Monday 15th October
With only a week until the next round in Alabama, the teams quickly set about packing up and leaving in time. As usual, the top ten finishers left on the party bus, this time at around 11am. Shortly afterward, the others, consisting of Marcie, Rerun, Shermy and Violette in the Cherokee Jeep, Cormac, José, Franklin and Patty Swanson in the Team Daihatsu Terios, Sally, Linus, Pierre, Roy and Violet in the Polestar's Volvo XC90, and Mimi and Joe Agate took the Team Sky Volkswagen.
It took up until 2pm before the drivers arrived at Talladega. And after a few minutes Linus and Roy found Charlie Brown and Morag waiting at a picnic table somewhere in the paddock.
"So, any news?" Morag asked as Roy and Linus sat down.
"Dad says the kidnappers are going to be charged, but Matheson hasn't been incriminated by them, unfortunately. They seem to be very loyal to him."
"Well he pays them, doesn't he? Surely they could just follow the money?" Linus asked.
"It's a good idea, but if he's paying them through the shell company everyone else is being paid through, that would muddy the waters a bit. It could take ages to find the right account." Morag pointed out.
"That's what dad said. Apparently the IRS are looking into it, but again, it's a slow process." Roy replied.
"Does anyone have any suggestions as to our 'working theory'? Charlie Brown asked, keen to get back on topic.
"Well, I was thinking, since its NASA related, that they might invite one or more of us to Cape Canaveral for a tour or something." Roy suggested.
"That doesn't seem like something worth kidnapping you and your dad for." Morag gave a rebuttal.
"But it has some grounding, so we could potentially take it further. I think that with the G-Forces we've been putting ourselves through, they might end up selecting the winner to go into space." Linus suggested.
"That sounds ridiculous." Charlie Brown groaned.
"But if you think about it, it does work." Linus continued. We've been trained to cope with high G-Forces, we can operate complex machinery, they already have the measurements to make our race suits with, they all the resources at their disposal to do such a thing. Not to mention the headlines it would make."
"All that's missing is a motive." Morag thought aloud. "As a theory, it's better than anything I've come up with."
"So, what's the plan?" Roy asked.
"You do what you do best, Write an article. Get it published, and afterwards, stick with me. I don't want you getting kidnapped again." Morag answered.
"Can I use your team's motorhome for writing in?"
"Even better." Morag agreed. "As for you two, I'll let you know when to start getting the story out."
"Got it." Linus replied.
"Next meeting in Texas?" Charlie Brown asked.
"Next meeting in Texas." Morag confirmed.
"Understood." Charlie Brown, replied, as they got up and left. The after studying the track, the drivers went back to their hotels and slept, ready for the week ahead.
On Tuesday, the teams, cars and the press arrived, setting up the motorhomes and the garages for the race weekend.
Thursday 18th October – Pre Race Press Conference
As was always the case, 5 drivers were picked, seemingly at random, to speak in front of the press before the race weekend. These 5 were: Peppermint Patty, Harold Angel, Joe Agate, Linus Van Pelt, and Charlie Brown.
I: Peppermint Patty, currently, you sit 20 points behind Charlie Brown in the standings. How important is it that you get a good result this weekend?
Peppermint Patty: we need to be doing better, and we really need to make the most of this weekend. I seem to have better results on ovals.
I: Harold Angel, you've scored a decent points haul this season, but I think it's safe to say your title challenge is over.
Harold Angel: well, it's almost mathematically impossible, and not in my hands anymore. My main aim for the season end is to finish in the top 10 in the championship.
I: Joe Agate, your team mate put in a great race last time out, in great contrast to your own. Are you not concerned about your pace?
Joe Agate: Again, my team haven't raised any issues with me, though, then again, it doesn't seem like there'd be any options to replace me.
I: Linus, last time out at Nashville, you struggled all weekend, and despite pulling the car up to 12th, you came up short. How important is it to get a good result here?
