NSSCRA 8- Everything Thread (IC)

[Vilita and Turori]

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Golden Bear 400, Stafford City Speedway, Hampton Island :: Just two races removed from perhaps the greatest weekend of professional racing in their career, Yraaga Gilli'i and the #41 Tropicorp Racing Supply Dart team had a long struggling day at the Stafford City Speedway in Hampton Island although the team powered through with a damaged car to finish inside the Top 20 and maintain some semblance of pride despite not living up to the reputation they had built as the series top Short Track threat. Gilli'i was the unfortunate victim of a chain reaction incident involving the local short track hero Freddie Nielson and Vannish Motors Racing driver Kev Schorebrook which stacked up the field heading out of turn 2. Gilli'i had just fought back from an earlier incident to be running inside the Top 5 at the time but the crushed in nose of the car had to be peeled back from the radiator, the ducts had to be cleared to ensure cooling to the brakes and the whole nose had to be bond-taped back to the hood to hold the bodywork of the car together.

Many have been quick to blame the 73 year old Nielson for the incident but truth has to be told that Kev Schorebrook has been at times driving more like a 73 year old than the Kev Schorebrook that was the last driver, prior to Yraaga Gilli'i, to win two races in a single NSSCRA Regular Season - a feat the Vannish driver accomplished during NSSCRA Season 6. Perhaps there was enough blame to go around for both drivers in the situation but really the party at fault was of no concern to Gilli'i who felt a chance at becoming the first driver to win three NSSCRA Points-Paying races in the Regular Season during the modern NSSCRA Chase era ended in crunched sheet metal as a result of the accordian effects of the incident.

While Gilli'i was unable to contend for the victory they still couldn't escape long time short track rival Stacie Houston who had her own issues on the day and the two were relegated to a late fight through the field with Gilli'i narrowly edging out Houston for 16th place.

While Gilli'i struggled it was a solid day all around for Vilita and Turori Motorsports with Centur Tiones, the pole winner one race prior at Road Marrietta in Xanneria finishing in 4th place for their fourth consecutive top 10 finish aiding in the #2 Tiones Lumber Dart driver's slow climb up the points ladder to 7th place with 532 points. While no driver knows not to take a spot in the Chase for granted more than Tiones who suffered the agony of a last-lap exclusion at the end of last seasons Pencurve Electronics 500, the team must have been quietly gaining in confidence having now amassed a 120 point advantage over the current 'last driver in with a win' - Happilopper's Chris Holmes of Team Blue who currently sits on 411. It would seem that, barring a collapse of epic proportions, Tiones first ever Playoff Appearance is just over the horizon.

If Tiones is in a comfortable position than certainly NSSCRA Season 6 champion River 'Shark' Suzgar is as well as Suzgar finished the Golden Bear 400 right on Tiones' tail in the fifth position and closed to within just 25 points of the Regular Season points lead which was now held by Sherpalander Kai Qiang. Suzgar and the #14 Vilaye Energy Drink Dart Team bounced back from their worst finish of the season in Xanneria to post a first Top 5 finish since their victory At the Lantis Sirenia 300.

As for Vilita and Turori's development drivers, Lotara Novorali who impressed on her debut at the Toys '4' All 500 keeping her car out of trouble and completing the race in a respectable 21st position will now see her next appearance on the circuit delayed by one event due to an unlikely source - the withdrawel of the team from the Newark Aristocracy. With the shake up in available charters, the sanctioning body decided to free up a second Open Charter position in the upcoming events. With Tropicorp's Euroli Islander already confirmed to make his season debut at the Tropicorp 500, Vilita and Turori Motorsports were pushing to get Novorali included in the lineup at the Sonrise Motorway in Vangaziland. However, with the newly announced modifications to the Charter Allocation, Vilita and Turori Motorsports will take advantage of the reduced transportation costs as well as additional preparation time to instead send Novorali and the #49 team just across the Cove to the Calanian Mainland for the Tropicorp 500.

One driver who will certainly still be looking forward to the race in Vangaziland, however, is Rockii Ezis. While it will be their first race in Vangaziland as a member of Rocket Motorsports, Ezis was a Top 10 finisher in the Blue Coast 400 at the same track one season ago while driving the #60 CoCoCo Dart for Vilita and Turori Motorsports and will be looking to take some of that confidence with them into the Vannish Race Weekend and hope to leave with their first Top 10 finish as a driver for the Newmanistan based team.

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[Tropicorp]

#78 Cocoabo #78 and #88 Anavella Ariiki do battle in Hampton Island

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Golden Bear 400, Stafford City Speedway, Hampton Island :: It may have taken ten or so races for her to find her footing but Tropicorp's gamble in putting their company logos and financial backing behind Anavella Ariiki have begun to pay dividends as the driver of the #88 Tropicorp Dart posted her fourth consecutive Top 15 result at the Golden Bear 400 in Stafford City. Ariiki managed to avoid the mayhem that typically coincides with the circuits visit to a short track - a total of nine drivers failed to finish the event, and even managed to hold off two of the best short track races in the multiverse over the final ten laps as Yraaga Gilli'i and Stacie Houston thought they had seen easy pickings with the bright orange rookie stripes on the bumper of the car in front of them but Ariiki had other ideas, holding on to her 15th place finish and moving up to 7th place in the rookie driver standings on the season. While Ariiki had started the season solidly a step behind teammates Cocoabo #28 and Cocoabo #78, she has managed to out perform Cocoabo #28 over the most recent four race stretch and has even kept nearly on par with Cocoabo #78 with a 10.25 average finish over the past four races compared with Cocoabo #78's 9.25.

Despite the improvements, however, Cocoabo #78 is still the class of the squad for Team Tropicorp and remains in a projected playoff spot as they have done all season long up to this point. However, the margin of error is getting ever more narrow for the Cocoabo who tentatively sits right on the cut line after drivers with race victories are considered. Cocoabo #78 is just 7 points clear of Lexi Patterson though another 13 points ahead of them is the lone other win-less driver inside the Top 16, Roman Gwinett of Xanneria. Should Cocoabo #78 manage to catch and pass Gwinett there would at least be some room for protection against a late regular season upset derailing their playoff hopes.

Tropicorp Pit Crew Challenge Promotion Winding Down

As a reminder, the participants with the top times at each Pit Crew station during the Vilitan, Xannerian and Hampton Island events will receive all expenses paid transportation and lodging to Tropicoast for the Tropicorp 500. The participants with the fastest overall times at each station including those completing the Tropicorp Pit Crew Challenge in Tropicoast will comprise the pit crew for the #42 Tropicorp Racing Supply entry into the NSSCRA Tropicorp Pit Crew Competition to be held prior to the Tropicorp 500. Additional participants who are not the fastest overall in their discipline may be selected for secondary responsibilities on the #42 Pit Stop team such as that of the Tire Carrier. The fan with the highest scores at the Inspection Kiosk may be chosen as honorary Crew Chief.

As pit road itself will be busy with race action, the NSSCRA Tropicorp Pit Crew Competition will take place in front of the old Tropicorp Headquarters building where a special one-stall pit lane will be set up just for the competition. Times will be counted when the vehicle breaks the plane of the pit box and time will stop when the car completely exits the pit box. Penalties will be assessed for Improperly Tightened Lugnuts, Insufficient Fueling and other infractions which will translate to an increase in the time assessed. The team fastest overall time after assessments will be declared the winner of the competition.

All fans wishing to participate in the Tropicorp Pit Crew Challenge and have their time considered for the Grand Prize will have to fill out a small form indemnifying Tropicorp from any harm that may come to the participant in the Challenge as well as providing the following information for contest purposes:

- Name
- Age
- Home Nation
- Occupation
- NSSCRA Event Attending (Vilita, Xanneria, Hampton Island or Tropicorp)
- Discipline Station (Tire Changing, Fueling, Jacking, Repairs and/or Inspection)

All forms should be submitted to a Tropicorp representative prior to competing in the Tropicorp Pit Crew Challenge. Participants are encouraged to attempt multiple disciplines if they desire throughout any given event weekend.

[Newmanistan]

Race: VannAir Blue Coast 400, Sonrise Motorway, Blue Coast, Vangaziland
Lap Record: 30.020 sec.

Qualifying Results:

1 #18 - Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                        30.485
 2 #6 - Alex Knight (Hampton Island)                          30.544
 3 #41 - Yraaga Gilli'i (Vilita and Turori)                   30.549
 4 #78- Cocoabo #78 (Tropicorp)                               30.557
 5 #19 - Sage Caldwell (Saint Kanye)                          30.598
 6 #27 - Stacie Houston (Cassadaigua)                         30.622
 7 #48 - Rockii Ezis (Newmanistan)                            30.685
 8 #16 - Gordon Orton (Xanneria)                              30.692
 9 #69 - Sofia Kerman (Jebslund)                              30.693
10 #3 - Skip Stiller (Saint Kanye)                            30.697
11 #31 - Gwen Tracer Allison (Valentine Z)                    30.733
12 #44 - Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                        30.785
13 #5 - Bryan Harrison (Newmanistan)                          30.805
14 #22 - Kevin Cosgrove (Hampton Island)                      30.810
15 #73 - Chet Byrd (Hapilopper)                               30.831
16 #23 - James McCurty (Hampton Island)                       30.889
17 #88 - Anavella Ariiki (Tropicorp)                          31.050
18 #79 - Dinggu Wang (The Sherpa Empire)                      31.070
19 #24 - Kevin Daniels (Newmanistan)                          31.151
20 #21 - Paul Nystrom (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 31.220
21 #46 - Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                           31.252
22 #11 - Jenna Logan (Cassadaigua)                            31.311
23 #15 - Jolyn Helen Ceeta (Valentine Z)                      31.322
24 #30 - Lexi Patterson (Jebslund)                            31.343
25 #10 - Eddie Walters Jr. (Xanneria)                         31.452
26 #14 - River Suzgar (Vilita and Turori)                     31.454
27 #37 - Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                           31.534
28 #55 - A7DXZ5 (Wagensvolk) *Q*                              31.541
29 #84 - Ben Carpenter (Esmerel)                              31.547
30 #13 - Eva Kerman (Jebslund)                                31.559
31 #4 - Meghan Sharpe (Cassadaigua)                           31.582
32 #82 - David Rockingham (Esmerel)                           31.599
33 #12 - Roman Gwinnett (Xanneria)                            31.737
34 #81 - Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                            31.797
35 #05 - Tucker Capps (The Western Carolina Union) *Q*        32.007
36 #08 - Jeff Shreeves (The Western Carolina Union) *Q*       32.103
37 #83 - Joseph Rawlings (Esmerel) *Q*                        32.193
38 #2 - Centur Tiones (Vilita and Turori)                     32.226
39 #28- Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                               32.282
40 #32 - Andrew Holden (Lisander)                             32.283
41 #50 - Ellie Lindskog (Vangaziland)                         32.299
42 #06 - Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)            32.308
43 #99 - Liuyong Xu (New Northwesteros) *Q*                   32.391
44 #75 - Floyd Hackerbee (Vangaziland)                        32.441
45 #80 - Franklin Egar (Filindostan) *Q*                      32.699
46 #00 - Ilham Lukas Jenie (Filindostan) *Q*                  32.706
47 #67 - Denny Truex Lenlin (Sedile) *Q*                      32.715
48 #29 - Frank Joy (Caleonia) *Q*                             32.761
49 #03 - Mike Reddiër (Caleonia) *Q*                          32.803
50 #94 -  Daniel Almirola (Sedile) *Q*                        32.829
51 #33 - Tyler Joy (Caleonia) *Q*                             32.885
52 #0 - Hana Bhe (Filindostan) *Q*                            32.918
53 #59 - Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                        32.942
54 #25 - Kev Schorebrook (Vangaziland)                        32.948
55 #7 - Clarissa Alanis Star (Valentine Z)                    33.376
56 #9 - Lício Granado (Lisander)                              33.449

8/14 Edit: Rawlings put it in red font.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Kai Qiang, Mendok Sherpa, and their daughter Kami were at a seaside restaurant in Blue Coast. They had just finished dropping off their luggage at their lodgings and now they were having a late lunch. Tomorrow, Qiang would get started practicing for the VannAir Blue Coast 400, but this afternoon was time to relax and get settled in. They had both ordered local seafood dishes and hot tea. Qiang was idly rambling about how odd it was that the hometown Vangazi drivers were having such a rough season. "It seems like VMR isn't giving them the same level of support they used to have, but it's the drivers too," he said. "They just haven't been themselves... I thought those rumors about the Vannish mob were just rumors, but I'm starting to wonder if the mob really did threaten them." As he was talking, Mendok unwrapped a pad of butter and dropped it in her tea. "It still feels good to be out of Hampton Island, though," Qiang went on.

"It's not any different here," said Mendok. "We've still got people staring at us like they've never seen a Sherpa before." She glared at the Vangazis at the next table as she reached for the salt shaker and added a dash of salt to her tea.

Qiang glanced over his shoulder at the Vangazis. They were indeed staring rudely at Mendok, pointing and whispering -- but unlike Mendok, Qiang had good enough hearing and good enough English to hear what they were saying. "They're not staring at us because we're Asian; they're staring because you put butter in your tea," Qiang explained. "And salt..."

"If they would just put butter tea on the menu, I wouldn't have to make my own," Mendok grumbled.

"It tastes better if you just drink it without the butter," said Qiang.

----֎--֎--֎----

Liangmei Li was in Jiujiang getting ready for an IRACT race when she heard the news that NSSCRA was introducing a 2nd open charter. She immediately leapt to her feet and went to share the good news with her crew. "Guess what, guys! We're going to Jusenkyo!"

With only one open charter, Li would not have been able to race at Jusenkyo because Tsering Chu had first dibs. Chu controlled one of the Sherpa Empire's NSSCRA charters, and when she rented it to IRACT, she put a clause in the contract allowing her to use the open charter at home races. But with two charters available, there would be room for Li and Chu both.

It was less obvious how the charters would be used when NSSCRA came to the Li River Speedway, since Tsering Chu would be back in school by then. Chu could skip some classes and go down to Guilin if she wanted -- but she wasn't wedded to the idea, especially since she would have to make sure her crew were also willing to skip their classes so they could make the trip.

Chu expected to have plenty of opportunities to race when she graduated from college and returned to NSSCRA full-time. Since she controlled a charter, she didn't have to worry about getting crowded out by IRACT's idiosyncratic qualifying system, and she was certain that she would be able to return. So she didn't feel a sense of urgency to squeeze in every race she could this season.

If Chu didn't race in Guilin, there were plenty of other people that could. IRACT could offer the charter to hometown hero Lakpa Fang or an open wheel driver who wanted to try NSSCRA or maybe invite some drivers to compete for it. There had been talk in some quarters saying that Team Jebslund had snubbed Vanda Rose Cordeiro Kerman because of her ethnic background, leaving her to sit out most of the season while Lexi Patterson and Sofia Kerman got to race regularly. Nobody cared enough to ask Tsering Chu or Liangmei Li to step aside and make room for Vanda, but the introduction of the second open charter had given Vanda's supporters new hope. They were pushing for an invitational race to be held at the Li River Speedway before the Guangxi Telecom 400, where the winner would get to use the open charter. Sherpa racing fans had a variety of suggestions for who else could be invited to such a race. Cocoabo #23, Drake Stevenson, and Tyler Abbott's names all came up, along with assorted people from the Empire's domestic racing scene.

The Guangxi Telecom 400 was several weeks away, so they still had plenty of time to hammer out the details.

----֎--֎--֎----

At the Sonrise Motorway, NSSCRA teams were gearing up for action. Dinggu Wang and a few guys from the #79 and #44 pit crews had hit the local strip clubs, Qiang and Mendok had spent an inordinate amount of time arguing about tea throughout the week, and Rinzi Zakhilwal had continued pursuing his fascination with A7DXZ5 -- but now it was time for everyone to stop screwing around and hit the track.

Qiang and Wang did decently in qualifying, but nothing exceptional.

Zakhilwal really undermined his argument that it would be educational for A7DXZ5 if she let him drive her. He embarrassed himself with a truly awful qualifying lap, 42nd fastest. Wang teased him about it saying, "Maybe that car from Wagensvolk should be driving you."

Zakhilwal was very embarrassed. He knew he would have his work cut out for him to come back from such a bad starting position, and he needed make the most of the last practice session before the race. He was in the top 16 in the driver rankings, but he still needed to get good results so he could maintain his position.

[Hapilopper]

Hapilopper City Council Chambers, Hapilopper City
A day before leaving for Vangaziland, five hours into the meeting
Chet Byrd was sitting with a group of fellow homeowners who lived on Hetfield Lane. They were there to speak in a public hearing opposed to the construction of a new 350-home, 125-acre subdivision across the street from their little neighborhood. They had a variety of concerns, such as the fact that the homes appeared to be of lesser quality than their older homes on Hetfield, the fact that traffic would get out of control, as if it wasn’t already, and the fact that noise from these homes would be unbearable. Oh yeah, and the fact that their property values would probably go down from this construction.

