'course, y'all probably can't see them for the big ol' cloud o'dust they's kicking up.
The General slid expertly round another bend in the dirt track raceway, the blond haired young man behind the wheel grinning as thrill and adrenaline surged through his veins and his older cousin's friendly, but guiding, banter rang in his ears.
It was just another typical Hazzard race that Bo and Luke had entered, with the same old plans to stop them from racing one way or another set up by Boss Hogg nearly a day before. But Bo and Luke wouldn't give it up for the world. The thrill of a race was just too great a temptation to miss for the boys, no matter how big or small, and usually the prize money didn't matter one single iota. The prize of coming first and honing their driving skills was reward enough when they used them to escape the clutches of the local sheriff department.
Luke laughed as Bo's grin got wider and wider as a make shift ramp started to loom up ahead. Bo took his eyes off the road for a fraction of a second to look excitedly at Luke before swiftly turning his attention back to the road before he got yelled at. Luke shook his head and braced himself as the car swerved slightly to hit the ramp dead on. The bright orange race car flew high into the air, the first 12 notes of Dixie reaching the home crowds ears that sent them whooping and cheering with joy as Bo and Luke landed the General and skidded across the finish line.
The proceedings carried on as usual, with Boss Hogg having to, albeit hesitantly, hand the prize money over to the boys in front of the usual roaring home crowd, then a good half an hour was spent getting clapped on the back for an excellent drive and the same unfulfilled promises that the next time they were on the track they would be beaten was thrown their way.
Bo sighed contentedly and wrapped an affectionate arm around Luke's shoulders as they finally managed to worm their way over to Uncle Jesse and Daisy, who were standing patiently by General Lee. Ever since Bo could remember, he had done practically everything he could with Luke. It was very rare that the boys ever did anything without the other, and the few times that Bo could remember where they had made him wince. Verbal fights between them were common and expected by everyone at least once at some point during the day, but were quickly resolved if not by themselves, by Uncle Jesse. It was the physical fights that were the rarest and the hardest for Bo to recall. There were so few of them, which made the details of each one they had had seem even more painful to Bo.
"Bo, whatever happened to 'Luke, you're going to tower above me forever'?"
Bo laughed and looked down at Luke, grinning childishly, not even breaking his stride at Luke's sudden outburst. The two of them were too used to randomly blurted out things coming from the other to be surprised by it.
"I was only tryin' to make you feel better about yourself back then Cuz. I didn't have the heart to tell ya you's was destined to remain a midget for the rest of your life."
"Midget! I'll give you midget!"
Luke ducked out from underneath Bo's arm and playfully tackled him side on, sending the both of them sprawling to the ground and into the dust. Uncle Jesse and Daisy just rolled their eyes exasperatedly, smiling at the antics that befell them. When the dust cleared, Luke was to be seen sitting on Bo's chest and tickling his younger cousin mercilessly.
"Come on Bo, ya give?"
"Luke! Luke stop it, you's crushin' me ya big oaf."
"Now hang on a minute, I thought I was a midget a little while ago."
"You are, just a spectacularly heavy midget!"
A shrill whistle from somewhere over to the right jerked the boys from their fun and to their feet, dusting themselves off as Uncle Jesse walked over, shaking his head and sighing.
"When is you boys goin' to learn to stop makin' scenes wherever we go?"
Bo and Luke smiled and looked to the ground, towing the dirt with their tan boots. It was finally Luke who spoke first, knowing that Bo had no intention of doing so.
"Sorry Uncle Jesse, just the excitement of the race and all got to Bo's head and inflated it again. Had to do something to deflate it so he could actually fit back in the General."
Luke grinned and ducked as Bo swiped sharply at the back of his head, before pulling the prize money out of Bo's pocket.
"Here Uncle Jesse, there's some more money for the pot."
Daisy watched as Luke pressed the wad of bills into her Uncle Jesse's hand, and saw the almost heart-breaking shame in the older man's eyes. She wrapped an arm round her Uncle's waist and pulled him close. Bo looked up as Luke stood sharply on his toe and frowned.
"Uncle Jesse…what's the matter?"
"Now boys…I appreciate you tryin' to help us all out with money and all but…well boys you earned this and I know the General ain't in the best shape he could be. He is long overdue for some new parts and I…I just can't accept you fella's mistreatin' somethin' you love…"
Bo looked astonished by the words that Jesse had said, and Luke had to fight to stop himself from laughing as Bo's mouth opened and closed in bewilderment. After a while of letting Bo make a complete prat out of himself, Luke stepped in.
"Uncle Jesse, the General is in great condition. He don't need new parts just yet, Cooter's been doing regular checks of our regular checks to make sure of it. Family always comes first, you taught us that. We couldn't stand to see you lose the farm, we's all grown up in it and I'm sure the General is more than happy to go without a few new parts for a couple of months."
