Monday 16th July
Monday morning in Indianapolis was busy, for some. As promised, Morag, Roy, Charlie Brown and Linus had assembled at a picnic table in a nearby park and were about to discuss Roy's latest news.
"We heard from Morag you did some digging." Charlie Brown began.
"Yeah, I did." Roy replied, taking his notebook from his pocket and opening it up.
"I was sat outside the steward's office, and I saw 4 men in suits who came in to speak to Ms Wilcox. I didn't get to hear any details of their meeting, but I got a good description of what they looked like." Roy shared his info with the group.
"Let's see then." Morag beckoned curiously. Roy handed the notebook to her and after a quick glance, she handed it to Linus.
"I see." Linus peered at the info on the page. "Should I read it out loud?" Linus asked.
"Sure, go ahead. There's no one else here." Morag scanned the area around her as she said so.
"Ok. Person 1: 5"11, white, average weight. Brown hair, unstyled. Wears glasses, has a lanyard. Grey suit with red tie. gold watch and polished business shoes." Linus began.
"Person 2: 6"2, white, skinny. Short black hair. Black pinstripe suit. Carries a briefcase. He checked his keys, of which one was for a Ferrari. Wears shades indoors." He continued.
"Person 3: White, 5"9, mildly overweight. Short dark brown hair, navy blue suit with red tie. Wears a NASA lapel pin."
"And finally, Person 4: Black, 6ft, muscular. Very short black hair, dressed in a casual jacket and formal trousers. Nike logo on jacket." Linus finished.
"Thank you, Linus. Roy, if you find anything more about these four, please tell me. I think I can work out who's who before the summer break. Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome." Roy returned the thanks. "My dad's also working on it so he may be able to help."
"Thanks. Try not to get into trouble, now." Morag reminded him.
"I know." Roy assured her. "See you soon." The four of them got up and left, returning to the track to help their teams pack up for the next race.
Thursday 19th July
At around 10am that morning, the top ten finishers left for Missouri on the party bus, with the others, consisting of Sally, Eudora, Shermy, Linus and Cormac in the Polestar Team's Volvo XC90, Lucy, José, Violette and Franklin in the Honda Civic, and Five, Rerun, Pigpen, Pierre and Morag in the Cherokee Team Jeep, leaving around half an hour after.
Charlie Brown and Schroeder were sat at the front of the party bus, and they began to engage in conversation.
"Did you hear anything about this track we're going to?" Charlie Brown asked.
"I heard it's in this big car park. My dad told me Formula 1 did a similar thing in the 80's in Las Vegas, and the drivers hated it." Schroeder replied.
"What does the track look like?" Charlie Brown asked.
"We'll have to wait and see." Schroeder replied.
As the party bus pulled in to said car park at around 4:30pm, their answer lay before them. The track consisted of a straight before a long acute left turn, followed by a right and another left turn, equal to that of the other followed by a straight, a 90 degree left turn, another straight, which led into a quick chicane before a another tight left turn led onto the main straight once again. There was quite a bit of space between the edge of the track and the wall, which came as a relief to the drivers, though it certainly wasn't impossible to hit them.
"It looks kind of U shaped, doesn't it?" Charlie Brown remarked to Schroeder.
"Yeah. At least it's safer than those ovals. Illinois was scary." Schroeder replied.
"No kidding." Charlie Brown replied. "I look forward to seeing how fast you are next week."
"You too." Schroeder responded. "I'm going back to the hotel. The team personnel won't be here until Tuesday, so I might as well study my notes there."
"Your track notes, or your music notes?"
"Both." Schroeder replied, leaving Charlie Brown to wait for his teammate.
On Sunday 22nd, Roy had arrived at the track, and his father had published the in depth article for him, which received a lot of positive attention over the following days. As Schroeder foretold, the teams, cars and press arrived on Tuesday 24th.
Thursday 26th July- Pre Race Press Conference
Once again, 5 drivers were picked to be interviewed before the start of the race weekend. These drivers were: Morag, Franklin, Harold Angel, Charlie Brown, and Frieda.