Each of the homeowners were champing at the bit to get their say in, but there was one problem. The meeting was now on its fifth hour, and there was probably a dozen agenda items ahead of the proposed subdivision. The meeting might have been over entirely three hours ago, had two councilmembers not shown up.
Councilman Dino Atwood, a controversial man to say the least, was becoming more and more unpopular among those in the gallery, many of whom didn’t usually attend these meetings. The reason? Dino liked the sound of his own voice, and liked speaking at length about every single topic in a city council meeting. Even other council members grew tired of his excessive verbosity, and twice, council members tried to end his speeches by calling for a point of order.

The other one was Councilwoman Jane Nazario, who had feuded with Atwood on several categories, including “most verbose,” “most scandalous,” “most annoying,” and “most obnoxious.” The fact that Atwood and Nazario didn’t like each other didn’t help matters any either. Atwood had recently been censured for his obnoxious behavior both in the city council meetings and to members of the public, and Atwood responded by trying to draw attention to Nazario’s 2013 arrest for intentionally driving a truck through a hotel room.

So, naturally, the two had taken to sniping at each other throughout the entire meeting, and it was getting on everybody’s nerves.

What was also getting on Chet’s nerves was the fact that he was supposed to be at Hapilopper City Airport right about now to board the Team Blue Shuttle to fly to Vangaziland. Unbeknownst to him, Drake Stevenson had been dispatched to pick Chet up at City Hall. Drake, taking a rideshare service, was on his way to City Hall, and he and Chet would drive over to the airport and fly to the next race.

Chet looked at his watch, then looked back at the council, and specifically Atwood, who was rambling on about a proposed sewer rehabilitation project, and more specifically, about how it was his idea in the first place, and thusly, more important than anything else. This particular speech was going on five minutes now.

Chet looked over at the person sitting next to him, 72-year old Shawna Delacroix, and shook his head.

“Another five minutes of this nonsense and I’m going to speak up,” Chet said to Shawna, who chuckled at the prospect of this cantankerous old racing driver shouting down the most annoying elected official in Hapilopper City.

Ten minutes later, Dino was now going on about a proposed road improvement project, and the fact that, since it didn’t involve his district, he didn’t really care about it, but it would help with economic development, so he’d vote in favor of it, and it would be irresponsible of him not to. Two things happened at this point. First,

Drake Stevenson arrived in the council chambers, and second, Chet saw his ride had arrived and was motioning for him to get going.

“That’s Drake,” Chet said. “I’m outta here. Watch this.”

If Chet was in a better mood, he might have just walked out and gone with Drake towards the airport. That’s what a mature adult would have done, anyway. But since Chet’s patience with the Hapilopper City Council had long since run out, it was time for him to make a statement.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!” Chet shouted as Atwood attempted to continue his unnecessarily verbose speech about a road repaving. “We all know you love nothing more in this world than the sound of your own voice, but the fact is, you’re the only one that does! We’re all sick and tired of it, and this meeting should have ended a long time ago, except for the fact that you keep flapping your gums about virtually every single topic!”

Chet was walking toward the exit, and a Hapilopper City policeman went over to make sure he was in fact leaving.

“I came here to support my neighbors against this ridiculous new neighborhood that one of you greedy bastards is probably going to profit off of,” Chet shouted. “But, because of the fact that you talk way too goddamn much, COUNCILMAN ATWOOD, I have made both myself and my colleague here, Mr. Stevenson, very late for our flight!”

“Leave me out of this,” Drake said quietly to Chet.

“Because of the fact you see fit to bring up someone driving a truck through a hotel room SIX YEARS AGO, I’m late for my flight!” Chet shouted. “Where’s the relevance to your bullshit behavior? I’d hate to be some kid coming here for their first meeting. They’d learn pretty quickly with people like you in office, the democratic process SUCKS!”

The police officer and Drake both led Chet out, who by this point was actually getting a standing ovation from those in the gallery and members of the 20-person City Council, and, incredibly, Hapilopper City Herald reporter Joseph Brown, who typically covered city council meetings. Brown later called Chet to let him know that Chet had pretty much said everything he had wanted to say in three years of covering the Hapilopper City Council.

“When you get back from Vangaziland, call me,” Brown said. “I need to shake your hand and buy you a beer, because you said everything I’ve wanted to say for three years now.”

The Team Blue Center, Sonrise Motorway, Blue Coast, Vangaziland
Qualifying day
Sure enough, the day of qualifying, the front page of the Hapilopper City Herald had a picture of Chet screaming at Councilman Dino Atwood, under the headline “RACE DRIVER SHOUTS DOWN COUNCILMAN.” The story had become viral in Hapilopper City for the fact that, well, many residents of Hapilopper City had grown tired of Atwood’s antics as well. The story had also become viral for the fact that Atwood stormed out of the council chambers wanting to fight Chet, but he had left City Hall at that point. According to the report, when Atwood came back in, he was more than happy to express his anger about Chet, calling him a “Neanderthal thug” who “doesn’t understand or care how the process works.”

Chet walked into the center to pick up some breakfast, and spotted Drake Stevenson and team owner Ken Henson having a rather serious chat about something. Drake beckoned Chet over, chuckling at the thought of both Chet’s outburst and the story that resulted from it.

“Hey, Chet, heard you got kicked out of a city council meeting the other day,” Ken said.

“Shut up,” Chet said. “Did Drake tell you about it?”

“No, the Herald wrote all about it,” Ken said. “Apparently you did the Lord’s work there. Lots of people were sick and tired of that councilman. Apparently he talks too much.”

“Not long after that,” Drake chuckled.

“Listen, I wanted your feedback on something,” Ken said. “Nothing’s official, because we never signed up for it at the start of the season, but I’m going to try to get an open charter for a couple of races later this season. I know we’d use it for the race in Hapilopper City, and maybe another race or two, since the NSSCRA is allowing two open charters.”

“And…” Chet asked, wanting more information.

“Well, I’m trying to convince Drake if he’d like to run the open charter, if we could get it,” Ken said. “Preston Autos wants this huge marketing blitz for race weekend. They want to use the two 500-lappers to advertise that new Super Skychief you guys drove around Hapilopper a week or two ago. They’d formally unveil the Super Skychief at the start finish line before the race, and Drake Stevenson would drive a car. Apparently Preston’s even bought the naming rights to the NSSCRA race, too.”
They had. The race would be called the Super Skychief 500, and promotional items were being designed for the race even as the Team Blue dramatis personae got ready in Vangaziland.

A rough draft of the Super Skychief 500 event logo

“So, you want my feedback?” Chet said. “I think he’d do great in one of our cars.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Drake said. “I’ll drive your car if NSSCRA lets us use an open charter. I can’t say I can commit to anything other than that, but hell, I think I could give them a run for their money.”

Pending approval, the car would be numbered 71 and would feature a black, blue and green paint scheme.

[Jebslund]

Lexi had been keeping an eye on the news ever since the race in her home country, hoping to see the track CEO called out on his misinformation. Instead, the news programs seemed to be on the side of the track. Sie Nah had put out a statement apologising to the fans who had been kept waiting and explaining that they had planned around the contract Lexi had signed with the track, which had specifically read 830, not 8. The contract had been uploaded in its entirety to the NSSCRA page of Sie Nah's website via a series of time-stamped photos taken within minutes of her giving them her copy. Photos which also represented the first post on her social media accounts since Kermania immediately after she saw the version of the events being paraded around.

Several decisions had been handed down to the racers, including all part-timers, by the various team sponsors. No more events were to be planned with track officials of any stripe in Hampton Island unless the sponsors were in charge of the scheduling. If asked why, it would be explained that the miscommunication between the track CEO and the fans was not going to happen again. The same would apply in the Sherpa Empire at any IRACT course. Any other nations' tracks wanting to set up any events involving Team Jebslund racers was going to need to be organized through the sponsors and involve contracts stipulating that any deviation from the time of more than five minutes and/or location of more than five meters from that specified in the contract was to be considered a breach of contract (and, indeed, Sie Nah already had lawyers poring over every scrap of Jebslund and Hampton Island contract law to determine how much they could sue for under what grounds) punishable by complete forfeiture of revenue for the side found to be in breach of contract. Lexi herself had mixed opinions, but agreed that something needed to be done.

EDIT: Autocowreck fixes. This is why I hate posting from my phone.

[Tropicorp]

NSSCRA 8 | Round 16 Preview: Tropicoast Beach Course

Tropicorp 500, Tropicoast Beach Course, Tropicoast, Tropicorp

Tropicoast Beach Course :: Information

About the Track:

Track Location: Tropicoast, Tropicorp, Atlantian Oceania
Track Record: 107.743s (Jeremiah Brooke, NSSCRA 7)
Track Lap Length: 4.1 Mile

The race begins on the Tropicorp Motorway; an access road that runs along the coast connecting different primary areas of the Tropicorp campus, Tropicoast itself and nearby facilities. While it is typically considered a two lane road and racing will be tight on the paved main straightway when compared with the compacted sand on the back straightaway, drivers should be able to fit three-across without having to dip their wheels into the sand. Not too far down the road past the start finish line is the original Tropicorp headquarters building which now serves as the Tropicorp visitor center. The iconic Tropicorp sign surrounded by Palm Trees can still be seen and will provide an excellent photo backdrop particularly for the Team Tropicorp cars. The Tropicorp Visitor Center will also serve as the site of the Tropicorp Pit Crew Competition taking place prior to the Tropicorp 500.

After passing the Tropicorp Visitor Center the road will begin to bend into an elbow as drivers will begin setting themselves up for the big curve and the transition off the paved surface. There is still plenty of room to pass after the elbow, however as drivers scream down one of the longest paved straightaways in motorsports. As drivers approach the Dart billboard they will begin to see the big curve climbing into the sky in the distance and will need to begin preparing themselves for braking to set up for the difficult transition from the paved surface to the compacted sand.

As drivers prepare to make the big left hand curve off the paved surface, any drivers who brake too late or have an issue with their cars will have two options. Drivers may opt to continue straight down the paved road through the lightweight swing signs marking the end of the racing surface if they have an issue with their car and are not planning to continue in the race. Otherwise, drivers who miss the entry to the corner should still be able to make the turn and scrub speed as they climb the banking with the brakes applied. Some drivers may choose to climb the banking purposely to carry additional speed both into and out of the large turn installed by the Tropicorp locals both as a safety measure to allow cars to scrub speed off after flying down the nearly two-mile long paved straightaway.

While drivers will have been mostly constrained to a 2-3 lane wide paved surface on the front straightaway in order to maintain maximum grip and speed, once they exit from the big curve they will open up into a wide open straight of compacted sand that will allow half the field to spread out and battle side by side if need be. The compacted sand is of slightly different color than the un altered natural beach sand and drivers will know the difference if they stray too close to the water line, though there is plenty of room for error on the racing surface before a driver would be in danger of going off into the unprepared surface. The inside of the course opens up to allow a pitlane before the tight, flat curve at the start/finish end of the course.

Unlike the big curve at the other end of the course, drivers will not be able to carry a lot of speed into the flat curve and anyone that does may find themselves into the orange guard rail fencing and out of the event. By far the slowest part of the course, the flat curve will allow fans in the grandstands an opportunity to see all the cars and take nice pictures with the large Tropicorp billboards in the background at the center of curvature. As drivers exit the curve it will be a race to regain traction on the paved surface - taking a wider exit may allow contact patch with the pavement sooner but will increase distance travelled and may result in a slick paved surface due to kick back from the compacted sand. Taking a tighter exit to the turn may result in slower entry speed but a cleaner more natural transition back to the paved surface for the spring back to the finish line just meters ahead.

Fan Access:

Fans will watch the race from the large Main Grandstand at the flat curve and a series of smaller grandstands along the front straightaway on either side of the Start/Finish line. There will be 'Campground' style access in the center of the course however there is no entry/exit from the center of the course when the race is under green flag conditions. There will be an employee-only viewing party at the Tropicorp Visitors Center while fans will also be able to utilize grandstands along the front straightaway at the transition to the Big Curve.

FanZone Information

Pit Crew Challenge :: Tropicorp Racing Supply will host their 'Pit Crew Challenge" outside the flat curve where fans will be able to test their ability to change an NSSCRA tyre or act as the fuel person so long as they first sign a release form indemnifying Tropicorp of any injury that may occur as they attempt to set the fast times in the challenge. Participants may also enter Tropicorp's Pit Crew Challenge Promotion on Practice and Qualifying Day where the fastest competitors could get invited to pit the #42 Tropicorp Racing Supply Dart of Euroli Islander during the Tropicorp NSSCRA Pit Crew Competition.

Cocoabo Zone & Football Exhibition :: The Cocoabo Preservation Society will be on hand with a special Cocoabo Zone in the area outside the front straightaway past the Start-Finish line where trained Cocoabo will be on hand demonstrating some of their skills. On the evening of Qualifying for the Tropicorp 500, Turori's National Cocoabo Squad will be in town from the Cocoabo Forest to play an exhibition match against the Tropicorp National Team of scientists, engineers and researchers in a warmup for the two sides unified entry into the Atlantian Oceania Confederation of Association Footsport (AOCAF) Cup competition. All proceeds from the match will go to support

Cocoa-bo :: Delectable company Cocoa-bo will be on hand with a 'spin the wheel' and sample tent where fans can sample some Cocoa-bo product as well as purchase items for sale. Fans can also line up to spin the wheel for prizes including spinners, sunglasses and magnets with the Cocoa-bo logo on them.

twii.tur :: twii.tur will have 3 locations around the speedway where fans can have their picture taken and instantly delivered via twii.tur from inside the stock cars of Cocoabo #28 or the special #98 @CocoaboPark Dart that Jixaka Motorai drove in the Cocoabo Forest as well as the World Grand Prix Championship car driven by Hapilopper's Drake Stevenson during the recently completed World Grand Prix Championship season. Drake Stevenson themselves will be on hand to sign autographs for two separate one-hour sessions.

Toys '4' All, Visit TI, Arcticala Electrical, Dart and Vilaye Energy Drink are among other entities also expected to participate in the fanzone with information kiosks or small sales tables.

---

Highlights from Last Seasons Event:

Top Action from the Tropicorp 500

---

Euroli Islander, Five star Combo set for return in Tropicoast

Euroli Islander competes during last season's Tropicorp 500

Team Tropicorp Simulator developer and test driver Euroli Islander will make their return to the NSSCRA Circuit in the Tropicorp 500 for their first start of the season in a special Tropicorp Racing Supply Sifaka Tyres scheme to promote the NSSCRA's most decorated tyre supplier and compound. While the Tropicorp Sifaka Tyre remains the tyre of choice for the majority of the NSSCRA field including most of the Playoff contenders, a number of drivers and teams deeper in the pack have begun to experiment with different tyre brands to see if they could shake things up and improve their results. Initially there were rumors that many teams were going to switch to Xannerian Presto tyres but those proved to be unfounded. Lately however a handful of teams have begun making a switch to the more competitive Highland Tyres including Sofia Kerman of Jebslund in the #69. While The Jebslund Team were committed to Tropicorp Tyres for the NSSCRA Season 8 campaign the exclusivity only applied to the two full-time Jebslund drivers Lexi Patterson and Eva Kerman.

The Tropicorp 500 will also mark the return of the Five Star Mobile Combo and the first ever Five Star Combo event that will have 5 drivers donning the pink numbers and shooting for the bonus Pay Out if they should win the race. The five eligible drivers for the Five Star Five are Skip Stiller, Jenna Logan, Jeremiah Brooke, Centur Tiones and Meghan Sharpe who can each earn a one time bonus for winning the Tropicorp 500 with the pink numbers. Glorious Free Republics driver Skip Stiller in the #3 QED Rental Chadwick will be going for an extra bonus as part of the Five Star Combo as the winner of the previous event the Tundra Falls 500.

---

[Saint Kanye]

NSSCRA: BROOKE TAKES BLUE COAST POLE
VMR woes continue; drivers start from rear at home

by Francis Ludgate

BLUE COAST - "It's good to be back. This is one race weekend I've been looking forward to this season. Just take in the vibes, have fun, then have a great race", said Jeremiah Brooke, driver of the #18 Chadwick for Glorious Free Republic Motorsports, St. Kanye's NSSCRA (Nationstates Stock Car Racing Association) team, after the qualifying sessions for the VannAir Blue Coast 400 at Sonrise Motorway here in Vangaziland. Brooke earned pole position honors, effectively putting him at a tie for the points lead with Sherpa Kai Qiang. A win for the Yeezie racer would replicate his success at the Nurburg Raceway in Caleon, where he both started and finished first, and exceed his showing at last season's 400, wherein he was the runner-up to Team Cassadaigua's Jenna Logan.

