Tuesday 23rd October

Roy decided to send his draft article to his father today, anticipating the flurry of press releases about driver changes in the coming week, deciding to hold on to the story for now, and wait until everything was settled before releasing it.

On Wednesday, the Cherokee team announced that in light of her performance at Talladega, Mimi Sonatelli would drive for the team for the rest of the season. This prompted Five to sign for Zontec, filling in for Violet until she was fit enough to race again.

Thursday 25th October

With such a long drive to Austin, the officials decided to make the party bus leave earlier than planned. The party bus left at 8 am, with the others, consisting of Cormac, José, Shermy and Harold Angel in the Daihatsu Terios, Lucy, Patty Swanson, Violette and Franklin in the Honda Civic, and Sally, Pierre, Rerun and Five in the Honda Civic. Thibault also invited Roy into the Team Sky Volkswagen Touareg, which left a few minutes after everyone else. Thibault seemed excited for some reason, Roy observed, though he wasn't sure why.

"Where's Joe?" Roy asked.

"He's not here. He's probably chilling with his dad or something, since he's been banned for this race. I'm guessing you haven't connected the dots yet."

"What do you mean?" Roy asked, before playing out the mental arithmetic of the driver changes in his head. "Aw, Phooey. I was gonna release the story, dammit!"

"What story? Thibault asked.

"Oh, just the main thing that I've been working on while hunting around the paddock. The jigsaw pieces have been building for months and we were just about to make our move, but I guess that'll have to wait." Roy explained.

"I'm sure I'll read it then." Thibault replied. "Talking of Phoenix, Joe Agate better not cross Patty there, I saw her on the way back from their crash and she looked PEEVED."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen anyone that angry since Marcie punched me out on the baseball field that one time."

"That was one of your lowest moments." Roy commented.

"Yeah, I deserved that." Thibault admitted.

"Anyway let's hope Joe Agate learns his lesson." Roy hoped.

"He won't." Thibault replied instantly.

The party bus as well as the other drivers arrived at the Circuit of the Americas at around 9pm, whereupon they all went to bed, as it was far too late for any sort of meeting.

Monday 29th October

Roy waited in the main grandstand for Morag and co to arrive, not that there would be much to talk about, given the circumstances. She arrived, with Linus and Charlie Brown in tow, at around 10am.

"Morning Roy. Any news?"

"From dad? No. other than the kidnappers being charged, nothing. Not a peep about Matheson either."

"What about your article?" Charlie Brown asked.

"I've written it, Dad's checked it and it's ready to go. But with so much going on this week, it's going to get lost in the fray if I release it now." Roy answered.

"Not to mention the fact you're racing again this week." Linus added.

"That too." Roy agreed. "I don't really have anything else to add, but I will release the article once we get to Phoenix. Austin should be safe enough to escape too much drama."

"Agreed." Morag nodded, as they all left, heading back to their garages to focus on the upcoming race.

On Tuesday, the teams, press and the motorhomes and cars all arrived, along with the frenzy over who was racing for who, although on Wednesday, the teams and drivers partook in some Halloween fun, trick or treating each other and dressing up to their heart's content.

Thursday 1st November – Pre Race Press Conference

Official proceedings began as always with the pre-race interviews with the press, in which 5 drivers were picked at random to be questioned. These 5 were: Five, Thibault, Shermy, Cormac, and Violette.

I: Five, welcome back. Are you happy to have a seat for the next couple of races?

Five: well, I'd have preferred it to be under better circumstances, but I'll take what I can get.

I: Thibault, you were unlucky to retire last time out, do you see yourself as the team leader now, given your relative pace to Joe Agate?

Thibault: A team leader isn't one who gets multiple bans for reckless driving, that's for sure. I've been trying very hard, so thank you for noticing.

I: Shermy, as a close friend of Violet, may I ask you how she is doing?

Shermy: She is recovering as expected, and has asked not to be approached for further comment, thank you.

I: Cormac, you managed to beat your team mate last time out, however, it's been a while since either of you scored points. Are you hoping for better results here?

Cormac: Of course, we want to be doing better, hopefully, now we're on a proper racing circuit, we may have a chance.

I: Violette, you also struggled last weekend, do you understand the reason you are behind the other cars?

Violette: not really. We've had a bit of bad luck in qualifying, which we can hopefully iron out this weekend.

I: Thank you.

Saturday 3rd November

Practice was the first order of business as the drivers too to the track, taking a few laps to get up to speed. Roy spun off at turn 1 on one of his laps, but was undeterred, and was quickly back up to speed, getting enough laps in to be used to the car by the start of qualifying.

Five was the first to go out, and struggled to adapt to the new car, setting a time of 1:46.326. Linus also struggled, setting a time of 1:43.006, before Schroeder beat that with a 1:42.436. Lucy qualified between them with a time of 1:42.764, which was swiftly beaten by a revitalised Shermy, who set a 1:41.201.

