Monday 27th August

With the past three weeks being absorbed by the summer break, the Party bus was not needed. Instead, most of the drivers flew in from Minnesota after an emotional farewell to their parents, while the others flew in from the various other locations they hailed from. The teams were also packing their bags and hauling their cars and gear across America to arrive in Charlotte on time. Morag was the first person there, obviously, and the others were not far behind, arriving at about 2pm. Pierre and Violette were the last to arrive, at around 6pm, having travelled all the way from France.

Charlie Brown quickly caught up with Morag as she walked across the paddock.

"Hi Morag. Long time no see!"

"Indeed! How are you?" Morag replied.

"I've been doing great. I hope you haven't been pushing yourself too hard." Charlie Brown replied.

"I might have." Morag admitted, yawning.

"Well, we do have a race this week." Charlie Brown reminded her. "are we going to hold a meeting this week?"

"Of course. Friday, like usual." Morag answered.

"I'll make sure Linus knows." Charlie Brown replied, before they both headed back to the hotel with the other drivers for the night.

On Tuesday, the teams, cars and all of their kit as well as the press (including Frank and Roy) arrived at the circuit.

Thursday 30th August – Pre Race Press Conference

Like all the press conferences that had taken place before, 5 drivers were picked to answer questions from the press. These drivers were: José Peterson, Five, Peppermint Patty, Cormac, and Eudora.

I: José, your team seem to be struggling a bit, languishing near the back race after race. Do you see an uptick in form in the near future?

José: I hope so. The team have been working very hard over the summer break, so hopefully we will have something to show for it.

I: Five, rumours have been circling that your seat may be under threat. Are these rumours true?

Five: I have been told as much, but I have faith in myself and the team that I can hold on to it. You should expect a good result from me on Sunday.

I: Peppermint Patty, your race was cut short last time around, are you confident that you can recover your position in the championship?

Peppermint Patty: There's nothing that says I can't win here. I've had 3 wins on ovals and I can get a 4th.

I: Cormac, you sit right near the back of the championship standings, despite a 9th place in Missouri. Are you hoping to rectify that this weekend?

Cormac: Of course. Like José said, we've been working hard over the summer and we hope our R&D will pay off.

I: Eudora, you seem to be being overshadowed by your teammate as of late, what with her getting pole and a second place last time around. Do the teams still consider you equals?

Eudora: I'm sure they do, I've shown plenty of times I'm capable of getting results like she has.

I: Thank you.

Friday 31st August

Roy walked around the paddock, note book in hand. His father had given him the notes he'd spent all summer gathering, and he was very eager to show them at the meeting. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Morag waiting patiently, sitting at a table outside of the Isdera Motorhome.

"It's been a while." Morag spoke.

"I know." Roy replied. "Been busy over the summer?"

"I have. I'd like to see how my notes compare with yours."

"Sure." Roy sat down at the table, comparing his notes with hers while they waited for Linus and Charlie Brown. while they waited, they spotted the red-tied man in conversation with one of the organisers.

"There he is again." Roy looked up.

"Oh you mean him?" Morag pointed at him. "The one with Mandy Wilcox?"

"Yeah. I mentioned it to dad but he couldn't get enough info without seeing something more definitive."

"Not to worry." Morag replied, pulling out a cheap camera she bought from a supermarket. "Smile, Roy!"

Roy gave a big cheesy grin, and held up the peace sign, while Morag took a couple of snaps with the two figures clearly in the background.

"There." Morag handed Roy the camera before he quickly put it in his pocket. "Show that to your dad and we'll see where that gets us."

"Okay." Roy replied, as he looked around to check that no one saw him, and to his credit, nobody did, other than Charlie Brown and Linus, who had finally arrived.

"Hello there." Linus made his presence known.

"I hope you didn't start the meeting without us." Charlie Brown chuckled.

"Oh, no. we were just looking through each other's notes." Morag clarified.