The next fastest Kanyean qualifier to Brooke is R&D driver Sage Caldwell, who put the #19 car in fifth. "Haven't done much of note in my previous starts, so this is the chance", he said. "Also, I'm really thankful that I could join the rest of the team here. Brooke and the others told me how great this place is. So much sights and activities. Would recommend." Skip Stiller, GFR's veteran, starts tenth in the #3, while further down the field at twenty-first is Thea Alvarez in the #46 machine. One spot ahead is a fifth Chadwick in addition to the four used by the Yeezies, the #21 of Northwesterosi Paul Nystrom. As for Qiang and Logan, they're twelfth and twenty-second in the #44 TMW and #11 Blaze, respectively.

Due to a change in the NSSCRA charter system, there will now be two open slots for each race. In addition to Sage, Ashley Matthews will be starting; the Newmanistani and her #59 vehicle is at forty-third. GFR took advantage of this new rule by saying that Sage will no longer be part of the competition to get into the Pencurve Electronics 500, but will be getting one of the open charters automatically. The other will be left for other drivers to battle for. In order to keep the size of the field steady, though, the amount of unchartered participants will be cut from five to four. In addition to Nystrom, there are the A7DXZ5 self-driving car from Wagensvolk (#55, twenty-eighth) and members of the Carolinian team, Tucker Capps (#05, thirty-fifth) and Jeff Shreeves (#08, thirty-sixth). Shreeves has been notorious since last season for failing to qualify; his inclusion in the field generated a buzz on social media, with the #GoShreeves hashtag trending. Danger Dogs, from the Kanyean city of Queensbridge, has even offered free hotdogs if Shreeves finishes in the top ten.

Shreeves even outqualified all three drivers of Vannish Motors Racing, a team that was also being talked about worldwide recently, but for a very different reason. Vangaziland's NSSCRA team put Kev Schorebrook (#25), Ellie Lindskog (#50) and Floyd Hackerbee (#75) in the Chase last season, with Lindskog ultimately finishing third in points, but now the trio are all stuck below the top thirty, with no wins. Stiller told the Kibitzer, "They [VMR] were being pegged as a strong challenger when this season started. When they were performing poorly at the start, I thought, we've all been there, it'll pass. But it went on and on and I'm shocked how this once proud team has fallen from grace."

All qualifying sessions and races will be broadcast live on SKYNET (Saint KanYe NETwork) Sports Channel 12, and online at nsscra.skynet.stk.

---

MAYHEM STOCK CAR STUDS SEMIFINALS - Partial Results

Semifinals: Stafford City Race Day to Jusenkyo Qualifying Day
Finals: Jusenkyo Race Day to Ember Valley Qualifying Day

Frank Bronson: 620k votes (45%)
Floyd Hackerbee: 760k votes (55%)

Jeremiah Brooke: 830k votes (48%)
Kai Qiang: 890k votes (52%)

(OOC: Votes are against each other only. Voters may skip matchups, so the numbers in each matchup are different.)

[Vilita and Turori]

---

Visit TI, Dart join list of Sponsors for Novorali in Tropicoast

Vilita and Turori Motorsports have reportedly reached an agreement to send Lotara Novorali to the Tropicorp 500 at the Tropicoast Beach Course to join up with teammates #2 Centur Tiones, #14 River 'Shark' Suzgar II and #41 Yraaga Gilli'i on the Beach. With the mid-season alteration of the NSSCRA competition charter rules, a number of teams are looking to take advantage and step in with opportunities for new or even experienced drivers as is the case in Hapilopper City where Team Blue are reportedly preparing an extra car for iBen Toralmintii's Race Eelandii Vilita and Turori World Grand Prix Motorworks driver Drake Stevenson to compete in the Super Skychief 500. In the case of Vilita and Turori Motorsports and Lotara Novorali the team were originally looking to give Novorali her second career start at the Sonrise Motorway in Vangaziland with only the support of Novorali's personal sponsor Arcticala Electrical and the efficiencies of having Novorali drive #41 Yraaga Gilli'i's backup car for the event such that the team did not have to prepare an entire separate entry for the event to save cost. The team was considering doing this as they would still have two other backup cars on site for the team with the #2 and #14 backups as well as the fact that, with two victories already on the season, Yraaga Gilli'i was able to absorb any impacts due to sharing their garage space with the rookie driver.

When the adjustments were made to the open charter system however it opened up a significant new opportunity for Vilita and Turori Motorsports as they could shift Novorali's effort from Blue Coast to Tropicoast and would be sure to attract a much larger financial backing from local entities in the Vilitan Cove region to support Novorali's efforts. Indeed that is exactly what appears to have happened as the Turoki Island Tourism Board appear to have stepped up to join Arcticala Electrical in a co-sponsorship of Novorali's #49 which will now be promoted from a backup car entry to a fully supported fourth car for Vilita and Turori Motorsports with the transport making its way from Rockii Coast to Tropicoast by way of Turoki Island. The Dart brand is also believed to be promoting Novorali's effort with financial backing and other sponsors may still be added to the list as Vilitan companies look to hedge their bets as to whether Novorali becomes the next young breakout development star in the motorsports world. The additional sponsorships will more than fill the slight gap left by Arcticala Electrical partner LIghthouse Lightworx who will not be part of the deal for Novorali in Tropicoast. Lighthouse Lightworx, a Lonngeylin based company, were mostly interested in the sponsorship during the Toys '4' All 500 as it was also used as a corporate teambuilding event for the company.

---

[Newmanistan]

Race: VannAir Blue Coast 400, Sonrise Motorway, Blue Coast, Vangaziland
Lap Record: 30.020 sec.
Minimum Time to Avoid DNF: 33.400 sec.

Segment 1:

1 #4 - Meghan Sharpe (Cassadaigua)                           30.509
 2 #30 - Lexi Patterson (Jebslund)                            30.534
 3 #81 - Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                            30.551
 4 #44 - Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                        30.555
 5 #23 - James McCurty (Hampton Island)                       30.557
 6 #78- Cocoabo #78 (Tropicorp)                               30.571
 7 #7 - Clarissa Alanis Star (Valentine Z)                    30.577
 8 #13 - Eva Kerman (Jebslund)                                30.591
 9 #28- Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                               30.606
10 #14 - River Suzgar (Vilita and Turori)                     30.644
11 #18 - Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                        30.667
12 #5 - Bryan Harrison (Newmanistan)                          30.667
13 #69 - Sofia Kerman (Jebslund)                              30.682
14 #15 - Jolyn Helen Ceeta (Valentine Z)                      30.732
15 #3 - Skip Stiller (Saint Kanye)                            30.740
16 #48 - Rockii Ezis (Newmanistan)                            30.798
17 #2 - Centur Tiones (Vilita and Turori)                     30.824
18 #24 - Kevin Daniels (Newmanistan)                          30.923
19 #06 - Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)            30.980
20 #16 - Gordon Orton (Xanneria)                              31.073
21 #6 - Alex Knight (Hampton Island)                          31.101
22 #46 - Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                           31.224
23 #82 - David Rockingham (Esmerel)                           31.274
24 #37 - Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                           31.431
25 #21 - Paul Nystrom (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 31.436
26 #41 - Yraaga Gilli'i (Vilita and Turori)                   31.467
27 #12 - Roman Gwinnett (Xanneria)                            31.755
28 #27 - Stacie Houston (Cassadaigua)                         31.825
29 #73 - Chet Byrd (Hapilopper)                               31.867
30 #55 - A7DXZ5 (Wagensvolk) *Q*                              31.878
31 #10 - Eddie Walters Jr. (Xanneria)                         31.948
32 #32 - Andrew Holden (Lisander)                             31.954
33 #50 - Ellie Lindskog (Vangaziland)                         32.064
34 #79 - Dinggu Wang (The Sherpa Empire)                      32.077
35 #19 - Sage Caldwell (Saint Kanye)                          32.165
36 #11 - Jenna Logan (Cassadaigua)                            32.282
37 #05 - Tucker Capps (The Western Carolina Union) *Q*        32.363
38 #25 - Kev Schorebrook (Vangaziland)                        32.464
39 #88 - Anavella Ariiki (Tropicorp)                          32.474
40 #08 - Jeff Shreeves (The Western Carolina Union) *Q*       32.515
41 #75 - Floyd Hackerbee (Vangaziland)                        32.520
42 #31 - Gwen Tracer Allison (Valentine Z)                    32.527
43 #22 - Kevin Cosgrove (Hampton Island)                      32.644
44 #59 - Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                        32.916
45 #84 - Ben Carpenter (Esmerel)                              33.158
46 #9 - Lício Granado (Lisander)                              33.223

Segment 2:

1 #46 - Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                           30.472
 2 #18 - Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                        30.486
 3 #44 - Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                        30.533
 4 #78- Cocoabo #78 (Tropicorp)                               30.547
 5 #30 - Lexi Patterson (Jebslund)                            30.548
 6 #14 - River Suzgar (Vilita and Turori)                     30.558
 7 #79 - Dinggu Wang (The Sherpa Empire)                      30.588
 8 #81 - Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                            30.596
 9 #27 - Stacie Houston (Cassadaigua)                         30.627
10 #28- Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                               30.632
11 #24 - Kevin Daniels (Newmanistan)                          30.690
12 #73 - Chet Byrd (Hapilopper)                               30.702
13 #69 - Sofia Kerman (Jebslund)                              30.706
14 #12 - Roman Gwinnett (Xanneria)                            30.707
15 #6 - Alex Knight (Hampton Island)                          30.714
16 #4 - Meghan Sharpe (Cassadaigua)                           30.715
17 #06 - Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)            30.781
18 #48 - Rockii Ezis (Newmanistan)                            30.785
19 #11 - Jenna Logan (Cassadaigua)                            30.801
20 #31 - Gwen Tracer Allison (Valentine Z)                    30.819
21 #3 - Skip Stiller (Saint Kanye)                            30.865
22 #10 - Eddie Walters Jr. (Xanneria)                         30.923
23 #22 - Kevin Cosgrove (Hampton Island)                      31.031
24 #82 - David Rockingham (Esmerel)                           31.106
25 #13 - Eva Kerman (Jebslund)                                31.140
26 #2 - Centur Tiones (Vilita and Turori)                     31.186
27 #23 - James McCurty (Hampton Island)                       31.197
28 #15 - Jolyn Helen Ceeta (Valentine Z)                      31.272
29 #19 - Sage Caldwell (Saint Kanye)                          31.424
30 #5 - Bryan Harrison (Newmanistan)                          31.484
31 #84 - Ben Carpenter (Esmerel)                              31.502
32 #7 - Clarissa Alanis Star (Valentine Z)                    31.536
33 #21 - Paul Nystrom (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 31.604
34 #88 - Anavella Ariiki (Tropicorp)                          31.725
35 #37 - Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                           31.826
36 #41 - Yraaga Gilli'i (Vilita and Turori)                   31.851
37 #50 - Ellie Lindskog (Vangaziland)                         31.922
38 #55 - A7DXZ5 (Wagensvolk) *Q*                              32.000
39 #32 - Andrew Holden (Lisander)                             32.004
40 #9 - Lício Granado (Lisander)                              32.378
41 #08 - Jeff Shreeves (The Western Carolina Union) *Q*       32.465
42 #25 - Kev Schorebrook (Vangaziland)                        32.465
43 #16 - Gordon Orton (Xanneria)                              32.564
44 #05 - Tucker Capps (The Western Carolina Union) *Q*        32.589
45 #59 - Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                        32.704
46 #75 - Floyd Hackerbee (Vangaziland)                        33.479 DNF

Segment 3:

1 #14 - River Suzgar (Vilita and Turori)                     30.437
 2 #44 - Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                        30.443
 3 #2 - Centur Tiones (Vilita and Turori)                     30.492
 4 #37 - Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                           30.530
 5 #46 - Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                           30.591
 6 #31 - Gwen Tracer Allison (Valentine Z)                    30.608
 7 #6 - Alex Knight (Hampton Island)                          30.627
 8 #22 - Kevin Cosgrove (Hampton Island)                      30.631
 9 #27 - Stacie Houston (Cassadaigua)                         30.634
10 #3 - Skip Stiller (Saint Kanye)                            30.662
11 #41 - Yraaga Gilli'i (Vilita and Turori)                   30.695
12 #18 - Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                        30.719
13 #11 - Jenna Logan (Cassadaigua)                            30.791
14 #5 - Bryan Harrison (Newmanistan)                          30.797
15 #48 - Rockii Ezis (Newmanistan)                            30.800
16 #88 - Anavella Ariiki (Tropicorp)                          30.905
17 #13 - Eva Kerman (Jebslund)                                30.924
18 #23 - James McCurty (Hampton Island)                       30.936
19 #15 - Jolyn Helen Ceeta (Valentine Z)                      31.011
20 #19 - Sage Caldwell (Saint Kanye)                          31.021
21 #10 - Eddie Walters Jr. (Xanneria)                         31.064
22 #7 - Clarissa Alanis Star (Valentine Z)                    31.107
23 #84 - Ben Carpenter (Esmerel)                              31.126
24 #24 - Kevin Daniels (Newmanistan)                          31.208
25 #81 - Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                            31.307
26 #21 - Paul Nystrom (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 31.324
27 #30 - Lexi Patterson (Jebslund)                            31.331
28 #73 - Chet Byrd (Hapilopper)                               31.332
29 #06 - Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)            31.366
30 #55 - A7DXZ5 (Wagensvolk) *Q*                              31.388
31 #82 - David Rockingham (Esmerel)                           31.442
32 #4 - Meghan Sharpe (Cassadaigua)                           31.450
33 #79 - Dinggu Wang (The Sherpa Empire)                      31.450
34 #12 - Roman Gwinnett (Xanneria)                            31.563
35 #16 - Gordon Orton (Xanneria)                              31.674
36 #28- Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                               31.718
37 #25 - Kev Schorebrook (Vangaziland)                        32.118
38 #08 - Jeff Shreeves (The Western Carolina Union) *Q*       32.244
39 #50 - Ellie Lindskog (Vangaziland)                         32.453
40 #32 - Andrew Holden (Lisander)                             32.480
41 #69 - Sofia Kerman (Jebslund)                              32.707
42 #9 - Lício Granado (Lisander)                              32.902
43 #59 - Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                        33.222
44 #05 - Tucker Capps (The Western Carolina Union) *Q*        33.426 DNF
45 #78- Cocoabo #78 (Tropicorp)                               33.728 DNF

Segment 4:

1 #2 - Centur Tiones (Vilita and Turori)                     30.427
 2 #3 - Skip Stiller (Saint Kanye)                            30.448
 3 #11 - Jenna Logan (Cassadaigua)                            30.467
 4 #44 - Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                        30.476
 5 #46 - Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                           30.515
 6 #81 - Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                            30.521
 7 #15 - Jolyn Helen Ceeta (Valentine Z)                      30.549
 8 #13 - Eva Kerman (Jebslund)                                30.577
 9 #6 - Alex Knight (Hampton Island)                          30.578
10 #79 - Dinggu Wang (The Sherpa Empire)                      30.602
11 #4 - Meghan Sharpe (Cassadaigua)                           30.606
12 #7 - Clarissa Alanis Star (Valentine Z)                    30.607
13 #22 - Kevin Cosgrove (Hampton Island)                      30.628
14 #27 - Stacie Houston (Cassadaigua)                         30.632
15 #41 - Yraaga Gilli'i (Vilita and Turori)                   30.699
16 #37 - Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                           30.803
17 #73 - Chet Byrd (Hapilopper)                               30.811
18 #5 - Bryan Harrison (Newmanistan)                          30.812
19 #23 - James McCurty (Hampton Island)                       30.844
20 #14 - River Suzgar (Vilita and Turori)                     30.907
21 #10 - Eddie Walters Jr. (Xanneria)                         31.030
22 #06 - Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)            31.097
23 #18 - Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                        31.120
24 #48 - Rockii Ezis (Newmanistan)                            31.144
25 #30 - Lexi Patterson (Jebslund)                            31.152
26 #82 - David Rockingham (Esmerel)                           31.181
27 #31 - Gwen Tracer Allison (Valentine Z)                    31.307
28 #88 - Anavella Ariiki (Tropicorp)                          31.396
29 #21 - Paul Nystrom (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 31.417
30 #19 - Sage Caldwell (Saint Kanye)                          31.523
31 #28- Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                               31.526
32 #55 - A7DXZ5 (Wagensvolk) *Q*                              31.527
33 #84 - Ben Carpenter (Esmerel)                              31.555
34 #12 - Roman Gwinnett (Xanneria)                            31.669
35 #16 - Gordon Orton (Xanneria)                              31.879
36 #50 - Ellie Lindskog (Vangaziland)                         31.921
37 #32 - Andrew Holden (Lisander)                             32.033
38 #24 - Kevin Daniels (Newmanistan)                          32.225
39 #08 - Jeff Shreeves (The Western Carolina Union) *Q*       32.272
40 #9 - Lício Granado (Lisander)                              32.535
41 #69 - Sofia Kerman (Jebslund)                              32.783
42 #59 - Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                        32.826
43 #25 - Kev Schorebrook (Vangaziland)                        33.381

Segment 5:

1 #27 - Stacie Houston (Cassadaigua)                         30.428
 2 #81 - Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                            30.468
 3 #46 - Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                           30.479
 4 #11 - Jenna Logan (Cassadaigua)                            30.488
 5 #4 - Meghan Sharpe (Cassadaigua)                           30.534
 6 #88 - Anavella Ariiki (Tropicorp)                          30.562
 7 #41 - Yraaga Gilli'i (Vilita and Turori)                   30.610
 8 #22 - Kevin Cosgrove (Hampton Island)                      30.616
 9 #19 - Sage Caldwell (Saint Kanye)                          30.658
10 #12 - Roman Gwinnett (Xanneria)                            30.715
11 #23 - James McCurty (Hampton Island)                       30.723
12 #14 - River Suzgar (Vilita and Turori)                     30.770
13 #3 - Skip Stiller (Saint Kanye)                            30.813
14 #6 - Alex Knight (Hampton Island)                          30.872
15 #24 - Kevin Daniels (Newmanistan)                          30.882
16 #15 - Jolyn Helen Ceeta (Valentine Z)                      30.927
17 #79 - Dinggu Wang (The Sherpa Empire)                      31.064
18 #5 - Bryan Harrison (Newmanistan)                          31.130
19 #18 - Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                        31.166
20 #73 - Chet Byrd (Hapilopper)                               31.179
21 #13 - Eva Kerman (Jebslund)                                31.282
22 #30 - Lexi Patterson (Jebslund)                            31.407
23 #44 - Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                        31.553
24 #7 - Clarissa Alanis Star (Valentine Z)                    31.568
25 #2 - Centur Tiones (Vilita and Turori)                     31.612
26 #84 - Ben Carpenter (Esmerel)                              31.697
27 #55 - A7DXZ5 (Wagensvolk) *Q*                              31.704
28 #21 - Paul Nystrom (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 31.715
29 #82 - David Rockingham (Esmerel)                           31.727
30 #69 - Sofia Kerman (Jebslund)                              31.797
31 #37 - Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                           31.812
32 #10 - Eddie Walters Jr. (Xanneria)                         31.901
33 #25 - Kev Schorebrook (Vangaziland)                        31.987
34 #08 - Jeff Shreeves (The Western Carolina Union) *Q*       32.033
35 #48 - Rockii Ezis (Newmanistan)                            32.063
36 #32 - Andrew Holden (Lisander)                             32.138
37 #9 - Lício Granado (Lisander)                              32.157
38 #16 - Gordon Orton (Xanneria)                              32.224
39 #28- Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                               32.534
40 #59 - Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                        32.722
41 #50 - Ellie Lindskog (Vangaziland)                         32.818
42 #06 - Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)            33.265
43 #31 - Gwen Tracer Allison (Valentine Z)                    33.366

Final Results:

+-----+-----------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                    Driver                     |  Avg.  |
+-----+-----------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #46 Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                | 30.656 | WINNER
|   2 | #14 River 'Shark' Suzgar II (Vilita & Turori) | 30.663 |
|   3 | #81 Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                 | 30.687 |
|   4 | #3 Skip Stiller (Saint Kanye)                 | 30.706 |
|   5 | #44 Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)             | 30.712 |
|   6 | #4 Meghan Sharpe (Cassadaigua)                | 30.763 |
|   7 | #6 Alex Knight (Hampton Island)               | 30.778 |
|   8 | #27 Stacie Houston (Cassadaigua)              | 30.829 |
|   9 | #18 Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)             | 30.832 |
|  10 | #23 James McCurty (Hampton Island)            | 30.851 |
|  11 | #15 Jolyn Helen Ceeta (Valentine Z)           | 30.898 |
|  12 | #13 Oberst Eva Kerman (Jebslund)              | 30.903 |
|  13 | #2 Centur Tiones (Vilita & Turori)            | 30.908 |
|  14 | #11 Jenna Logan (Cassadaigua)                 | 30.966 |
|  15 | #5 Bryan Harrison (Newmanistan)               | 30.978 |
|  16 | #30 Lexi Patterson (Jebslund)                 | 30.994 |
|  17 | #41 Yraaga Gilli'i (Vilita & Turori)          | 31.064 |
|  18 | #7 Clarissa Alanis Star (Valentine Z)         | 31.079 |
|  19 | #22 Kevin Cosgrove (Hampton Island)           | 31.110 |
|  20 | #48 Rockii Ezis (Newmanistan)                 | 31.120 |
|  21 | #79 Dinggu Wang (The Sherpa Empire)           | 31.156 |
|  22 | #73 Chet Byrd (Hapilopper)                    | 31.178 |
|  23 | #24 Kevin Daniels (Newmanistan)               | 31.186 |
|  24 | #37 Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                | 31.280 |
|  25 | #12 Roman Gwinnett (Xanneria)                 | 31.282 |
|  26 | #82 David Rockingham (Esmerel)                | 31.346 |
|  27 | #19 Sage Caldwell (Saint Kanye)               | 31.358 |
|  28 | #10 Eddie Walters Jr (Xanneria)               | 31.373 |
|  29 | #28 Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                   | 31.403 |
|  30 | #88 Anavella Ariiki (Tropicorp)               | 31.412 |
|  31 | #06 Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire) | 31.498 |
|  32 | #21 Paul Nystrom (New Northwesteros)          | 31.499 |
|  33 | #55 A7DXZ5 (Wagensvolk)                       | 31.699 |
|  34 | #31 Gwen Tracer Allison (Valentine Z)         | 31.725 |
|  35 | #69 Sofia Kerman (Jebslund)                   | 31.735 |
|  36 | #84 Ben Carpenter (Esmerel)                   | 31.808 |
|  37 | #16 Gordon Orton (Xanneria)                   | 31.883 |
|  38 | #32 Andrew Holden (Lisander)                  | 32.122 |
|  39 | #50 Ellie Lindskog (Vangaziland)              | 32.236 |
|  40 | #08 Jeff Shreeves (Western Carolina Union)    | 32.306 |
|  41 | #25 Kev Schorebrook (Vangaziland)             | 32.483 |
|  42 | #9 Lício Granado (Lisander)                   | 32.639 |
|  43 | #59 Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)             | 32.878 |
|  44 | #05 Tucker Capps (Western Carolina Union)     | DNF    |
|  45 | #78 Cocoabo #78 (Tropicorp)                   | DNF    |
|  46 | #75 Floyd Hackerbee (Vangaziland)             | DNF    |
+-----+-----------------------------------------------+--------+

Point Standings (thru 16 races):

+-----+------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                     Driver                     | Points |
+-----+------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #46 Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)**               |    617 |
|   2 | #44 Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)*             |    612 |
|   3 | #18 Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)*             |    608 |
|   4 | #27 Stacie Houston (Cassadaigua)*              |    599 |
|   5 | #14 River 'Shark' Suzgar II (Vilita & Turori)* |    590 |
|   6 | #3 Skip Stiller (Saint Kanye)*                 |    579 |
|   7 | #2 Centur Tiones (Vilita & Turori)*            |    566 |
|   8 | #13 Oberst Eva Kerman (Jebslund)*              |    549 |
|   9 | #41 Yraaga Gilli'i (Vilita & Turori)**         |    529 |
|  10 | #12 Roman Gwinnett (Xanneria)                  |    517 |
|  11 | #15 Jolyn Helen Ceeta (Valentine Z)*           |    511 |
|  12 | #30 Lexi Patterson (Jebslund)                  |    506 |
|  13 | #06 Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)* |    490 |
|  14 | #78 Cocoabo #78 (Tropicorp)                    |    484 |
|  15 | #4 Meghan Sharpe (Cassadaigua)*                |    473 |
|  16 | #81 Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)*                 |    455 |
|  17 | #11 Jenna Logan (Cassadaigua)                  |    451 |
|  18 | #7 Clarissa Alanis Star (Valentine Z)*         |    442 |
|  19 | #37 Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                 |    420 |
|  20 | #10 Eddie Walters Jr (Xanneria)                |    392 |
|  21 | #79 Dinggu Wang (The Sherpa Empire)            |    392 |
|  22 | #28 Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                    |    386 |
|  23 | #31 Gwen Tracer Allison (Valentine Z)          |    378 |
|  24 | #88 Anavella Ariiki (Tropicorp)                |    378 |
|  25 | #73 Chet Byrd (Hapilopper)                     |    370 |
|  26 | #5 Bryan Harrison (Newmanistan)                |    365 |
|  27 | #22 Kevin Cosgrove (Hampton Island)            |    328 |
|  28 | #6 Alex Knight (Hampton Island)                |    328 |
|  29 | #82 David Rockingham (Esmerel)                 |    307 |
|  30 | #16 Gordon Orton (Xanneria)                    |    299 |
|  31 | #69 Sofia Kerman (Jebslund)                    |    288 |
|  32 | #84 Ben Carpenter (Esmerel)                    |    267 |
|  33 | #25 Kev Schorebrook (Vangaziland)              |    265 |
|  34 | #24 Kevin Daniels (Newmanistan)                |    264 |
|  35 | #23 James McCurty (Hampton Island)             |    250 |
|  36 | #75 Floyd Hackerbee (Vangaziland)              |    221 |
|  37 | #50 Ellie Lindskog (Vangaziland)               |    203 |
|  38 | #48 Rockii Ezis (Newmanistan)                  |    192 |
|  39 | #9 Lício Granado (Lisander)                    |    179 |
|  40 | #32 Andrew Holden (Lisander)                   |    150 |
|  41 | #83 Joseph Rawlings (Esmerel)                  |    142 |
|  42 | #55 A7DXZ5 (Wagensvolk)                        |     96 |
|  43 | #86 Bluetarch The 5th (Newark Aristocracy)     |     85 |
|  44 | #67 Denny Truex Lenlin (Sedile)                |     80 |
|  45 | #21 Paul Nystrom (New Northwesteros)           |     78 |
|  46 | #0 Hana Bhe (Filindostan)                      |     74 |
|  47 | #99 Liuyong Xu (New Northwesteros)             |     63 |
|  48 | #02 Kohan The 10th (Newark Aristocracy)        |     60 |
|  49 | #19 Sage Caldwell (Saint Kanye)                |     59 |
|  50 | #03 Mike Reddiër (Caleonia)                    |     58 |
|  51 | #17 Tyler Abbott (Cassadaigua)                 |     47 |
|  52 | #1 Vanda Rosa Cordeiro Kerman (Jebslund)       |     39 |
|  53 | #94 Daniel Almirola (Sedile)                   |     34 |
|  54 | #48 Travis Barkley (Newmanistan)               |     31 |
|  55 | #00 Ilham Lukas Jenie (Filindostan)            |     30 |
|  56 | #63 Marcus Alan Ariel Baptiste (Valentine Z)   |     30 |
|  57 | #29 Frank Joy (Caleonia)                       |     28 |
|  58 | #49 Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)          |     26 |
|  59 | #93 Robbie Moren (Xanneria)                    |     25 |
|  60 | #89 Liangmei Li (The Sherpa Empire)            |     22 |
|  61 | #05 Tucker Capps (Western Carolina Union)      |     19 |
|  62 | #98 Jixaka Motoai (Tropicorp)                  |     16 |
|  63 | #26 Mor Holstein (Lisander)                    |      9 |
|  64 | #33 Tyler Joy (Caleonia)                       |      8 |
|  65 | #08 Jeff Shreeves (Western Carolina Union)     |      7 |
|  66 | #34 Freddie Nielson (Hampton Island)           |      6 |
|  67 | #59 Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)              |      4 |
+-----+------------------------------------------------+--------+

Next Race: Race 17 (Aug 17/18)- Tropicorp 500, Tropicoast Beach Course, Tropicorp (Superspeedway)

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians - Qualifications @ Golden Bear 400, Stafford City Speedway, Hampton Island

After accepting the loss as it is, the Valentians made their flight to the next race at Hampton Island – Golden Bar 400, at Stafford City Speedway. Hopefully with it not being a road course, as well as Clarissa learning from her lessons, would help her with this race… at least hopefully.

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: I am not very sure, my friends! What if I mess up this race as well?

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Don’t worry, you will be fine! It can’t be as bad as the road courses, right? I mean, it’s a small track, but just be careful!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: And please don’t DNF, like me! That was the worst feeling to get, knowing that you could have done better but there was no more room for improvement, since, you know, you get knocked out of the race.

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Well, all the best to us once again!

And with that, the Valentian trio were off for the qualifications, after taking a few days’ worth of rest (since they arrived early) and trying out the simulations for a few tries. Clarissa, Jolyn, and Gwen placed 43rd (41st, if excluding the ones that did not qualify), 10th, and 36th respectively for the qualifications.

---

The Valentians - Actual Race @ Golden Bear 400, Stafford City Speedway, Hampton Island

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Best of luck to you, Clarissa! And hey, don’t worry! Just tell yourself that you can do it!

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Thank you very much, my friend! And I hope that you will do better as well!

The trio boarded their vehicles, and they are away! Given the nature of the track, there is not a lot of speed involved, but there are still tight turns, along with the usual problem of a crowded that are attributes of a short track. They tried their best to manoeuvre around the other vehicles as best to their abilities, whilst also avoiding to hit the walls around. Gwen was feeling tenser compared to the rest, given her history at Toys “4” All short track a few days back.

---

---

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Remember, Gwen: Try not to muscle it too hard! Just go with the flow, and you can do it! You won’t disqualify, trust me!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Thanks for the positive words!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: No problem! All the best!

By the end of the last lap of the first segment, the Valentian trios did extremely well, with Clarissa, Jolyn, and Gwen placing at 4th, 6th, and 9th respectively.

---

The second segment was where things got a tad disastrous for Gwen and Jolyn. The former managed to bump a bit into a wall, whilst the other was blocked by a cluster of cars and in an effort to slow down and avoid accidents with Gwen around, Jolyn slowed down too much and was overtaken by a few cars behind her.

Clarissa, on the other hand, managed to do well for herself, catching up to the vehicles in front of her and eventually overtaking one of them.

By the last lap of the segment, Clarissa, Jolyn and Gwen were 3rd, 15th, and 25th respectively.

---

The third segment was where Clarissa's strategic systems failed her, and Gwen was still being bothered by the vehicles all around her. In the meantime, Jolyn managed to find an opening around the sea of cars and used that to her advantage, gaining her a few positions over the few laps. It would seem to be the 20th-30th places that were the most crowded, while anything above 20th was more or less a smooth ride with not many cars around.

By the last lap of the segment, Clarissa, Jolyn, and Gwen were 21st, 5th, and 35th respectively.

---

The fourth segment was where Jolyn suffered some problems with the drivers around her; one of them bumped into her and caused her to swerve to the outside of the track. In order to avoid losing more speed by scratching and hitting the wall, she decided to slow down and from there, accelerate back slowly. That move costed her some time, but not too much to lose too many positions. In the meantime, Clarissa and Gwen managed to gain back a few more positions as they made their way slowly around the track, taking care not to hit the other cars, or lose too much speed.

At the end of the last lap of the segment, Clarissa, Jolyn, and Gwen placed 16th, 20th, and 26th respectively.

---

The fifth segment was where Clarissa would be seen gaining back the positions that she has lost. At that moment, she was confident that her computational mind was working at the best of her abilities. She would not only get and make use of her vehicle information much more efficiently, but she also calculated the optimal route of travel at a good and smooth 4000 ticks per second. In other words, she was constantly scanning the data that she got from her eyes, as well as calculating the length of the cars, amongst other factors, in order to get the route that she was supposed to go while maintaining a good amount of speed. That worked wonders for her!

In the meantime, Jolyn was still struggling, dropping from 20th to 28th, while Gwen gained from 26th to 9th, being able to use both the insides and outsides of the tracks to her advantage. Before they head off for the last segment, the trio went for a pit stop to top up their tank and replace all the tires. After all, one can never be too careful with their vehicles.

---

Clarissa knew that she was going to ace this one. The combination of all the optimised data that she got, with the drive to do better after seeing that picture of a meme, she just would not let the whole world think that she is a flawed machine. She can be as good as a human is, and possibly even better, she thought to herself. She had a rather serious look on her as she zoomed around the track, surpassing the cars as best as she can. However, there was still a person ahead of her… #37, with Frank Bronson driving inside. She did not have any problems with Mr. Bronson, and in fact, she wanted to meet him one day to talk to him for casual conversations, but this time, she simply wanted to win.

She started calculating the best possible routes, and the race was on. The two vehicles were tens of meters away from the others, but they were getting pretty close to one another.

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Go on, Clarissa, you can do it!

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Hm hgm, I am trying my best! ^^ I hope I can win this one!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Yeah, Clarissa! Show those naysayers that you are not “all bark and no bite”!

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: I am gonna have the largest bite ever, hm hm!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Not literally, mind you!

As they are going from bumper-to-bumper with one another, Clarissa made a breakthrough and hit the accelerator gently. Frank was still beside her, but there was no way that she would let this one slip. She was going to do this, she thought to herself…. And the winner was….

Uncertain, at least for that split second. She was paying too much attention to the front, and also that she couldn’t really see who passed the finish line first. She didn’t use any of her fancy gadgets or her computing power to calculate at that point, with her human mind and instinct taking over.

However, after a few more seconds, the winner was announced. It was none other than the blue robot herself. The one and only… Clarissa Alanis Star!

