Monday 2nd July.

Early in the morning, Shermy woke up in the medical center, and it was no wonder. The press mob had been slowly gathering outside for the past 3 hours, and their murmuring had become quite noisy. Eventually his doctor relented and allowed a select few to ask him questions, which he answered as quickly as possible. This was seemingly enough to placate them, as they had all but disappeared when Charlie Brown, Linus, and Roy came to visit.

"Charlie Brown, Linus, and Roy here to see you." The doctor told him.

"Okay." Shermy smiled in reply. The three of them each took a blue plastic chair and sat down.

"How are you?" Charlie Brown asked.

"I'm doing better than yesterday." Shermy replied, as he sat up in his hospital bed. "Still hurts though. I see you brought your notepad, Roy."

"I carry it everywhere I go." Roy replied, opening it.

"You won't need it today, the press mob's already been and gone. They beat you to it this time."

"Oh." Roy sighed disappointedly.

"They woke me up, the scoundrels." Shermy complained. The three of them all shared Shermy's nonplussed expression, before the conversation moved on.

"How bad was the damage?" Roy asked.

"Doctor says I got a sprained ankle, but I should be back racing in about two weeks." Shermy answered.

"But that means you'll be missing the next race at Illinois, won't you?" Roy continued.

"Yep. The press asked about that too."

"Did they ask who would step in to replace you?" Roy asked.

"They did, but I didn't say. I don't think the team have told you yet have they?"

"No. why would they come to me to announce their driver?" Roy responded.

Shermy and Charlie Brown chuckled. "I think he means to say that they'll be asking you to drive." Charlie Brown patted Roy's shoulder. "You're the second reserve after all."

"What about Thibault?" Roy asked.

"I don't think Thibault's going to jeopardise his chances of a seat at Sky by driving for a rival team." Linus answered, while Shermy nodded in agreement.

"I see. I should probably get going then. I don't want to make them leave the track late."

"Alright." Shermy said as Roy departed from the medical center.

"We should probably get going too." Linus suggested.

"I should be out of this place by tomorrow, I'll be watching you from the pitwall this week, hopefully." Shermy told them.

"See you then, Shermy." Linus waved goodbye as they too, left.

"You too." Shermy responded in kind, as he tried to make himself comfy.

Linus and Charlie Brown made their way into the paddock and back onto the party bus, whilst Roy checked in with the Zontec team, who were surprised that he knew what they hadn't told him yet, but when Roy explained himself, they accepted and swiftly welcomed him.

The party bus left at 10am with all the points scoring drivers on board. At the same time, Mimi was driven to Illinois in the Team Sky Volkswagen Touareg, while Lucy, Rerun, and Harold Angel travelled in the Team Honda Civic. Violet, Roy and Pierre took Team Zontec's Ford Ka, Sally, Eudora, Cormac, Violette, and Five took the Polestar team's Volvo XC90, and Schroeder and Friead went in their team's Opel Astra.

When he arrived, Roy decided he would make diary notes at the end of each day, as he learned to familiarise himself with the car, the team, and the preparations a driver needs to make to be ready for a race.

On Tuesday, the teams, the cars and the press arrived at the track, brimming with the news that Roy had been chosen to stand in for Shermy.

Thursday 5th July- Pre Race Press Conference

As with the previous races, 5 drivers were picked seemingly at random to be interviewed by the press. These 5 drivers were: Frieda, Marcie, Morag, Franklin, and Cormac.

I: Frieda, your team usually score highly, and on a regular basis, what happened in Kansas, and how can you rectify that here?

Frieda: We couldn't set the cars up the way we wanted to, but we're not in Kansas anymore, so our focus is to do better here.

I: Marcie, despite frequently scoring points, and even leading the championship on occasion, a first win has still eluded you. Do you think you can achieve it here?

Marcie: if we can avoid the kinds of failures that stopped us at Nevada, then I'm pretty sure we can at least challenge for the win.

I: Morag. You are the nearest challenger to Charlie Brown for the championship. Do you think you can take the lead here?

Morag: I'd only need to finish ahead of him by a position or two to do that. It's definitely doable.

I: Franklin, you came 5th last time round, is this the start of a resurgence to your early-season form?

Franklin: I hope so. I wouldn't want to be languishing in 13th place all summer, would I? I aim to qualify near the front this weekend.

I: Cormac, you looked to be in contention for the points in Kansas, until your car broke down. To what extent has bad luck scuppered your championship?

Cormac: I'll admit, it's hurt me a number of times, and more times than it has for José, but I'm not going to let that keep me down. Next time I'm fighting for the points, I will be staying there.

I: Thank you.

