NSSCRA 12- Everything Thread

[The French Army]

The French NSSCRA team meets the press for Media Day:

Why do you deserve one of the two remaining Chase spots?

Murat: Because I'm fabulous! Just look at me!

Massena: Ah, well, I can't compete with Murat because he is too fabulous. I will have to wait until next year for my NSSCRA title.

Lannes: I was going to say something sarcastic, but Massena beat me to it. I got nothing.

What are your opinions on how your first NSSCRA season has gone so far? Is it any different from what you're used to? If so, how?

Murat: I'm very disappointed that I couldn't win a race or even rookie of the year. I really thought I would do better.

Massena: It seems like I've been injured racing more often than wounded in battle, and I am not some coward who hides from the enemy. Racing in NSSCRA is not for the faint of heart.

Lannes: Quite frankly, I have no [bleep] clue what the [bleep] is going on half the time. Why the [bleep] do Laura McKenzie and that Couscous guy* have guaranteed charters and I don't? Why are we competing against birds and women and Negroes? Why the [bleep] does everyone encourage that freak Lamb Chow instead of telling him to act like a [bleep] man? Why the [bleep] does everyone keep giving me that Mayhem [bleep] when I barely use it and I already have a 3 year supply? People act like they've never smelled a human body before! What the [bleep] does this mean? Why are you gesturing at me like that? What do you mean I can't say [bleep]? I'll say whatever I [bleep] want to! You're the ones who asked me a question. Why'd you ask me a question if you don't want to listen to the answer?

Murat: Marshal Lannes, they are filming this for TV! There will be ladies watching!

Lannes: What? Oh [bleep]!

---

*"Couscous" is a mispronunciation of "Qzvarkian Qaz," and Lannes is referring to Yageny Qabaliq

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians and Gardeners – Intermission – Media Day

It was that time of the year again, the Valentians thought. Media Day at Saint Kanye, happening before the races. Everyone has been busy - from preparing and looking their very best for the cameras, to having to deal with a mountain of questions that each of the drivers have. A very busy day, indeed. The questions and answers below involved everyone from Valentine Z - From the Multiversal main team to Gardeners to the folks at Everlong.

Q: What are your opinions on how your first NSSCRA season has gone so far? Is it any different from what you're used to? If so, how?

Anna “De Eeuwige Vreugde” Caitlin Madeline Brigitte Priscilla Teresa Mavis Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe, Tweede Verpersoonlijking van De Sierlijke und Verwonderlijk Feline Utopia ov Valentine Z: Well, it was fun, that's for one, haha! I will have to admit, I think I did not do as well as I thought at first but that's okay! There's always next races and seasons to come - hopefully - then I will be able to hone my skills there! I don't think I'll be able to get the spot for the Chase thing but that's okay! I'll use the remainder of the season as practice and fodder.

-----

Q: How much have you spent on NSSCRA alone? We see that a lot of prize money and compensation are involved, is the money from legitimate sources?

Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General ov Valentine Z” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Tristian Marnix Basilisk Lewis Hyatt X. Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing: Ahh, good question! From crunching the numbers, we feel that we might have spent a little well over, well, billions, on NSSCRA! Not just for this season, mind you. I would say we have spent 3.54 billion NSDs so far. The money came from legitimate sources, of course, what with the Valentian economy relying on Tourism, IT industry, and Books. For the former, no we don't fleece and rip tourists off, we would never do that. You will never believe the miracles and the excessive capital you have when you are not spending trillions on fighting wars, or relying on inefficient methods of energy generation. Oh, for the part regarding the war, please don't take this the wrong way - I understand it is inevitable and I mean, we just fought one a year back, but I mean, it's good to not be just invading other worlds and countries, you know what I mean?

-----

Q: There are rumors that a new game involving you is coming out. What do you think about it, and do you think you want to give it a try?

Chief Aviator Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate of Existence and the Omniverse” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Verlene Eveline Celinda Sammy Doris T-Rev Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Vitesse Allison: Ahh, yes! I was involved in that, haha! It was a bit of a lip-tight NDA but sooner or later someone was going to leak it, then the rumors become a bit more and more substantiated. Yes, I'm involved in the game - not in its development, but as one of its titular characters! It will be quite fun, I suppose..

-----

Q: With 4 DNFs in a row, what happened out there? Do you think you could make a comeback?

Holly Aceline “De Stralend en Wonderbaarlijk Licht Koningin Van Haar Mooie Universum” Aurora Symantha Vreugde Astrid Lavender Lexis Lilac Harmony Tsi. Marlie Nova Radiant Lapia Starlight: Oh dear, I was afraid that this question is going to appear. To be honest, err... I don't feel very good about that, at least yesterday. But thanks to my friend Jolyn over here, I found a bit of confidence once again and you know, I am just going to try! Going back to the 4 DNFs, yes it was rough for me, and I feel bad about the other drivers I have affected along the way. At the end of it, I think I'll manage, maybe next season will be better.

-----

Q: What happened this season? You even got a championship in NSSCRA 10 and now last race was your first win.

Anastasia “De Sierlijke en Vrij High Valkyrie ov Valentine Z” Freya Valentina Ada. Jolin Annelijn Caitlin Trijntje Crystal Clarice Constance Judy Voi. D. Nexitros Annile Teresa Thida Myat Yadana Aye: Ahh haha, well, that's a tough one. I will give it credit where credit is overdue - everyone did their best and were excellent at it. So the competition got tougher, and the Valentians, in all honesty, were not able to keep up as well. I mean yeah, we are getting scores but not the wins. Hmm, I wonder who will get in after the race here at STK.

-----

Q: Then what about the accusations of cheating? I mean sure, they didn't materialize and you guys are clean but was it difficult?

Vice Foresittend Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Moira “Неуловимая, Женщина-шпион” Marlene Wendy Lucille Lapis Jill Khorosheva Vin. Zolina łnt. Natasha Vasilisa Helen Ceeta Tescelyn Maximovna: Oh, very much. Yes, it's understandable that given the... Out of this world nature of the Valentians, I and the rest of us expected everyone to be suspicious about us. But investigations were ran, and there was nothing, so why try to keep pushing it out? I didn't mean this at you, of course. I mean.. there are still a few out there who thinks the Valentians are cheats. Let them believe whatever, and we will still be passing the inspections every single time.

-----

Q: You were part of the news once again, this time over the recent Big Ass Bash/Water Festival conflict. While it has been all but resolved now, how do you plan to prevent such a thing from happening again in the seasons to come?

Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General ov Valentine Z” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Tristian Marnix Basilisk Lewis Hyatt X. Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing: I'll take this question, thanks. All right, so this was completely my fault, and I do apologize for that. In the statement I have made, it was my rash decision where I decided to open the portal to Valentine Z in order to celebrate the Water Festival. It was just a string of coincidences but to prevent it next time? Yeah, I just need to read the calendar more often and hey, maybe ask the other Valentians too before I start doing something. So yeah, that was lesson learned. Also, I think you mean "all but unresolved"- ahh, never mind. It's resolved, let's put it that way. "All but X" is a difficult sentence.

-----

Q: Do you think you could do another win for this race?

Foresittend Marcus Alan Ariel Maximillian “Unendlichkeit Jäger” Swifty Felix Maverick Prometheus Revlin Lynx Artyom Lichtenstein Baptiste C. Talon Haydn Lincoln Taal Reynolds Fang Wu Ying: Well, I'll have to try, I suppose. Last race was amazing all thanks to Valentijn over there. Other than that, I don't know. You will never know! I can calculate probabilities, but at the end of it all - just let it happen and plot future plans!

-----

Q: You crashed out at TJUN-ia a while back, as the Queen of the Jungle. How did you feel back then?

Exuberant Superintendent T-2000/2904-3 Surveillant Clarissa Alanis Star Breya « La Amoureux Chéri » Millie Taissa Butterfly Mélody Coraline Jolijn Trini Clementine Hollie Samantha Zeta Harumi: Awww, I just feel a little disheartened and disappointed with myself, that's all! It's like all of this hype for me, and then you have me crashing, the so-called coronated Queen! Must be quite embarrassing, and yes, I feel a little awkward but then! But I'm over it now, don't worry about it! My recent performances have been not as well, and so it was for most of the Valentians, I was told. No wins for so long, what is up with that? Ah, there's always next season as we always say!

-----

Q: Do you have external stakes or other shareholders breathing on you?

Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General ov Valentine Z” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Tristian Marnix Basilisk Lewis Hyatt X. Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing: Nope. We are all domestic. I mean yes, we are international, but then again, we are also a two-planet power. So no other managers or bosses I have to answer to.

-----

Q: There was also a rumor of you showcasing some product in Valentine Z, what would it be?

Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General ov Valentine Z” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Tristian Marnix Basilisk Lewis Hyatt X. Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing: That's still a secret! You will know when you are there!

[Newmanistan]

Qualifying: Pencurve Electronics 500, Jalton Superspeedway, Jalton, Saint Kanye (Superspeedway)
Lap Record: 50.520 sec.

Qualifying Results:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                                50.970
 2 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)                  50.970
 3 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                        50.971
 4 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)              51.017
 5 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                              51.020
 6 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                         51.038
 7 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                                51.058
 8 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                           51.122
 9 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                               51.130
10 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                           51.153
11 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                        51.169
12 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)                     51.246
13 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                           51.308
14 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                             51.316
15 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                       51.372
16 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)                     51.373
17 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                        51.381
18 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                         51.449
19 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                              51.451
20 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                            51.624
21 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)               51.635
22 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                         51.784
23 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                                51.797
24 #69- Swell Kirby (Saint Kanye)                               51.883
25 #45- Ilya Tsunopin (Sain Kanye)                              51.915
26 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                       51.999
27 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                            52.027
28 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)                 52.067
29 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                            52.148
30 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)                52.200
31 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                                 52.223
32 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                            52.266
33 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                           52.309
34 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                         52.496
35 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                                  52.520
36 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                          52.592
37 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q*       52.798
38 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                             53.182
39 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                                53.407
40 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                                 53.623
41 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                         53.874
42 #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                          54.174
43 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                                 54.211
44 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                       54.238
45 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                             54.418
46 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos) *Q*                                 54.436
47 #17- Timo Szaba (Qzvarkian Qaz) *Q*                          54.437
48 #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                       54.760
49 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                           55.246

Race: GGtech 450, Jalton Superspeedway, Jalton, Saint Kanye (Superspeedway)
Lap Record: 50.520 sec.