The Valentian trio got out of their cars and hugged each other out, along with cheers and small dances!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Yeeeeah, Clarissa, you did it! You made it!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: And just by 0.001 second as well! You are a lucky and skilful lady, Clarissa!

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Hahaha, aww, thank you so very much! Thank you, thank you all, for believing in me!

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: Oh hey, celebration time, and your trophy! You best be heading off, Clarissa!

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: We will have a party later, I promise! :3

And after running up to the stairs, she found herself a trophy waiting for her, along with probably the best champagne inside. After taking a few shots with the trophy and basically taking in the fame and accomplishment, she walked back down with the trophy in her hand and approached the Valentians. She shared the drink with Jolyn, Gwen, and the rest of the Valentian crew.

When she was asked by a reporter, she got this to say:
Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Well, I would not have made it had it not for my friends here! I mean, I have been prone to accidents just like any other people and robots, so I am just glad that I have managed a breakthrough this time without causing a disaster along the way! Vallieeee, I won my first race, haha!

Valentijn, in the meantime, back in Valentine Z, happened to be tuning in and watching the match intensely, so he knew what happened. His face couldn’t be seen, but the other Valentians around knew that he was elated inside.

Valentijn Samantha Maxwell Constantine: I’m so proud of you, my dear. Hey, everyone! Valentians! Public holiday once again! We celebrated Jolyn’s victory, now we celebrate my wife’s victory! Prepare the confetti, it’s gonna go hot in VZ!

The Valentians chatted it up for the night, partying it and with Clarissa having a video call with Valentijn for a good 2 hours. They were simply elated and pumped with adrenaline, and after the disaster like the previous night, Clarissa was once again happy to show that she can indeed do it. The next day, the Valentian trio, along with the couple of others, made their way to the park for a day off before heading off to the next destination. Jared took a few shots of the Valentian racing trio, as well as of the crew.

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: Well, girl! You have done it! I am so proud of you as well, and hey, computers and minds can work alike, see?

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Hehe, how right you are!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Smile, Clarissa!

Snap! A photo was taken, and was uploaded to the social networks later.

Clarissa Alanis Star Breya Millie Taissa Butterfly Mélody Coraline Jolijn Trini Clementine Hollie Samantha Zeta Harumi
@ClarissaTheBot

I am so happy and proud of today’s race! I never thought I made it, but I am happy! Also a shoutout to Mr. Frank Bronson for a fierce competition! You have been great as well!

#NSSCRA

An afternoon, a day after Golden Bear 400

EDIT: Oooh, just in time!

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians - En Route to VannAir Blue Coast 400, Sonrise Motorway, Blue Coast, Vangaziland

As the party was over back in Hampton Islands, and having packed up their items, the Valentians went off on a plane to their next destination - Vangaziland! They heard about the place from the brochures, as well as from the data that they got from Clarissa’s downloads.

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Oooh, a beach! This is gonna be fantastic, my friends!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Ohh, blerh! The long walks, they are pretty nice and all, but you know what I hate? Sand. It’s coarse, gets everywhere!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: I know, but hey, nothing relaxing than just chilling in a light swimsuit or something. It’s a good time to get out of those race track suits, you know?

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Haha, yeah, that’s true! I mean, we are doing this for fun, but even for that, we have to take things seriously sometimes… We really deserve a vacation on their pristine beaches!

In the meantime, after looking at the map and sharing with the others, Clarissa switched to another tab on her laptop and showed Jolyn and Gwen about the Starlight results.

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Oooh, how exciting! I hope I at least got somewhere, you know? I mean, thanks to Jenny!

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: You are welcome!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Hmm, let’s take a look. Hey, I will do the honours, since you two are inside it.

Jolyn took the laptop from Clarissa and started looking at the results.

(OOC Courtesy of Hampton Islands’ post).

Code: Select all

Starlight Suites Hot Knockout Bracket:
First Round:
(10) Gwen Tracer Allison def (7) Oberst Eva Kerman (60.3%-39.7%)
(2) Stacie Houston def (15) Sofia Kerman (64.7%-35.3%)

Second Round:
(1) Lexi Patterson def (8) Clarissa Alanis Star (83.1%-16.9%)
(5) Thea Alvarez def (4) Liangmei Li (53.5%-46.5%)

(14) Jenna Logan def (6) Meghan Sharpe (57.4%-42.6%)
(2) Stacie Houston def (14) Gwen Tracer Allison (58.6%-41.4%)

Semifinals:
(1) Lexi Patterson vs (5) Thea Alvarez- Voted on after next race
(2) Stacie Houston vs (14) Jenna Logan- Voted on in two races.

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Ah-ha, first round! Gwen Tracer Allison vs Oberst Eva Kerman! You won, Gwen! 60.3% votes to you!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Woo-hooo! Smashing! I knew I got that look in me, haha!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: And then Stacie Houston vs Sofia Kerman.. 64.7% for the former.

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: I might know who Stacie is! Is she the one from Hapilopper?

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Oh, no! She’s the one from Cassadaigua. I don’t think we have interacted with her.

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Would explain why we didn’t know her that much…

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Ah wells, next up, we have… Stacia again, vs. Gwen! Sorry, Gwen, she won with 58.6%. Very close, though!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Aww, rubbish! Well, their loss, haha! Maybe they are bnothered by the 10 foot stature!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: And the next up… ohh dear, Clarissa… You versus Lexi. You got destroyed, hard. 83.1% to Lexi!

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Aww, that’s okay! I am not that mindful about my looks, anyway! As long as I look blue and happy!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Normally people go for yellow and happy, blue is for sadness… but hey, you can be a trendsetter!

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: You gotta admit though, she IS gorgeous! I mean, I can totally understand why she got it!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: I would totally date her if I am a man, or if I am gay, haha! … Hey, she is beautiful, you know?

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Well, let’s congratulate the winners!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Certainly the ones with a good heart, haha! Celebrate the winners with them, not against them!

---

Clarissa Alanis Star Breya Millie Taissa Butterfly Mélody Coraline Jolijn Trini Clementine Hollie Samantha Zeta Harumi
@ClarissaTheBot

Congratulations to Lexi for winning over me with a landslide! You are indeed the most beautiful woman that we have ever set our eyes on! All the best!
#NSSCRA #StarlightSuites

En-route to Blue Coast

---

Gwen Tracer Hepburn Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Verlene Eveline Celinda Sammy Doris Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Vitesse Allison
@ClarissaTheBot

Congratulations to Lexi for winning over me with a landslide! You are indeed the most beautiful woman that we have ever set our eyes on! All the best!
#NSSCRA #StarlightSuites

En-route to Blue Coast

---

The Valentians - Qualifications @ VannAir Blue Coast 400, Sonrise Motorway, Blue Coast, Vangaziland

The beach was quite fun, for the most parts. The Valentians took some time to stop themselves from getting excited at the beach, and taking even more time to remove sand from their shoes and ears. After that, they went for the simulations and soon after were on the course.

The race course was not too bad, for the most parts. The trio certainly loved driving extremely fast along the straight route, but the turns were rather tight, and they were careful not to mess it up. This was especially worse once again for Clarissa, who had some trouble with turning the tight corners. Perhaps she now developed a fear like Jolyn, except instead of road courses like Jolyn, she didn’t like the tight turns.

This difficulty made her break a bit too hard for the most parts of the qualifications, and she realised (after the qualifications were over) that she has indeed breaked too much and unnecessarily, making her recoveries from the turns (in terms of speed) a little lacking.

At the end, Gwen did the best at 11th, blazing through the course; Jolyn did average at 26th, with the same (but less intense) fear that Clarissa has; Clarissa, on the other hand, didn’t do so well, placing at 55th, 45th if excluding the 10 open charters that didn’t make it to the qualifications; she would be starting at 45th.

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: They always say that the qualifications are not the end-all, but at the end of the day… I think having a small lead advantage might help with things. Still, I am wishing for the best of things!

[Saint Kanye]

NSSCRA: ALVAREZ OVER "SHARK" BY A NOSE AT BLUE COAST
Young Yeezie tallies second win, regains points lead

by Kelsey Ratzenberger

BLUE COAST - Great weather, great beaches, great establishments. The city of Blue Coast in Vangaziland is nothing but great, and fans of the NSSCRA (Nationstates Stock Car Racing Association) are hoping that the VannAir Blue Coast 400 at Sonrise Motorway would also produce some great racing. Well, if intense position battles, lots of lead changes and a thriller of an ending are anything to go by, it looks as if their wish had been granted.

With six laps to go in the race, Vilita and Turori's River Suzgar took the lead from Sherpalander Kai Qiang, who eight laps ago (fourteen to go) took the lead from Kanyean Skip Stiller. Suzgar was starting to run away from the pack, when with three laps to go, Thea Alvarez, Stiller's teammate at Glorious Free Republic Motorsports, made some daring moves and climbed from seventh to second, positioning her car on Suzgar's tail. A lap later, she and the "Shark" are side by side, though at the white flag, the latter was slightly ahead. Once again Suzgar would try to pull away, but Alvarez was turning curves quicker, and through turns three and four, the two are neck and neck, V&T's driver on the inside, St. Kanye's on the outside. Heading to the start/finish line, the sides of the two cars are scraping each other. Alvarez decided to give Suzgar a tap, which ultimately worked in her favor, as she won the race by 0.007 second.

Third, behind Alvarez's #46 Multiversal Automotive Coatings Chadwick and Suzgar's #14 Toys 4 All Dart, was the #81 factory sponsored Preston of Hapiloppian rookie Chris Holmes. Fourth was Stiller in the #3 QED Car Rentals Chadwick, followed by Qiang in the #44 Khamdo Electronics TMW. Meghan Sharpe, driver of the #4 Spacebook Blaze for Team Cassadaigua, was sixth, while Hampton Island Racing's Alex Knight put the #6 Charged Up Transmissions car in seventh. Eighth and ninth were the "Stacemiah" pair. Defending champion and Sharpe's teammate Stacie Houston, who pilots the #27 Five Star Mobile Blaze, was side by side and 0.003 second ahead of polesitter and third GFR member Jeremiah Brooke in the #18 Hyde Medical Group Chadwick. Knight's fellow HIR driver James McCurty of the #23 Starlight Suites machine completed the top ten.

The win was Alvarez's second of the season, after the one at the Northwestern Bank of Carolina 400 at the Western Carolina Union. Both of Alvarez's wins have been by less than a hundredth of a second. The 20-year-old driver also climbed back to the top of the point standings ahead of Qiang and teammate Brooke. "Another win for me, and another close one at that? That's amazing", Alvarez remarked upon being told of the fact. "I like that image of being a closer, one who knows how to win in the final moments of a race. If I'm going to continue doing that, stealing wins, then I better work on my tactics."

Brooke, who was nearby, jokingly added "Imagine if Lexi [Patterson] was leading the Hot Knockout polls throughout, then on the last day, Thea suddenly gains a lot of votes", referring to Starlight Suites' female driver popularity contest, in which both Alvarez and the driver of the Team Jebslund #30 are part of. Asked about GFR's performance in the race, in which all three full-timers earned top tens, the "Hyde Ride" driver said. "Well, we don't plan to just coast until the end of the regular season, that's for sure. Of course there are other factors which may affect our finish, but we hope prevent or avoid them as much as we can."

Aside from Alvarez, Brooke and Stiller, the Kanyean delegation in the 400 included R&D driver Sage Caldwell, who steered the #19 Blood Moon Beer Chadwick to a twenty-seventh place finish. He had a good start, qualifying fifth and running with the front pack, but handling issues caused the dreadlocked part-timer to fall behind. "We were testing this new setup", said Sage, "and it didn't quite work in my opinion. I was loose, and I was brushing the wall. So we made some adjustments in the end, and though we were able to climb some spots, we were unable to get back to the front."

Central Shaneville native and WCU team member Jeff Shreeves, qualifying for the very first time this season, finished fortieth of forty-six, which was only notable because he beat hometown drivers Kev Schorebrook (#25, forty-first) and Floyd Hackerbee (#75, last). Vannish Motors Racing's struggles have been a recent topic of discussion, with no one completely sure what went wrong. "This isn't the VMR I know", said Stiller. "Seems like whenever I'm passing Kev or Floyd these days, it's not for the lead, but to put them a lap down. I can't wrap my head around that fact."

With two repeat winners so far, the maximum number of winners in the regular season has gone down to a possible eighteen. However, the Chase field is only sixteen. This means that winners who are lower down the standings would rather see the next races be won by someone who's already done so (maybe even themselves), while those without victories must not only get one, but also get enough points to avoid being booted out. The next race is the Tropicorp 500 at the Tropicoast Beach Course; since this is a Five Star Combo event, Tundra Falls 500 winner Stiller and third placer Brooke will sport pink numbers on their cars for a cash bonus. Sage's pit crew will participate in the Tropicorp Pit Crew Competition, even though the "Bloodmobile" itself won't be part of the race.

All qualifying sessions and races will be broadcast live on SKYNET (Saint KanYe NETwork) Sports Channel 12, and online at nsscra.skynet.stk.

---

OFFICIAL STANDINGS - Race 16 of 30 (Blue Coast)

1. #46 Thea Alvarez (STK) (Top Kanyean driver)
2. #14 River Suzgar (VNT)
3. #81 Chris Holmes (HAP) (Top rookie)
4. #3 Skip Stiller (STK)
5. #44 Kai Qiang (SHW)
9. #18 Jeremiah Brooke (STK) (Polesitter)
18. #7 Clarissa Alanis Star (VEZ) (Last week's winner)
27. #19 Sage Caldwell (STK) (Open charter user)
32. #21 Paul Nystrom (NNW) (Top unchartered driver)
39. #50 Ellie Lindskog (VNG) (Top hometown driver)
40. #08 Jeff Shreeves (WCU) (Season debut)

DRIVER POINTS

▲ 1. #46 Thea Alvarez (STK) - 617 (2W)
▼ 2. #44 Kai Qiang (SHW) - 612 (1W)
▼ 3. #18 Jeremiah Brooke (STK) - 608 (1W)
▮ 4. #27 Stacie Houston (CDG) - 599 (1W)
▮ 5. #14 River Suzgar (VNT) - 590 (1W)
▮ 6. #3 Skip Stiller (STK) - 579 (1W)
▮ 7. #2 Centur Tiones (VNT) - 566 (1W)
▮ 8. #13 Eva Kerman (JEB) - 549 (1W)
▮ 9. #41 Yraaga Gilli'i (VNT) - 529 (2W)
▲ 11. #15 Jolyn Helen Ceeta (VEZ) - 511 (1W)
▮ 13. #06 Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (SHW) - 490 (1W)
▼ 15. #4 Meghan Sharpe (CDG) - 473 (1W)
▲ 16. #81 Chris Holmes (HAP) - 455 (1W)
▼ 18. #7 Clarissa Alanis Star (VEZ) - 442 (1W)
▲ 46. #19 Sage Caldwell (STK) - 59

BATTLE FOR ROTY

▮ 1. #15 Jolyn Helen Ceeta (VEZ) - 511 (1W)
▼ 2. #30 Lexi Patterson (JEB) - 506
▼ 3. #06 Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (SHW) - 490 (1W)
▼ 4. #81 Chris Holmes (HAP) - 455 (1W)
▲ 5. #7 Clarissa Alanis Star (VEZ) - 442 (1W)

NEXT RACE

Tropicorp 500 @ Tropicoast Beach Course, Tropicorp

[Newark Aristocracy]

News:NBI RAID ON CANTO RACING HQ!

The Owner of the team has been arrested after a massive NBI raid on the team HQ,days after the team's star driver Kohan The 10th left the team to continue racing in NSSCRA. The team owner has been found to be the leader of the largest drug smugging ring in the Newark Aristocracy,only 5 weeks after the team suddenly pulled from NSSCRA.

[Hampton Island]

To whom it may concern at Sie Nah,
from Stafford City Speedway CEO

I wish to apologize on behalf of Stafford City Speedway for the errors that were made by my staff in publicizing that the Lexi Patterson meet and greet would be from 8:00am until 9:00am. It is absolutely correct that the intended time would be from 8:30am until 9:15am, which is what is written in the contract that you have made available on your website. Unfortunately, in business, there can be misinformation that comes about when information goes from the top down to those on the front line, as you have certainly experienced on your own. It was an honest mistake, and it is never our intention to mislead our fans. The vast majority of the fans that were made to wait were Hampton Island race fans that continue to support Lexi Patterson. We would therefore never want to keep our own customers waiting. Stafford City Speedway prides itself on being an open and honest facility, and we seriously regret that this error took place.

We take a lot of pride, also, in being the organization that gave Lexi Patterson her introduction into stock car racing, and as such, she remains a popular figure with Hampton Island. Lexi Patterson merchandise was the third highest seller of all drivers at the Golden Bear 400, behind only Alex Knight and Kevin Cosgrove, and even exceeding that of James McCurty. That is revenue that was earned by your merchandise team, and visibility of your corporate logo and image which will now be much more prevalent within Hampton Island. If Sie Nah has sustained any financial damages from the miscommunication of the proper meet and greet times, those are certainly recouped in the value of your product logo and colors seen throughout our country.