"Oh okay." Charlie Brown replied as he and Linus sat down. "What did you find out?"

"Well, I've spent my summer doing research in the library, and from what I can gather, Person 1 is an investment banker for Goldman Sachs, based on the lanyard.

"And according to the research my dad did, his name is Henry Farrington. Our guess is that he probably helps to bankroll the entire thing, and isn't involved beyond that."

"Agreed. He's putting money into the project, and the bank are probably expecting a return on investment, and looking at them harder isn't going to help us at this stage.

"What about Person 2?" Linus asked.

"The Ferrari owner?" Roy looked down at his notes. "According to dad, he is Ludovico Salvetti, proud owner of a Ferrari 458, and owner of Italy's biggest catering company.

"He probably wants to use the sport to launch his brand in America. Another dead end." Morag summarised. "Person 3 is more promising. That NASA lapel pin of his is an employee badge."

"So he works for NASA." Linus replied.

"I see. Peppermint Patty mentioned something like that when she told me about her visit to Cape Canaveral." Charlie Brown added.

"Do we have a name?" Linus asked.

"No. we don't. Dad didn't have enough time." Roy replied.

"I see." Linus responded. "What would NASA want with the organisers?"

"I'm not sure. We'll have to look into that." Morag replied. "As for Person 4 he is an ex-basketball player representing Nike. He's not suspicious in any way."

"Is there anyone else we should know about?"

"There was a 5th person that we just saw, but we're still looking into who he might be. He looks kind of like a politician to me, but I'll try to confirm that with Frank.

"Ok." Charlie Brown responded. "Want us to do anything?"

"Just keep an eye open, like usual." Morag answered.

"Understood, we'll do that. See you then." Linus said, before getting up and leaving, along with Charlie Brown. Roy and Morag did the same shortly afterwards, going back to their motorhomes. Roy rejoined his father and handed him back the notebook, along with Morag's camera.

"Here, it has pictures of the intimidating red-tied man I wrote about."

"Good. I might be able to get something out of that." Frank replied, putting the camera in his pocket. "I'll let you know by next week."

"Thanks dad." Roy smiled.

Saturday 1st September

Practice was a wake-up call for all the drivers, who took a while to get up to speed, but thankfully there were no accidents on the high speed banks of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Qualifying was underway before long.

Schroeder was the first to go out, setting a very competitive time of 0:26.449, though Shermy managed to edge past him with a time of 0:26.448. Eudora was not far behind, setting a time of 0:26.462, but Morag wasn't able to keep up, only setting a 0:26.594.

Rerun set and okay time of 0:26.538, while José Peterson set a 0:26.629, but they were both beaten by Linus, who set a time of 0:26.495, while Peppermint Patty slotted in behind him with a 0:26.503.

Cormac set a time of 0:26.585, while Marcie struggled to keep the car from understeering, only setting a 0:27.095. Patty Swanson kept her form going with a 0:26.499, whilst Frieda took the lead with a 0:26.447.

Charlie Brown set an out lap of 0:32.594 before making a small error, which caused the back of his car to step out and send him careening into the wall at 170mph, right rear tyre first, with the right front following suit. The car littered the track with debris as it scraped along the wall, before it peeled off and came to a stop in the infield.

The Marshals red flagged the session, as Charlie Brown beckoned the marshals with hand signals to get him out of the car. The medical car came soon afterwards, after it became clear that Charlie Brown couldn't extricate himself from the car under his own power.

As the marshals got there, they noticed that Charlie Brown's right leg was trapped between the throttle pedal and the side of the monocoque. The marshals and doctors spent a good ten minutes freeing him and extricating him from the car, into an ambulance while he winced in pain. Morag, Franklin, Linus and many others looked on with concern, but an announcement came that the session would restart, so the remaining drivers got ready to set their times.

