I'm surprised nobody is reading this as a backstab-in-progress by Beef. Seems to me what you have here is a case of pumping Ray up to make him a huge target while insuring that he has his own alliances to fall back on when the fight gets rolling.
i have three, well four, ideas about the arc:
1. Beef is using Ray as a Leader, but the backstab can't happen until the very end. what does Beef know that all others don't? that Ray is a big fake. that's Beef's advantage (with Ray's dependence) so he's got to ride it for it's maximum value.
2. as Beef said, its rumored that the Leaders don't really fight on the second day, so maybe Ray does get taken out on the first day, advancing Beef to day three when Beef takes over the army.
3. Ray, in character, wins the fight because of perverse luck.
four: Onstad keeps his streak alive and suprises me like always while i giggle and drool. I
LOVE this arc
i cannot wait to find out their fight names. Cassandra Roast Beef = Canadian Ribeye Ben; Raymond Smuckles = Romper-Stomper
##### - jim beam is excellent for the price.
emergen c - big shots have drivers, unless they are tormented loners, so it makes sense to ride sidecar in this case