[Hapilopper]

The Team Blue Shuttle, 40,000 feet in the air, halfway between Vangaziland and Hapilopper
A few hours after the VannAir Blue Coast 400
Drake Stevenson, Ken Henson and a few PR reps were hunched around a laptop computer, about to make a social media post that would, for all intents and purposes, send the Hapiloppian sports world on its ear. Drake was wearing a black firesuit with the logos of the NSSCRA and the new Super Skychief on the front, having just taken a picture in an airplane lavatory with the assistance of a PR rep. The posting would, for all intents and purpose, announce to the world that Drake Stevenson would race for Team Blue in the Super Skychief 500, at the very least.

“Like it?” Ken asked Drake.

“Yeah,” Drake said with a smile on his face.

“Well then, let’s post it!” Ken said to a PR rep sitting at the computer.

The representative pressed the “POST” button on his computer, closed the laptop and before everyone could return to their seats, people’s phones were going off like crazy. Chris Holmes took out his phone to see his social media notifications practically exploding. Same with Frank Bronson. Both drivers put their phones on silent, and put them back in the cupholders. While they tried to brush it off, the fact was, Drake Stevenson returning to Team Blue, and competing in the NSSCRA was a huge deal back home. While he hadn’t been in a stock car in nearly two years, Drake Stevenson was still the biggest star in Hapiloppian stock car racing, and potentially the biggest star in all of Hapiloppian sport, period, although his little brother was very quickly closing up on him.

Holmes, meanwhile, was thinking about his 3rd place finish in Vangaziland. He had run up front all race, and it was rather obvious that his future was pretty secure with Team Blue for the next NSSCRA season. After climbing from his car, Ken Henson went over to him and told him that if he was interested in signing a contract extension, he’d have one ready for him that week.

With that move, Team Blue, in all probability, had its lineup for the next season set. All they needed to do was find a third driver to replace Chet Byrd, who was retiring at the end of the season, and after having seen the performance of 73-year old Freddie Nielson in Hampton Island, Chet decided that the last thing he wanted to do was hang around much longer. Chet was 56 years old, but still had a lot of the speed he had back in the 1980s and 1990s. He didn’t want to keep going and lose that speed and get in people’s way.

Not many knew it at the time, but Ken had a short list of drivers listed to possibly replace Chet for the next season. Drake Stevenson, obviously, was at the top of that list, but his commitment to an unnamed World Grand Prix Championship team still loomed over his future. There were other drivers, such as Craig Martin, who was starting to run away with the HASCAR Challenge Cup, Tyson Hoyt, the bad boy of HASCAR, and Taylor Henderson, the young lady racing driver who was capturing the imaginations of race fans all over Hapilopper with some truly inspired drives, including an unbelievable win in Garvinson over the weekend.

Of those four drivers, only two had a realistic shot at the seat. Since Drake was almost certainly off to the World Grand Prix Championship pretty soon in an effort to make Hapilopper proud, you could cross his name off the list. You could also cross Tyson Hoyt’s name off, too.

Hoyt had become known as the bad boy of HASCAR for a variety of reasons, the least of which was his bad attitude to everyone around him, and his tendency to blame everyone but himself when something went wrong on the race track. As a matter of fact, at the HASCAR race at Garvinson over the weekend, Hoyt intentionally wrecked Matthew Seltzer, a lapped car, for no reason other than the fact that he was just in a bad mood. When HASCAR parked Hoyt for the move, Hoyt threatened to smack several HASCAR officials with a wooden stick.

Drake Stevenson also didn’t like him, and informed Team Blue that if the team signed Hoyt to replace Chet Byrd, he would cut all ties with the team. The two still had some bad feelings for one another after a post-race interview where Hoyt threatened to “defile” Drake on live TV, using some of the most vulgar language heard on Hapiloppian television since the national House of Delegates held a hearing on that time Hapilopper's president used military implements on two female interns in the Executive Bedroom of the Presidential House in Hapilopper City.

Contrastingly, Craig Martin was not only a great racing driver, but a great ambassador for Hapiloppian motorsport. At 31 years old, Martin was thought to be just entering the prime of his career, and would be absolutely ready for whatever came for him in the NSSCRA.

Taylor Henderson, meanwhile, was also seen as a great ambassador for the sport, but was seen as a relatively raw rookie. At 19 years old, experts agreed that she probably wasn’t ready to compete against the best stock car drivers worldwide, but the progress she was making was comparable to Drake Stevenson when he started his career in the Challenge Cup. Maybe in another year or two, Taylor would be ready to compete with the best drivers, but not now.

While Chris wondered who would drive the third Team Blue car next year, Frank Bronson was wondering about a wedding invitation he had just received. In several weeks – the day after the Super Skychief 500, as a matter of fact, he had been invited to attend the wedding of Peter Hammond and Charlene Myers. Hammond had been a crew member for Team Blue for several years and was finally getting married to his high school sweetheart. Frank spoke up and asked anyone if they had gotten an invitation too.

“Oh boy, I don’t think I want to go to that,” Drake said with some trepidation.

“Why not?” Frank asked.

“Well, one, I think weddings are depressing, and two, you may not know this, but there’s some drama going on between Peter, some guy, and Charlene,” Drake responded.

“What do you mean?”

“Well… supposedly Charlene’s been sleeping with some guy and Peter doesn’t know it,” Drake said quietly. “I wouldn’t bring it up if you go.”

“So, do you think there’d be like an objection or something?”

“Not out of the realm of possibility,” Drake said. “You know, I just have a real bad feeling about that wedding. I don’t think I want to go.”

“Well, I’ll be going anyway.”

The crew from Team Blue had a lot of work ahead of them over the course of the next week. The next race, on the beaches of Tropicoast in Tropicorp, was unlike practically any other race on the calendar, as it was half-highway, half beach and all speed. Nobody from Team Blue had ever driven on a beach at speed before, but all of them were actually looking forward to it. It was certainly something different from what they were used to.

[Jebslund]

Publicly, Sie Nah Fleet Systems accepted the apology from the SCS CEO, with the condition that similar errors not happen again. It was a necessary gesture for PR, particularly in Hampton Island, to maintain revenue streams, in the seeming absence of any concrete proof of malfeasance on the part of the track. The apology, and the reply in which it was officially accepted, were added to the Sie Nah website's NSSCRA page. Unofficially, however, it was the majority opinion that everything had been just a little *too* convenient to have been an honest mistake, so the restrictions on event contracts remained in place for the time being. That said, there would be no more public beef between the two companies for now, so long as SCS didn't try anything troublesome. The lawyers were still looking for lawsuits that could be filed, but it was now on the basis of preparation for the future, rather than any intention of dragging the track to court.

Lexi, meanwhile, had returned her focus to where it needed to be once it was clear nothing more was to come of it. Victory, she had been told by both Evas, was the best revenge she could take. Even if the top of the overall points board was now quite clearly out of reach for her, it didn't dampen the fire in her heart, as she was only 5 points behind the current Rookie of the Year. A single win would put her at the top of that. Two would seal the deal, as long as none of the other top 5 rookies got their second. In point of fact, Lexi, if she wanted the top spot among rookies, couldn't *afford* not to score a win, as she could be fairly certain at least two of the others were going to make the Chase. That meant more practice. That meant more catching up. And that meant she could no longer afford distractions.

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians - Actual Race @ VannAir Blue Coast 400, Sonrise Motorway, Blue Coast, Vangaziland

The Valentians woke up to the refreshing tropical morning along the beach, all of them having a hearty breakfast and taking deep breaths of fresh air. The trio were excited for the race, that much is true, but at the same time, they wanted the race to be get it over and done with just so that they would go back to their lounging or the beach for some R&R. Perhaps the pace of the race was a little too strenuous for the easy-going Valentians?

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: We could all go for a swim after this race! I mean, I assume that it will not be too much of a hassle, or that we will have to rush.

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Nah, I don’t think so… this is going to be pretty fun! After the race, of course.

The Valentians got rid of some sand from their track outfits, then made their way to their vehicles. For this time, Gwen took some coconut juice with her just because she was feeling tropical.

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: Oooh, nice choice! But you should still have your standard bottle alongside. Water is always the best drink for a long, long race!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Hehe, understood!

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: Well, all the best! Don’t worry, I will keep your beach benches warm for you guys.

And they are away!

---

---

Starting off from their qualification positions of 11th, 26th and 45th, Gwen, Jolyn and Clarissa drove as best as possible to their abilities. For Clarissa, she has certainly learned her lesson from the previous races and as a result, she was becoming much more careful with her turns; she would slow down as needed, followed by then just speeding off at the straight sections of the track. It was certainly refreshing for them to once again drive on a speedway, instead of on a road course or on a short track.

By the end of the last lap of the first segment, Clarissa placed 7th, while Jolyn placed 14th, and Gwen went all the way down to 42nd. She cited some loss of concentration, as well as difficulty on banking around the turns while maintaining speed. She ended up breaking too hard almost all the time and that would be the outcome of that.

---

This time for Clarissa and Jolyn, it was not necessarily because of their accidents and mishaps along the way that got them into a mess of their own; rather, they realise that the other drivers were relentless in their quest to win this race, or that they are getting much better and are learning faster as they went along. Even when either Clarissa or Jolyn made very minute and small mistakes on the turns, they would find themselves having to go to the outside of the track and see several vehicles passing through them.

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: These guys are good! As always!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Seasoned veterans, Jolyn… very, very seasoned veterans.

The end of the last lap of the second segment resulted in Clarissa, Jolyn, and Gwen placing 32nd, 28th, and 20th. Gwen improved from her blunder in the first segment and with luck, she figured that she would be able to overtake the other racers.

---

The third segment would see a general improvement in the Valentians. During the midway of the segment, they went for a pitstop and have a change of tires, as well as refilling their gas. Clarissa did a very quick restart of herself, while Jolyn bumped up on the AC’s cooling powers, and Gwen drank some more coconut juice, along with the usual sip of water.

After the pit stop was over, and by the end of the last lap of the third segment, Clarissa, Jolyn, and Gwen placed 22nd, 19th, and 6th respectively. It was rather respectable for Gwen to climb back up from her 42nd position, Clarissa and Jolyn thought. Maybe it was the coconut juice that was working, or that she was just feeling much more energetic than usual.

---

The fourth segment was where Clarissa and Jolyn would see improvements in their lap times and positions, being able to take on most of the cars around them with ease. By the end, they placed 12th and 7th respectively. However, as for Gwen, she remarked that she was feeling a little out of focus, though not to the state of drowsiness. She simply was not in the right mind for a race, and in turn dropped from 6th to 27th due to her poor choices with turnings.

---

The fifth segment was where disaster struck for the Valentians, especially for Gwen. Clarissa dropped from 12th to 24th, and Jolyn dropped from 7th to 16th. Gwen, on the other hand, dropped down from 27th to 43rd, and she might know the reason why. She wasn’t exactly crashing into things, but she could see herself getting much more lethargic.

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Well, that’s pretty strange, isn’t it? I mean, you don’t usually get that lethargic. Did you sleep well last night?

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: I totally did! I just am not sure on why I am getting this tired!

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Oooh, does it have something to do with that coconut drink?

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Coconut drink? You brought that into the race?

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Yeah, it was pretty delicious! Wait, why?

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: That might be the source of you feeling lethargic. It varies, but… it does make you a bit sleepy sometimes.

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Well, I guess that is my mistake, haha! I guess I should just switch to water, or an energy drink.

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: I hear you! Err, Germaine, prepare some taurine-based energy drink for our Gwen here!

Germaine Athena Angelina Mercy Sylvi: Right away! Jenny, if I don’t come back on time, just heal her with my staff.

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: How am I supposed to use that?

Germaine Athena Angelina Mercy Sylvi: Simple! Just press the button and fire away!

---

By the time the last segment rolled around, the Valentians have went for a pit stop, took a short break, and was refreshed along with their vehicles. They were once again ready to take on the challenges ahead of them. They managed to do it rather well, with Clarissa doing much more calculations and updating on a much more frequent basis, while Jolyn would pass by a few cars in front of her, and Gwen was certainly feeling extremely refreshed from her lethargy, thanks to the energy drink that she has taken.

At the end of the last lap, Clarissa finished 18th, Jolyn finished 11th, and Gwen finished 34th. Gwen gave her best but at the end of the day, it was still difficult to recover when you were literally at the last (or second last) for the two segments.

---

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Well.. that sucked!

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Yeah, remember not to drink too much of it, haha! Or maybe no more coconut drink during a race!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Beach time! Woo-hoo!

And since neither of them won the race, they then went back to their garages quickly, had a change of clothes, and just started sunbathing, swimming, and whatever else that the Valentians do at the beach. Clarissa was seen making a large sandcastle, with the tallest parts measuring 4 meters in height. The other kids, residents, and visitors would be looking at what Clarissa was doing at the moment. In the meantime, Jolyn and Gwen would be sunbathing on a bench, with sparkling drinks in their hands.

In the meantime, the other Valentians were talking about some other event from Tropicorp.

Marcus Alan Ariel Baptiste Reynolds: “Can you be the fastest?” Hmm… sounds like a challenge to me, haha! Bring it on, then!

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: I think I should sign up as well! I think it would be beneficial, since… you know, I am the head of the pit crew.

Adriana Krystal Desiree Kowalski Faith Stanisława: Oooh, this is gonna be exciting! So I heard that we can sign up for more than one events?

Marcus Alan Ariel Baptiste Reynolds: Yep! And it will indeed help with chances of you winning at the end of the day, or something. Basically, the more people that go and participate in the events, the more points you will have… at least, that’s as far as I know.

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: I will sign you guys up for it! So err, apologies for the delay there, because… busy with some other stuff.

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: Busy hacking someone or some company, lately?

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: Hehe, a hacker’s work is never finished, you know? Though… I think I should move back to white hat, from being a grey hat.

[Vilita and Turori]

Toys '4' All Corporate Headquarters, Design & Development Facility, Lopinka, Vilita :: While Ellyn Illinoi was well aware that she had to get her standard product line right in order for the consumer to accept Racing Collectors NSSCRA collectibles as a worthwhile way to spend their hard earned money, she always had one eye toward the future and the special edition collectible market. Illinoi knew that there would be some fans who didn't need a replica of Kohan The 10th or Fraknlin Egar. They might be content just having the full collection of Glorious Free Republic drivers Thea Alvarez, Skip Stiller and Jeremiah Brooke.

Thats where the special edition collectibles come into the equation for Illinoi and the Racing Collectors project staff as using the same molds in a new print run they can re-tap into the same existing market that they had already sold a similar product to to collect another sale. Unlike functional or generic products like cookware or a child's swing set, there was plenty of room to double up by selling the same product - with slight alterations - to the same customer even if they didn't really need it. Gaining that market share was an important part of the roadmap for the Racing Collectors line.

In fact, Illinoi had debuted the Racing Collectors NSSCRA Stock Car Collectible line with a sort of special edition run highlighting the NSSCRA 7 Chase drivers and their NSSCRA 7 paint schemes before sending the standard edition NSSCRA 8 designs to the assembly area. Once the checkered flag fell at the Tundra Falls 500, however, Illinoi had her first obvious Special Edition set lined up for production and she had plenty of time to get it right, get it packaged and get it out to the track before Round 16 of the NSSCRA Season 8 schedule in nearby Tropicorp.

The Five Star Combo is a special program running at Five events on the NSSCRA Season 8 Calendar that awards an increasingly large bonus to any driver who can win multiple of the five events, with a $2,000,000 Bonus for any driver who can with three of the five races, $3,000,000 to a driver who wins four of the five races and a massive bonus of $10,000,000 should any driver claim victory in all 5 Five Star Combo events.

Furthermore, each Five Star Combo event will also produce a 'Five Star Five' - the Top 5 finishers in that event who will then be eligible for a $1,000,000 bonus should they win the next Five Star Combo event on the schedule. In order for fans to more easily determine which drivers are eligible for the Five Star Five or Five Star Combo bonuses, participating drivers will have pink Spoilers, Roof Numbers and a special Five Star Combo overlay on the front windshield of the car.

Getting together a first production run of special edition Five Star Combo collectibles in time for the Tropicorp 500; the second event on the Five Star Combo schedule, was a relatively trivial task for Illinoi and the Racing Collectibles team. With #3 Skip Stiller winning the Tundra Falls 500 and the rest of the Top 5 Settled with #11 Jenna Logan, #18 Jeremiah Brooke, #2 Centur Tiones and #4 Meghan Sharpe, all the team needed to do was confirm the details of the Five Star Combo accent trims and the new special edition Collectibles could be printed up. There was a slight snag in the middle of the process when Glorious Free Republic Motorsports announced they would be running a special decal honoring Jia Huang for the remainder of the season causing a partial production stop on the line to ensure the decal could be added but otherwise Illinoi had Fifteen Weeks to get the product off the storyboard and to the track side Toys '4' All sales booths.