Qualifying Results:

NSSCRA EverLong Series
 1 #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                           51.210
 2 #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                                 51.221
 3 #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                           51.221
 4 #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                                   51.268
 5 #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                                   51.297
 6 #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                                 51.300
 7 #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                                51.358
 8 #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)                    51.438
 9 #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)       51.497
10 #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)                                51.506
11 #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                              51.516
12 #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                                    51.526
13 #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                     51.672
14 #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                                  51.684
15 #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                                   51.868
16 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                      51.918
17 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                                52.221
18 #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                        52.348
19 #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                                  52.378
20 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                               52.634
21 #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                     52.835
22 #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                                53.196
23 #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                               53.823
24 #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                                 53.889
25 #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                                  53.924
26 #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                                  54.258
27 #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                               54.264
28 #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                                   54.272
29 #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                    54.398
30 #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                                  54.408
31 #73- Yuri Piotr (Qzvarkian Qaz)                                  54.517
32 #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                        54.986

(Minimum Time to Avoid DNF= 54.500 sec)

Race Results:

NSSCRA EverLong Series
 1 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                               51.147 WINNER
 2 #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                                 51.181
 3 #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                           51.184
 4 #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                                 51.216
 5 #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                                   51.267
 6 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                                51.364
 7 #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                           51.400
 8 #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                                   51.439
 9 #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                     51.646
10 #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                                51.662
11 #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                                   51.805
12 #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                                    51.825
13 #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)                                51.845
14 #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                                  51.964
15 #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                              52.051
16 #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                        52.106
17 #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                                  52.154
18 #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                     52.211
19 #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                                52.600
20 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                      52.765
21 #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)                    53.158
22 #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)       53.365
23 #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                                  53.569
24 #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                               54.242 
25 #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                                  54.248 
26 #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                                  54.410 
27 #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                        54.490
28 #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                                 54.554 DNF
29 #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                               54.566 DNF
30 #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                    54.620 DNF
31 #73- Yuri Piotr (Qzvarkian Qaz)                                  54.829 DNF
32 #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                                   54.970 DNF

Final Regular Season Point Standings:
Chase Drivers in Green with their starting Chase point total in ( )

+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                  EverLong Contenders Series                  | Points |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)*                         |    478 | (2003)
|   2 | #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)*                             |    468 | (2003)
|   3 | #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)** |    465 | (2006)
|   4 | #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)**                          |    459 | (2006)
|   5 | #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)*                              |    459 | (2003)
|   6 | #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)**                          |    445 | (2006)
|   7 | #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                            |    442 | (2000)
|   8 | #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)*                               |    432 | (2003)
|   9 | #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)**                           |    430 | (2006)
|  10 | #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                              |    429 | (2000)
|  11 | #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                             |    425 | (2000)
|  12 | #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)*                                 |    419 | (2003)
|  13 | #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)*                              |    415 | (2003)
|  14 | #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                       |    411 | (2000)
|  15 | #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)*                          |    410 | (2003)
|  16 | #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                       |    403 |
|  17 | #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                 |    392 |
|  18 | #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)*               |    368 | (2003)
|  19 | #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                               |    360 |
|  20 | #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                              |    329 |
|  21 | #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                            |    321 |
|  22 | #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                    |    271 |
|  23 | #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                 |    254 |
|  24 | #73- Yuri Piotr (Qzvarkian Qaz)                              |    249 |
|  25 | #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                           |    194 |
|  26 | #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                               |    188 |
|  27 | #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                           |    188 |
|  28 | #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                             |    183 |
|  29 | #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                |    149 |
|  30 | #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                              |    135 |
|  31 | #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                    |    130 |
|  32 | #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                              |    125 |
|  33 | #33- Joshua Pelayo (Kannapian Sports Federation)             |    111 |
|  34 | #11- Luist Mata (Kharao)                                     |     97 |
|  35 | #91- Aidan Rowan (Kannapian Sports Federation)               |     79 |
|  36 | #87- Agdta Ndugane (Kharao)                                  |     73 |
|  37 | #43- Cynthia Verdenne (Kharao)                               |     65 |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------+--------+

[Tropicorp]

GGtech 450, Jalton Superspeedway, Jalton, Saint Kanye :: Once again it would be a big week of racing at the Jalton Superspeedway with the AOCAR Stock Car Series, Everlong Contenders Series and NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series all bringing their regular season schedule to a close and transitioning to the playoff mode. First up on the schedule would be the AOCAR Stock Car Series with the Coleman & Thorne 400. Heading into the 13th race on the AOCAR Stock Car Series calendar, Team Tropicorp's AOCAR drivers were struggling to maintain a place in the Top 10 in the point standings. Anavella Ariiki, a race winner earlier in the season at the Tropicoast Beach Course was already assured a place in the twii.tur shootout but Tropicorp affiliated drivers Cocoabo #78, Sampson Milwork and Jeszi Hotoniia were all on the outside looking in. Ariiki - one of the best qualifiers on the AOCAR Circuit - was the only Team Tropicorp driver to qualify inside the Top 10. During the race, however, Ariiki would link up with her team members and move up toward the front of the field. As the race came down to the wire Ariiki was paired up with Cocoabo #78 for a push to the front while battling home-track drivers Jill Singletary and Glen Reid. Like Cocoabo #78, Singletary had entered the race mired outside the Top 10 in the standings and knowing that the only way to assure a berth in the twii.tur shootout would be a race victory. As the cars crossed the line at the checkered flag it was Anavella Ariiki nosing ahead edging out Jill Singletary by 0.047s. Ariiki's second win of the season gave the Team Tropicorp driver a welcome 5 point boost in the twii.tur shootout and would shut out Singletary whose runner-up finish was not enough to move the Yeezie driver inside the Top 10 in the standings - the bench mark for non-race winners to advance to the shootout stage. Cocoabo #78 would sneak in, however, pulling level on points for the 9th position with Scott Hawking to advance as one of the non-winners into the twii.tur shootout. The AOCAR circuit will now take a weekend off as the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup series heads to the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course before the AOCAR season resumes on the dirt at the Mavaloiao Speedrome.

The following day it would be the Everlong Contenders Series at the Jalton Superspeedway. Much like Cocoabo #78 in the AOCAR Stock Car Series, Cocoabo #37 started the week on the outside looking in - 17th in the regular season standings and needing to get to at least the 15th position to be able to continue competing for the Everlong Contenders Series Championship. The Cocoabo would qualify in 13th position just ahead of Jixaka Motorai who was looking to secure the regular season title for the Everlong Contenders Series. While Team Tropicorp looked to focus their efforts on the performance of Motorai and Cocoabo #37 it would ultimately by Bryan Harrison with the best showing of the race. After qualifying 5th, Harrison led the charge for the team but finished in the 8th position nose to tail with Cocoabo #37 in 9th. Jixaka Motorai lost her chance to take the top spot in the Regular Season standings after being shuffled out late in the race and finishing in 23rd position. Motorai would finish 10 points behind Pyotr Lavrentiev. Cocoabo #37 would miss out on the playoffs by 19 points behind Lotara Novorali.

After going 0 for 2 in their team goals in the Everlong Contenders Series, Team Tropicorp would shift their focus to the Multiversal Cup Series where Maddie Alexander and Centur Tiones will be focused on working together - up until the last lap where it will be every driver for themselves with just one spot left in the Multiversal Cup Series Playoffs. Although Alexander and the #1 Tropicorp Team are in the Top 16 in the Multiversal Cup Series Point Standings, the sophomore driver will need to win the Pencurve Electronics 500 to be able to continue on in the NSSCRA Playoff Chase due to the number of winners currently outside the Top 16 in points. It is the same story for Centur Tiones who has thus far endured a disappointing debut season for Team Tropicorp after making the shift from Vilita and Turori Motorsports during the offseason. Tiones has struggled to put the #2 car inside the Top 10 on a regular basis and will have to start the Pencurve Electornics 500 from 23rd position ahead of part time drivers Swell Kirby and Ilya Tsunopin. Maddie Alexander will start from 14th position while Jenna Logan, who has little to fight for other than a potential 3 playoff points for winning, will be starting way back in 35th position for the Multiversal Cup Series regular season Finale.

[Abanhfleft]

Wilma von Cärinthen, Rustam Yudin, and Koshiro Kawai answer questions from the Yeezie media.

WILMA VON CÄRINTHEN

GFR has Jeremiah Brooke. Team Blue has Drake Stevenson. UrGa had Guillermo Archer, but now he's gone, and now you're in the role of the "team leader" like those other drivers we've mentioned. How are you feeling about this?

WVC: “That’s actually a very tough question to answer if I have to say so myself. And you’re not the only ones to wonder about my leadership role, don’t worry. Heck, even up to the start of the season, I was still unsure about how I felt with taking over the reins from Gil. It’s not like I’ve ever been here before though. Back in Abanhfleft, I’ve always been the leader of my team, so it shouldn’t be hard for me to carry that over to NSSCRA. But in some ways, it’s also different. No offense to ARTS, but everything in NSSCRA is simply on a grander scale than our local scene. There's a lot more things that I have to think about at this level of the sport compared to ARTS. But it's still a learning experience nonetheless, and while it's been hard—I can't deny that—I'm taking it all onboard because I know that I'm gonna need every single bit of it.”

You have championship experience under your belt with your two Fleftic titles, but this is going to be your first time being part of the NSSCRA Chase courtesy of your win in Esmerel. What lessons, pointers, and tips from back home do you think you can carry over to what you have called the biggest stage in motorsports?

