Monday 28th May
With the next round in Nevada only a week away, the party bus containing the top ten left at around 10am, with the others, consisting of Sally, Eudora, Violette and Shermy in the Polestar team's Volvo XC90, Thibault and Joe Agate in the Team Sky Volkswagen Touareg, Schroeder, Frieda, Violet and Lucy in the Opel Astra, and Five, Rerun, Cormac and Pierre in the Cherokee team Jeep, left around 15 minutes later.
On the Party bus, Morag personally congratulated Harold Angel on a great race, as the rest of the team had done the night before, praising him as a good team player. Charlie Brown and Linus discussed more serious matters.
"You okay Linus?" Charlie Brown asked.
"Yeah, I'm good. You hear anything from Morag or Roy?"
"Apparently Morag has a dossier of key people involved, but she's still compiling it, so I doubt we'll have the time or space to see it until next week." Charlie Brown answered.
"After the next race." Linus pointed out. Morag looked at them having heard the conversation, before nodding in confirmation.
The party bus took around 8 hrs to get there, and it was evening by the time the drivers arrived at their hotel not too far from where the track was.
On Tuesday 29th, the teams, with the cars, motorhomes and the press, arrived at the track.
Thursday 31st May
Once again, 5 drivers were picked seemingly at random for the pre-race press conference. These 5 were: Frieda, Shermy, Joe Agate, Rerun, and Eudora.
I: Frieda, despite a bad race in Idaho, you're still within reasonable sight of the championship lead. Do you think you can bounce back here?
Frieda: I don't see why not. I expect to be close to where I was in Colorado, before I was taken out.
I: Shermy, as someone who has repeatedly shown to be lacking in race pace, is your position in the team still secure?
Shermy: I've scored nearly as much as my team mate, and I've seen bigger discrepancies in pace at other teams that you don't seem to question. As far as I know, nobody has come up to me and given me an ultimatum, or anything like that, so I don't know what you're talking about.
I: Ok. Joe Agate. It could be said, that despite your finish last time out, you are still the leader within the team. Do you agree with this?
Joe Agate: Of course. I have way more points than Thibault, and the management seem to like me a lot more than they like him.
I: Rerun, you're one of the smaller drivers on the field, how do you cope with driving the cars around, with G-forces as big as they are?
Rerun: I practice a lot with the team. The guys there are very supportive and I put in a lot of hard work. They understand that I can't always have great results but we're happy that I do.
I: Eudora. Do you think you can get points here, like you did in Colorado?
Eudora: we should be faster here than we were in Idaho, we'll see on Saturday.
I: Thank you.
Friday 1st June
Roy was walking around the paddock, much more confidently than at Idaho, as there were plenty of stories for him to chase this week. For instance, there was Thibualt's Ultimatum, which now required him to finish 7th or higher if he didn't want to be kicked out, as well as the complete mess of an interview that happened to Shermy the previous day. Roy walked over to the Team Sky garage and saw Thibault leaning against a wall, and went over to speak to him.
"Morning Thibault." Roy began.
"Hi Roy. Come to bother me again?" Thibault sulked.
"Not looking forward to the race I reckon?" Roy asked.
"No. is there anything else you wanted to ask?" Thibault huffed
"Have you come up with any plans if indeed you do get let go?"
"I have a few things. I'm not sure they'll work, but it'll be worth a shot. Thibault replied.
"Manager's wife still AWOL I presume?" Roy asked.
"Yep. Manager has a bunch of red marks on his hands too. Does your dad know about it?"
"He took the notebook with him that day, of course he does." Roy replied.
"Well, shoot. I should run it by him if I get the chance." Thibault smirked. "Nice seeing you Roy."
"See you around, Thibault." Roy smiled happily, carrying his notes with him as he skipped off into the distance.
"Show off." Thibault chuckled to himself.
Roy continued on his quest, stopping at the Zontec garage to see if Shermy was around, and find him he did; Shermy was inspecting the parts on his car to get a better understanding of what might be going wrong.
"Hey, Roy." Shermy popped his head out from under the chassis. "What brings you here?"
"I wanted to get your opinion on the press pool. Yesterday's interview was a complete mess."
"It's not my fault they were wide of the mark." Shermy replied.
"I know. that's why I came here. Do you think they might be trying to stir stuff up a bit?" Roy shouted over the sound of a wheel gun.
"Oh definitely. Having the spotlight on us keeps their bosses happy. He shouted in reply, toning himself down when the noise stopped.
"Do you mean, like, the news editor, or the sports organisers?"
"The first one. I wouldn't know enough to make a judgement on the second."
"Thanks Shermy. Nice talking to you."
"You're Welcome!" Shermy shouted again as the sound of the wheel gun returned. Roy went back to the main area of the paddock, where his father was waiting at a pop-up café, with two iced fruit smoothies and a blueberry muffin each.
"You seem pleased with yourself." Frank began as Roy sat down.
"There's a lot going on this week. I didn't have to look too hard." Roy replied, handing him the notebook.
"I see. You've done well." Frank remarked as he read Roy's notes. "How accurate are they?"