Saturday 7th July

The Saturday morning practice went by quickly, the drivers familiarising themselves with the track, which was slightly different to the ones they had raced before. Everyone got a feel for the track, but no one put in a serious qualifying-style lap, wanting to wait for the actual qualifying session to begin, which it eventually did. Peppermint Patty was the first to go out, and struggled, setting a time of 0:29.654, which was quickly beaten by Cormac, who sat a 0:29.156. The pair of them were subsequently beaten by Rerun, who set a 0:29.036.

Joe Agate had a tough time, setting a time of 0:29.882, but his teammate Mimi fared significantly better, with a time of 0:28.986, a time that Pig Pen, who set a 0:29.095, failed to beat.

Sally Brown then wowed the field with a 0:29.688, somehow finding a faster line than the others. The drivers the followed sought to emulate that success, with varying results. Violet set a time of 0:28.907 to go second, before Lucy went slower, with a time of 0:29.080. Charlie Brown could only manage a time of 0:28.937, just behind Violet. Sally's team mate Eudora also failed to capitalise from her teammate's success, only setting a 0:29.093, but this was at least better than Five, who set a 0:29.564, putting him third from last.

Pierre, using his laid back driving style set an ultimately decent time of 0:28.899, before Patty Swanson shot to the top of the leaderboard with a time of 0:28.328. Schroeder only managed a 0:28.960, and Franklin did even worse, setting a 0:29.218. José Peterson tried his luck, setting a 0:28.853, before Morag went second with a time of 0:28.480, seemingly understanding the secret to Patty and Sally's speed.

Roy, in a stroke of luck and/or genius, copied Morag's strategy to the best of his ability, setting a time of 0:28.549, whilst Harold Angel, whom Morag had told about the line she took on the final corner, set a time of 0:28.648.

By this point, everyone had worked out the way to take the final corner, with Linus setting a 0:28.749, Violette setting a time of 0:28.657, Marcie setting a 0:28.591, and Frieda ending the session with a 0:28.730.

At the end of qualifying, the grid order looked like this…

1st Patricia Swanson [ACE] 0:28.328 2nd Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 0:28.480

3rd Roy Tripps [Zontec] 0:28.549 4th Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 0:28.591

5th Harold Angel [Isdera] 0:28.648 6th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 0:28.657

7th Sally Brown [Polestar] 0:28.688 8th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 0:28.730

9th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 0:28.749 10th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 0:28.853

11th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 0:28.899 12th Violet Gray [Zontec] 0:28.907

13th Charlie Brown [Renault] 0:28.937 14th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 0:28.960

15th Mimi Sonatelli [Sky] 0:28.986 16th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 0:29.036

17th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 0:29.080 18th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 0:29.093

19th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 0:29.095 20th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 0:29.156

21st Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 0:29.218 22nd 555 95472 [Cherokee] 0:29.564

23rd Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 0:29.654 24th Joe Agate [Sky] 0:29.882

After the qualifying session had finished, the top three were interviewed.

I: Patty, even after qualifying 5th last round, many people would still say you getting pole today is a shock. Do you sympathise with them?

Patty: I think they're right to be surprised, but I'm finally happy we were able to get the car set up right. We prefer it when we're competitive.

I: Morag. You seemed to learn the correct line to take exactly when it mattered. How do you feel about your championship prospects, given your rivals grid positions?

Morag: I'm confident. I think I can win this race, which would give me a significant advantage.

I: Roy, this is your first race, and yet you've qualified in third! How were you able to adapt so quickly to the car.

Roy: well, I practiced, and for qualifying, I studied what Morag was doing and followed her line as closely as I could. I guess you could say I'm a copycat.

I: Thank you.

Championship Leader Charlie Brown was also interviewed, in the paddock.

I: Charlie Brown, are you confident of holding the championship lead, starting where you are?

Charlie Brown: I doubt it. I might get some points, but I think Morag will have the lead tomorrow.

I: Thank you.

The drivers and the other team members went back to their hotels ad slept for the night, ready for the race ahead.

Sunday 8th July – Race Day in Illinois

Patty sat in her car on the grid with unwavering patience. She was used to seeing cars ahead of her, so a clear track ahead of her was very much a surprise. She didn't have much time to think on it, because the announcer was just beginning to speak.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Start your Engines!"

Patty did so, as did Morag, Charlie Brown, and everyone else. I just a few short minutes, the pace car began to lead everyone around the track.

"As the pace leads everyone round, the drivers will have 95 laps to duke it out around this two turn, paperclip oval arena. And as the pace car pulls into the pits, the Illinois Spindycar Supertour Open is GO!"