WVC: "I think it's safe to say that pretty much everything I've learned in the four seasons I've been in ARTS is transferable to NSSCRA. Like I said before, the only difference is that the stakes are bigger than before. And UrGa have already proven that they're capable of supporting their drivers throughout the playoffs. Sure, sometimes we have to pray that some luck falls our way, but that's only sometimes. Other times, we're more than prepared to make our own luck."

RUSTAM YUDIN

Why do you deserve one of the two remaining Chase spots?

RY: “You might think me weird for saying this, but I don't think I'm deserving of getting into the Chase, at least if it's because I made my way in via the points. Personally, I think that my first season back in the Multiversal Series on a full-time basis is supposed to be a breather season for me, a way to get myself back into the swing of things, so to speak. If I win the race on Sunday then great! But I don't really see myself getting into the Chase via the points. If I do, then I will of course do what I must to keep in the Chase, but for now, I've never felt like I deserve to be in there. Next season, I am sure that this will change, but for now, I would rather play the team game and rebuild my Multiversal Series experience.”

The new leader of Ceroat is making his first state visit to Saint Kanye in the hope of getting the Glorious Free Republic to recognize his new government and re-establish diplomatic relations. As a citizen and native of Ceroat, what are your thoughts about your country finally coming back to the greater multiverse?

RY: "Well, first of all, I am happy that the Movement for a United Ceroat have delivered on their promise in reuniting our country. It might have taken them three or four years, but they've finally done it. All I've wanted since the news of the Chaos broke out was that someone would find a way to reunite our fractured nation, and who better to do it than Miroslav Riley and his men? I truly believe all of them to be Ceroatian patriots fighting for the future of our country. And I am sure that my friend and fellow Ceroatian Pyotr Lavrentiev thinks the same."

KOSHIRO KAWAI

What are your opinions on how your first NSSCRA season has gone so far? Is it any different from what you're used to? If so, how?

KK: “It's different. Definitely different from the team's expectations and my own expectations. The team believes that we should be doing much better than we are currently because of the investment in time and money that they put into this entry, while at the same time I believe that I've outperformed my own expectations. I definitely expected to be running more laps outside the top 30 than inside it, and yet I think those numbers are more equal than I expected. So it's a mixed bag. The team thinks we could be doing better, while I think that we could be doing worse than we are right now. It's a bit of a mess, I'll admit, but overall I think I'm liking the full-time NSSCRA experience.”

Fanfictions between the current and former drivers of NSSCRA have received a sudden upsurge in popularity after Ilya Tsunopin joined GFR as a part-time and R&D driver. Another author who has also started making waves is the one known only by the pen name "Ren Mazenoda" after he declared his love for another driver on the grid. Now, there are those who believe that you and Mazenoda are one and the same person. What would you like to say to address those rumors?

KK: "I said it before and I'll say it again. I wish I had half of the writing ability that Ren Mazenoda has. I understand why people would think that Mazenoda and I are one and the same, but it's just not true. I don't know why he chose that pen name, but it's his choice and I respect it. As for his stories, I will admit that I am an avid follower, and that I await his latest updates every time. Fanfiction has always been a bit of a niche interest, but thanks to Mazenoda and Tsunopin, more and more people are getting to know about it. And it's somewhat comforting to know that not only am I not alone in NSSCRA in reading fanfiction but also that people would think that I can write good too. It's fun and a bit trippy, but I like it nonetheless."

[TJUN-ia]

This blog was written by Derrick Carlisle, Jaguar Racing's Social Media Manager

The Regular Season Finale at Jalton Superspeedway, Saint Kanye, is always an occasion worth watching, the very best in the business duking it out for a spot in the Chases to come in the last chance a lot of drivers will have to book their ticket to the 10-race dance. But before we even begin, we have three (yes, three) entries into MemeWatch II that I have to explain:

Me and Drake
I don't always admit when I am in the wrong...but today, I will say that I was wrong. I said what I said relating to the BIg Ass Bash/Water Festival debacle based on the information I had and, yes, assumptions I made on the situation. Now, Drake and the Valentians have cleared the air on both sides and I will fully accept that my framing of this issue, now that all facts have come to light, was incorrect. I added both Drake and me onto the list because, to be quite honest, I'm tired of getting into disputes with Drake. Why is it always us two that verbally scrap with each other across this blog and his blog and other such means? I don't get it...I really don't. Me adding both of us isn't me absolving blame, I've certainly been in the wrong in some aspects, but this entry is more about hope. Hope that one day, we can co-exist without remorse. Also Drake...sorry to hear about Hendo. I know you're OK, you've said that countless times, but do not worry...I'm sure someone out there is interested in dating Drake Motherfucking Stevenson. Hopefully, of course, without a Tsunopin-like devotion.

Sage
This one hurt...to put up there, but it had to be done. Sage Caldwell is a very cool dude, one of the great characters of the grid and someone I wouldn't mind sharing a coffee with from time to time, but...what happened concerning him and Yageny Qabaliq was not cool. At all. Threatening someone with a wrench is not cool...and while some will certainly argue Qabaliq deserves everything that comes his way, he should not be threatened with assault via a weapon. That is a step too far...and I hope that doesn't happen again, to ANYONE in this grid.

The French (sans Massena)
You wanted to know what this was and now, you do. Two of the Three Frenchmen, Lannes and Murat, are who we are talking about here and they decided to make the worst decision they could've ever made - harceler Lam Chow-Cheung. What did they do to deserve the ire of the French Generals? To be called "Princess Lamb Chow"? To be called a freak and a coward? To be hounded in the first place? Lam didn't deserve that at all...they're a rising star in this series and someone who has been through a lot in their time. This enough would have put them onto the list, but Lannes added more fuel to the fire when, on Media Day, they asked "Why the [bleep] does everyone encourage that freak Lamb Chow instead of telling him to act like a [bleep] man?" Une personne, pas un homme, monsieur Lannes. N'oubliez pas que pour la prochaine fois s'il vous plaît.

And speaking of Media Day, we had a few questions thrown the way of our T1 drivers that we certainly must mention. Here is a selection of the answers our drivers gave.

1) Alfonso Mercado (@AM64), you won your first race early in the season, and are now heading to your first Chase. Any expectations? Is the pressure real?
AM: Expectations? Reaching my first playoffs is an achievement in itself, you know Un peso de mis hombros, the goal I had been aiming for in my NSSCRA Career is now crossed off the list. Making the Chase makes me a winner already, so I don't really have much in the way in terms of expectations. If I can advance in the Playoffs, then that will be more icing upon this already sweet cake. As for the pressure...I guess that will depend on if I'm the only one of us in the field. If I am solo, it will certainly ramp up...and I will finally understand what Micky felt last season. If either Micky or Maddy joins me, then the pressure will be shared between both of us. If we all somehow make it in, then we will take it on no matter what. Es así de simple, amigos.

2) Michael Stefan (@Stefan07) and Maddison Riley-Jones (MaddyRJ03), why do you deserve one of the two remaining Chase spots?
MS: Well...do I? I don't know if I do, to be honest. Right now, at the very least, I don't feel like a deserve to be up there, you know? I know that sounds brutal, but it's true. If I did make it by winning here, then I would've deserved it but until then...Ich verdiene es gerade nicht wirklich.
MRJ: I mean...this has been my best season in the Cup Series thus far. I've certainly felt more consistent across the entire season and if I did make it in...then yeah, I would've deserved it.

3) To all of you, one of the stories of this season has been the debutants from Kimi-Suomi, Huuhkajat Moottoriurheilu, and especially your compatriot, Lam Chow-Cheung. Are any of you surprised by just how quickly Lam and HM have gotten into the NSSCRA mix? Do you feel that they could one day be on JR's level?
MS: Well, that's certainly a question. Well, Daniel Marx was very key to getting JR up to speed as quickly as we did in Season 9, so I'm not too surprised with how quickly his new project has gotten off the ground. Lam, on the other hand, has been a pleasant surprise and it's nice to see what circumstances could do to a driver's development. As for the 2nd part, maybe they will one day be on "our level"...but maybe, I'd argue they're nearly there already.
AM: I said towards the start of this season that Lam was someone to keep an eye on for this season, and I'm happy that my suspicions about both them and JR were proven true. La persona linda certainly has the potential to make it big if they can keep at it and I have zero doubts that they and HM can be a team like us one day. No hay dudas.
MRJ: Yeah, Lam has certainly been a rising star of this season so far...even though they aren't actually in the running for Rookie of the Year as of now. I do see some in that kid, they certainly have what it takes to make it big...as does HM as a whole.

With that, let's finally talk about on-track action and qualifying for the Pencurve Electronics 500 would certainly be interesting, as it always is for a regular-season finale. Michael Stefan certainly had the pace out there and with a lap that was only better by milliseconds, he would end up on pole over the Shark of River Suzgar and Yraaga Gilli’i. It was JR's first pole in a long while and while that was certainly worth celebrating, everyone else will be mostly fighting to gain positions up the field tomorrow. Mercado will start in 9th, Maddy down in 36th, Lam looking to make an impression in 27th and Aurélia Karvonen looking to become the highest climber from dead last - 46th of 46. Jean Lannes was the highest non-charter in 26th while both open-charters are 69Xers - with Swell Kirby starting ahead of Ilya Tsunopin in 24th and 25th respectively.