"Everything in quotation marks is verbatim." Roy replied.
"I think you've earned a break." Frank passed him one of the smoothies and a muffin.
"I think I have." Roy gladly took the food and drink and began to eat. Once they had finished eating, the two of them explored the paddock and took in the sights like any normal family would, with Frank and Roy taking family photos of each other standing in front of various cars and motorhomes.
They enjoyed themselves until the late evening, at which point it was time to go back to their hotel. They, the drivers and everyone else involved slept through the night ready for the next day.
Saturday 2nd June
The morning's practice session went by without drama, and drivers were focused, anticipating the start of the qualifying session, which eventually began at 12:30pm. Cormac was the first to go out, setting a benchmark time of 0:26.728, which was swiftly beaten by Shermy, who set a time of 0:26.699. José Peterson set a slower time than his team mate, his time being a 0:27.005, but that was still faster than Pierre, who set a 0:27.159. Harold Angel set a 0:26.931, before Violette beat Cormac's benchmark with a time of 0:26.723.
Franklin set a time of 0:26.777, before Schroeder put himself at the front with a time of 0:26.594. Eudora then set a time of 0:26.790 before Rerun put himself 2nd with a 0:26.607, with Linus just behind him setting a 0:26.654.
Charlie Brown then set a time of 0:26.513 to go fastest, but that was quickly beaten by Morag, who set a time of 0:26.465. Pig Pen then set a time of 0:26.777, identical to his team-mate. Five was only a smidge behind them, setting a 0:26.787.
Marcie went fastest with a time of 0:26.447, whilst Sally Brown could only muster a 0:26.673. Thibault performed decently with a time of 0:26.648, but it wasn't as fast as Patty Swanson's time, which was a 0:26.516. Joe Agate was slowest of all, setting a 0:27.361, and on the other end of the grid, Lucy impressed with a 0:26.579. Violet set a time of 0:26.752, while Frieda snuck ahead of her team-mate by setting a 0:26.591, before Peppermint Patty ended proceedings with a time of 0:26.612.
At the end of qualifying, the grid order was as follows…
1st Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 0:26.447 2nd Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 0:26.465
3rd Charlie Brown [Renault] 0:26.513 4th Patricia Swanson [ACE] 0:26.516
5th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 0:26.579 6th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 0:26.591
7th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 0:26.594 8th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 0:26.607
9th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 0:26.612 10th Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 0:26.648
11th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 0:26.654 12th Sally Brown [Polestar] 0:26.673
13th Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 0:26.699 14th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 0:26.723
15th Violet Gray [Zontec] 0:26.752 16th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 0:26.777
17th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 0:26.777 18th 555 95472 [Cherokee] 0:26.787
19th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 0:26.790 20th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 0:26.728 (PENALTY)
21st Harold Angel [Isdera] 0:26.931 22nd José Peterson [Daihatsu] 0:27.005
23rd Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 0:27.159 24th Joe Agate [Sky] 0:27.361
After the session was over, the top three qualifiers were interviewed in the pressroom.
I: Marcie, you've frequently been near the front, but this is the first time you're on pole, do you think you can add your first win to that tally as well?
Marcie: I sincerely hope so. I want to take the championship lead back from Pig Pen, and a win would certainly help with that.
I: Morag, following your win in Idaho, a lot of people will have you down as their favourite to win tomorrow. What do you make of this?
Morag: Well, they're in luck, I think. I only have one person I need to pass to win. Not that anyone should be betting on races, mind you.
I: Charlie Brown, you've had some decent results recently, but luck has deserted you on some occasions. Do you think fortune will favour you today?
Charlie Brown: I don't expect it to. Fortune often escapes me. I'll have to work hard to win, like at Watkin's Glen.
I: Thank you.
Championship leader Pig Pen was also interviewed in the paddock.
I: Pig Pen, how do you see your prospects of retaining the championship lead, given the fact you are in 17th place?
Pig Pen: I think it will be very difficult, even to just score a point here. I might get lucky, who knows.
I: Thank you.
As night fell, the drivers returned to their hotels and slept for the night, ready for the race the next day.
Sunday 3rd June
The cars were lined up on the grid, fervently anticipating the start of the race. Marcie was sitting in her car, checking her wing mirrors to look at what the other drivers were doing whilst she waited for the inevitable.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Start your Engines!" the announcer began.
Marcie switched on her engine, as did everyone else. The pace car led them around the course for the formation lap, while the announcer continued to speak.
"After the pace car pulls in, the competitors will have 99 laps to duke it out for the win. And as the pace car pulls into the pits, the Nevada Spindycar Supertour Open is Go!"
Marcie got a good start, with everyone else filing in behind. It wasn't until lap 4 before anyone attempted a move, with Violette making her way past Shermy. Franklin also let his team-mate by early on lap 6, in the hope he might score some points. Meanwhile, Rerun and Schroeder were tussling for 7th place, with neither driver being able to gain an advantage over the other, the consequence of which being Peppermint Patty and Thibault passing the both of them on lap 19.