Morag got a great start, overtaking Patty into the first turn, as the rest of the cars filed behind them, with Franklin muscling his way past Cormac before the end of the first lap. on lap 4, Pig Pen made his way past Eudora, with Rerun passing Mimi a couple of laps afterwards, and by lap 10, Peppermint Patty had made her way past both Five and Cormac. Joe Agate, however, was still struggling with the car, and a gap opened up between him and the rest of the pack.

Marcie managed to get past Roy into the first turn on lap 13, putting her into third. Frieda then passed Sally on lap 17, while Pig Pen overtook Lucy into the second turn, and Franklin overtook Eudora the following lap. Charlie Brown took a while to overtake Violet, managing to do so on lap 21, while Peppermint Patty overtook Eudora a lap later. On lap 25, Five retired from the race with a gearbox failure, managing to drag the car into the pits under its own momentum.

By lap 29, Marcie had gone into second, passing Patty, Rerun had passed Schroeder and Pig Pen had passed Mimi. Charlie Brown was making an attempt to pass Pierre, but was being held up, with some admittedly good defending. On lap 33, Harold Angel fought his way past Roy to move into 4th, while over the following 6 laps, Peppermint Patty snuck past both Franklin and Lucy.

On lap 43, Morag, who had led for most of the race, caught up to the back of Joe Agate, as made a move to lap him going into the 2nd turn. Joe went high, before cascading down near the end of the corner to cut her off. His car clattered into her, their wheels locking as they both spun 90 degrees, before the inertia pulled them up the other side of the track, creating a plume of tire smoke, and into the path of Violette, who moved to try and avoid them, but clipped Joe Agate's front wing, and was herself pitched into a spin on the start finish straight.

Sally, who was behind her, reacted later, and hit Joe Agate's front nosecone, sending her careening down the track and onto the infield, sliding down the inside wall facing backwards. Meanwhile, Pierre, unsighted by the tire smoke, crashed into the loosely lumbering right rear wheel of Violette, clambering over the right side of the car, and flying over her right sidepod, missing her head by inches. Pierre's suspension gave out when his car hit the ground, and squirreled out into the path of Charlie Brown, who clipped the front wing with his wheel, denting it inwards and forcing to pull off to the side of the track.

Most of the other cars got through the wreckage unscathed, except for Mimi, who ran over a stray front wing and locked her wheels up, only being able to slow the car to about 70 miles per hour when she plunged straight on into the outside wall. Franklin also ran over a piece of debris, causing a puncture, which delaminated, irreparably damaging the car as he trundled round to the pits as the red flags were waved.

Franklin hopped out the car and Shermy watched the screens with dread, as the tire smoke cleared. Charlie Brown was the first to emerge from his car, thankfully uninjured. Violette was the next to get up, clearly shaken, but also unhurt, at least physically. Charlie Brown was seen running to scene of Morag and Joe Agate's accident, checking to see if they were alright. The direct rear impacts had caused the cars' engines to catch fire, and Charlie Brown could only watch as the marshals pulled the two of them out of their respective burning wreckages. Instead he turned to Sally, who's car had thankfully taken most of the impact, and helped her get out of the car as they walked gingerly back to the pits.

Morag and Joe Agate were carried, conscious, on stretchers to the medical center for a once-over, to check for any broken bones or other damage. Pierre, despite flying through the air, was parked in the middle of the track, and he gingerly lifted himself up, and walked, clearly looking very sore, to a marshal's post, who gave him a lift to the medical center as well. Mimi then got out the car and walked back to the garage with a slight limp.

The drivers patiently waited in their garages while the marshals cleared up the mess, and after about 50 minutes they were ready to race again. The pace car led them away round the track again, before it pulled into the pits, allowing the racers to start lap 44. Marcie got a good getaway, pulling away from Patty and Harold Angel, who spent the next couple of laps squabbling over 2nd place, with Harold Angel winning the battle. At around lap 50, Pig Pen made a move on Schroeder, to go into 10th, before Frieda then overtook Roy on lap 55.

Harold Angel held second until about lap 62, when he slid coming out of the corner and had to correct it losing him time and positions, dropping him into 6th. This made it easier for the chasing pack to catch Patty, and by lap 68, Frieda had caught up to the back of her. Linus meanwhile, was right behind Roy, and managed to pass him on lap 72.

Further back, Peppermint Patty moved past Schroder, while her teammate Lucy fell behind Eudora on lap 74. Pig Pen was locked in a battle with Rerun for several laps, eventually passing him on lap 80. A couple of laps later, Frieda managed to pass Patty into 2nd. Harold Angel caught up to Roy and was held up by him for most of the remainder of the race, but Roy left the door open on lap 94 and Harold Angel took a risky opportunity and passed him in a scintillating move on the inside of turn 1.