From that point forward, however, it would be more difficult for Illinoi to meet her deadlines. The third Five Star Combo event, the Pnecurve Electronics 500, is just three weeks after the Tropicorp 500 meaning the team will need to be prepared to begin design work immediately following the Tropicorp 500 in order to get a small production run out the door and in time for the Pencurve.

And then it would get even more difficult as it would be just 2 weeks between the Pencurve Electronics 500 and the Vilaye Energy Drink 314 - which itself was just one week prior to the final Five Star Combo eligible event on the schedule, the Five Star Mobile 500 at the Concord Heights Motor Speedway. For now, however, Illinoi appreciated a job well done as she helped the team pack cases full of Five Star Combo Wave 1 Collectibles featuring the 'Five Star Five' drivers for the Tropicorp 500 at the Tropicoast Beach Course.
While it may not be the most popular selling car inside the Vilitan Cove region, Illinoi had no reason not to just continue right along in numerical order and certainly wasn't going to skip an opportunity to produce a car for a driver that had won one of the big five races one season ago. Quickly, however, her thoughts on continuing in numerical order changed when she got to #7. There was some confusion as to what was going on with the #7 car which was historically assigned to the Dunneot Racing team out of Lisander. Now, however, just over a week away from the start of the racing season, it appeared that the Lisander based outfit would be entering just two cars full time on the circuit - the #9 and the #32 cars. This left open the possibility of the #7 to be used by another team and rumors were it was going to be. Instead of getting involved in that, Illinoi decided to just wait until the cars actually showed up at the track in Tundra Falls. She would likely only need one more wave of Preview cars before she knew for sure what teams would be showing up at the track on a regular basis so she skipped ahead to cover some gaps and produce cars she thought might sell well during the seasons opening weekends. As such, she decided to go with the obvious - local Vilitan fan favorite River 'Shark' Suzgar II. While the #14 Vilitan Tourism Dart had already been made as part of the NSSCRA Chase line's initial release, Illinoi opted to run with the company sponsored Toys '4' All car as an obvious one that needed to be produced anyway as a giveaway to guest of the company at upcoming races. As a final two, she chose Sherpalander driver Kai Qiang's #44 Khamdo TMW and the lovable (or hatable) avian driver that was sure to get at least a small pocket of successful sales - Cocoabo #78 and the #78 Cocoabo Park Dart. She worked with the Design team to get the models just the way she needed them and on schedule for delivery to retail outlets just days before the Tundra Falls 500. Now, she could sit back and wait for teams to unload their cars at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds and start back at square one with the official start of the NSSCRA Season 8 Collectible Die-Cast Wave.

[The Sherpa Empire]

At the VannAir Blue Coast 400, Rinzi Zakhilwal's AutoModi didn't seem to have quite its usual zip and it was cornering like a tank. The pit crew tried making some adjustments, but it was still off. Zakhilwal finished 31st, and he was annoyed, but he took it in stride relatively well. "I know my team tries their best, but God chose for someone else to win today. We have some work to do when we arrive in Tropicoast, so we can do better in that race, insh'Allah. So yeah, not a great race for us, but we'll be back."

Wang and Qiang's TMWs were not giving them any such trouble, though Wang got off to a slow start because he was having a hard time navigating the traffic while all the cars were bunched up at the beginning of the race. He was trying to keep plenty of room between himself and the other cars because he didn't want a repeat of the Golden Bear 400. After a few laps, Wang found his groove and started moving up. By then Qiang had already found his way into the lead group, where he was duking it out with the Yeezies and River Suzgar. Qiang almost managed to snag his customary 4th place, but Skip Stiller beat him out and Qiang had to settle for 5th.

----֎--֎--֎----

At IRACT's headquarters, a bunch of slovenly-looking people were kvetching in Chinese and munching on sunflower seeds and sugar cane, leaving sunflower shells and cane bark strewn carelessly about. They were confused by the rumors that Team Jebslund's sponsors had forbidden their drivers from working with IRACT to schedule events at Jusenkyo or Li River Speedway. Supposedly, they had singled out IRACT separately from their general guidelines about scheduling. It was confusing because IRACT had never demanded that foreign drivers attend any event except for races, qualifying sessions, and drivers' meetings. If the visiting NSSCRA teams wanted to hold publicity events, they were allowed, with a few caveats -- but it was never something that IRACT demanded.

They suspected that there had been some sort of disagreement over Patterson's contract for her meet and greet at the Golden Bear 400, but it was still unclear what this had to with IRACT. IRACT did not allow meet and greet events that charged a fee for access to drivers, and since there was no money involved, there were no contracts to argue about.

"I think it's some kind of 'you can't fire me; I quit' thing," one of the IRACT bureaucrats said.

A representative from the Zhangjiajie Racing Club shrugged. "We weren't going to schedule anything anyway unless they asked us to, so... I guess they're not going to hold anything at the track."

"No, I think they want to charge for autographs, which we don't allow, and they probably want to do something with all their drivers in one place."

"They have to take it off-site, then."

"Yeah."

The IRACT bureaucrats were also confused about why Team Jebslund had tried to make a scandal out of a simple scheduling error. Yes, the track management had fucked up, but why was it such a big deal? In the Sherpa Empire, that kind of snafu was a normal fact of life. At IRACT races, it was normal for practice sessions, qualifying, and drivers' meetings to open 10 or 20 minutes after their scheduled start time. There were some lower-tier races where if a registered driver was late getting to the track, everyone would wait for them, and you only missed the drivers' meeting and got penalized if you were more than an hour late.

When the Sherpa Empire hosted NSSCRA races, they stayed on schedule for the benefit of their international reputation -- but it was like herding cats.

"They're working waaaaay too hard to point the finger for this," said one of the IRACT officials. "I mean, yeah, it's the track's fault, but why are they working so hard to spread it around?"

"Okay, well, let's just assume Team Jebslund will be holding meet and greets off-site. Moving on... How are we doing on fan safety to make sure nobody falls in the cursed springs?"

"We've installed new railings and we've got signs in Sherpa, Chinese, English, Hindi, Arabic, Turorian, Spanish, and German warning people not to touch the water, as well as graphical symbols for people that don't like to read."

"I'm still a little worried that some idiot will let their kid climb over the railing..."

"Well, there's only so much we can do."

----֎--֎--֎----

Tsering Chu was starting to look at apartment listings, trying to find somewhere for her, Mendok, Kami, and Zhang to live in the fall. It would be her senior year of college. At the end of this school year, she would graduate, then have a few months off before returning to NSSCRA full-time in season 10. As she thought about her plans for the future, she realized there was something else she wanted do before she returned to racing full-time...

She wanted children, but racing while pregnant would be awkward at best, and probably downright dangerous. That meant if she wanted to have kids without disrupting her career, she should do it before she went back to racing full-time. The months after she graduated, but before she got back behind the wheel for NSSCRA 10, seemed like the perfect time to have a kid -- but she had no idea what Kai Qiang would think about it.

Qiang was practicing on his simulator, running practice laps on a virtual version of the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, when he got Tsering's video chat call. He was in Tropicoast, and tomorrow he would start practicing for the Tropicorp Beach Course -- but since it was a familiar track and he was near the top of the driver rankings, he thought he could afford to spend an afternoon preparing for the more distant future. Lackluster results at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course had been his undoing for the past two seasons, and he didn't want to let that happen again.

He took a break from the sim to answer the call from Tsering.

At first, Qiang said he didn't want to get married and have another kid so soon. He was thinking about the current season of NSSCRA, not getting married and having a second child. "Someday, yes, but things are so busy right now and I don't want to rush..."

Tsering explained that she wanted to do it before she went back to racing full-time so it wouldn't conflict with her NSSCRA career. Qiang looked confused. He saw her point, but acknowledging it meant that he needed to reconsider his own position -- so now he wasn't sure what to do. "Let me think it over," he signed. "But bring your parents to Zhangjiajie next week so I can meet them."

[Wagensvolk]

A7DXZ5 was continuing to get disappointing results, and she was starting to wonder if Rinzi Zakhilwal was right that letting someone drive her would be educational. She didn't like the way Zakhilwal asked, though. There was something weirdly sexual about it. He was almost treating her as a person, but he had some kind of kink about dominating other people, and it was obnoxious. He didn't seem to be the most reliable driver anyway. She was still wary about the idea of being driven, and if she did try it, she wanted to make sure it was with someone she could really learn from.

The cars in Wagensvolk didn't reproduce sexually, but they did have gender, and she thought she'd be more comfortable with a woman behind the wheel so there wouldn't be any weird sexual overtones. She asked her pit crew to relay a message to Stacie Houston, asking if the Cassadagan would drive some practice laps with her on the Tropicoast Beach Course.

At first the pit crew didn't understand what she meant. The thought of a car asking to be driven was unthinkable to them, so they assumed she must mean something else. When they realized she was really asking to be driven, they were floored. "But doesn't that go against everything you came here to prove?"

"I haven't been winning," A7DXZ5 answered. "I can't prove anything to anybody if I don't learn how to race better."

The pit crew exchanged doubtful glances. They seemed to be as wary of humans driving cars as A7DXZ5 was. Even though they weren't cars and they didn't have to worry about being driven themselves, it was just ingrained in Wagensvolkisch culture.

[Cassadaigua]

Five Star Clash Continues,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

This weekend, one of the most exciting races on the NSSCRA schedule due to its uniqueness, takes place. It is the Tropicorp 500, at the Tropicorp Beach Course, and the second race of the Five Star Combo, or Five Star Clash, whichever you prefer to call it. Five Star Mobile doesn’t necessarily mind what you reference it as, as long as you include the “Five Star” part of it. It has been a while since the contest was officially begun, as organizers wanted to focus on key later races as we got closer to the Chase. (Looks up and realizes I am adding this article to my World Cup 83 file, yup, things have been busy in sports!).


Maybe it’s only natural to think about soccer when out here in Tropicorp, given the successes of both Vilita and Turori, as individual nations, in that sport. Racing will be the focus here on the beach, and drivers are certainly excited to get going. I don’t know how one couldn’t, this track is everything you want in a race track with such long straightaways and tight turns, and it comes from such a unique setting.

Personnel from Five Star Mobile are all over the place here in Tropicorp. Main spokesperson Amanda Phillips could only laugh as to why, “It is so beautiful here. This isn’t just a race, but a vacation. We are so privileged to be able to do both, and if I do need to contact anyone at home, I have full confidence that my Five Star Mobile device will have a strong and powerful signal in order to do that.” Phillips could certainly be a NSSCRA driver when it comes to getting in sponsor references when asked a simple question, though I do have to say that I am using Five Star technology right now, and used it last night to stream the Cassadaigua win over Abaja in World Cup qualifying last night while I sipped adult beverages on the beach. Fortunately, I had done by piece with team midfielder Zack Pierce before the match, allowing me to fly out here, courtesy of Dagan Airways, in time to enjoy an extra day before qualifying begins.

Phillips had another message for fans attending the race, “Five Star Mobile will be setting up a large display in the fan fair area, that will allow everyone to look at the latest Five Star Mobile smartphones, tablets, and other technologies, and to see the strength of our network. We will be doing this at two of the three following Five Star Combo races too. There are some technicalities (aka sponsor conflicts) in the way for us to be doing it in the race at Saint Kanye, but hopefully some type of middle ground can be reached. We have had a cordial business relationship with Pencurve Electronics in NSSCRA, which can be evidenced by the fact that we included their race in the Five Star Combo without hesitation. We invite all fans to come out and look at our technology before the race. Stacie Houston will be signing autographs between 3 and 4 pm after qualifying at this display, and there is no charge for this. However, tickets must be still be purchased at the display between 12 and 1pm due to the fact that there will likely be greater demand for Stacie’s autograph then she would have time for. I promise that 3-4 is the correct time of Stacie’s appearance. We have put that in our literature, and Stacie knows to be there then!”

However, Phillips had even more to say, “We all know about the great opportunities out there for NSSCRA drivers to win, and I think it was great what Toys ‘4' All recently put out for the Combo. We have been given 27 special edition sets of this and will be raffling them off. No charge for the raffle ticket, and all cars are autographed by the drivers in the set. But there will be another component of this raffle. Five fans are selected at random, and will each have one of the five drivers that compete in the Five Star Combo. If the driver wins the prize, the fan will also win the same amount of money. We wish Meghan and Jenna, Skip Stiller, Jeremiah Brooke, and Centur Tiones the best of luck in this race.”

By the way, another thing going on right now is the Tropicorp Pit Crew challenge. I have been asked to compete in each of the disciplines. This is really going to be about having fun, but the main intention is to show how difficult each of these activities actually are. I look forward to participating, and not making a fool out of myself.

Entry Form:
Name- Chelsea Dufresne
Age- 41
Occupation- Sports writer, Concord Heights Times
Home- Concord Heights, Cassadaigua
Disciplines- All (if possible, if you need to limit it, use her where it fits and exclude her where it doesn’t).

(Concord Heights Times Article Over)

Meanwhile both Meghan Sharpe and Jenna Logan were doing appearances and promotional stuff for the Five Star Combo, allowing Stacie Houston, usually the center of media attention to be somewhat out of the spotlight. Since it was her sponsor’s competition, she still was in some of the stuff too, but she had more time to relax on the beach. She was doing this when one of her crew members came up to her.

“One of the racers would like to speak with you,” the crew member said.

Stacie took her sunglasses off and smiled, “Who is it?” She was always willing to speak with anyone in the series, and got along with everyone, but at this time was not expecting to see anyone.

“The 55,” the crew member replied. Stacie paused for a second, realizing that this was a reference to A7DXZ5, the self-driving car out of Wagensvolk. Houston had always admired the effort and determination of that car to compete at this level, but had not really had a long conversation with her, other then exchanging simple greetings when their paths crossed. However, she knew she was looked up too, and always wanted to help. She made her way to visit A7DXZ5.

In the garage, Houston and A7DXZ5 greeted one another, when the self driving vehicle surprised her with her request. She wanted Stacie to drive her as a way of hoping to train her to get better. Stacie did not have any experience at this point in driving a self-driving car, but figured it would not be any different. It was a surprise because one of the great things about A7DXZ5 is that she was doing it all herself. The vehicle knew they needed to do a little more, as they were not qualifying into all of the races, and when they were, they were not performing all that well. Chances are now, that due to some charter shake ups, that A7DXZ5 would have an easier time making it into the field for most of, if not all, of the races to finish out the year.

Houston got into the car and first asked if it felt weird. She began driving it slowly, and not many people around realized that Houston was driving the car as they made it out onto the track. They just figured that the 55 was going out there for some practice laps. After some laps, many around realized that there was a driver in the car. Houston and A7DXZ5 discussed things during this session, but did not say publicly what information may have been suggested. Time will tell if any information that was relayed will help the self-driving car.

After the session, the media was all excited to see who it was driving the car, and when Houston got out of the vehicle, the excitement turned to surprise. The reporters wanted to ask each of them questions, but the answers were short and sweet, and not really telling. Stacie’s main comment, when pressed was, “It was a great chance to help out a fellow competitor and to personally get some more laps around the track before qualifying.”

[Hampton Island]

A Phone call between CEO’s

Stafford City Speedway CEO (SCS): Yes, sir, how can I help you?

Marquette Raceway CEO (MR): Thanks for screwing us over.

SCS: How did we ever screw you over?

MR: You know why. Sie Nah will not allow Lexi Patterson to do any sort of meet and greets with us, when we had absolutely nothing to do with your screw up.

SCS: We made an honest mistake. I sincerely regret that it ever happened.

MR: Yeah, honest mistake my ass. I’ve been in this business too long to know that if things are so convenient for you guys there is probably a reason.

SCS: Well maybe we should just take Lexi back.

MR: You never gave a rats ass about Lexi Patterson. She has a contract with them now, so no we couldn’t. She is doing real well there, too. On top of that, I have Freestyle Mobility begging me to allow Freddie Nielson to race in the Shellshock Batteries 400.

SCS: Then let him back, he deserves a second chance. He is a champion, and he won races at Marquette.

MR: Freddie Nielson was a champion. All he showed at your track is why I believe senior citizens in general should have to retake their road test once they hit a certain age.

SCS: Freestyle Mobility was hoping to have that race.

MR: I couldn’t care less about Freestyle Mobility. Shellshock Batteries is sponsoring my race; they’ll just sponsor a second car. They have done that in the past before McCurty got Starlight Suites.

SCS: I love that upset by the way, Thea Alvarez knocking out Lexi Patterson in the Starlight Suites Hot Knockout Bracket, 53-47%, but good, glad she gets a reality check like that.

MR: Did you rig that vote?

SCS: I can understand why you would think that, but honestly on that I had nothing to do with it. People honestly voted for Thea. I heard there was a huge Cassadagan vote for Thea because they saw Lexi as the bigger threat.

MR: Yeah, by the way, we’re offering free parking for our race.

SCS: Why?

MR: Because I want to get back at you. Now the fans will see us as being more fan friendly then you. And they would be right, because we are.

SCS: We’re still the better racing venue.