Joe Agate was next to set a lap time, posting a rather slow time of 0:26.897, before Five beat that with a time of 0:26.556. Thibault skidded in a similar fashion to Charlie Brown, but was able to save it, eventually setting a time of 0:28.171 on flat-spotted tyres.

Violette set a much better time of 0:26.476, with Harold Angel just behind her with a 0:26.478. Sally could not replicate her Kentucky form, setting a 0:26.756, and Violet set a decent time of 0:26.492. Lucy set a 0:26.676, while Pig Pen set a time of 0:27.115, complaining about a lack of front grip. Franklin then set the fastest time of 0:26.440, before Pierre closed the session with a 0:26.519.

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

1st Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 0:26.440 2nd Frieda Rich [Bonn] 0:26.447

3rd Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 0:26.448 4th Schroeder E. Schroder [Bonn] 0:26.449

5th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 0:26.462 6th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 0:26.476

7th Harold Angel [Isdera] 0:26.478 8th Violet Gray [Zontec] 0:26.492

9th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 0:26.495 10th Patricia Swanson [ACE] 0:26.499

11th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 0:26.503 12th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 0:26.519

13th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 0:26.538 14th 555 95472 [Cherokee] 0:26.556

15th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 0:26.585 16th Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 0:26.594

17th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 0:26.629 18th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 0:26.676

19th Sally Brown [Polestar] 0:26.756 20th Joe Agate [Sky] 0:26.897

21st Marcia Johnson [Cherokee] 0:27.095 22nd Pig Pen [Armstrong] 0:27.115

23rd Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 0:28.171 24th Charlie Brown [Renault] 0:32.594

The top three drivers were ushered into the pressroom while the others waited for news on Charlie Brown.

I: Franklin, your first pole of the season, it's been a long time coming, hasn't it?

Franklin: I guess you could say that. I'm more concerned about how Charlie Brown is doing at the moment, but I'm looking forward to fighting for the win tomorrow.

I: Frieda, your best qualifying run in a long time, you look like a genuine contender to win this race. Do you agree?

Frieda: Of course. I've worked hard to try and stay competitive and it hasn't always worked out, but the team have really set the car up right today.

I: Shermy, another great qualifying from you, here's hoping you don't fall away in the race like usual.

Shermy: Our car tends to struggle with tire life for some reason, were quite competitive over a lap but over a full race it's a lot different.

I: Thank you.

Franklin quickly headed down from the pressroom and joined the handful of drivers and press waiting outside the medical center for updates on Charlie Brown's condition. A spokesman for the doctors came out and stood in front of them.

"I understand you have questions, but Charlie Brown is currently being treated. We will allow visitation at 6pm, at his discretion, and we will give the press an update shortly afterward. Thank you for your patience."

Not to waste any time, one of the reporters quickly interviewed Marcie, Charlie Brown's currently closest rival.

I: Marcie, prospects on the race tomorrow?

Marcie: Well, I doubt I'll get anything significant from it, not that it would be fair to with Charles looking like he's out of action.

I: I see. Thank you for your time.

Linus, Morag, Franklin, Pig Pen, and Peppermint Patty waited patiently in their pit garages, doing some last minute setup checks with their teams before 6pm eventually arrived.

The 5 of them walked under the evening sun to the medical center, where a member of staff was waiting for them.

"Ah you must be Linus and friends. I'll just let Charlie Brown know." the nurse said as he walked off into the building, returning after a couple of minutes.

"He says you can come in." the nurse smiled.

Linus and the others walked in single file to Charlie Brown's room, where he was waiting for them. a bandage was wrapped around his right leg, with a small bloodstained line running along it.

"Hey guys." Charlie Brown said as they entered. "How are you doing?"

"We're fine." Linus replied. "More importantly, how are you doing?"

"I'm just about holding up, thanks." Charlie Brown replied. "It's not too serious."

"I dunno, looks pretty ugly to me." Peppermint Patty replied.

