¹     "Hi, Mr. Billings," I called to my neighbor across the street. Mr. Billings spent a lot of time outdoors, working on his dirt track car. He raced nearly every weekend.
 
²     I strolled across the street to Mr. Billings' driveway.
 
³     "I'm going to my first NASCAR race on Sunday," I said.
 
⁴     "That's great, Benjamin. You'll have a ball. Do you have ear plugs?" Mr. Billings picked up a wrench.
 
⁵     I grinned and said, "Yes, sir. My uncle says it's much louder than I can imagine."
 
⁶     "Your uncle is correct. But, with ear plugs, you can enjoy the race without it bothering your ears too much. Who's your favorite driver?"
 
⁷     "I like several. Jimmie Johnson seems pretty cool. I like Dale Earnhardt, Jr., too."
 
⁸     "I used to work on a pit crew," Mr. Billings surprised me by saying.

Paragraphs 9 to 25:
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