Sally was another to struggle badly, setting a time of 1:43.619, before Patty put herself one place behind Shermy with a 1:41.843. Eudora was again competitive, setting a 1:40.896, but unlike the previous two rounds, her time was actually beaten, first by a remarkable effort from Pierre and then by Morag, who set times of 1:40.819 and 1:40.379 respectively.

Mimi was less quick here, only setting a 1:41.537, some way off the front runners, and José Peterson set a 1:41.381, which Rerun beat with a 1:41.252. Frieda had as much difficulty as Linus and Schroeder did, only setting a 1:42.945.

Charlie Brown was reasonably quick, setting a 1:41.001, but Pig Pen was quicker, setting a 1:40.879 to go ahead of Eudora. Violette set a surprisingly fast time of 1:40.977, before Peppermint Patty set a 1:41.361, and Cormac set a time of 1:42.098.

Thibault was amazingly quick, setting a time of 1:40.650, with his new teammate Roy lining up just behind him with a 1:40.695. Harold Angel set a decent time of 1:41.130, while Marcie set a time of 1:41.232, before Franklin set the fastest time, a 1:40.325, to close out the session.

At the end of qualifying, here's how the grid was set to line up…

1st Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 1:40.325 2nd Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 1:40.379

3rd Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 1:40.650 4th Roy Tripps [Sky] 1:40.695

5th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 1:40.819 6th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 1:40.879

7th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 1:40.896 8th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 1:40.977

9th Charlie Brown [Renault] 1:41.001 10th Harold Angel [Isdera] 1:41.130

11th Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 1:41.201 12th Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 1:41.232

13th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 1:41.252 14th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 1:41.361

15th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 1:41.381 16th Mimi Sonatelli [Cherokee] 1:41.537

17th Patricia Swanson [ACE] 1:41.843 18th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 1:42.098

19th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 1:42.436 20th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 1:42.764

21st Frieda Rich [Bonn] 1:42.945 22nd Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 1:43.006

23rd Sally Brown [Polestar] 1:43.619 24th 555 95472 [Zontec] 1:46.326

Afterwards, the top three qualifiers went to the pressroom to be interviewed.

I: Franklin, this is your second position, surely you must be hoping for a win this time around?

Franklin: I'd hope, but obviously, since Pig Pen can still win the championship and I can't, if he comes to pass me I'll probably have to let him through. But a man can dream.

I: Morag, you're right at the front, and all your major championship rivals are towards the back. This must be the dream scenario for you, no?

Morag: it does look very favourable for me, championship wise, but I can't assume that until the race is over, so I'll think more about that then.

I: Thibault, after a long and tumultuous year for both you and the team, you and your teammate have locked out the second row. How does it feel?

Thibault: It feels great, quite honestly. I've had an up and down year, like you've said, and I hope we can deliver better things tomorrow. I've spent a long time developing myself as well as my skills, and I'd love to finally stand on the top step.

I: Thank you.

Championship leader Charlie Brown was also interviewed.

I: Charlie Brown, were the race to finish the same way it starts, Morag would be ahead of you in the championship, does this worry you?

Charlie Brown: Not particularly. There are some points I can gain, and hopefully I can do enough damage limitation to protect my lead.

I: Thank you.

As night fell the Sky team were in high spirits as the drivers returned to their hotel to rest, in anticipation of Race Day tomorrow.

Sunday 4th November

Morning rose at the Circuit of the Americas in what was promising to be a thrilling encounter. Franklin sat on pole position, readying himself and looking closely in the mirrors at the cars behind. He knew he had to keep Morag behind if he wanted to win, and he focused on that while the announcer began his spiel.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Start your Engines!"

Franklin did so, as did everyone else. A minute or two later, the pace car led the drivers around for the formation lap.

"As the drivers get ready to race in Texas, they will have to face 27 laps of twists and turns, keeping it on the road and out of the wall. Will Franklin hold on for his first victory, or will Morag solidify her championship challenge? Find out as we make our way to the front straightaway,

And the Texas Spindycar Supertour Open is GO!"

Franklin got a decent getaway, with Morag, Thibault and Roy following closely behind. Pig Pen made his way up the inside of Pierre into turn 1, while Marcie overtook Shermy into turn 12, and Linus got past Frieda into the last corner before the end of the lap. Charlie Brown got past Violette on lap 2, while Schroeder got ahead of Cormac into turn 2 on lap 3.

Linus began to get into his rhythm, and by the end of lap 6, he'd passed Lucy, Cormac, and Schroeder, whilst ahead of him, Eudora had passed his teammate Pierre. On lap 7, Rerun shuffled past Shermy at turn 11, while Marcie took Harold Angel a lap later. By the end of lap 10, Linus had also gone ahead of Patty Swanson and Mimi, and Eudora had passed Pig Pen into 5th place.