Meanwhile, the cutoff race of the Everlong Contenders Series went down with the GGTech 450 and that would certainly be a bit dramatic. Turakki Mayelli took pole over Ilmari Pëkannen and Lotara Novorali with Alice Jepkosgei (@AJ96) in 4th, Kaarina Salo in 15th, Gongming Gao (@GG70) in 16th and Robin Dragonovic (@RD97SNL) down in 19th. The eventual race would see 5 retirements and a lot of movement but in the end, Rockii Ezis would book his ticket over Ilmari and Mayelli with AJ in 5th, Salo 11th, Robin 17th and GaoGao 20th. All this would mean that the final playoff standings would play out as follows:

In By Win
Pyotr Lavrentiev (Regular Season Champion)
Jixaka Motorai
Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (2)
Lexi Patterson (2)
Alice Jepkosgei
Agata Kosaryova (2)
Ganglie Zhe
Daryl Calhoun (2)
Gongming Gao
Bryan Harrison
Rockii Ezis
Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds

In By Points
Edmund Flanders (7th, 442pts)
Robin Dragonovic (10th, 429pts)
Ilmari Pëkannen (11th, 425pts)
Lotara Novorali (14th, 411pts)

Next 4 Out
Turakki Mayelli (16th, 403pts, 8 behind)
Cocoabo #37 (17th, 392pts, 19 behind)
Kaarina Salo (19th, 360pts, 51 behind)
Ryan Carroll (20th, 329pts, 83 behind)

In short, Pyotr Lavrentiev is the Regular Season Champion, all 3 of JR's drivers made it in, Ilmari Pëkannen make his and HM's Chase debut while Salo will miss out by a wide margin. The T2 Chase should be very interesting indeed and we wish everyone who made it in the very best of luck for the following weeks.

Tomorrow, it will be the Cup's turn to determine a Top 16. Who will make it in with only two spots left?

---

Current MCS Standings: #07 - 16th (455pts)/#64 - 7th (499pts/1 Win)/#03 - 13th (483pts)/#96 - 55th (15pts)
Current ECS Standings: #97 - 8th (408pts+PS)/#96 - 5th (426pts/1 Win)/#70 - 10th (376pts/1 Win)
Next MCS Race: Pencurve Electronics 500, Jalton Superspeedway, Jalton, Saint Kanye
Next ECS Race: GGtech 450, Jalton Superspeedway, Jalton, Saint Kanye
Music of the Round II: Coldplay X BTS - My Universe (PTC/ESP/KOR/INA/PNG/MNL/TOG/SMR/BIH)

MemeWatch II
1) "You're BOTH In The Wrong!" Lloyd Clarence (HTN) and Taylor Henderson (#73) - Casual Sexism And Weaponised Basketballs
2) Chaos In The Bay The Race of Oceania (Cup Series Round 3) - For Being Chaotic And Then Some...14 Retirements And All.
3) Abuse Of Your Power Drake Stevenson (#81) - Taylor's Not Queen Regnant Just Yet In This Realm...
4) "Ah Shit, Here We Go Again" Derrick Carlisle (Yep, That's Me) - Team Blue Shut Me Up. That Is All.
5) Time To Bring The Mayhem! Mayhem (STK) - Ilya And Murat, Eh? Two Men Of The Mayhem Indeed.
6) #WeStanKaiQiang Ilya Tsunopin (#45) - We Like This Guy, But He Certainly Belongs Here.
7) It Had To Be Done The Tunnel Truck Fiasco (#73) - Chaos. Pure Unfiltered Chaos.
8 ) Angry, But Still... Taylor Henderson (#73) - Thou Shall Not Kick Thine Significant Other's Crown Jewels.
9) I Don't Need To Explain This Kai Qiang (#44) - For Crossing The Hongxai Line.
10) I'm So Sorry Chris Holmes (#8) - For Allowing Us To FEEL THE MAYHEM At 7AM!
11) You Asked For This Anyone Who Wears A BRS MemeWatch Shirt - Y'all Are Brilliant, Thanks For The Support!
12) Party Pooper Drake Stevenson (#81) - For Blowing Up A Miss Understanding Because Of Course He Did - He's Drake!
13) Sorry About This... Wilma von Cärinthen (#98) - Fighting Ain't Right, Alles Klar?
14) This Is Necessary Derrick Carlisle (me) and Drake Stevenson (#81) - For Always Squabling, Every Season, Without Peace
15) This Has To Be Done Sage Caldwell (#13) - Violence, Even Threats, Ain't Cool, Man.
16) "What's Meme Watch" Jean Lannes (#63) and Joachim Murat (#61) - Laissez le masqué tranquille!

[Kimi-Suomi]

The following are some of the questions and answers from the Media Day in Jalton, Saint Kanye - home of the NSSCRA Regular Season Finale. Answering will be HM's Tier 1 Drivers, Lam Chow-Cheung and Aurélia Karvonen.

LAM CHOW-CHEUNG
1) What are your opinions on how your first NSSCRA season has gone so far? Is it any different from what you're used to? If so, how?
LCC: Well...this first season has seen ups and downs, but overall? 辉煌。Brilliant. I got off to a slow start but once I found my rhythm, I felt more and more confident in the car and in HM and in...myself, both in and out of the car. I feel more...open than I was at the start and while it hasn't always been smooth sailing, I certainly feel more...welcome than I thought I was going to be, you know? As for differences, well...it certainly has been different. It feels more refined and important up here compared to the domestic series back home. Learning a bit of Finnish has also been a bit tough, but I'm getting better at that. Se ei ole täydellinen, mutta...se on tulossa...perille. Yeah.

2) Why do you deserve one of the two remaining Chase spots?
LCC: Well...I mean, if I did somehow make it in then...maybe I deserved it? My form has been...improving, so...it's not out of the question that I can make it but...maybe that's a step too far.

3) A lot of people have gotten behind you across this season due to both your performances and what has happened to you off the track, like in Brisbane and Hap City. What would you say to all those people who have turned out to support you?
LCC: Um, well...thank you. Simple as that, thank you. To see all of you welcome me into this sport with welcome arms warms my heart and I thank you all for making me feel like the NSSCRA driver I am. I hope I won't let you down over the next 11 races, no matter the final result.

4) Recently, a few people have been making connections between you, Thea Alvarez and Ilya Tsunopin. Anything to say about that?
LCC: Well...I've met both of them across the season and both are very good people. Thea has been a good friend for a while now and she and the whole GFR team have been...very welcoming to me and I...very much appreciate that. As for Ilya, I didn't get to meet him until the Water Festival and my word, is he such a fun character to talk to! He even wanted my autograph. 我的亲笔签名！That was certainly interesting,..but also, so Ilya at the same time.

AURÉLIA KARVONEN
1) What are your opinions on how your first NSSCRA season has gone so far? Is it any different from what you're used to? If so, how?
AK: I've done...a lot of things in my long motorsports career...but if I had to admit, NSSCRA has been the most...hauskaa. The most fun. I started without a charter but even then, I've had fun getting used to how T1 Stock Car Racing works and it's certainly been nice to get down and dirty with a project such as this. HM is still in its infancy and I have no doubts that while this season has been great, next year can be even better.

2) Why do you deserve one of the two remaining Chase spots?
AK: Uh...why are you asking me this? Look, I know it is still possible for me to make it in but...ei. Toki se olisi hauskaa, mutta...ei. Ei tällä kertaa.

3) A lot of people back in Kimi-Suomi were certainly surprised when Lam Chow-Cheung became the charter holder of HM instead of you. Looking back now, do you think that decision helped or hinder you? Do you agree with the decision, even now?
AK: Well...yeah, I'd say it's helped both of us to be honest. No offence to Lam, they've certainly got the talent, but I was initially...sekava when I was told I would be without a charter to start. But now, that decision in hindsight looks to have worked out alright! Lam got thrown in with the big boys and girls but has proved that they certainly belong with the very best here, despite a few hiccups. As for me, I spent my time getting used to the car and how it can operate in both karsinnat ja kilpailut so that when I got my charter, I could use it to the best of my ability. A competitive 2-car HM is an aim here and so far...we're getting there.

4) As someone with as much experience as yourself, you've dealt with multiple team bosses across the years. How does your current boss, the TJUN-ian Daniel Marx, compare to those of your past?
AM: OK, this is an interesting one. Marx is...well, how can I describe him? He's a boss that certainly cares, so that's a start. Committed, that's definitely important. Charming, that's subjective but I see that to a degree. He certainly knows what he's doing and he's certainly helped me in getting used to the sport so...yeah. Mukava kaveri kaiken kaikkiaan. A nice guy overall.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Between the Super Skychief 500 and the Pencurve, the Zakhilwals spent a couple of days in Kathmandu so Tashi could visit her family and take Leujouje to a modeling gig. Leujouje was still very put out about Massena refusing to marry her, and Tashi was still trying to cheer her up -- and maybe persuade her to leave Massena and find someone else. Preferably someone who did laundry more regularly.

(Tashi had attempted to introduce Massena to Prana laundry detergent, same as Rinzi had introduced him to Mayhem body wash, but so far her efforts had not paid off because they were traveling all the time and Massena did not know how to use a laundromat.)

While the women were at the studio for Leujouje's modeling job, Rinzi and his in-laws went out for a little shopping. They stopped at a baby supply store and bought a onesie for Zach Rinzi Holmes. It had a hood with little cloth ears on it, so the baby wearing it would look like a red panda. The shopkeeper who sold it mistakenly assumed that Rinzi was a new father or a soon-to-be father shopping for his own child. "I'm not the dad," Rinzi corrected him. "It is for a friend."

"Oh, sorry," said the shopkeeper. "I just thought you had that look..."

"I want to have my own soon," said Rinzi.

He looked longingly at the onesie, wishing he and Tashi had their own baby to dress up like that. It would be so sweet... It was incredibly flattering to have another driver name their son after him, but it also reminded him that he didn't have any kids of his own. He and Tashi had been trying, but they had not had any luck so far.

It didn't take long for Rinzi to cheer up again. He and his in-laws went on with their shopping. They stopped at an Islamic bookstore and bought a small Quran with both the original Arabic and an English approximation. Rinzi planned to give it to Zach Holmes together with the onesie. Tashi's mom picked up some nice steaks from a butcher shop so she could cook up a special dinner for their last night together.

By the time they got home, Rinzi's head was full of optimistic thoughts, hoping Chris and Angela would appreciate his gifts, looking forward to meeting little Zachary someday, and telling himself that someday if he was patient God would give him a child of his own. He walked into the house with a big smile on his face. He saw that Tashi and Leujouje were already home, so he greeted them with a friendly, "Hello! We're home. How was the photo shoot?"