Linus: We need to do well here, if we want to win the world championship, and whatever that might entail. Particularly that means beating Charlie Brown in the remaining races.
I: Charlie Brown, do you see Linus as your biggest rival to the championship?
Charlie Brown: Ultimately it's whoever's closest to me that is my main priority to beat. But Linus was doing exceptionally well up until Tennessee, so we'll see if we're not closer.
I: Thank you.
Friday 19th October
Inside the Isdera motorhome, Roy quietly got to work on his masterpiece. Armed with his notepad and pen, he began to think of a headline.
"The Man from NASA: Who is Daryl Matheson?"
"And why is he here?" Roy wrote the first line. He thought for a few moments, and immediately crossed it out and started again.
"The Big Secret: What are the AAMF hiding?" he wrote down. "Much better." Roy thought to himself.
"Over the past few months, I, with the help of a few allies, have been working to try and uncover the true motivations behind the actions of the AAMF. Ever since Pig Pen's accident in Watkin's Glen, people have been suspicious of the AAMF's actions. How they quietly kept details of the accident under wraps, and acting like it never happened in front of the press, who, by any means, were seemingly compliant about the whole thing.
Over the course of several weeks, we investigated every lead, and get an idea of the sorts of people that would convene with the sport's bosses. Many of these people were investors willing to throw money in the pot, sponsor a team, or make a brand deal, but out of all of these, two figures stood out. Adrian Goldspur, a member of the Florida house of representatives, and Daryl Matheson, a NASA employee. These two had no discernible financial ties towards the AAMF, but were in regular contact with AAMF commerce director Mandy Wilcox.
This sequence of events culminated in the mysterious disappearance (according to local news) of my father and I, and us subsequently being found in Cape Canaveral and Tallahassee, respectively, both in some distress.
Details on that event are limited, due to an ongoing police investigation, but from this it is clear that The series has a deep involvement with NASA, and any political allies therein, and with so much evidence to support it, it is becoming increasingly difficult to deny something big is afoot. Rumours are beginning to spread among the drivers, with some even suggesting that the powers that be wish to send the eventual champion to space.
I expect it will all be dismissed as tripe and nonsense by the authorities, but watch this space." –Roy Tripps.
He drew a line under the ending to indicate the article was done, as Morag poked her head inside the room.
"How are you doing?" Morag asked.
"Oh, I just finished writing the article."
"Let me see." Morag asked.
"Here." Roy handed the notepad over to her.
"Nice." Morag read the article. "You might want to run those last couple of paragraphs past your dad, but other than that, it's great." She complimented.
"I'll get it published as soon as I can." Roy promised.
"Good. Enjoy the race!" Morag replied, as she left.
"I will, as Roy closed his notepad and looked for a phone to call with. It would be a long time before he came back.
Saturday 20th October
Talladega was bathed in sunlight for the morning practice session, and all the driver spent a few laps getting to grips with the track, before eventually, after midday, the qualifying session began. José Peterson was the first to set a time, with a 0:48.650, which Violette swiftly beat with a time of 0:48.610. Charlie Brown squeaked past that with a 0:48.608, and Sally could only manage a 0:48.698. Patty Swanson then set a time of 0:48.651, and Franklin set a time of 0:48.679.
Violet was next to go out, but on her first timed lap, she lost control of the car, crashing into the wall at around 130mph, ripping off the front right wheel, continuing to scrape along the wall until Violet came to a stop on the inside lane. Violet attempted to get out of the car, but was facing some difficulty, much to the concern of her team. Just as the marshals came to help her, she stood up, standing on one leg and holding her left wrist. The marshals then helped her into the medical car, where she would be sent to the medical center to assess her injuries. The session was red flagged, but once the wreckage was cleared, qualifying continued.