I: Morag, a disappointing weekend at Indy has put you 21 points adrift in the championship. Do you think you can improve you prospects here?
Morag: Sure I can. The car is still competitive, as Harold Angel proved, and the gap can still close, especially if he [Charlie Brown] is focusing on Peppermint Patty.
Charlie Brown: [looking across with a smirk] I am here, you know.
I: heh, right. Franklin, you've had ups and downs plenty of times this season, how do you plan to get up from this latest result?
Franklin: I need to drive faster, especially during qualifying. We'll see on Saturday where I am.
I: Harold Angel, you shocked everyone by getting pole and 3rd place last week. Will we be expecting similar form this weekend?
Harold Angel: We won't be certain until qualifying, but I'm feeling confident. Like Morag said, we have a good car, so we should do well.
I: Charlie Brown, you enjoy a lead of 7 points over Peppermint Patty and a big gap to the chasing pack. You're starting to look like the favourite for the championship. Do you agree?
Charlie Brown: We still have plenty of races, and everyone can still catch up, but as long as I'm consistent I think the championship is a possibility.
I: Frieda, your driving style has lent itself well to tracks like Road America. Do you see yourself doing similarly well here?
Frieda: I hope so. I need some points if I'm going to challenge for the championship.
I: Thank you.
Saturday 28th July- Qualifying.
It rained for most of Friday night, and the track was still pretty damp during the morning practice session. Many drivers struggled to set any decent lap times, or get a feel of how the track felt normally. The sun did come out afterwards, and by qualifying the track had dried out.
Violet was the first out on track, setting a time of 0:43.066, followed by José, who struggled, setting a time of 0:48.781. They were both beaten by Pig Pen, who set a time of 0:41.055. Lucy went out next, setting a 0:43.085, putting her 3rd for the moment, just behind Violet.
Harold Angel appeared to be fighting his car through the corners on his qualifying run, only setting a lap time of 0:43.885. His team mate Morag, however, suffered no such issues, beating Pig Pen at the front with a time of 0:40.640.
Pierre then set a 0:45.095 on his first lap, before spinning and hitting the wall backwards on his second lap, thankfully getting out unharmed. Violette also spun, but avoided the wall, but nevertheless, she only set a time of 0:46.314, which paled in comparison to her team mate Patty Swanson, who set a time of 0:40.930, just behind Morag.
Frieda had expected to do well, but couldn't quite get her car driving the way she wanted it to, setting a rather average lap time of 0:42.131. Joe Agate made a lacklustre return after his 1 race ban, setting a 0:44.258.
Linus fared even worse than his team mate, setting a 0:46.349, before clipping the inside wall at one of the corners on lap 2 and destroying the left rear of his car. He was also unhurt, but certainly frustrated with himself.
Shermy was next to set a time, impressing again with a 0:41.092, before Schroeder went fastest with a 0:40.455. Eudora struggled with her car, only setting a time of 0:43.534, while Cormac surprised many by setting a competitive time of 0:41.034, sneaking just ahead of Pig Pen.
Five was also a surprise, setting a 0:41.777 to put himself directly behind Shermy, but Rerun was even faster, setting a 0:40.132, a whole 3 tenths faster than Schroeder. Franklin set a lacklustre 0:42.787, before Thibault could only marginally better that with a 0:42.072.
Marcie set the eventual pole time, a 0:39.940, 2 tenths faster than Rerun, and half a second infront of Schroeder. Peppermint Patty couldn't keep up with that, setting a 0:42.437, while her championship rival Charlie Brown set a respectable 0:41.744. Sally Brown then finally closed the session with a 0:45.314, which put her 21st.
