Wednesday 7th November

Roy sat at the track with Morag, as they both sat at a computer, ready to send the finished article to the publishers at Minnesota Sports Weekly. Pressing the send button, the two smile, looking rather impressed with themselves.

Thursday 8th November

At 16.5 hours (at best), the road from Texas to Phoenix, Arizona would be the longest drive on the calendar, and like last time, the drivers left even earlier, at 6am. Dawn hadn't even broke by the time the party bus left, and by the time the sun was up, everyone else had gone too, including Joe Agate in the Team Sky Volkswagen, Mimi, Rerun, Shermy and Patty Swanson in the Team Cherokee Jeep, Cormac, José, Frieda and Schroeder in the Daihatsu Terios, and Five, Lucy, Sally, Peppermint Patty and Harold Angel in the Polestar Team's Volvo XC90. By the time they got there, it was well past 11pm, and everyone immediately headed to the hotel to sleep.

On Monday, the story was published in Minnesota Sports Weekly. This caught the attention of the press, who seemed bubbly when they arrived along with the teams, the cars and the motorhomes on Tuesday morning.

Thursday 15th November

Indeed, they were still talking about it on the morning of the press conference, but before the reporters could gnash their teeth at the sports bosses, they still had to interview the drivers first. The 5 drivers selected for this interview were: Franklin, Eudora, Harold Angel, Schroeder, and Charlie Brown.

I: Franklin, we are now at the stage of the season where drivers who are out of the running for the championship would be expected to help their teammate. Do you plan on helping Pig Pen's championship ambitions?

Franklin: That depends. Pig Pen has a very large hill to climb as far as that is concerned, so it might not be worth it, particularly if any of his rivals are ahead of him.

I: Eudora, after two wins and a 5th place in the last 3 races, you are one of the few drivers still in with a chance of taking the title. How likely do you think that prospect is?

Eudora: I think it's unlikely, at this stage. We have a shot of still being in contention at Laguna Seca, but beyond that it will be very uphill, like Franklin said.

I: Harold Angel, in the past, you've proven capable of putting your own race aside for the benefit of your teammate, and as a result, she is currently leading the championship. Do you think there is something to be gained when two drivers work as a team?

Harold Angel: Absolutely. Even last race we saw how the Sky team got a 1-2 by working together, so I don't see where it would be detrimental.

I: Schroeder, despite a difficult result in Texas, you still have a good chance of winning the championship, will you be hoping for a better result here?

Schroeder: Of course. Our form was good on the previous three ovals, so we should be good here.

I: And lastly, Charlie Brown, with Morag in front of you in the standings, how important is it that you get ahead?

Charlie Brown: Very important, we only have 3 races to go, so I have to make sure I'm ahead by then.

I: Thank you.

Interviews over, the journalists left the pressroom and gathered in the paddock outside the building where the sport's bosses and their clients would usually meet. After an hour or 2, the media buzzing outside was becoming too noisy for them to ignore, so Mandy Wilcox decided to get up and speak to them.

"What business has the AAMF got with NASA?" asked one.

"Do you think racing on ovals is safe for the drivers?" said another.

"What are you going to do to quell the rumours currently surrounding the paddock about the championship, its backers, and NASA?" another one barked, as they pointed microphones at her face.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we will not be answering any questions for you at this time. Who we meet is our business only, you should look into something else." She attempted to deflect.

"We have direct evidence that you maintain contact with people in NASA and their associates. Without any financial ties to be gained, what is the series' true purpose?" one of them asked.

"Like I said, we will not answer questions at this time. We will make a public statement in the week of the penultimate round which will hopefully answer more of your questions." Mandy Wilcox answered, as she turned away and back into the AAMF's motorhome. Roy watched the news that evening and began to make some notes to show the other when they next planned to meet.

Saturday 17th November

Practice came and went quickly, as the drivers readjusted to driving on ovals for the last time this season. Peppermint Patty was, judging by previous results, the best driver on the ovals, so many were looking forward to how she would do this weekend.

Eventually it was time for qualifying, and Morag was the first to go out, setting a time of 0:20.455, putting her first for the time being. Peppermint Patty, was next to go out, but she could only manage a 0:20.515, whilst Eudora set a 0:20.469 to go second. Franklin set a slower time of 0:20.575, and Lucy beat her teammate with a 0:20.504.

Thibault could not replicate his form from the previous race, setting a 0:20.612, as Cormac was the first to beat Morag's initial time with a 0:20.453. Five set a time of 0:20.520, while Frieda went fastest with a 0:20.438, a time that was quickly beaten by José Peterson with a 0:20.433, and by Charlie Brown, with a time of 0:20.418. Mimi was competitive, setting a time of 0:20.443, while Patty Swanson fared as well as her namesake, with a 0:20.537.

Linus, in need of a good result this weekend, posted a time of 0:20.476, critically behind Morag and Charlie Brown. Schroeder continued his struggles from Texas with another poor time here, a 0:20.739, while Shermy set a 0:20.486. Violette set a slow 0:20.646, before Marcie set the eventual pole time of 0:20.416.