Lucy Van Pelt set a time of 0:48.621, before Frieda took the lead, going first with a 0:48.597. Cormac spun 360 degrees on his second lap, but recovered, setting a 0:48.630, before Eudora shoced everyone by repeating what she had achieved the previous week, setting a 0:48.382, two tenths faster than Frieda. Mimi was able to follow that up with a 0:48.402, and Pig Pen set a good time of 0:48.455.
Schroeder set a time of 0:48.505, which Morag beat with a time of 0:48.460. Marcie managed a time of 0:48.550, just ahead of Shermy, who set a time of 0:48.568. Peppermint Patty set a quick time of 0:48.442, while Joe Agate could only manage a 0:48.614.
Harold Angel then set a time identical to Peppermint Patty's, ahead of Rerun, who set a time of 0:48.479. Pierre set a rather disappointing time of 0:48.743, and Thibault set a decent tie of 0:48.519, before Linus ended the session by squeezing ahead of him with a 0:48.514.
At the end of Qualifying, the grid order was as follows…
1st Eudora Elm [Polestar] 0:48.382 2nd Mimi Sonatelli [Cherokee] 0:48.402
3rd Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 0:48.442 4th Harold Angel [Isdera] 0:48.442
5th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 0:48.455 6th Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 0:48.460
7th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 0:48.479 8th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 0:48.505
9th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 0:48.514 10th Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 0:48.519
11th Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 0:48.550 12th Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 0:48.568
13th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 0:48.597 14th Charlie Brown [Renault] 0:48.608
15th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 0:48.610 16th Joe Agate [Sky] 0:48.614
17th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 0:48.621 18th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 0:48.630
19th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 0:48.650 20th Patricia Swanson [ACE] 0:48.651
21st Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 0:48.679 22nd Sally Brown [Polestar] 0:48.698
23rd Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 0:48.743 24th Violet Gray [Zontec] no time set
After qualifying, the top three qualifiers were interviewed in the pressroom.
I: Eudora, your form is looking unbeatable, are you confident of winning again tomorrow?
Eudora: I don't see why I can't, if I'm lucky I might be able to put in a late championship challenge.
I: Mimi, your second time qualifying on the front row, are you hoping for better luck this time out?
Mimi: Oh yeah, definitely. My seat is riding on me scoring some points, so I'd like to take something from tomorrow.
I: Peppermint Patty, you look best placed out of the main championship contenders to score some decent points, what's your target for tomorrow?
Peppermint Patty: well, naturally I want to win, but it won't be easy with Morag and Pig Pen behind me.
I: Thank you.
Down in the paddock, Championship leader Charlie Brown was also interviewed.
I: Charlie Brown, you start 14th tomorrow, is it fair to say you'll be facing a long and difficult race?
Charlie Brown: It won't be easy, but I think we can get a few points out of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and see how Violet is doing.
I: Thank you.
Charlie Brown walked away from the interviewer, and walked along to the medical center, where her best friends Patty Swanson and Lucy were waiting, along with her team mate Shermy, and Linus, Roy and Morag as well.
"I didn't think so many people cared." Patty mused as they all stood and waited outside the door. The press had chosen not to intrude, having received word from the center that announcements would be made when they were ready. Nevertheless, Lucy was to first to ask about Violet when a nurse left the building.
"How is she?" she asked.
"She's getting the results of her X-rays now. If you wait a couple of hours, I'm sure the doctors will be allowing visitors soon." The nurse replied.
"Thank you." Charlie Brown replied. the group waited for what seemed like ages, and after about two hours, another nurse came out.
"You can come in now." The nurse said. Lucy, Shermy and Patty led, with Charlie Brown and co following behind.
"Hey, Violet." Patty spoke softly. "How are you?"
"I've been better." Violet showed her the cast around her left wrist. "I held on to the steering wheel to try and correct it. So now my wrist is broken."
"Ooh. That must hurt." Shermy and Patty winced in sympathy.
"Doctor says, that in most cases, these sort of things will heal in about 6 weeks. I also bashed my knee pretty hard." Violet winced through the pain.