Tashi answered him with a harsh whisper and a disapproving glare. "Rinzi!" She gestured at Leujouje, and Rinzi saw that the Jouoangquoirenne was crying inconsolably.

He was startled and confused. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"She's pregnant," Tashi answered softly.

"What? Who's the father?"

"Rinzi! Who has she been dating for the last 10 months?"

Rinzi's brain finally kicked into gear and it all made sense. He understood why Leujouje was so upset. "Ohh... Does he know?"

Leujouje nodded. "I told him, but he still says he won't marry me!"

"Do you want me to talk to him and see if I can change his mind?" Rinzi asked.

"Could you?"

Tashi shook her head sadly. "He is not going to change his mind."

[Saint Kanye]

Q: You're known as a levelheaded driver, some say one of the handful of sane people in the middle of the chaos that is the NSSCRA. Do you just ignore all the drama and issues as they come, or do you just handle them differently?

Jeremiah Brooke, #18 Vylet Chadwick: That depends. If it doesn't affect me or my teammates on a personal level, I try not to think much about it. Maybe I'll twii or say something in an interview, but that's probably as far as I'll go. If it does, well, GFR is a tight-knit group, and we find time to talk things over. Even in the Lam saga, because we had some involvement in it due to it happening in our own garage, we do check on Lam after the races. They've become our friend now, you know? But one thing's for sure - as a racer, my main focus every week is of course the race. It's okay to feel deeply about an issue, but personally I don't dwell too much on it that it affects my performance on the track.

Q: This is your first season driving full-time for GFR. How does it compare with your time in Team Cassadaigua? Better, worse? If they return next season and offer you a seat, are you willing to accept it?

Stacie Houston, #27 Five Star Mobile Chadwick: All I can say is that I'm having the time of my life here, being teammates with my husband as well as with one of the young drivers I've respected ever since we entered the series together. The cars are great, the crew is great, as well as the facilities. I wouldn't say better or worse than Team Cass, both are topnotch organizations. As for the offer, I feel it's not the time to talk about that yet. Stuff like that takes lots of time to think about and lots of pros and cons to weigh.

Q: You are no doubt one of the series' top drivers, but there are some who have been questioning your maturity. What do you have to say about this.

Thea Alvarez, #46 Charisma Cosmetics Chadwick: Oh, wow. Sorry if I'm a woman and I'm not afraid to show my emotions, okay? And if it's not even about that, what's wrong with liking sweets and cute things and stuff like that? If it doesn't hurt anybody, you better back off. Okay? You big meanies. (Thea said this in a sarcastic manner, complete with exaggerated pout and crossing of arms.)

Q: With only two spots left in the Chase, the battle to make it in is going to be tough. Do you guys have predictions on a driver who could win on Sunday and make it in at the death?

JB: Not really - Yeezies aren't really keen on making predictions, you know?

TA: Yeah, you'll just have to see for yourself, it's more fun that way anyway.

---

BATTLE FOR ROTY

Since none of our rookies are in a position to points their way into the playoffs, the only way for them to get there is to win. And since there can only be one winner, that rookie will also clinch ROTY by virtue of the Chase points reset. Otherwise, it will be a fight to the end like it was last season. A top five by Tizilna at Hap City, coupled with a DNF for Yudin, increased the former's hold on first place to 48 points. But who knows what's gonna happen in Jalton? It's a place of surprises, after all.

(--) 1. #4 Islago Tizilna (VNT) - 449
(--) 2. #39 Rustam Ilyich Yudin (AFT) - 401
(--) 3. #58 Koshiro Kawai (AFT) - 378
(--) 4. #38 Lam Chow-Cheung (KIM) - 331
(--) 5. #71 Aurelia Karvonen (KIM) - 280
(--) 6. #61 Joachim Murat (TFA) - 271
(--) 7. #24 Chelsea Taylor (NEW) - 231
(--) 8. #10 Anna Thanda (GSM) - 211
(+1) 9. #0 Ezekiel Rodger (ESM) - 198
(-1) 10. #63 Jean Lannes (TFA) - 183
(--) 11. #62 Andre Massena (TFA) - 171
(--) 12. #16 Laura McKenzie (SAJ) - 124
(--) 13. #37 Yageny Qabaliq (QQZ) - 108
(--) 14. #17 Timo Szaba (QQZ) - 56
(--) 15. #12 Daniel Wynfor (KAN) - 36
(--) 16. #88 Al Jak (STR) - 33
(--) 17. #74 Yuro Kiuba (STR) - 11

[Sixty-ninE X]

SWELL KIRBY

Swell Kirby comes out covered with the clothes of his current institution and sponsor, The Upper Westside University (UWU), from tracksuits and hoodie to cap.

What are your opinions on how your first NSSCRA season has gone so far? Is it any different from what you're used to? If so, how?

SK: Uh....this is my first race here with the NSSCRA circuit, so it's hard for me to exactly say that. (both press, Swell and Kirby chuckle) But no, this isn't any bit different than what we were used to. Just a week and a half ago we were in Hapilopper having fun on dirt tracks there, and while we certainly did not have the best of times, we had fun and were able to evaluate our own potentials based on how short of time we had there. But for now, let's carry onto this race.

You and your brother, Curtis, are freshmen students at the Upper Westside University, and they also happen to be you guys' sponsors for this NSSCRA. How does it feel like being sponsored by them, and how's your student experience been with them?

SK: Hmmm....we've certainly had a bit of challenges coming from our home country to Saint Kanye. It's a lot bigger country and people here seem to be more liberal. Of course, coming from pink and metallic skins mean that we do get looks now and then, but that's not exclusive to locals either. But really, we are just engineering students looking to have a good time and come out with a degree down the line. Nothing big, no stress. I'm always glad to have such an understanding sponsor like The U.W.U.

There have been growing rumours about the trio of you planning to set up a new team next season, due to be held in a couple of years' time. Have there been any update on the situation?

SK: No. Nothing yet. But it is true that me, my brother and Ilya are working on something. We'll keep you updated in due time.

ILYA TSUNOPIN

As expected, Ilya Tsunopin comes out with some flash. He is wearing a fluorescent octopus hat, an inexplicably elaborate suit and pink slippers. He also comes out with blue hair. Fortunately he is not naked.

Your outstanding performance at Berman Brothers have certainly drawn positive attention from the public, who was glad to see you make a turnaround after encountering tough luck the week before. How do you feel about it?

IT: Phenomenal. It certainly reflected more to my capability and potential than the one before at Sharpe's did. It wasn't the easiest race that time, and things certainly didn't work out just as I registered better minutes on the fourth segment....so I came out to the Berman Brothers with redemption in mind. I'm an off-road driver by nationality, training and of course parentage, so you know, whatever happened at Sharpe's was a good wake-up call. So an eighth place call that time was what I needed and I had a good day at it. Am glad about it.

What are your opinions on how your first NSSCRA season has gone so far? Is it any different from what you're used to? If so, how?

IT: Alright. Would give myself a B-minus or C-plus right now. Of course, that's the grade I'd give myself as a driver and not necessarily as a rookie..that'd be different. But sure, it's slightly different than what I'm used to. Unlike my friends Swell and Curtis, I am crossing the waters between the WGP2, where my results have been shit and I was left constantly frustrated, to here, where I am getting lot better value out of my time and investment. So my satisfaction level is greater especially because of that.

As an international icon in rise, many people have asked about your sexuality in past. What are your thoughts on it?

IT: Firstly, it's my pleasure you asked me this question. Secondly, I don't know the right term for my leanings, but all I know is that I am not limited by monosexuality. My instincts go off naturally and it doesn't turn off just because he's a man or she's a woman. That'd suck! (Everybody including Ilya and Swell chuckle)

You write a lot of stories about other drivers finding love at the garage. But what about you yourself? Have you?

IT: This is something that I will neither confirm nor deny. But I did hear that Drake Stevenson's back to being single again so, of course, I keep my options open.

I'm not married or taken, that's for sure. If plan changes, you guys will find out verrrrrrry quickly.

Pardon me if you have been asked this question before, but there have been some people who have made speculations that you are Ren Mazenoda in disguise. What are your thoughts on that take and if it's valid or not by any chance?

IT: Well, certainly not me. Mr. Mazenoda is a good writer and his stories are fascinating. But it's not me because A) it's too softcore for me to write one, and B) I'd be admitting it more openly or at least come up with this...uh...emotional problem more straightforward to my love interest. No matter how much I love writing about this, I have my own private life too and wouldn't be writing my romantic confession on drawkfiction. Too bold.

[Newmanistan]

Race: Pencurve Electronics 500, Jalton Superspeedway, Jalton, Saint Kanye (Superspeedway)
Lap Record: 50.520 sec.
Minimum To Avoid DNF: 54.800 sec.