Rerun and Joe Agate both struggled, setting times of 0:20.562 and 0:20.903 respectively. Sally had a small uptick in form with a 0:20.518, before Pig Pen squeaked ahead of Frieda with a 0:20.437. Harold Angel set a decent time of 0:20.484, before Pierre brought the session to a close with a time of 0:20.631.

After qualifying, the grid order was as follows…

1st Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 0:20.416 2nd Charlie Brown [Renault] 0:20.418

3rd José Peterson [Daihatsu] 0:20.433 4th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 0:20.437

5th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 0:20.438 6th Mimi Sonatelli [Cherokee] 0:20.443

7th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 0:20.453 8th Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 0:20.455

9th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 0:20.469 10th Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 0:20.476

11th Harold Angel [Isdera] 0:20.484 12th Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 0:20.486

13th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 0:20.504 14th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 0:20.515

15th Sally Brown [Polestar] 0:20.518 16th 555 95472 [Zontec] 0:20.520

17th Patricia Swanson [ACE] 0:20.537 18th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 0:20.562

19th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 0:20.575 20th Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 0:20.612

21st Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 0:20.631 22nd Violette Honfleur [ACE] 0:20.646

23rd Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 0:20.739 24th Joe Agate [Sky] 0:20.903

After the session was over, the top three qualifiers were interviewed.

I: Marcie, congratulations on your pole position, with so few races to go, how important is it to you that you win tomorrow?

Marcie: Of course, it's very important. It will be difficult with so many fast drivers behind us but we think a win is definitely possible.

I: Charlie Brown, with your rivals in 7th, 10th, 14th and 23rd, surely this is the race where you put the championship firmly into your hands?

Charlie Brown: it's tempting to think that, I agree, but obviously, qualifying is only one small part of the weekend, and I'm sure the others will fight their way up the field.

I: José Peterson, after several races fighting in the lower places, your team have put both cars in the top 7. Are you hoping for a podium tomorrow?

José Peterson: Yes.

I: Thank you.

Championship Leader Morag was also interviewed.

I: Morag, you qualified 8th, with Charlie Brown so far ahead, I imagine it will be tough to hold your lead going into the next race.

Morag: Yeah, it was a tough break going out on track first in qualifying, but I think I made the best of it considering.

I: Thank you.

That evening the drivers headed back to their hotels and slept, happy in the thought that this would be the last of the ovals.

Sunday 18th November

The sun rose on Phoenix as the drivers gathered on the grid. Marcie sat on pole, slowly accumulating her focus. She potentially could become a key player in the championship with a win, so she centred her thoughts on staying ahead of Charlie Brown and the others, as the announcer began to speak.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!"

Marcie did so, as did everyone else. The pace car led the cars twice around the 1-mile course, as the announcer continued.

"While the pace car leads the cars around the track, the drivers will face 110 fast paced laps of Phoenix. Will Charlie Brown take the spoils, or will his competitors make things difficult for him? Find out, as the pace car pulls into the pits, and the Arizona Spindycar Supertour Open is GO!

Marcie and Charlie Brown both got good starts, while further behind, Pig Pen snuck past José Peterson to take 3rd into the first turn, and Peppermint Patty eased past her teammate before the end of the lap. On lap 3, Thibault overtook Franklin on the inside of turn two, while on lap 5, Linus got past Eudora into the final turn.

4 laps later, Morag lined up a move on Cormac, overtaking across the start finish line on the next lap, and Schroeder mad his way past Violette on lap 11. Linus then passed Cormac as well on lap 14, whilst on lap 16, Rerun overtook Patty Swanson into turn one. By the end of lap 20, Schroeder had made it past both Pierre and Franklin, while further ahead, Peppermint Patty had overtaken Shermy and was now firmly stuck behind Harold Angel.

On lap 23 Linus made a daring move on the inside of the final turn past Morag, before he began to chase down Mimi ahead. Eudora then overtook Cormac on lap 26. On lap 28, however, Five, in another bout of bad luck, suffered an electrical failure which switched his car off, forcing him to pull off the road and into the pits to retire.

Things settled for a bit until lap 32, where Frieda overtook José Peterson, before Linus did the same with Mimi on lap 37. On lap 40, Thibault overtook Patty Swanson, before Schroeder did the same a lap later. Sally tried her luck on lap 45, overtaking Lucy into turn one, and after several laps of trying, Peppermint Patty finally got past Harold Angel on lap 49, although she would immediately lose the place again a lap later. Eudora then made an opportunistic pass on Morag into the last turn on lap 51, sending her down to 9th, before Linus passed José Peterson on lap 55.

On lap 56, Charlie Brown attempted an opportunistic pass down the inside of Marcie into turn 2, but Marcie did not see him in her mirrors and firmly closed the door, forcing Charlie Brown to slow down, losing momentum, and 4 positions in the process.

On lap 61, Mimi had to make a small correction coming out of turn two. This forced Morag to slow down, which caught Cormac unawares, as his right front tyre clattered with her rear left. Cormac was up on two wheels, thankfully going slow enough not to flip, before hitting the ground with a thud, breaking the front suspension. Morag's rear left was destroyed, but she managed to keep the car from spinning, until she could park it on the infield near a marshal's post, away from any oncoming traffic, the two of them getting out unaided, Cormac seemingly a bit sore, but none the worse for wear.

