Tuesday 19th June
The drivers spent a few days in Santa Fe before they were due to travel to Kansas for the next race. No meeting was scheduled for this week, as Morag and Roy were still busy compiling a list of the associates of those she described in her presentation. Meanwhile, Roy's father had finally published Thibault's story, at the same time notifying local police of the allegations.
On Tuesday night, a small cohort of police officers (the rare sort that actually act like officers should) were dispatched to the house belonging to Thibault's manager. The manager's wife answered the door, seeing as her husband was still in Santa Fe, and when interviewed, she corroborated Thibault's suspicions, and showed them the scars to prove it.
Despite the protestations of the team's investors, and privately, of the sport's governing body, the Team Sky Manager was arrested in the late hours of Wednesday morning, on domestic abuse and violence charges, and was replaced at his team by his deputy, an aspirational woman whom Thibault had begun to respect, thanks to her no nonsense approach and knowledge of technical data; indeed, Thibault had begun to markedly improve as soon as he started listening to her.
Thursday 21st June
Team Sky's new boss' first decision was to allow Thibault back into the garage. And Mimi, Joe Agate and Thibault, were driven by her in the Volkswagen Touareg to Kansas Speedway, at around 9am.
The Party Bus left at 9:30, with the top ten drivers on board, and at the same time, Five, Cormac, Violette, Patty, and Harold Angel all left in the Team Cherokee Jeep, while Peppermint Patty, Violet, José and Franklin left in the Team Honda's Honda Civic, and Eudora, Pig Pen, and Shermy took the Polestar Team's Volvo XC90 to Kansas.
They all arrived at the track late in the evening, and swiftly, they retired to their hotels to rest for the night.
When the press, teams and cars arrived on the morning of Tuesday 26th, the press, hearing of Thibault's return to the garage, among other things, swarmed the Team Sky garage, where the new team principal confirmed she would be leading for the foreseeable future and that she would still honour Mimi's three race contract.
Morag and Roy were hanging around the paddock, chatting and taking notes, whilst the others went about preparing for the race, as usual.
Thursday 28th June – Pre-Race Press Conference.
Once again, another 5 drivers were picked to be interviewed before the race, in the pressroom. These 5 were: Sally Brown, Pig Pen, Marcie, Violette, and Linus.
I: Sally, you and your teammate seem to be evenly matched. Is there any team infighting as to who is the best driver?
Sally: We get along quite well actually, though of course we disagree on who is the best. I'd like to think the standings speak for themselves on that matter.
I: Pig Pen, having led the championship for so long, you now seem to be drifting away in the championship fight, how do you plan to rectify this?
Pig Pen: I need to qualify better than I have been doing. That's always important to getting good results.
I: Marcie, so far you've scored the lion's share of your team's points. Is this something to do with the car, or is it just your speed?
Marcie: I think it's a bit of both. Five seems to struggle with the car, whether it's a setup issue or just a difference in talent is something you'll have to ask him about.
I: Violette, your team had a poor showing last time out. I get the feeling you want to put that result behind you?
Violette: Oh definitely, we want to be scoring points every time we race, although sometimes that's just not possible. Who knows, we might even get a podium someday.
I: Linus, you're right in the title chase following your win in New Mexico. Do you think you can continue your form here?
Linus: I do think I can. I haven't proven that kind of form yet on an oval, but if Charlie Brown can do it, so can I.
I: Thank you.
Saturday 30th June
Everyone was eagerly awaiting qualifying in the afternoon. Practice had gone by without any notable drama and all the drivers were waiting for the session to start, which it eventually did.
Pig Pen was the first to go out, setting a time of 0:26.564, before Mimi set a time of 0:26.620, less than a tenth behind him. Lucy then set a 0:26.583, and Five set a 0:27.048, before Rerun set a time of 0:26.625.
Cormac beat Pig Pen's time with a 0:26.562, but was quickly beaten by Franklin, who set a 0:26.550. Patty Swanson set an even faster time of 0:26.524, but even that was slower than Morag, who set a time of 0:26.477.
Eudora set a relatively slow time of 0:26.826, while Violette set a time of 0:26.549, and Sally set a time of 0:26.588. Harold Angel was slightly faster than her, setting a 0:26.573, while Joe Agate impressed with a time of 0:26.556.
Linus struggled with the car, only setting a time of 0:26.562, putting him behind Cormac. He was overshadowed by Peppermint Patty, who took the top spot from Morag with a time of 0:26.470. Frieda had similar problems with her car, only being able to set a 0:26.590, but this was still way better than Violet who put herself near the back with a time of 0:26.790.