Segment 1:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                          51.009
 2 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                                51.018
 3 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                                51.035
 4 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                         51.046
 5 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)                  51.097
 6 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)                51.162
 7 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                            51.237
 8 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                              51.243
 9 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                        51.256
10 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)                     51.267
11 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                              51.277
12 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                         51.323
13 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                       51.370
14 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)                 51.424
15 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                           51.443
16 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                       51.493
17 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                        51.603
18 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                            51.607
19 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                             51.739
20 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                               51.764
21 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                        51.839
22 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                            51.845
23 #69- Swell Kirby (Saint Kanye)                               51.942
24 #45- Ilya Tsunopin (Saint Kanye)                             52.014
25 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)                     52.231
26 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                       52.397
27 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                         52.518
28 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                                52.563
29 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                           52.575
30 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                           52.622
31 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                           52.657
32 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                            52.676
33 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q*       52.704
34 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                                  52.797
35 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                                52.945
36 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)               52.970
37 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                                 53.045
38 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                                 53.170
39 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                         53.214
40 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                           53.727
41 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                                 54.065
42 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                             54.065
43 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)              54.217
44 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                         54.452
45 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                             54.573
46 #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                          54.876 DNF

Segment 2:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                            50.960
 2 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                         51.003
 3 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)                51.010
 4 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)              51.035
 5 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                                51.129
 6 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                               51.129
 7 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                           51.187
 8 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                             51.191
 9 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)                     51.196
10 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q*       51.280
11 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                          51.281
12 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                                51.323
13 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                           51.325
14 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)                     51.352
15 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                         51.360
16 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                       51.375
17 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                            51.378
18 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                            51.400
19 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)                 51.439
20 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                                  51.522
21 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                       51.529
22 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                           51.531
23 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                                51.542
24 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                              51.549
25 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)               51.578
26 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                              51.699
27 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                        51.797
28 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                                51.811
29 #69- Swell Kirby (Saint Kanye)                               51.822
30 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                        51.886
31 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                                 52.071
32 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                       52.105
33 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                           52.189
34 #45- Ilya Tsunopin (Saint Kanye)                             52.239
35 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                         52.294
36 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                         52.484
37 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                            52.669
38 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                             53.197
39 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                                 53.484
40 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                         53.703
41 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                           54.149
42 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)                  54.393
43 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                                 54.741
44 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                             54.839 DNF
45 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                        55.789 DNF

Segment 3:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                           50.940
 2 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                           50.966
 3 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)                  50.969
 4 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                                51.030
 5 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                            51.049
 6 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                         51.050
 7 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                            51.056
 8 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                         51.070
 9 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                                51.090
10 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                                51.145
11 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                              51.242
12 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                            51.258
13 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q*       51.288
14 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)               51.316
15 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)              51.326
16 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                        51.396
17 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                              51.415
18 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                       51.425
19 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)                     51.500
20 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                             51.650
21 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)                51.652
22 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                        51.657
23 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                           51.695
24 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                           51.707
25 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                         51.731
26 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                          51.799
27 #45- Ilya Tsunopin (Saint Kanye)                             51.823
28 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                               52.043
29 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)                 52.053
30 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                         52.062
31 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                                  52.221
32 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                       52.525
33 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                                 52.569
34 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                       52.805
35 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                         52.837
36 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                                52.954
37 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                           53.261
38 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                                 53.907
39 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                                 54.119
40 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                             54.184
41 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                            54.489
42 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)                     56.025 DNF
43 #69- Swell Kirby (Saint Kanye)                               56.680 DNF

Segment 4:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                        51.018
 2 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                                51.044
 3 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                            51.119
 4 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                             51.120
 5 #45- Ilya Tsunopin (Saint Kanye)                             51.157
 6 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)                51.164
 7 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                           51.180
 8 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                              51.194
 9 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)                  51.277
10 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                          51.280
11 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                         51.320
12 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                            51.329
13 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                                51.343
14 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                                51.405
15 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                                  51.438
16 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                           51.475
17 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)               51.503
18 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)              51.526
19 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                         51.648
20 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                           51.680
21 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q*       51.949
22 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)                 51.976
23 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                        52.035
24 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                           52.054
25 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                           52.068
26 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                       52.128
27 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                               52.162
28 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                              52.199
29 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                            52.361
30 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                            52.393
31 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                         52.429
32 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                         52.502
33 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                                52.517
34 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                       52.662
35 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)                     52.890
36 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                         52.981
37 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                                 53.036
38 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                       53.107
39 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                             53.613
40 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                                 54.403
41 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                                 55.512 DNF

Segment 5:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                              50.987
 2 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                          51.000
 3 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                            51.027
 4 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)                  51.047
 5 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                           51.100
 6 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)                51.120
 7 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                                51.135
 8 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                              51.159
 9 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                        51.210
10 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                           51.219
11 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                             51.252
12 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                         51.328
13 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                         51.334
14 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)                 51.385
15 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)               51.395
16 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                       51.449
17 #45- Ilya Tsunopin (Saint Kanye)                             51.476
18 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                                  51.496
19 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                       51.518
20 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                               51.556
21 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                       51.557
22 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                           51.567
23 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)              51.618
24 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)                     51.674
25 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                            51.680
26 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                            51.842
27 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                           51.882
28 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                         51.902
29 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                                51.995
30 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                        52.069
31 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                            52.091
32 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                                 52.716
33 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                                52.815
34 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q*       52.819
35 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                           52.891
36 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                         53.203
37 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                                53.469
38 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                             53.860
39 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                         54.325
40 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                                 54.639

Race Results:

+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                         Driver                         |  Avg.  |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                      | 51.080 | WINNER
|   2 | #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                          | 51.098 |
|   3 | #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)          | 51.222 |
|   4 | #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                        | 51.273 |
|   5 | #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                    | 51.274 |
|   6 | #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                       | 51.390 |
|   7 | #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                     | 51.453 |
|   8 | #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                      | 51.498 |
|   9 | #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                  | 51.507 |
|  10 | #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                        | 51.520 |
|  11 | #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                   | 51.524 |
|  12 | #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                          | 51.616 |
|  13 | #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)           | 51.655 |
|  14 | #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                      | 51.658 |
|  15 | #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                  | 51.678 |
|  16 | #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                         | 51.731 |
|  17 | #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                          | 51.739 |
|  18 | #45- Ilya Tsunopin (Saint Kanye)                       | 51.742 |
|  19 | #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)         | 51.752 |
|  20 | #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)            | 51.757 |
|  21 | #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                   | 51.816 |
|  22 | #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                 | 51.823 |
|  23 | #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                     | 51.839 |
|  24 | #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                     | 51.882 |
|  25 | #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                            | 51.895 |
|  26 | #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)               | 51.929 |
|  27 | #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)        | 51.944 |
|  28 | #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 | 51.965 |
|  29 | #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q* | 52.008 |
|  30 | #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                 | 52.029 |
|  31 | #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                     | 52.031 |
|  32 | #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                   | 52.370 |
|  33 | #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                   | 52.395 |
|  34 | #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                          | 52.609 |
|  35 | #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                     | 52.613 |
|  36 | #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                           | 52.687 |
|  37 | #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                      | 52.857 |
|  38 | #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                   | 52.919 |
|  39 | #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                       | 53.784 |
|  40 | #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                           | 54.393 |
|  41 | #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                           | DNF    |
|  42 | #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)               | DNF    |
|  43 | #69- Swell Kirby (Saint Kanye)                         | DNF    |
|  44 | #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                       | DNF    |
|  45 | #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                  | DNF    |
|  46 | #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                    | DNF    |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+

Final Regular Season Point Standings:
Chase Drivers in green with their starting point total for the Chase in ( )

+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                         Driver                         | Points |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)*                    |    568 | (2003)
|   2 | #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)           |    568 | (2000)
|   3 | #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)*         |    564 | (2003)
|   4 | #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                   |    553 | (2000)
|   5 | #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)*                     |    540 | (2003)
|   6 | #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)*           |    535 | (2003)
|   7 | #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)*                 |    532 | (2003)
|   8 | #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                       |    532 |
|   9 | #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)*                        |    530 | (2003)
|  10 | #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)*        |    527 | (2003)
|  11 | #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                    |    525 |
|  12 | #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)*                    |    524 | (2003)
|  13 | #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)***                   |    521 | (2009)
|  14 | #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)*                       |    519 | (2003)
|  15 | #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)*                    |    508 | (2003)
|  16 | #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                          |    491 |
|  17 | #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                   |    485 |
|  18 | #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)*                 |    483 | (2003)
|  19 | #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)*                         |    482 | (2003)
|  20 | #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)        |    459 |
|  21 | #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)*                           |    452 | (2003)
|  22 | #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                 |    434 |
|  23 | #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                          |    420 |
|  24 | #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                        |    415 |
|  25 | #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                  |    403 |
|  26 | #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)               |    383 |
|  27 | #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                      |    370 |
|  28 | #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                          |    333 |
|  29 | #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 |    333 |
|  30 | #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)               |    324 |
|  31 | #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*                 |    303 |
|  32 | #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                   |    286 |
|  33 | #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                     |    268 |
|  34 | #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                      |    241 |
|  35 | #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q* |    229 |
|  36 | #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                           |    209 |
|  37 | #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                 |    208 |
|  38 | #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*               |    185 |
|  39 | #28- Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                           |    139 |
|  40 | #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                           |    130 |
|  41 | #45- Ilya Tsunopin (Saint Kanye)                       |    124 |
|  42 | #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                    |    109 |
|  43 | #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                           |     98 |
|  44 | #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                       |     86 |
|  45 | #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                   |     82 |
|  46 | #17- Timo Szaba (Qzvarkian Qaz) *Q*                    |     56 |
|  47 | #50- Bismillah Untas (Sultanate of Oontaz)             |     46 |
|  48 | #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                 |     42 |
|  49 | #12- Daniel Wynfor (Kannapian Sports Federation)       |     36 |
|  50 | #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos)                               |     33 |
|  51 | #59- Derek Harwood (Newmanistan)                       |     30 |
|  52 | #08- Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                        |     25 |
|  53 | #40- Ongmu Yeti (The Sherpa Empire)                    |     20 |
|  54 | #84- Jamie Izabella Astrid Eirian (Valentine Z)        |     17 |
|  55 | #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                         |     15 |
|  56 | #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                       |     14 |
|  57 | #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                 |     12 |
|  58 | #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                     |      6 |
|  59 | #69- Swell Kirby (Saint Kanye)                         |      4 |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+

Next Races:
Multiversal- (Apr 30/May 1)- Vilaye Energy Drink 314, Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Vilita (Road Course)
EverLong- (Apr 30)- TBD, Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Vilita (Road Course)

Edit- Added chase point totals.

[The Sherpa Empire]

强凯 - Kai Qiang - काय च्याङ ✓

@QK98

hey NSSCRA, where the fines and anger managment class when Sage and Wilma attacking other drivers?