Bo nodded in agreement, patting Jesse lovingly on the shoulder and giving Daisy a hug for good measure, remembering the last time he had got accused of ignoring her and ending up in bed with a huge bruise over his right eye for it. Luke had never let him live that one down.
"So how far we got with the money then Uncle Jesse?"
"Now boys, I ain't gonna lie ta ya. We's in a tight spot, time is runnin' out and we haven't even got half of what J.D is askin' for. But I don't want you two workin' yourselves silly over this alright? I'll see you back at the farm."
The two Duke boys sighed and looked to each other as Uncle Jesse and Daisy walked away before turning tail and heading back towards the General. Money had been tight recently with the heat of the summer proving bad for the crops that had been growing, and with J.D Hogg breathing down their necks for some trumped up mortgage and tax charge, things were looking worse and worse by the minute.
"Luke, there has got to be somethin' we can do!"
"Well if you's got any ideas I'd sure like to hear 'em."
"Oh come on now, you know as well as I do that you think up the plans and I provide the getaway."
"Well I'm on strike, so start thinkin'."
Bo knew all too well what Luke being on strike meant. He meant that at that moment, his mind was focused more on Mary-Sue Johannsen who was waving girlishly at him from over the other side of the race track.
"Hey Bo, see what you can do on the General for a minute would ya."
And without waiting for a reply, Luke broke from his younger cousin and jogged over to the blond haired girl leaning on the race track fence, Bo watching in amusement as he started whispering things to her which made her blush and giggle. He shook his head and soon found himself underneath the General's hood, tinkering and making small adjustments, his mind still focused on finding some way to help the money situation. There were only so many races him and Luke could enter, and none of them particularly paid good enough money to make a killer dent in the debt the Dukes apparently owed J.D Hogg.
A sharp rap on the hood made him pull back and squint as the sunlight of the burning day infiltrated his sight.
"Urm...howdy, what can I do for y'all?"
When his sight cleared, he saw two stocky men standing before him, each dressed in casual clothing of boots, jeans, shirts and cowboy hats. They were holding briefcases however, and small warning bells rang through his head as he spied guns hidden in pouches at their sides.
"Howdy to you too Mr. Duke. We'll get straight down to the point. We have a lil' business proposition for you."
Bo nodded and leant back under the hood.
"Well, I'd appreciate it if you let me work on my engine while you tell me 'bout it. It's just I gotta get this finished 'afore my cousin comes back."
"Oh no problem. Ya see, we's been watching your performances over the past few weeks and we think you may have what it takes to be a part of our team."
Bo laughed and carried on working.
"Oh really? And what kind of team would that be?"
"Well, do you know anything about lil' ol' races run by NASCAR?"
A loud crack resounded through the air as Bo's head connected sharply with the hood of the General. He pulled out from the engine hurriedly to study the two men before him.
"Yeah, I know NASCAR. What about them?"
"Well ya see, we're looking for drivers to be part of our team we are planning on entering into NASCAR. Good, sturdy drivers who aren't afraid of a little tough competition and have what it takes to compete against the best drivers in the world."
"And you think I'm good enough?"
"From what we've seen yes. You really seem to know your stuff. There is a practise race this weekend to weed out all the boys from the men, we wondered if you would be interested."
Bo's heart was beating so loudly, the deafening roar of the blood rushing through his ears nearly made him think he was imagining what had just been said. He was NASCAR quality? He could be running the NASCAR circuits as a driver, just like he always wanted to do? He looked at the two men, dumbfounded, trying to ignore the now shooting pain that was going through the large bump on the top of his head.
"If you win, the prize would be to be the driver for the team and $25,000 cash prize money, plus another $10,000 for participating whether or not you win."
Bo was about ready to jump up and down and scream for joy. Here was the answer to everything, all the problems that had been going on at the farm, helping him and Luke to fulfil their dream of getting out onto the NASCAR circuits...Luke….
"Urm…this sounds like a great offer gentlemen but…well would I be able to have a shotgun driver with me? Ya see it's just that my cousin and me…"
"No problem Mr. Duke. We are willing to allow you anything so long as you provide a good performance as you have done in these here races."
"Well yee haw it looks like you boys have got yourselves a deal. Where do I sign?"
"Well we're mighty pleased to hear that Mr…"
"Please, just call me Bo."
"Bo…there is no need to sign anything. We'll be providing the entry fee for the race, all we ask is that you, your cousin and that wonderful car of yours turns up and provides the goods."
"Well sir you can count on me."
"Good, we'll be seeing you on Saturday, down at the old abandoned raceway. 11am sharp."
"Sure thing. Bye now."
Bo watched as the two guys headed back towards their cars and drove away, leaning on the General and smirking to himself excitedly. He was going to race against some of the best drivers in the world and put aside all the Duke money problems all with one simple race. He would win; he knew he would, because he had the best car in the world and the best shotgun driver ever. Now all he had to do was get Luke on board and get the General into shape.
Now I don't know 'bout you…but I don't like the sound of them guys. Don't their offers seem a little too good to be true?