"That's the season done for you then, basically." Roy worked out.
"Yeah. Pretty much. Could you three come by tomorrow? I'll talk more then, maybe I won't be in so much pain." Violet replied.
"Okay, we'll see you then." Lucy agreed, as they all filed out the door.
Charlie Brown and Linus prayed in their hotel rooms that night, asking for the quick recovery of Violet, and for theirs and everyone else's safety in the race, lest anyone else get hurt.
Sunday 21st October – Race Day in Alabama
Eudora sat at the front of the grid, absolutely brimming with confidence, a coy smile could be read from her face as she focused on the race with steely determination. "This was hers to win." And everyone could see it, even the crowd, which pushed the atmosphere into fever pitch as the announcer began to speak.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!"
Eudora did so, as did everyone else (except Violet, obviously). The cars were led around the track by the pace car, as the announcer began his usual spiel.
"After the pace car pulls in the drivers will face 60 laps of the gruelling undulations of Talladega. Can Eudora make it 2 for 2 here in Alabama. We'll find out soon enough, as the green flag comes out, and the Alabama Spindycar Supertour Open is GO!"
Eudora got a brilliant start, pulling away as Mimi held off the fast charging Peppermint Patty. The rest of the field followed on behind, with Marcie overtaking Thibault, and Lucy overtaking Joe Agate before the end of lap 1. On lap 3, Rerun fell behind Schroeder, while further back, Frieda made her way past Shermy. Charlie Brown then did the same on lap 5, Before Pig Pen made a pass on Harold Angel on the back straight on the following lap.
Harold duly let his teammate by on lap 8, so she could chase down Pig Pen, before Joe Agate fell behind Cormac at the final turn. By lap 10, Eudora had pulled out a small lead, and after many laps of trying, Peppermint Patty finally got past Mimi. Morag was slowly closing up on Pig Pen, while Linus was right on the heels of his brother Rerun, eventually passing him on lap 12. Violette made a pass on Shermy at the following corner, while at the back, Sally overtook Franklin in a risky move on the inside of the final corner.
On lap 14, Marcie passed Rerun to take 9th, and Charlie Brown caught up to the back of Frieda, passing her a lap later. On lap 17 however, while tussling for the final point, Rerun and Thibault touched wheels on the back straight. Thibault's wing shattered into pieces underneath him, cutting both his and Rerun's tyres, and faced with the prospect of possibly crashing at high speed into the wall after the long straight, they both thought it safer to pull off to the infield, and crawl back to the pits, where the teams would retire the cars.
The pace car was brought out for two laps while the pieces of wing were cleared by the marshals. And by lap 20, racing was underway again. Eudora maintained her lead, but Peppermint Patty was hot on her heels. Morag made an opportunistic move past Pig Pen into 4th, and Linus kept close to the back of Schroeder, where he would stay for the next few laps, passing him on lap 27. Harold Angel was an easier pass, falling behind Linus on lap 31. Charlie Brown passed Marcie into 9th place on lap 32, while José Peterson got ahead of Joe Agate a lap later.
By lap 35, Mimi was starting to look quick again, which bothered Peppermint Patty as the gap between her and Eudora started to extend again. Schroeder managed to get past Harold Angel on lap 37, with Charlie Brown using his slipstream to do the same. Lucy then overtook Shermy on lap 39, with Patty Swanson closing in on Joe Agate close behind.
On lap 43, having battled for position for a few laps, Joe Agate appeared to take a swipe at Patty Swanson on the back straight, sending her skidding into the infield, brushing with the wall at around 60 mph with her rear right tyre, Patty getting out thankfully unhurt. Joe Agate's car was undamaged, amazingly, but he was black flagged (disqualified) as the pace car came out.