At the end of qualifying, the grid order looked like this…
1st Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 0:39.940 2nd Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 0:40.132
3rd Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 0:40.455 4th Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 0:40.640
5th Patricia Swanson [ACE] 0:40.930 6th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 0:41.034
7th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 0:41.055 8th Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 0:41.092
9th Charlie Brown [Renault] 0:41.744 10th 555 95472 [Cherokee] 0:41.777
11th Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 0:42.072 12th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 0:42.131
13th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 0:42.437 14th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 0:42.787
15th Violet Gray [Zontec] 0:43.066 16th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 0:43.085
17th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 0:43.534 18th Harold Angel [Isdera] 0:43.885
19th Joe Agate [Sky] 0:44.258 20th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 0:45.095
21st Sally Brown [Polestar] 0:45.314 22nd Violette Honfleur [Polestar] 0:46.314
23rd Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 0:46.349 24th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 0:48.781
After qualifying was over, the top three drivers were interviewed in the pressroom.
I: Marcie, you looked imperious on track today, streets ahead of most of the field. Are you confident you can win tomorrow?
Marcie: I think I can win tomorrow, yes. I'm sure the cars behind me will make me work hard for it, but I confident in myself.
I: Rerun, it's not often that you beat your teammate so comprehensively, are you looking forward to closing your gap to him in the championship?
Rerun: I'll have to beat him first, but yeah, I'll be very happy to see the gap close.
I: Schroeder, once again, you've put in a very fast time on a street course. You seem to be a specialist for these kind of tracks.
Schroeder: You could say that, but really I've just been fast this week. I think I might be able to close the gap to the front a little bit too this race.
I: Thank you.
Championship Leader Charlie Brown was also interviewed down in the paddock.
I: Charlie Brown, you're right in the thick of it today. Do you see yourself holding the championship lead into the next race?
Charlie Brown: well I assume so, my nearest rival is behind me and I can still fight my way up to some decent points.
I: Thank you.
That evening, the drivers returned to their hotel and slept for the night, in anticipation of the race tomorrow.
Sunday 29th July – Race Day in Missouri
Marcie sat in her car on pole position, looking comfortable and above all, calm. None of the hubbub behind her was going to alter her mind-set. The only thing she had to focus on was her race, no one else's. With a steely determination in her eyes, she awaited the announcer's voice.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!"
Marcie did so, as did everyone else. The pace car led the drivers around the track as the announcer continued to speak.
"As the drivers make their way round the track, they will have 70 laps to prove they have what it takes to win on this temporary circuit in Missouri. And as the pace car pulls into the pits, the Missouri Spindycar Supertour Open is Go!"
Marcie got a great start heading into the first corner, whilst Rerun held off Schroeder, and Pig Pen overtook Cormac going into the first corner. Further back, Linus managed to make a move past Violette before the end of the first lap. On lap 4, Marcie, Rerun Schroeder and Morag began to pull away from the rest of the pack, while behind, Thibault overtook Five into turn 3, and Linus made his way past Sally into the 90 degree left hander at turn 4.
By lap 10, Five had also fallen behind Frieda, and Lucy had made her way past Violet, while only a lap later, Linus had breezed past his teammate Pierre, and on lap 14, he passed Joe Agate as well.
Charlie Brown was being held up by Shermy, and after a long wait, he eventually got past him on lap 17.
Further ahead, Schroeder was closing in on Rerun, passing him on lap 22, while behind them, Linus was catching up to Harold Angel, passing him on lap 25. 5 laps later, Peppermint Patty snuck past Five while in front of them Shermy was battling Thibault for 9th place.
It wasn't until the midpoint of the race, lap 35, that Thibault managed to pass Shermy, and in front of them, Charlie Brown was getting very close to the back of Cormac's car, passing him two laps later. The race began to settle down after that with the only moves for the next ten laps being a pass by Franklin on Five and an overtake on Eudora by Linus.
On lap 46, Joe Agate was closing in on Harold Angel, but locked his brakes going into the final corner and rear ended Harold Angel, destroying his front right wheel and Harold Angel's left rear. The pair of them were able to drag their stricken cars to the pits, but the pace car was still brought out to allow the marshals to clear up the debris.
