It was the night before qualifying at the Garden of Radiance and Kai Qiang's tire carrier was feeling hungry. He went to get some food, but it was late and a lot of things were closed for the night. After a little wandering around looking for something that was still open, and a little staring at the display of food debating what he wanted, he bought a hoagie and a can of Vilaye. His stomach was rumbling and he was eager to eat the hoagie right away. It didn't seem like it would be any problem to eat and walk at the same time. He was unwrapping the hoagie and his eyes were on the sandwich instead of the sidewalk, so he didn't notice that he was stepping over a tall curb -- until his foot slipped over the edge and he twisted his ankle. He managed to catch himself without falling or dropping the hoagie or the Vilaye, but he spent a couple of minutes hobbling around, wincing in pain, and grumbling in Chinese with a thick southern accent.
The tire carrier limped back to his bed thinking the pain in his foot was very annoying, but it probably was not that serious.
Qualifying went without a hitch and Qiang landed himself a spot in the front row next to Rinzi. Qiang had a love-hate relationship with Rinzi, but he thought they could work together.
When Qiang asked if they could work together, Rinzi ruffled his hair and said, "Sure thing, little dude. What's the plan?" Qiang had to fight back the urge to slap Rinzi, but he figured it was worth it if it helped them make it through to the Championship 4.
Qiang got separated from Rinzi after only a couple of laps, but he still thought he would be able to pull out a decent result.
Things were more or less going okay until Qiang pitted for tires and fuel. The tire carrier took a wrong step and reinjured his ankle when he was climbing over the wall. Qiang didn't know why the tire change was taking longer than usual, and he hollered impatiently at his crew, "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" The tire carrier cleared the old tires out of the way as quickly as he could manage, but he was stumbling awkwardly on his injured foot.
Qiang was annoyed that he'd lost precious time in the pits, but it was about to get worse. He got called back in for a penalty because NSSCRA officials said he was speeding on the pit lane in his eagerness to get back to the race. "That's bullshit!" Qiang yelled into his radio when he was informed about the penalty. The tire carrier was very embarrassed and Qiang was about ready to invent a new language just so he could cuss in it.
After the race, the tire carrier told Qiang how he had hurt his foot and apologized profusely. Qiang didn't have the heart to lay into his crewman, who had been with the team for years and was obviously sorry already -- but he kicked the crap out of a trashcan that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He told a gaggle of reporters, "I'm pissed off about what happened today, and I don't want to talk about it. It sucks losing time in the pits, I'm pissed at myself for making it worse after they got the tires on my car, and that really is all I'm going to say about it." -- and then refused to take any further questions.
Houzhi Chang walked the tire carrier over to the medical tent to get his foot checked out before they left the Garden. The medical staff said it wasn't a serious injury. The tire carrier just needed to take it easy for a couple of days and try not to put too much weight on his foot.