After the debris was cleared, the pace car pulled in, and on lap 46, the race got going again. Mimi hung onto the back of Peppermint Patty, Eagerly trying to retake second place, while Linus got close to the back of Pig Pen. After a couple of laps, Linus had dispatched Pig Pen and taken 5th, as Cormac overtook Shermy before the end of lap 50.
Harold Angel had a small wobble on the exit of turn 2 on lap 52, allowing Marcie and Frieda to pass him. Mimi was right on Peppermint Patty's tail for the last few laps, passing her on lap 58 to roars from the crowd. By that point Eudora had built enough of a lead to calmly play out the final laps, and crossing the finish line.
"And Eudora makes it 2 in a row in Alabama! Mimi Sonatelli is a fine 2nd, with Peppermint Patty in 3rd! Morag was 4th, Linus was 5th, Pig Pen was 6th, Schroeder was 7th, Charlie Brown was 8th, Marcie was 9th, and Frieda rounds out the top ten! Harold Angel was 11th, with Violette 12th, Lucy 13th, Cormac 14th, Shermy 15th, José Peterson 16th, Sally 17th, Franklin 18th, and Pierre in 19th. Patty Swanson, Rerun and Thibault all failed to finish, Joe Agate was disqualified, and Violet failed to start.
After the race was over, this is how the standings stood:
1st Charlie Brown [Renault] 198pts 2nd Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 197pts
3rd Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 189pts 4th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 187pts
5th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 185pts 6th Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 166pts
7th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 153pts 8th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 135pts
9th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 131pts 10th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 91pts
11th Patty Swanson [ACE] 75pts 12th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 72pts
13th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 69pts 14th Harold Angel [Isdera] 69pts
15th Sally Brown [Polestar] 61pts 16th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 52pts
17th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 41pts 18th Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 32pts
19th Mimi Sonatelli [Cherokee/Sky] 24pts 20th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 23pts
21st Violet Gray [Zontec] 22pts 22nd Joe Agate [Sky] 15pts
23rd Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 13pts 24th Roy Tripps [Zontec] 8pts
25th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 8pts 26th 555 95472 [Cherokee] 6pts
Eudora got out of the car, triumphantly raising her arms aloft once again, and again running over to celebrate with her team. Mimi was similarly euphoric, receiving hugs and cheers from the Cherokee team, finally able to see their second driver on the podium. Peppermint Patty received some warm congratulations of her own, before the three went up to the podium.
In the waiting room, Peppermint Patty complimented Mimi on a great race, while Eudora drank some water, tired out after driving a hard race, the three then went out onto the podium.
They all stood silently as the American national anthem played, and the American and Italian flags were raised. The Swedish anthem played after the American one finished. Afterwards the driver received their trophies, drank their milk, and joyously until it was time to go to the pressroom, where there were questions to be answered.
I: Eudora, for two races now, you've taken both pole and the win, where do you go from here?
Eudora: Well, we just keep going, don't we? I think Austin will be a very different challenge, so don't get too excited.
I: Mimi, a strong result for you, and your team. You must be pleased.
Mimi: Absolutely. It's well deserved, after what happened in South Carolina.
I: And Peppermint Patty, as promised, you've closed your gap to Charlie Brown in the championship to 11 points. This the championship there for the taking?
Peppermint Patty: well it's definitely close, isn't it? We'll keep doing our best to fight for it, no matter what stands in our way.
I: Thank you.
Down in the paddock, Charlie Brown was also interviewed.
I: Charlie Brown, your lead in the championship has been reduced to 1 point, will you be hoping for a better result in Texas.
Charlie Brown: Yeah. We did the best we could today, given our starting position, but Texas will be very different, I feel.
I: Thank you.
That evening, Shermy, Lucy and Patty went to see Violet at the medical center, where they chatted, gossiping about the other drivers, and the race, particularly about Patty's crash. Elsewhere, as the other drivers went to bed in their hotel rooms, the stewards came to a decision to ban Joe Agate from the next race for reckless driving and causing an avoidable accident.