It took a lot longer than usual, but the final lap eventually arrived, and Marcie led commandingly as they entered the start/finish straight for the final time.

"And Marcie Johnson wins in Illinois! Frieda is Second, and Patty Swanson is Third! Linus finishes fourth, Harold Angel is 5th, Roy is 6th at his first race! José Peterson is 7th, Violet is 8th, Pig Pen is 9th, and Rerun rounds out the top ten!

Peppermint Patty was 11th, with Schroeder 12th, Eudora 13th, Lucy 14th, and Cormac being the last of the finishers. Franklin, Mimi. Charlie Brown, Pierre, Sally, Violette, Morag, Joe Agate, and Five all failed to finish.

In the Championship, the standings are as follows…

1st Charlie Brown [Renault] 116pts 2nd Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 114pts

3rd Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 113pts 4th Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 104pts

5th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 102pts 6th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 90pts

7th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 88pts 8th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 82pts

9th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 78pts 10th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 54pts

11th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 52pts 12th Patty Swanson [ACE] 52pts

13th Sally Brown [Polestar] 43pts 14th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 42pts

15th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 41pts 16th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 40pts

17th Harold Angel [Isdera] 34pts 18th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 15pts

19th Joe Agate [Sky] 15pts 20th Violet Gray [Zontec] 14pts

21st Roy Tripps [Zontec] 8pts 22nd Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 8pts

23rd Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 5pts 24th 555 95472 [Cherokee] 2pts

25th Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 1pt 26th Mimi Sonatelli [Armstrong/Sky] 0pts

Marcie parked her car and walked to the podium with a muted smile. In the waiting room, the three podium finishers congratulated each other on a good race and asked each other how the crashed drivers were doing.

"Charlie Brown's okay I heard." Marcie spoke. "I think it's Morag, Joe Agate and Pierre who are at the medical center at the minute."

"Let's just get these formalities over with, and we can join the rest of the drivers waiting for news." Frieda suggested. The others nodded in agreement.

The three of them walked out onto the podium and waved to the crowd, standing silently as the 3 American flags were raised and the American anthem played. After the anthem finished, the three drivers received their trophies, drank their milk and waved to the crowd as they walked off to the pressroom, where a selection of journalists had questions to ask.

I: Marcie, finally, after 13 races of being a frontrunner, you've finally won a race. How do you feel right now?

Marcie: I mean, I'm happy that I won, but I would much have preferred to do it under better circumstances. It would have been nice to fight with Morag fair and square, but ultimately that never happened. Hopefully we can duel again sometime in the future.

I: Frieda, you worked hard to get second place today. How proud are you today?

Frieda: I could say I'm proud of my performance, but again, this isn't the best time to do that. My goal is to keep this performance up next race.

I: Patty, Pole yesterday, 3rd today. Are you happy with what you've achieved?

Patty: I'd say so. It's both mine and my team's best result of the year, so we're pretty happy with what we've done.

Down in the paddock, only Violet was willing to take an interview.

I: Violet, pleased with 8th today?

Violet: it's my first points finish in a while, so yeah. Not sure why it's worth an interview, but I guess everyone's got bigger things to worry about right now.

I: A lot of drivers refused to speak to us.

Violet: I see.

Violet walked away coldly back to her garage. Linus and Marcie went to join the other drivers, who had assembled themselves in front of the medical center waiting for news about Pierre, Morag, and Joe Agate. Shermy and Thibault were there too, although Shermy was sitting in a plastic chair someone had kindly fetched for him.

Sally and Mimi arrived later, walking together as they both exchanged details of their own bruises. It was a while before a nurse walked out of the center, nervously holding a sheet of paper.

"Uhm, good evening. I'm sure all of you are patiently waiting to learn of the condition of your fellow drivers." The nurse read out slowly. "The three drivers admitted to our care have all been X-Rayed and we are pleased to report that nobody has any broken bones, fractures or sprains. Pierre admitted himself as a precaution and will be released later this evening. Both Morag and Joe have sustained significant bruises and will be kept under observation for another 24 hours in case their condition worsens. Thank you for your patience."

This caused a smattering of conversation among the drivers.

"Are we allowed to visit them?" Charlie Brown asked.

"No. we will only be keeping them for another 24 hours, barring any complications. You may go now." The nurse replied harshly, before turning back and hurrying inside the center. The drivers waited for another 20 minutes until Pierre emerged from the 'hospital' to a round of applause. Pierre and Linus walked back to the garage, with the others trailing behind them, having given up on any chance of seeing them until tomorrow.

Late that evening, the stewards announced that Joe Agate would be handed a 1-race ban for reckless driving, and as such would miss the next round at Indianapolis. The drivers returned to their hotel and slept uneasily, with another race in a week's time looming.