The pace car was brought out while the marshals cleared the stricken vehicles, and a few laps later, the cars had been cleared and the field were ready to race again. Eudora got a good restart, passing Mimi as they started lap 67. Schroeder continued his midfield charge, passing Thibault into turn one on lap 70, and then Rerun on lap 74. Further ahead, Eudora set her sights on Charlie Brown.

On lap 79, Peppermint Patty overtook Harold Angel again to take 9th place, before Eudora passed Charlie Brown on lap 83. At the front, Frieda, after many laps stuck behind him, passed Pig Pen on lap 88. By lap 94, Schroeder had managed to pass both Lucy and Sally, and was quickly lining up behind Shermy, passing him on lap 96.

Peppermint Patty passed Mimi on lap 100, while at the front Frieda and Marcie duked it out for first. Lap after lap they duelled for 1st, as did Schroeder and Harold Angel for 10th, but after 10 laps of battling, it was Marcie who won out.

And Marcie wins in Arizona! Frieda takes 2nd and Pig Pen finishes in 3rd! Linus was 4th, with José Peterson 5th, Eudora was 6th, Charlie Brown was 7th, Peppermint Patty recovered to 8th, with Mimi 9th, and Harold Angel just about finishing inside the top ten! Schroeder was 11th, with Shermy 12th, Sally 13th, Lucy 14th, Rerun 15th, Thibault 16th, Patty Swanson 17th, Franklin 18th, Pierre 19th, Violette 20th, and Joe Agate finishing in 21st. Morag, Cormac and Five all failed to finish.

After the race, and with two races to go, here's how the championship standings look…

1st Charlie Brown [Renault] 210pts 2nd Morag McMurdo [Isdera] 209pts

3rd Linus Van Pelt [Vittoria] 199pts 4th Marcie Johnson [Cherokee] 195pts

5th Patricia Reichardt [Honda] 191pts 6th Schroeder E. Schroeder [Bonn] 189pts

7th Frieda Rich [Bonn] 171pts 8th Pig Pen [Armstrong] 154pts

9th Eudora Elm [Polestar] 153pts 10th Rerun Van Pelt [Renault] 91pts

11th Franklin Armstrong [Armstrong] 87pts 12th Patty Swanson [ACE] 75pts

13th Harold Angel [Isdera] 70pts 14th Lucy Van Pelt [Honda] 69pts

15th José Peterson [Daihatsu] 62pts 16th Sally Brown [Polestar] 61pts

17th Thibault Rhodes [Sky] 57pts 18th Pierre Fermier [Vittoria] 41pts

19th Roy Tripps [Zontec/Sky] 26pts 20th Mimi Sonatelli [Cherokee/Sky] 26pts

21st Violette Honfleur [ACE] 23pts 22nd Violet Gray [Zontec] 22pts

23rd Joe Agate [Sky] 15pts 24th Shermy Plepler [Zontec] 13pts

25th Cormac O'Connor [Daihatsu] 8pts 26th 555 95472 [Cherokee/Zontec] 6pts

Marcie parked her car on victory road and raised her arms in the air, joyous over her first victory in 9 races, and a much needed boost to her championship hopes. Frieda and Pig Pen also celebrated, although for him it was rather bittersweet, since he could no longer win the championship, before the three of them headed towards the podium. In the waiting room, Marcie congratulated Frieda on some good racing to which Frieda replied the same. Pig Pen looked on sheepishly, knowing he could have had a chance to stay in the championship had he won.

The three of them walked out onto the podium, standing silently as the American anthem and the three American flags were raised, after that, the drivers received their trophies, drank their milk and waved to the crowd, before heading into the pressroom for their post-race interviews.

I: Marcie, great win, and with the results playing out as they have, you've really set the cat among the pigeons.

Marcie: It appears I have. It's great to be back in a competitive position, but I'll have to be consistent if I want to win it.

I: Frieda, you have also managed to keep yourself in championship contention, though you are still some way behind the leaders. Are you worried that you couldn't have done better here?

Frieda: Not particularly, for me coming into this race, the championship was always going to be a longshot. I want a win as much as the next person, but as of now the championship is largely out of my hands.

I: Pig Pen, despite a strong finish today, you have now fallen out of championship contention. Do you feel any regrets?

Pig Pen: Definitely not. Given how I was sidelined for 3 races after my crash at Watkin's Glen, I think it's quite miraculous that I even got this far.

I: Thank you.

Championship Leader Charlie Brown was also interviewed in the paddock.

I: Charlie Brown, with 7th, you've managed to snatch the lead back by a single point. How confident are you going into the next round at Laguna Seca?

Charlie Brown: I'm confident in my own ability, if that's what you're asking. Whether the others can catch me is down to them.

I: Thank you.

That evening, the Cherokee team celebrated a well-deserved win, and overnight, after the drivers had returned to their hotel, the Committee for the Hawaii street circuit announced that they would not be able to prepare the circuit in time for the race's date on the 2nd of December.