Marcie set a decent time of 0:26.553, before Charlie Brown then set the fastest time of the session with a 0:26.465. Shermy and José impressed with times of 0:26.539 and 0:26.506 respectively. Pierre found himself at the back with a time of 0:28.156, and Schroeder set the final time of the session, a 0:26.595.
After qualifying was over, the grid order was as follows…
1st Charlie Brown [Renault] 0:26.465 2nd Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 0:26.470
3rd Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 0:26.477 4th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 0:26.506
5th Patricia Swanson [ACE] 0:26.524 6th Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 0:26.539
7th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 0:26.549 8th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 0:26.550
9th Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 0:26.553 10th Joe Agate [Sky] 0:26.556
11th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 0:26.562 12th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 0:26.562
13th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 0:26.564 14th Harold Angel [Isdera] 0:26.573
15th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 0:26.583 16th Sally Brown [Polestar] 0:26.588
17th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 0:26.590 18th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 0:26.595
19th Mimi Sonatelli [Sky] 0:26.620 20th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 0:26.625
21st Violet Gray [Zontec] 0:26.790 22nd Eudora Elm [Polestar] 0:26.826
23rd 555 95472 [Cherokee] 0:27.048 24th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 0:28.156
After the session was over, the top three drivers were interviewed.
I: Charlie Brown, this is now your 4th pole from 12 races, you're starting to get a knack for this. How do you maintain enough focus to put in a lap like that?
Charlie Brown: Well, usually I try not to worry about the lap and think about other things, because when you worry about your lap time, you start making mistakes.
I: Peppermint Patty, you're on the front row for the first time in a long while. How confident are you that you can win this race?
Peppermint Patty: I'd say I can do it, I'm not very far behind him am I?
I: Morag, you and Charlie Brown seem to be the main competitors, why do you think that is?
Morag: Well, we seem to be the most consistently fast drivers in the field, I don't think there's a lot more to it than that.
I: Thank you.
Charlie Brown's nearest championship rival, Linus, was also interviewed in the paddock.
I: Linus, you start 12th today, did you just no get to grips with the car today?
Linus: yeah, I couldn't quite get a solid lap in. If I had I'd be further up the front, but that's just how it is sometimes.
I: Thank you.
As the day ended and night began, the drivers went back to their hotel and slept, in order to e rested for tomorrow's race.
Sunday 1st July
Charlie Brown sat in the cockpit of his car as it sat on the grid. The lack of cars in front of him was a somewhat familiar sight, being at the front of the grid, waiting for the announcer to begin speaking.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Start your Engines!"
Charlie Brown did so, as did everyone else. The pace car began to lead the cars around the track as the announcer commentated.
"As the pace car leads the drivers around Kansas Speedway, they will have 100 laps to battle for victory. And as the pace car pulls into the pits, the Kansas Spindycar Supertour Open is Go!
Charlie Brown got a decent start, but Peppermint Patty got a better one, overtaking him into the first banked turn, and the cars behind them held position, with the exception of Frieda, who got past Sally before the end of the lap. On lap 4, Linus made his way past Cormac on the back straight, and Franklin managed to get past Violette. Rerun passed Mimi on lap 7, and Marcie also got past Violette on lap 12, with Franklin overtaking Shermy a lap later.
Morag took the lead from Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown on lap 15, while Linus overtook Joe Agate, and Pigpen overtook Cormac two laps later. On lap 23, Marcie made her way past Shermy, who was struggling to keep the car straight. Three laps later, Schroeder got past Sally, whilst Frieda had got past Lucy and Harold Angel, and by Lap 30, Rerun had also got past the slow moving Polestar car.
On lap 31, Violette suffered an engine fire on the way to the pits, forcing her to park her car next to the garage while the pit crew and the marshals put the fire out. She got out of the car before she could get burnt and retired from the race. At the front, Peppermint Patty retook the lead on lap 35, pushing Morag into 2nd place. Pigpen then passed Joe Agate on lap 38.
On lap 42, Shermy lost control of the car, and began to spin. He corrected it, but by that point the car was on a collision course with the wall. Shermy tried to slow the car down, but the car still hit the wall pretty hard. He went in right-wheel-first, and the car scraped along the wall at turn 3, before drifting off to the infield. Cormac had to take evasive action to avoid hitting him, which cost him a position to Frieda.
Shermy's car came to a rest on the infield, and he climbed out his car gingerly, walking away from it with a significant limp. The pace car was brought out, while the wreckage was cleared, and Shermy was taken to the medical center for a check-up by the medical car.