"My leg got caught on by the throttle pedal, it hurt quite a bit, but it didn't cut anything major, so that's good. Doctor says I can't do anything that might worsen it for another 48 hours, so I'll miss the race." Charlie Brown explained.

"Not to worry. It's not likely we'll catch you tomorrow anyway." Pig Pen quipped.

"Hey, I can win tomorrow." Franklin protested.

"But you're like, 100+ points behind."

"Says the man starting 22nd." Franklin responded.

"I don't really care where you start or finish, so long as you don't end up like me." Charlie Brown replied.

"Roger that." Franklin perked up.

"Agreed." Morag added.

"I'll be watching." Charlie Brown promised. "Good luck tomorrow!"

"Get well soon!" Linus and Morag replied, as the small entourage left the building and to their pit garages. The day slowly crawled into night, and the drivers all went to their hotel and slept, anticipating the race tomorrow.

Sunday 2nd September – Race Day in North Carolina

Franklin sat on the grid with a steely resolve. This was his best chance to prove how good he was though with Frieda and Schroeder so close to him, he knew it wasn't going to be an easy task. Franklin was deeply focused, so much so that when the announcer began to speak, it startled him.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!"

Franklin did so, as did everyone else. The mechanics peeled off the grid and the cars began to pull away under the pace car.

"As the pace car leads them round, the drivers will have to face 97 gruelling laps of the speedway, will Franklin be able to get his first win? Find out, as the pace car pulls into the pits, and the North Carolina Spindycar Supertour Open is go!

Franklin got a good start, as did Frieda, with Shermy slipping behind Schroeder as they went into turn 1. Joe Agate struggle from the get go, falling behind Marcie, Pig-Pen and Thibault in the first 3 laps, While Morag scythed her way past Cormac. Pierre tried to hold on to twelfth place, but was passed by both Rerun and Five on lap 7.

Further ahead, Peppermint Patty eventually muscled her way past Patty Swanson on lap 9, and Violette lost a position to Harold Angel on lap 12. Eudora was doing a good job, passing Shermy for 4th on lap 16, while on the other side of the garage, Sally's day was going from bad to worse. After losing a position to Marcie, her gearbox failed, forcing her to pull over into the pit-lane and retire the car on lap 19.

Morag managed to overtake Pierre on lap 21, whilst Marcie overtook Lucy a couple of laps later. Rerun and Five had also managed to get past Patty Swanson by lap 28.

On lap 31, Joe Agate ran into the back of Pig-Pen on the main straight, pitching him left and into Thibault, who was alongside him. Thibault's car hit the back wheel of Pig Pen's car and pitched him into a spin across the infield, coming to a rest after hitting the pit wall at around 80 mph. Thibault's front left wheel was irreparably damaged, and wouldn't turn anymore, so Thibault braked as much as he could to soften his impact with the outside wall. As for Joe Agate, his wing had fallen off and damaged the floor underneath, with the team asking him to retire the car as he pitted for a new wing.

The pace car went out while the marshals made sure Pig-Pen and Thibault were okay, and cleared up the wrecks, and on lap 35, the race was ready to go underway again, or so they thought. The pace car had only just pulled into the pits when, Violet, overly eager to get going, accelerated early, ramming into the back of Violette, her car climbing onto Violette's rear wing, and sending her off the road and onto the grass, sending them both out of the race and the pace car back out onto the track.

On lap 38, the pace car pulled in again, and the cars went back to racing speed. Frieda got a better restart than Franklin, but he held his nerve and stayed ahead of Frieda for the time being. Marcie managed to leapfrog José into turn 1, moving up into 15th place, while Cormac closed up on Pierre, eventually passing him on lap 42. Harold Angel was again proving his credentials, as he snuck past Shermy on lap 46. Five was doing his best, and attempting to close in on Rerun, catching up to the back of him on lap 50, and eventually passing him at turn 2 a lap later.