By lap 25, Pig Pen had made his way past Violet and Shermy, who had fallen behind his teammate. At the front of the field, Lucy was beginning to close on Patty Swanson, eventually passing her on lap 34, whilst José Peterson passed Harold Angel for 21st place on the same lap. Franklin made his way past Shermy on lap 37, and Eudora got past Five the following lap.
Charlie Brown made a move on Morag on lap 45, moving himself up into second place, whilst Pig Pen was battling Violette in the midfield at the same time, eventually getting past her on lap 51. Franklin got past Violet on lap 55, before Eudora moved past Shermy two laps later, and Rerun passed Schroeder on lap 60.
Up to this point, the cars had been remarkably reliable, for once, but that was not to last. On lap 67, Marcie was leading comfortably until the left steering arm collapsed on her car, causing her to wobble on the straight. Knowing how much dangerous her car now was, she pulled off towards the infield and slowed the car down, stopping next to the barrier. The yellow flags were brought out while the marshals retrieved the car, and Marcie walked back to the pits.
Once the race got going again a couple of laps later, Charlie Brown was now in first place, with Morag and Lucy not far behind him. He held them back behind him, as further back, Frieda and Patty Swanson fought for 4th place, with Frieda eventually gaining the place on lap 77. Eudora made her way past Violet on lap 82, whilst ahead of her, Violette was passed by Franklin. Further up the field, Linus was catching up to Schroeder, eventually passing him on lap 88.
On lap 95, whilst happily in 7th place, and on course for a crucial 6 points, Thibault's car suffered a disastrous engine failure, putting him out of the race. Thibault had no choice but to park the car on the infield, and stop the car. He threw his steering wheel out in frustration as he got out and he gave the car a kick as he angrily trudged his way back to the pits. The race was brought under yellow flags by the marshals until the last lap of the race, but no one was able to leapfrog anyone during the restart, and the race finished as is.
"And Charlie Brown wins in Nevada! Morag is 2nd, and Lucy Van Pelt finishes in 3rd! Frieda is 4th, Patty Swanson is 5th, Peppermint Patty is 6th, Rerun Van Pelt is 7th, Linus is 8th, Schroeder finishes 9th, and Sally Brown rounds out the top 10! Pig Pen was 11th, with Franklin 12th, Violette 13th, Eudora 14th, Violet 15th, Shermy 16th, Five 17th, Cormac 18th, José Peterson 19th, Harold Angel 20th, Pierre 21st, and Joe Agate in 22nd.
In the Championship, the standings are as follows…
1st Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 91pts 2nd Charlie Brown [Renault] 89pts
3rd Pig Pen [Armstrong] 78pts 4th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 77pts
5th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 73pts 6th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 71pts
7th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 70pts 8th Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 69pts
9th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 62pts 10th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 44pts
11th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 40pts 12th Sally Brown [Polestar] 37pts
13th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 34pts 14th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 33pts
15th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 32pts 16th Patty Swanson [ACE] 31pts
17th Harold Angel [Isdera] 24pts 18th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 15pts
19th Joe Agate [Sky] 14pts 20th Violet Gray [Zontec] 10pts
21st Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 8pts 22nd Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 5pts
23rd 555 95472 [Cherokee] 2pts 24th Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 1pt 25th Mimi Sonatelli [Armstrong] 0pts
Charlie Brown parked on Victory Road and got out of his car, able to celebrate properly this time, happily taking in the adulation of the crowd, some of whom had become quite fond of him, not that he'd ever know. Waving enthusiastically to the crowd, he then went up to the podium. In the waiting room, he and Morag congratulated each other, whilst also finding out their current championship position, before the three of them, including Lucy stepped out onto the podium in front of the crowd.
The three of them stood and waited while the American National Anthem played, and the American and British flags unfurled. The French anthem played after the American one finished. After that, the drivers received their trophies, drank their milk ad celebrated for a short while, before heading off to the pressroom, where the interviewers had some questions.
I: Charlie Brown, congratulations on the win. How confident were you feeling about your chances before the race?
Charlie Brown: Well, I knew I was probably going to get a good result, but to win was a nice surprise. I'm back in the main championship fight, which is nice, too.
I: Morag, you now lead the championship after two very successful races in a row, do you see yourself continuing this form at the next race?
Morag: I'm not sure anyone can say for definite what will happen next race, but I will be putting 100% effort in, you can be sure of that.
I: Lucy, another podium for you, do you think the other drivers will begin to see you as a key competitor now?
Lucy: I think they know not to fool with me already. My next target to catch up to and overtake Peppermint Patty in the Championship.
I: Thank you.
Former Championship Leader Pig Pen, now 3rd in the title race, was also interviewed.
I: Today was the first race you finished outside the points. How damaging is that for your championship chances?
Pig Pen: It's not great is it? I guess I should be happy I'm still 3rd. I should be able to catch them at the next race, if all goes well.
I: Thank you.
That night, Charlie Brown, Rerun and the other drivers went to bed at their hotels whilst the other members of the Renault team went revelling in the streets of Las Vegas, joyous in victory, until they too returned in the dead of night.