Charlie Brown made his way past Pierre on the back straight on lap 11, before Pierre span off by himself on lap 12 at turn 16, losing a handful of places before rejoining in 17th. That same lap, Peppermint Patty passed Shermy going into the final corner, whilst Linus had charged ahead of José Peterson and Shermy by the end of lap 14. Marcie then overtook Violette into turn 1 on lap 15, before Schroeder passed Patty Swanson a lap later at the same corner

On lap 17, Thibault and Roy caught up to the back of Morag and, after harrying her for around half a lap, they managed to pressure her into a lock-up at turn 11, which let the pair of them through. On lap 18, however, Rerun, Harold Angel and Peppermint Patty were running three wide going into turn 1. Rerun had the inside, but Harold Angel was caught unawares at how fast he appeared, causing him to veer right to give him enough space, which crossed into the path of Peppermint Patty, sending the pair of them skidding off into the run off area and out of the race, the cars too damaged to continue.

The race was briefly put under caution to clear the cars away, but before long, racing was underway again. Schroeder passed Pierre into the hairpin at turn 17, before Linus made his way past his brother Rerun, and into the points on lap 21. Both José and Mimi overtook Shermy on lap 22, before Frieda passed Lucy a lap later.

Thibault and Roy had caught up to Franklin on lap 25, and were keen to pull off another move. Thibault got right up behind him on the back straight, giving Roy a double tow which he used to take the inside past both of them at turn 12. Roy then deliberately took a wide exit, prompting Franklin to take the outside line, which left him vulnerable to Thibault in turn 13, allowing Thibault to take the lead from him in turn 14 as he blocked Franklin. In the final two laps, Linus managed to pass Violette, and Schroeder got past Shermy, but soon enough, the race was over.

"And Thibault wins in Texas! Roy is second to make it a 1-2, and Franklin finishes 3rd! Morag was 4th, with Eudora 5th, Pig Pen 6th, Charlie Brown 7th, Marcie 8th, Linus 9th, and Violette rounding out the top ten! Rerun was 11th, with José Peterson 12th, Mimi 13th, Schroeder 14th, Shermy 15th, Pierre 16th, Patty Swanson 17th, Cormac 18th, Frieda 19th, Lucy 20th, Sally 21st, and Five last of the finishers in 22nd. Both Harold Angel and Peppermint Patty failed to finish.

After the race, the standings looked like this…

1st Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 209pts 2nd Charlie Brown [Renault] 204pts

3rd Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 189pts 4th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 187pts

5th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 187pts 6th Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 170pts

7th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 153pts 8th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 145pts

9th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 139pts 10th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 91pts

11th Patty Swanson [ACE] 75pts 12th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 87pts

13th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 69pts 14th Harold Angel [Isdera] 69pts

15th Sally Brown [Polestar] 61pts 16th Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 57pts

17th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 52pts 18th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 41pts

19th Roy Tripps [Zontec/Sky] 26pts 20th Mimi Sonatelli [Cherokee/Sky] 24pts

21st Violette Honfleur [ACE] 23pts 22nd Violet Gray [Zontec] 22pts

23rd Joe Agate [Sky] 15pts 24th Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 13pts

25th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 8pts 26th 555 95472 [Cherokee/Zontec] 6pts

Thibault parked his car and celebrated, raising his fists in the air and high fiving Roy, as the two of them jumped into the arms of their team, who themselves were wildly jubilant. This went on for over a minute, until they were beckoned to head up to the podium. In the waiting room, Franklin congratulated them on a good race, with Thibault and Roy praising each other's teamwork, before heading out onto the podium.

The three stood silently as the Canadian (yes, Canadian) anthem played, and the Canadian and American flags unfurled. The British Anthem played after the Canadian one finished. The three of them then received their trophies and drank their milk, before celebrating in front of the crowd, Thibault visibly the happiest of all, as they eventually headed to the pressroom.

I: Thibault, fantastic win, and after such a long and difficult season, how special is this for you and the team?

Thibault: Oh, man. I'm still tried to process it. It's taken a lot of hard work for me to both improve as a driver and as a person, and I'm happy we finally made it to the top. Our team looks unrecognisable compared to the start of the season, and I have Roy to thank for a lot of that. Part of me still wants to rub it in but Roy said I should be humble. I'd like to thank everyone in the team for helping us get here.

I: I think that's enough. Roy, when you passed Franklin, you had an opportunity to take the lead for yourself. Why didn't you?

Roy: I was playing the team game, we'd discussed how we were going to pass him before the race started, and it's important that Franklin couldn't get past Thibault into that corner.

I: Franklin, another podium, after a difficult race. Do you think you could have done better today?

Franklin: I think anyone would have a hard time keeping these two behind with how well they worked together today, so I'm glad I could get a decent result out of it.

I: Thank you

New championship leader Morag, who finished 4th, was also interviewed.

I: Morag, a decent haul of points, and now the championship lead, do you feel like the championship is within reach?

Morag: well it definitely helps to have the lead, but I won't rest on my laurels. Anything can happen in the next three races.

I: Thank you.

That evening, Team Sky celebrated long into the night, with Thibault and Roy eating as much party food as they could, before heading back to the hotel late in the evening, long after everyone else had gone to bed.