#NSSCRA

[TJUN-ia]

This blog was written by Derrick Carlisle, Jaguar Racing's Social Media Manager

What will the Pencurve Electronics 500 be remembered for, huh? What will be the memory we, as racing fans, take from the NSSCRA 12 Regular Season Finale? There were certainly a few talking points we can take from this race...and it certainly shaped the battle for the Top 16 that will duke it out for that crown.
- It was a Hapilopper 1-2 and newly-available Drake Stevenson beat out new dad Chris Holmes to the flag over Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye and Thea Alvarez, the Top 4 all being drivers who already had a win on the season.
- MRJ ended up in 5th, LCC 8th, Stefan 12th, Mercado 16th and Karvonen 24th.
- Best non-charter was Jean Lannes in 22nd, Ilya Tsunopin 18th, Swell Kirby one of 6 DNFs
- Other DNFs included two hopefuls for the Chase, Rustam Ilyich Yudin and Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight.

In By Win
Jeremiah Brooke (Regular Season Champion)
Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye
Stacie Houston
River ‘Shark’ Suzgar II
Yraaga Gilli’i
Alfonso Mercado
Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal
Kai Qiang
Drake Stevenson (3)
Thea Alvarez
Taylor Henderson
Wilma von Cärinthen
Chris Holmes
Jenna Logan

In By Points
Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (2nd, 568pts)
Tsering Chu (4th, 553pts)

Next 4 Out
Maddie Alexander (8th, 532pts, 21 back)
Maddison Riley-Jones (11th, 525pts, 29 back)
Michael Stefan (16th, 491pts, 63 back)
Islago Tizilna (17th, 485pts, 69 back, Top Rookie)

Brooke is the Regular Season King, 14 drivers made it in via victory while both Gwen and Chu certainly did enough to advance as non-race winners. In the end, both Maddy and Stefan tried but failed to get in by winning today...and that means that while all 3 of JR's drivers will be in the Chase in the Everlong, only 1 will be in the Cup for the 3rd straight season. Clearly, luck or Margaret doesn't favour having more than one of us in the Final 16...that just seems to be a fact of life at this point. Still, we will make sure that Alfonso Mercado is supported by whatever means necessary.

The Battles for the Crowns begin in Vilita and the Mountain Challenge Course. See you there!

---

Current MCS Standings: #07 - 16th (491pts)/#64 - 9th (530pts/1 Win/2003CPts)/#03 - 11th (525pts)/#96 - 55th (15pts)
Current ECS Standings: #97 - 10th (429pts+PS/2000CPts)/#96 - 5th (459pts/1 Win/2003CPts)/#70 - 12th (419pts/1 Win/2003Cpts)
Next MCS Race: Vilaye Energy Drink 314, Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Vilita (Chase 1/1)
Next ECS Race: Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Vilita (Chase 1/1)
Music of the Round II: Harry Styles - As It Was (BHU)

MemeWatch II
1) "You're BOTH In The Wrong!" Lloyd Clarence (HTN) and Taylor Henderson (#73) - Casual Sexism And Weaponised Basketballs
2) Chaos In The Bay The Race of Oceania (Cup Series Round 3) - For Being Chaotic And Then Some...14 Retirements And All.
3) Abuse Of Your Power Drake Stevenson (#81) - Taylor's Not Queen Regnant Just Yet In This Realm...
4) "Ah Shit, Here We Go Again" Derrick Carlisle (Yep, That's Me) - Team Blue Shut Me Up. That Is All.
5) Time To Bring The Mayhem! Mayhem (STK) - Ilya And Murat, Eh? Two Men Of The Mayhem Indeed.
6) #WeStanKaiQiang Ilya Tsunopin (#45) - We Like This Guy, But He Certainly Belongs Here.
7) It Had To Be Done The Tunnel Truck Fiasco (#73) - Chaos. Pure Unfiltered Chaos.
8 ) Angry, But Still... Taylor Henderson (#73) - Thou Shall Not Kick Thine Significant Other's Crown Jewels.
9) I Don't Need To Explain This Kai Qiang (#44) - For Crossing The Hongxai Line.
10) I'm So Sorry Chris Holmes (#8) - For Allowing Us To FEEL THE MAYHEM At 7AM!
11) You Asked For This Anyone Who Wears A BRS MemeWatch Shirt - Y'all Are Brilliant, Thanks For The Support!
12) Party Pooper Drake Stevenson (#81) - For Blowing Up A Miss Understanding Because Of Course He Did - He's Drake!
13) Sorry About This... Wilma von Cärinthen (#98) - Fighting Ain't Right, Alles Klar?
14) This Is Necessary Derrick Carlisle (me) and Drake Stevenson (#81) - For Always Squabling, Every Season, Without Peace
15) This Has To Be Done Sage Caldwell (#13) - Violence, Even Threats, Ain't Cool, Man.
16) "What's Meme Watch" Jean Lannes (#63) and Joachim Murat (#61) - Laissez le masqué tranquille!

[The Sherpa Empire]

OOC: This RP is a collaboration between me and TJUN-ia. Please treat it as shared work for scoring purposes.

Qiang was pleasantly surprised to see how comfortable Lam looked as they walked up to the sidewalk cafe. They still looked a little self-conscious, but no worse than the shy way star-struck fans would approach to ask for an autograph. All the stuff about bringing sunglasses "just in case" had left him wondering if Lam would even come -- but they had come, and they looked like they were doing a lot better since last time Qiang talked to them. The two drivers exchanged greetings and Lam took a seat. A few passersby and people at other tables looked their way, but it was hard to tell whether it was because they recognized Qiang or because their eyes were drawn to Lam's snazzy outfit. They made a bit of an odd pair with Qiang dressed in the plainest black and gray while Lam looked like they'd stepped out off a music video.

"It's good to see you without that stupid mask," Qiang said, as he handed a menu across the table to Lam. "Please, make yourself at home. Order anything you like."

Lam fumbled with the menu. “Thank you...sorry if my outfit is a bit too...vibrant, I wanted something in the Yeezie style that complimented me. I’ll probably go for a macha and a croissant to start.”

"Your outfit is fine. You don't need to apologize for expressing yourself," Qiang said, a little exasperated with Lam's continual awkwardness and apologizing. He waved to the waitress to get her attention, so they could order that macha and croissant. "What does your family think of those pride schemes you've been running at the track?"

“I haven’t spoken with them...in a long long time," Lam confessed. "I’d doubt they would be supportive though.”

Qiang felt like they were making progress, like the walls were starting to come down and Lam was starting to be more honest -- more honest with him and more honest with themselves. The waitress came and took their order, and the two drivers picked up where they had left off.

"Did your family ever come to cheer you on when you got into NSSCRA?" Qiang asked.

“Not that I’m aware of no," Lam said. There was a hint of sadness in their voice, but they kept their composure. "They probably want to just pretend I don’t exist...at least, that was the vibe I got last time I saw them.”

"How long has it been?"

“Ever since they kicked me out. I’ve tried a few times but always get no response. I just gave up after a while and tried to move on...but still thinking about them constantly. They seriously hurt me mentally...but they’re still my family, you know? That familial respect doesn’t just go away...”

"That respect is supposed to go both ways," Qiang said. His words had an angry edge to them, but the anger was not directed at Lam. He was angry with Lam's family for being so narrow-minded, and the conversation had reminded him of some painful memories from his own family. "You don't have to grovel and kiss their ass if they're not respecting you. My sister went through that with our relatives in Guangdong. They adopted her after our father died, and they always expected her to be grateful, but they treated her like crap."

“I know but...I guess I wanted to prove that I could do this without them, you know? That I could continue my career without them in my corner.” The waitress came and set the food and drinks on the table. Lam picked up the macha to see if it was cool enough to drink -- which it wasn't yet. “I guess what I’m saying is that I’m trying to prove to myself that I don’t need their respect...like how I don’t need it from Jean Lannes”

"Oh, Lannes is an ass!" Qiang blurted out instantly. "Don't listen to that guy."

“I certainly try but apparently, he can’t keep my name out of his mouth," said Lam. "Sure I can get it, different culture and all that, but it’s starting to sound more like a yapping poodle at this point.”

Qiang laughed. It was nice to see this saucy side of Lam, to see him snapping back at Lannes (even behind the Frenchman's back) instead of taking the insults to heart. On the other hand, Lannes was not someone to trifle with, and he wanted to make sure Lam didn't get too cocky and get themselves beat up.

"Don't say that to his face," Qiang said. "He might challenge you to a duel or something."

Luckily, Lam had already figured that out for themselves. “Yeah...why do you think HM hasn’t said much on that? Swords ain’t something you want to deal with.”

Qiang had never really expected HM to weigh in in the first place. "I figured they just wanted to focus on racing and not get too political," he said.

“Well yeah, that’s something as well," Lam agreed. "HM is just trying to develop its standing here in this sport and I guess we’ve done a good job at that so far.”

"You've already gotten further than most people."

“Yeah...I guess I have. To be fair, I don’t know where I’d be right now if plans didn’t change at the last minute. If things didn’t change, then I would’ve been in the Everlong for JR but then poor Gao got stuck in TJUN-ia and so, the decision was made to send me to Marx and to HM. In the end, I guess that...benefited me in a way.”

"Sometimes you need a lucky break to realize your full potential. I would have never made it into NSSCRA if Lakpa Fang hadn't backed me up financially when I was starting out." Lakpa Fang was a star baseball player in the Sherpa Empire, who also dabbled in racing, and he had used his personal wealth to help Qiang compete in NSSCRA 6. That gave Qiang the opportunity he needed to make a name for himself and get his career off the ground.

“Yeah...I guess that’s the beauty of the sport and all,” Lam said. They had a pensive look, like there was something else on their mind besides the random chance of when and how racing careers took off.
“Listen...uh...I would like to...apologise if we...got off the wrong foot.”

"Apology accepted. I'm glad you're doing better now." Qiang could have said a lot more. The truth is that he had been annoyed with Lam's initial reaction after the incident in Brisbane -- but he thought it was better not to dredge that up. Lam was making progress and he didn't want to derail it.

“Yeah...I think what happened woke me up a bit to...what I had to prove and it...certainly helped, in a way.”