On lap 54, Frieda made a pass for the lead into turn 1, a move that caught Franklin by surprise, and he groaned in frustration as he saw the chance of a win slip through his fingers. The field settled down a bit after that, Marcie passing Pierre being the only highlight until lap 65, when Linus made a move on Shermy to take 6th.

Morag passed Patty Swanson on lap 73, before Pierre retired with an electrical failure on lap 78, pulling off into the pits. Marcie passed Cormac on lap 82, before Peppermint Patty overtook Shermy on lap 87. Eudora and Harold Angel spent the last 10 laps trading 4th and 5th places, but ultimately their finishing positions were unchanged, as the cars crossed the line.

"And Frieda wins in North Carolina! Franklin comes home 2nd, with Schroeder in 3rd! Eudora is 4th, with Harold Angel 5th, Linus 6th, Peppermint Patty in 7th, Shermy in 8th, Five in 9th, and Rerun rounding out the top ten! Morag was 11th, with Patty Swanson 12th, Marcie 13th, Cormac 14th, José Peterson 15th, and Lucy in 16th. Pierre, Violette, Violet, Joe Agate, Thibault, Pig Pen, and Sally failed to finish, while Charlie Brown did not start the race."

After the race, the championship standings are as follows…

1st Charlie Brown [Renault] 155pts 2nd Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 147pts

3rd Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 142pts 4th Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 134pts

5th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 133pts 6th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 125pts

7th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 117pts 8th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 100pts

9th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 91pts 10th Patty Swanson [ACE] 75pts

11th Harold Angel [Isdera] 63pts 12th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 62pts

13th Sally Brown [Polestar] 61pts 14th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 54pts

15th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 52pts 16th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 52pts

17th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 41pts 18th Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 23pts

19th Violet Gray [Zontec] 22pts 20th Violette Honfleur [ACE] 15pts

21st Joe Agate [Sky] 15pts 22nd Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 13pts

23rd Roy Tripps [Zontec] 8pts 24th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 7pts

25th Mimi Sonatelli [Armstrong/Sky] 6pts 26th 555 95472 [Cherokee] 4pts

Frieda parked her car on Victory Road and held her arms up high in celebration, running over to her team, and getting a high five from Schroeder, which was rare of him to do, before the three of them headed up to the podium. In the waiting room, the three of them congratulated each other on a good race, and commiserated Franklin's valiant effort, before going out onto the podium.

The three of them stood still and silent as the American anthem played, and the three American flags were raised. The German anthem played after the American one finished. Afterwards, the competitors were presented with their trophies, as they drank their milk and waved to the crowd and celebrated for a while, before heading off into the pressroom, where the interviewers had some questions.

I: Frieda, a brilliant win, this really puts you right back in the running in the championship, doesn't it?

Frieda: We're still a bit behind, but it's definitely within reach.

I: Franklin, it's been a while since we saw such a good result from you. Are you proud of your achievements today?

Franklin: Of course I am. Although I would have much preferred to win when I had the chance, this is still my best finish, and I am going to enjoy it.

I: And Schroeder, a critical points finish has kept you ahead of your teammate in the standings. How important is this to your standing in the team.

Schroeder: Well it certainly is a good thing, but I'm sure I've told you before that both of us have an equal position in the team. Our team has the most wins out of any on the grid.

I: Thank you.

Down in the paddock, Championship Leader Charlie Brown was interviewed on the pitwall, where he had been watching the race.

I: Charlie Brown, our sympathies for your accident yesterday, but are you concerned about the damage this could do to your title hopes?

Charlie Brown: Not at all. I'm still ahead by a decent margin, and even if I were to lose, there are no better people to lose to than Linus and Morag.

I: Thank you.

The day drew on into night, as the Bonn team mechanics celebrated with a round of beers, and their drivers went back to their hotel with everyone else, wearing off the adrenaline and looking forward to the next race at Road Atlanta.