MR: We’ll see.

[Tropicorp]

Tropicorp 500 Fan Zone, Tropicoast Beach Course, Tropicoast, Tropicorp :: The fastest time or highest scoring participant in each discipline during the Tropicorp Pit Crew Challenge events at Lonngeylin, Vilita; Marrieta, Xanneria; Stafford City, Hampton Island and Blue Coast, Vangaziland received an all-expenses paid trip to Tropicoast to train with the Team Tropicorp pitcrew and have the chance to practice pit stops real time on a real NSSCRA Stock Car. After a day of practice runs, Team Tropicorp officials would assign roles to each participant with the best performing receiving over-the-wall jobs on the #42 Tropicorp Sifaka Dart to be driven by Team Tropicorp's Euroli Islander during the NSSCRA Pit Crew Competition to be held in front of the Tropicorp Visitor Center the day before the Tropicorp 500.

The Challenge typically was found in the Fan Zone with a large number of entrants in Vilita and Xanneria. Entry restrictions and confusion in Hampton Island saw much of the fan traffic purposefully relocated away from the Tropicorp Pit Crew Challenge display while in Vangaziland Tropicorp was not granted a permit to host the event in the Fan Zone and instead had to improvise by setting up in a remote corner of the infield that they were using to store extra competition tires for the event. As a result there were very few participants in the Challenge at the Sonrise Motorway in comparison with the other three events. This actually resulted in one contestant winning two categories with Saint Kanye's Marinette Harbaugh posting the best scores in the Fueling and Inspection stations.

---

Individual Skill Station Winners:

The tire changing station consists of a full nose clip of an NSSCRA Stock Car and participants will start from the drivers side of the 'vehicle', run across to the right side and complete the removal and replacement of lug nuts. Then, they will have to return to the left side of the 'vehicle' and do the same for the other tire and finish their run by pushing the large button on the ground next to this tire. This station will be timed.

---VILITA.: Quick Draw (EQS)
-XANNERIA.: Valdomiro Esteves Barbosa Kerman (JEB)
HAMPTON I.: TBD (HAM)
VANGAZLND.: Adriana Krystal Desiree Kowalski Faith (VEZ)
TROPICORP.: TBD

The fueling station will consist of the rear clip of an NSSCRA Stock Car and participants will be responsible for transferring a full load of fuel using two pre-loaded cans. Participants will start with one fuel can in hand and will be timed through setting the second can down. If the fuel cans are not empty the competitor will receive a time penalty adjusted for the percentage of 'fuel' delivered.

---VILITA.: Valkzi Moraz'aari (VIL)
-XANNERIA.: Tina Tarleton (XAN)
HAMPTON I.: Gerry Fitch (NEW)
VANGAZLND.: Marinette Harbaugh (STK)
TROPICORP.: TBD

The Jacking station consists of a full size Team Tropicorp NSSCRA Stock Car Replica. Participants must jack each side of the car high enough to lift both tires off the ground. Pressure plates below each tire will have an indicator to determine when the Tires are fully off the ground. At that point the Participant would go to the other side and Jack once more. Once the Tires are lifted, the Jack is released and the pressure plates will sense the car stopping the clock.

---VILITA.: Bill Wallace (HAP)
-XANNERIA.: Dom Biggio (XAN)
HAMPTON I.: TBD (HAM)
VANGAZLND.: Marcus Alan Ariel Baptiste (VEZ)
TROPICORP.: TBD

At the Repairs and Adjustment Kiosk, fans will learn how to make Adjustments on the fly including adding or removing tape from the nose of a car, removing windshield tear offs, adding spring rubbers and ensuring that none of the vehicle bodywork is rubbing onto a tire.

---VILITA.: Jason Masami (MNM)
-XANNERIA.: TBD (TBD)
HAMPTON I.: Tenzing Tsang (SRP)
VANGAZLND.: Scott Danielsen (NEW)
TROPICORP.: TBD

At the inspection Kiosk, fans will be given the chance to review up to 10 Pitstops and identify any infractions or errors including Loose Lugnuts, pitting outside the box, crew members entering the box too soon, a summary of repairs or adjustments and number of crew members over the wall. Participants can receive a score based on the number of correct assessments.

---VILITA.: Inkashyo Raubga (VIL)
-XANNERIA.: Anonymous Drug Lord (XAN)
HAMPTON I.: Mendok Sherpa (SRP)
VANGAZLND.: Marinette Harbaugh (STK)
TROPICORP.: TBD

---

Tropicorp Racing Supply extended invitations to each discipline winner to join the Team in Tropicoast for the Tropicorp 500 weekend using the contact information provided on the contestants application. At least two contestants could not be reached with the information provided. Those who do attend the festivities in Tropicorp will have the chance to impress Team Tropicorp officials and stand out amongst the four other winners in their discipline - those from the already completed events plus the winners from the first two days of activities at the Tropicorp Fan Zone in Tropicoast.

The NSSCRA Pit Crew Competition sees the top 29 teams in the NSSCRA Point Standings plus six additional teams for a total of 35 contestants in the NSSCRA Pit Crew Competition. Each team will perform one full pitstop with time being scored from the time the nose of the car enters the pit box triggering a scoring line and time ending when the car has completely exited the pitbox following a successful four-tire change, administration of a full fuel load and removal of one windshield tear-off from the vehicle. Each team will be permitted a maximum of EIGHT crew members over the wall with defined limitations on what functions each over the wall crew member may perform. Teams may have 2 Tire Changers; 2 Tire Carriers; 1 Jackman; 2 Fuelers and 1 Repair and Adjustment specialist. Each crew member may only perform their specific function. Depending on the design of a particular vehicle some teams may utilize 2 Fueler to hold the Fuel Can and a second fueler to operate the fuel overflow catch can. If a vehicle does not contain a fuel overflow catch can then a team can use the second fueler to hold a fuel can. However no more than one fueling can may be over the wall at any given point. If a team chooses to use two fuelers and no catch can then the first fueler must completely exit the pit box before the second fueler can begin. The Repair and Adjustment specialist will be permitted only to remove the windshield tear off and dislodge any stuck air hose if required. They may not assist in handling or retrieving tires, fuel or jacking equipment.

The full list of Teams eligible to compete in the Tropicorp Pit Crew Competition are as follows:

#46 Thea Alvarez
#44 Kai Qiang
#18 Jeremiah Brooke
#27 Stacie Houston
#14 River 'Shark' Suzgar II
#3 Skip Stiller
#2 Centur Tiones
#13 Oberst Eva Kerman
#41 Yraaga Gilli'i
#12 Roman Gwinnett
#15 Jolyn Helen Ceeta
#30 Lexi Patterson
#06 Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal
#78 Cocoabo #78
#4 Meghan Sharpe
#81 Chris Holmes
#11 Jenna Logan
#7 Clarissa Alanis Star
#37 Frank Bronson
#10 Eddie Walters Jr
#79 Dinggu Wang
#28 Cocoabo #28
#31 Gwen Tracer Allison
#88 Anavella Ariiki
#73 Chet Byrd
#5 Bryan Harrison
#22 Kevin Cosgrove
#6 Alex Knight
#82 David Rockingham
#42 Euroli Islander
#TBD - TBD
#TBD - TBD
#TBD - TBD
#TBD - TBD
#TBD - TBD

Tropicorp did not reveal who the five additional entrants to the Tropicoast Pit Crew Challenge would be nor what the criteria to be used for selection was. It is likely that at least one of the spots will be decided by some sort of popular ballot as observant fans noted a question on the digital sign up kiosks in the fan zone to the effect of asking which driver outside the Top 30 in points is your favorite. Other observers have noted they have spotted Glorious Free Republic Motorsports driver Sage Caldwell in the garage area despite the fact that the #19 Bloodmoon Chadwick driver is not competing in the Tropicorp 500. Tropicorp has indicated however that the final five contestants will not be officially unveiled into the Pit Crew Competition starts and those five teams take their place on the course.

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians - Before Qualifications / Buffer Time @ Tropicorp 500, Tropicoast Beach Course, Tropicorp

The Valentians took a while for them to get off Blue Coast, since the trio were more or less adamant on enjoying as much of the beach as they can. Only after being told that they would be going to another beach in Tropicorp, then they finally relented and made their way there. After one long flight, they have arrived, and it would seem that they might have arrived a little too early, or at least before even the qualifications begin.

They have tried out the simulations in the meantime, right up until Clarissa keeps getting 1st over and over. One could say that it was simply because of her synergy with the simulation machine, given that she herself is a machine. Others would say that it was simply because of Clarissa learning much faster than others when it comes to pure numbers.

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Well, that was that… other than my Valentian friends, I don’t know who else to look and talk to.

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Aww, Clarissa… are you feeling lonely?

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Just a little bit… I wonder if I could talk to some other machines racing around.

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Ohh, do you mean that A4DFS2 vehicle?

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Ahh, Jolyn… I think that’s A7DXZ5.

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Ahh, right, right… Sorry, that name was a bit confusing to me. So, Clarissa, do you want to meet her?

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Sure, why not! Then maybe you guys can meet some people along the way! The Sherpa People?

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Ohh right, I should talk to them more often, I guess! We have been talking to them much more than others, right? And the sponsorship as well.

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Though, we did learn that their people are not exactly… well-acquainted with each other.

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Oh yeah, they are not the one big family that we thought they are. They came from different walks of life, and all that.

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: Well, you guys can go right on ahead! I think we will just rest here… being a pit crew can be tiring, too! I will ring you guys once we have something on.

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Sure thing! See you guys later, then!

Marcus Alan Ariel Baptiste Reynolds: I swear, I’m still having the jet lags from the flight…

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: Always avoid the diary products on the plane, Marcus.

---

@ Wagensvolk:

Clarissa walked towards what she thinks is a lounging of Wagensvolk’s A7DXZ5. Along the way, she had some thoughts to herself. How would an AI inside a car work? Is it something like Pixar’s Cars? Or was it something deeper than that? How does the car see? Cameras that are connected inside? She heard that A7DXZ5 doesn’t like being driven, so she seems to be driverless for the most parts. So many questions for her, but unless she gets close to her, Clarissa figures that she is not going to ask too intrusively.

After reaching the garage door, she realised that it was open, and there was a vehicle inside. It was none other than A7DXZ5, it seems. Clarissa was unsure of what she was doing at the moment, so she simply waved and smiled at the headlights, then at the windshield of the vehicle. A7DXZ5, if she has cameras, would see a blue-skinned robot woman (a la Avatar) approaching and smiling weirdly at her.

Clarissa Alanis Star Coraline Taissa: Hello there, A7DXZ5! I am Clarissa Alanis Star, from Valentine Z! Well, you can just call me Clarissa! I am also an AI, a robot, just like you! So… yeah, it’s great to see another fellow robot, really! I hope you have been doing well? I… hmm… I’m not sure. I heard that you are not very keen on being driven, so I am not sure what else I can talk to you about. Oh yeah! How many lines of codes do you run every day? For me, maybe 2 million lines per day! Sometimes even more when a race is involved!

---

@ The Sherpa Empire:

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: So… you said that the Sherpa People around are not very interconnected?

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: No, that’s just normal for everyone. Like… for Valentians, we are outliers with the relationships. See, for them, it’s just like any other people on other Earths. They have strangers, people that they don’t really interact with. It’s not like us where there’s a good 60% chance that I know or came across a Valentian before.

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Ahh, I see! I heard they don’t speak English?

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: They do… just not very much. You are better off speaking Chinese to them, which I will do so!

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Well, all right, then. You are the boss, Jolyn!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Don’t worry, I can be your middleman with translations!

The first few persons that they are going to talk to are: Dinggu Wang, Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal, and Kai Qiang.

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Clarissa and I talked to Zakhilwal before. Charming man, really! Helped Clarissa with the details and sealed it so that she is getting the good deal.

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: I assume that he can speak English better?

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Maybeeee… still, I will do the formalities, don’t worry! You just speak English, and I will translate.

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Aye-aye!

And with that, Gwen and Jolyn approached and walked towards the lounging of who she thought was the Sherpa People, specifically of Wang, Qiang, and Zakhilwal. Gwen was a bit anxious, while Jolyn could be seen keeping her cool all the time. Jolyn’s head would be cut off by the door frame, so she took a step down so that she is then level-headed with the door and the peep-hole. Gwen, on the other hand, would be standing at the base of the staircase; she certainly did not need any of the stairs and steps, and her entrance through the door might be much more difficult.

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: [In Traditional Chinese] Hello there, my friends! I am Jolyn Helen Ceeta once again, from Valentine Z! And this here is my friend, Gwen Tracer Allison! [Gwen waved at that point, looking at the windows and then peeping hole on the front door] We are just here to talk, and I was wondering if you guys are free so that we could just… have a chat and relax a bit, you know? Will that be okay?

After Jolyn finished her introduction, she turned around to Gwen, who in turn was clapping enthusiastically.

Gwen Tracer Allison Fate Hepburn: Wow, Jolyn, you know your way with words, haha!

Jolyn Helen Maxine Caulfield Ceeta: Why, thank you!

---

In the meantime, back in the garage and lounge of Valentine Z, the pit crew were practicing their drills.

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: … and yeah, you basically screw in the axle there, and there you go. You have to be careful with these things, they tend to go loose in the hot weather.

Germaine Athena Angelina Mercy Sylvi: Ahh, would that explain why Clarissa’s vehicle had a loose axle back then?

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: Yep, more or less! So just tighten them all around.

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: On another note, can I see how the tire pressure-

In a rather sudden manner, one of the tires attached to Jolyn’s #15 exploded, sounding like a gunshot. Jenny flew back and landed on a pile of tools, her ears ringing.

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: AAAAAHHHH, MY GOODNESS, WHAT-

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: Tire pressure too high… must remember to adjust it for hot weather.

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: Oh my goodness gracious! Ugh, I think I just hear my internal organs being liquified.

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: You still could talk for a woman who has her organs ruptured!

Germaine Athena Angelina Mercy Sylvi: Right beside you!

Adjusting some controls on her staff, as well as having another medic Head Medic Klarke Ray Zane Samson Kourtney Brian Drake Cameron “Dovitljiv Bolničar” Jona T. Jaylon Melvyn Everett Miralem Kova Čamil Ensar Kristofer Marcell Kilian Elia Xr. Nico Zahirović on her side, she was ready to help Jenny out.

Klarke Ray Zane Kourtney Nico Zahirović: Haha, don’t worry, you will be back up and running in no time!

With the assistance of Klarke beside her, Germaine fired a beam of healing energy towards Jenny, near-instantaneously healing her every vital organs, as well as her body itself. She was back to normal and kicking again in 4 seconds.

Germaine Athena Angelina Mercy Sylvi: I got to charge this thing again, so… yeah, please don’t have any accidents or die again.

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: I am not sure if we can die from here, to be honest…

Adriana Krystal Desiree Kowalski Faith Stanisława: Shh, don’t jinx it! ><

Jenny Claudia Sombra Linette Hoshiko: Ohh right, right… we are on a race course, accidents could happen!

Klarke Ray Zane Kourtney Nico Zahirović: I love how we talked about a serious injury like nothing! I wonder what the rest would think if they know we have this sort of power.

Germaine Athena Angelina Mercy Sylvi: No doubt that they would probably ask me to revive back Jia Huang, maybe… but that was old age, wasn’t it? I’m not sure if reviving an old person would be worth it… unless they also know about our synthetic bodies.

Marcus Alan Ariel Baptiste Reynolds: After seeing a world of tall people and scientific advancement, I doubt that they don’t know about us! If they do… maybe they are just the kind that accept life as… life.

Germaine Athena Angelina Mercy Sylvi: True, true… They do know that some of us are more than 100 years old, right?

Marcus Alan Ariel Baptiste Reynolds: Not exactly… we just put our physical age on it, so they don’t know our chronological ages. I figured that it won’t be a matter.

Germaine Athena Angelina Mercy Sylvi: Fair enough then. So yeah… guys, no accidents, please. Don’t make OSHA disappointed!

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A few days have passed since the last event, and the last event being Tropicorp Pit Crew Challenge at Blue Coast, Vangaziland. The Valentians were a bit too slow on the uptake with the news, and as a result, would only get the news right then. They looked at the roster, and realised that Marcus and Adriana have won one station each, while Jared unfortunately didn’t make it inside.

Jared Kev Jensen Benedict Angus: It just goes to show… that you have to learn a lot more from these people. You can never be sure that you are the best unless you are competing with the others. Shows that I need to be more thorough and fast!

Adriana Krystal Desiree Kowalski Faith Stanisława: Everyone was giving me the weird looks, because you know, I am 11 feet tall, and they thought it would be a rather unfair advantage, haha! Still, it was the speed that mattered, and despite my height, I am glad that I could change those tires quickly! They have to make the car lifted off higher from the ground to accommodate me.

Marcus Alan Ariel Baptiste Reynolds: The Jacking Station… what a name. It was okay, to be honest. I’m glad I got the mechanics down. Goes to show, you can both be a part-time racer, and a pit crew!