On lap 50, the pace car was brought in and the race was under green flags again. Morag made the best of the restart, passing Rerun into turn 1, whilst both Cormac and Shermy were kept busy keeping Thibault and Frieda behind. Marcie began to open up a lead to the rest of the field, with Schroeder and Morag following behind. Lucy overtook Five on lap 53, before on lap 57, Thibault managed to wedge his way past Cormac in a robust move into turn 4.
On lap 63, disaster struck for Linus, as his car's left front suspension failed, which forced him to trundle his way back to the pits and into his pit garages, for his first retirement of the season.
For the last seven laps, Schroeder and Morag began to close the gap, but they ran out of laps before they could get close enough to attempt a pass, so as they crossed the finish line…
"And Marcie Johnson wins in Missouri! Schroeder is in Second, and Morag is 3rd! Rerun is 4th, with Patty Swanson 5th, Pig Pen 6th, Charlie Brown in 7th, Thibault 8th, Cormac 9th, and Shermy rounding out the top ten! Frieda was 11th, with Peppermint Patty 12th, Franklin 13th, Lucy 14th, Five in 15th, Violet 16th, Eudora 17th, Pierre 18th, Sally 19th, Violette 20th, and José Peterson last of the finishers in 21st. Linus, Harold Angel and Joe Agate all retired from the race.
In the championship, the standings are as follows…
1st Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 141pts 2nd Charlie Brown [Renault] 140pts
3rd Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 128pts 4th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 127pts
5th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 114pts 6th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 110pts
7th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 92pts 8th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 90pts
9th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 90pts 10th Patty Swanson [ACE] 63pts
11th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 54pts 12th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 52pts
13th Harold Angel [Isdera] 49pts 14th Sally Brown [Polestar] 43pts
15th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 42pts 16th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 41pts
17th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 40pts 18th Violet Gray [Zontec] 22pts
19th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 15pts 20th Joe Agate [Sky] 15pts
21st Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 15pts 22nd Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 9pts
23rd Roy Tripps [Zontec] 8pts 24th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 7pts
25th Mimi Sonatelli [Armstrong/Sky] 6pts 26th 555 95472 [Cherokee] 2pts
Marcie parked her car on Victory Road and got out the car, raising a fist into the air in celebration, before she hi-fived all of her pit crew, and headed up to the podium along with Schroeder and Morag. In the waiting room, the three of them congratulated each other on a good race, and Marcie was surprised at the revelation the she was now championship leader.
The three of them then stepped out onto the podium, receiving warm adulation from the crowd. The three of the stood and waited while the American anthem played. Afterwards the three drivers received their trophies, drank their milk and waved to the crowd and celebrated, before heading off into the pressroom, where the interviewers had some questions.
I: Marcie, brilliant win today, and now you find yourself leading the championship. Is this a surprise to you?
Marcie: Oh, definitely. I knew I could win, but this is much better than I had hoped for. I'm very pleased to be leading, and I promise I won't let it go easily.
I: Schroeder, another great finish from you, was the win just a step too far today?
Schroeder: Yeah, Marcie was just too quick for us. The car was in really good shape, and we were catching up towards the end, but we couldn't win, unfortunately. We did score some valuable points though.
I: Morag, another podium has kept you within touching distance of the championship lead. Are you pleased with what you've achieved this race?
Morag: Well, like Schroeder said, we were both catching up to Marcie, so we could have done better, but I'm happy with 3rd, we cut our deficit to 13 points, and the championship is definitely still up for grabs.
I: Thank you.
Former Championship Leader Charlie Brown was also interviewed, down in the paddock.
I: Charlie Brown, 7th today, you now sit 1 point behind Marcie in the standings. Are you disappointed with your result today?
Charlie: I can't say that I'm not, but looking forward, we only have 1 point to make up next race, which shouldn't be too difficult for me, no matter what turn of form Marcie has had recently.
I: Thank you.
That evening, despite the win, there was little time to party, and many drivers stayed on to help pack up as much as they could before heading back to their hotel to sleep for the night. In other news, the stewards handed Joe Agate a five place grid penalty for the next race for causing his accident.