The race got underway again on lap 47, and Peppermint Patty made a good getaway. The other Patty was quickly overtaken by Franklin, however. Schroeder was also quick to get up to speed, passing Harold Angel on lap 49. Cormac was passed by Lucy on lap 51, and then by Schroeder the next lap, before his car's gearbox failed, and Cormac parked his car in the pits, having dragged it in under its own momentum.
Joe Agate was being hounded by Frieda, and starting from lap 56, they traded 10th position for several laps. This allowed Lucy to catch up and by lap 70, she was right on Frieda's tail. Meanwhile further up the front, Marcie made a pass on Patty Swanson to take 6th place. Rerun then passed Harold Angel on lap 74.
The field settled down for a bit after that, But Rerun still managed to pass Schroeder on lap 82. Lucy made a daring pass on Frieda on lap 88, and defended the position strongly, keeping Frieda behind.
On lap 95, the Team Sky engineer's noticed that Mimi's car was developing a slow puncture, so the radioed her to bring the car to the pits and change tires, putting her in last place. Morag made a late attempt to take the lead, but Patty was aware of it and held her off as they went round the circuit for the final time.
"And Peppermint Patty wins in Kansas! Morag is 2nd, and Charlie Brown is 3rd! José Peterson is 4th, with Franklin 5th, Marcie 6th, Patty Swanson 7th, Linus 8th, Pig Pen 9th, and Joe Agate rounding out the top ten!
Lucy was 11th, Frieda was 12th, Rerun was 13th, with Schroeder 14th, Harold Angel 15th, Sally 16th, Violet 17th, Eudora 18th, Five 19th, Pierre 20th, and Mimi in 21st.
In the Championship, the standings are as follows…
1st Charlie Brown [Renault] 116pts 2nd Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 113pts
3rd Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 102pts 4th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 102pts
5th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 88pts 6th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 80pts
7th Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 79pts 8th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 77pts
9th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 72pts 10th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 54pts
11th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 46pts 12th Sally Brown [Polestar] 43pts
13th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 42pts 14th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 41pts
15th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 40pts 16th Patty Swanson [ACE] 37pts
17th Harold Angel [Isdera] 24pts 18th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 15pts
19th Joe Agate [Sky] 15pts 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/Sky] 0pts
Peppermint Patty parked her car on Victory Road and revelled in the gracious applause of the fans, before running off to celebrate with her mechanics, before the top three went up to the podium. In the waiting room, the three of them each congratulated each other on a good race, while Charlie Brown expressed concern to Morag about Shermy's accident.
The three of them walked out onto the podium to raucous cheers, before the crowd fell silent as the American anthem played, and the American and British flags were raised. The Japanese anthem played after the American one finished. The competitors drank their milk and Peppermint Patty raised her fists into the air, while Morag and Charlie Brown just smiled and waved, before they all headed off to the pressroom, where the interviewers had some questions.
I: Peppermint Patty, this is you second win of the season, is this your way of marking yourself as a championship challenger?
Peppermint Patty: It better. I wasn't even considering the idea that I was out of the title fight. I'm here to stay.
I: Morag, your consistency is paying dividends at the front. Can you take the fight to Charlie Brown?
Morag: Sure I can. I've kept up with him this far haven't I?
I: And what do you say to that, Charlie Brown?
Charlie Brown: well, as the championship leader, I'm pretty sure I can hold onto it just as easily.
I: Thank you.
The nearest Challenger to the top three in the championship, Linus was also interviewed.
I: Tough race for you, huh?
Linus: you could say that. I'm pretty happy with 8th, I'm still in the hunt at least, although I'm waiting for Charlie Brown to come back so we can go and see how Shermy's doing.
I: Thank you.
Linus waited as Charlie Brown left the pressroom and joined him, chatting as they walked to the nearby medical center.
"You think he'll be okay?" Linus asked.
"I don't know. The accident looked pretty big, from what I could see. I don't think the organisers have said anything about his condition.
"The doctors are probably busy right now, we should wait a bit, and then go see him." Linus suggested.
"Hmm. You're probably right." Charlie Brown replied. The two of them hang around in the paddock up until about 6pm, when they went to the medical center.
Inside, the doctor was standing outside the room Shermy was in, seemingly not allowing visitors for the time being.
"How is he?" Linus asked.
"He's resting at the moment. We'll start allowing visitors when he wakes up."
"Any news on his condition?"
"Well, it appears he has sprained his ankle. It's nothing major, I'm happy to say. He should be fit to race in about two weeks or so."
"I see." Charlie Brown responded.
"I guess we should see him tomorrow morning, then, just before we leave." Linus suggested.
"Agreed. See you then." Charlie Brown waved to the doctor as they left, returning to their hotel, where they and the other drivers slept for the night.