Qiang smiled. It was exactly what he'd been going for all along. "That's why I did it in the first place," he said. "Sometimes you need someone to give you that push"

“I did mean what I said when I said you were one of the only things keeping me sane for a while, you know? Seeing someone like me going out there and winning races and being seen as a star was a huge part of my development and when...the bad stuff happened, watching you race certainly helped me push on and not give up hope.”

And now if was Qiang's turn to blush awkwardly. "I wish I could see myself the way you see me! I don't have anyone to keep me sane."

“Tsering?” Lam said, not missing a beat.

"Tsering helps a lot, but sometimes I'm still a mess," said Qiang. "You learn how to live with it, but the memories of everything you've been through never go away, and it still hurts sometimes."

“Yeah...same," said Lam. "Well...at least I’m only a fan of yours and not...TJUN-ia’s Ilya. Cool guy, don’t get me wrong, but...yeah, I’m not a fanatic.”

Qiang rolled his eyes. "That guy needs help."

“What kind?” Lam asked, apparently not quite catching Qiang's drift.

"The kind with a straight jacket and a padded cell."

“Harsh...," said Lam. "Will be interesting to see if the rumoured 69x team gets off ground.” For a moment they seemed lost in thought, thinking about Ilya and his fellow 69Xers. “Online can be pretty weird in general, to be honest,” they mused.

"Believe me, I know," said Qiang. And that was certainly true. For years, Qiang had been a favorite target for mean-spirited memes and crude fanfiction and fan art. "But it's not just online. Ilya does some weird shit at the track. He gave my wife this poster... It's fucking creepy!"

“Yeah...but that’s Ilya," said Lam. They could shrug it off more easily than Qiang, since they were not the object of Tsunopin's obsession. "Sometimes, others can be weird too," Lam rambled on. "I’ve seen a few try and put me in some sort of wacky love triangle with Ilya and Thea. Like how do you even comprehend that?”

"I don't know...," said Qiang. "I don't read a lot of fanfics. I think it's better for my mental health not to see all that stuff."

“Yeah...I totally get that.”

"You'll need to be careful about that too, now that you're getting noticed more. When you start doing well at the track, there are a lot of people that will love you for it, but there are also a lot of people that want to tear you down and see you fall."

“Yeah...that’s only natural," Lam said. "And sometimes, those fans get into the sport as a whole in the paddock...like Ilya and DCar.”

Qiang rolled his eyes. "Don't get me started about DCar." He was still annoyed with DCar for completely failing to grasp why he had pulled Lam's mask off, but still feeling compelled to write about it and add the incident to MemeWatch.

Lam prodded Qiang to keep the conversation flowing. “It’s OK, I won’t be offended by a dressing down of a fellow TJUN-ian.”

"If there was a championship for overthinking and misinterpreting things, he and Drake would be fighting it out for the top prize. Would you like to split an order of crab cakes?"

“Certainly," said Lam. "And yeah, DCar is a bit OTT...but Hapilopper loves him so I guess whatever works?”

"You're talking about a country that used a military aircraft to announce that Chris Holmes was having a son. In foreign airspace."

“Haha...yeah, that’s Hap.”

They went on chatting about this and that. The crab cakes arrived, the sun sank toward the western horizon, and the shadows lengthened on the pavement. They ordered more food and drinks. The awkwardness between them was gone and they chatted like friends. After a while, it got late, they both started getting tired, and Qiang's wives were expecting him. He paid for the food and drinks, left a tip for the waitress even though he could not remember for sure if it was expected in Saint Kanye, and bade Lam farewell.

Later that night when Qiang and Tsering were settling into bed, she asked how it had gone. "It went exactly the way I wanted," Qiang answered with a satisfied smile.

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – Race 16 – Multiversal: Pencurve Electronics 500, Jalton Superspeedway, Jalton, Saint Kanye (Superspeedway); Everlong: GGtech 450, Jalton Superspeedway, Jalton, Saint Kanye (Superspeedway)

The interview was a highlight for some of the Valentians, what with the most pressing questions being answered, as well as with the Valentians sharing what they exactly felt about the current line of racers, the events that have happened, and everything else along the way. For that day at Pencurve, however, several things have once again happened – both to the joy and annoyance of the Valentians. First and foremost, is to look at the status of drivers at Everlong, specifically Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine and Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds. With Marcus' recent victory, as well as Valentijn having two wins for her NSSCRA 12 belt, the two friends made it into the Chase of it all, with Valentijn starting at 2006 points, and Marcus at 2003 points. The two finished 21st and 22nd for the most recent race at Pencurve, but at this point, what mattered to them was that they put in a joint effort as always, and that they were finally able to pursue the Chase season together instead of having Marcus falling out amongst the regular drivers. The matter of not whether or not they are going to make it till the end of the season and perhaps an opportunity to get a championship for NSSCRA 12 will be up to them. For the time being, the two friends threw a fist bump at each other, then having a lunch together before they go back to Vilita for the mountainous road course.

The superspeedway race has been perhaps the most polarizing for the Valentians. For once, Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye, still having the touch of the previous race, was able to maintain and keep up the Top 10 positions save for the qualifications and the third section due to her needing to pit. Still, she managed to catch up and maintain her position at 6th for most of the segments, and then finally ending off with a 3rd, a podium finish for her as she held her medal and posed for the pictures like the Valentians always do with the medals and the trophies – hold it proud and high, and perhaps make sure that they are well within the shot of most of the photographers and reporters. Clarissa finished 27th, between the two Gardeners with Jolyn pushing the fronts while Anna was trying her best to keep the others at bay while following Clarissa. At the end of it, Ricky Lee made it in-between, but a non-problem. Unfortunately, Clarissa was unable to qualify for the Chase part of the season, since she neither got any wins, nor she did get points high enough to get qualified that way. There is, however, a Valentian who went in through points.

Chief Aviator Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate of Existence and the Omniverse” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Verlene Eveline Celinda Sammy Doris T-Rev Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Vitesse Allison was having a difficult time trying to get break through the mould that is "further than 13th". Starting just two positions ahead of Anastasia from the qualifications, Gwen made her way through the top positions, but was having a bit more trouble compared to her friend. One of them might have been attributed to one of the driver's defensive driving. As she hit 14th at the 5th segment, she was going to gun for the top position, or maybe even Top 10. Perhaps this would be the last time she would get such an opportunity to get a win before the Chase. A flurry of questions and thoughts were racing in her mind, from the worry about her potentially getting a DNF, to not scoring enough, or anything else along the way. The drivers in front of her were certainly not helping and was working against her favour. "Gwen, how are you holding and doing out there?" her crew chief asked, to which Gwen nodded to herself but sighed and let it out a bit via the radio, "Ahh, not too well, if I am honest. I err, I don't know what their plan was, but I cannot seem to pass through one car. #27, Stacie Houston." "Is she bumping and hitting you on purpose? Very rare she was doing that, I can ask their crew what's up." "No, it's okay! It's just a very competitive challenge, that's all! She's not doing anything dirty to me, just seems like she is giving me a good challenge. I like that, ahaha." And thus it was Gwen and Stacie having it going on at the last few laps of the race, the two trying their best not to hit each other while giving each other a bit of a fair sparring. Gwen appreciated that, and certainly Stacie must have also, seeing how she seemed to be the one starting it all. "Oh no, I am going to finish this one with a bit more points, I can promise that!" Gwen thought to herself, slamming down on the accelerator harder as they went to the straighter route. Eventually, she broke the spell, making it out of Stacie's grasp and then started gunning through the turns. However, by the time she was done, it would have been a bit too late, for Gwen finished off with a 13th. It certainly could've been better.

The African heat beating down upon her, Gwen wiped the sweat off from her forehead, looking through the next objective that she was supposed to go to, and maybe to look at some places here and there with the promise of a reward. She landed in the middle of this Unnamed African Country (UAC) a few days back, right in the middle of the civil war with the mercenaries put into the mix to sow the chaos, and an arms dealer that was supplying both sides of the conflict. With nowhere else to go and her teleportation still being a bit messed up, Gwen decided to stay and survive to the best of her abilities, avoiding the political conflicts and from getting herself shot during one of the many crossfires. However, as she was driving along the straight desert path, another car slammed onto her right, constantly rubbing and trading paint. "Oh, for goodness' sake!" Gwen exclaimed, slamming onto the accelerator in order to lose the random mercenary, but he was not having any of it. He seemed rather persistent, doing his best to push Gwen off of the trail and spin her car out or something along the line. Gwen, however, was not in a good mood either, turning and hitting the offending car and the driver. After a while, the car stopped, with both the Gwen and the mercenary going out perhaps to exchange some words. However, for this was the country where words were not exchanged, the mercenary pulled out a gun and was cocking it to fire off at Gwen, to which the latter returned the pleasantries and the gesture with her own, with predictable results – she slowed down time and pulled an Uzi of her own, shooting the guy on his leg and them slamming the butt of the rifle onto his head. "Normally I would just shoot and go off but, you know, I am feeling a little generous today," she remarked, winking and driving off.

This, of course, was not the UAC, and Gwen certainly did not have any of these desires to do any of these to the lovely people around her. After all, there is an obvious difference between shooting and knocking out the guy who hit you AND pulled a gun on you in the first place, versus a friendly sparring from an acquaintance-turned-friend from another country. The post-race results have announced that she did got into the Chase era, just that she placed and went in thanks to the points alone, tied do Jeremiah Brooke. Gwen was more than happy with the results, and for the time being, all she was happy with and wanting to do is to approach Stacie and to tell her all about the race on that day. She approached Stacie right after the race, perhaps finding her at her garage or even back at her lounge. Gwen waved and bowed a little, then went back to her cheerful and joyous self, "Hey, Stacie! Amazing race for today, haha! You gave me quite a bit of challenge there! Anyway, I would like to say good race all around, and wishing you all the best! Congratulations on getting into the Chase as well, all three of you made it! Must be exciting!"

[Garden at 6th Mile Road]

The Gardeners – Race 16 – Multiversal: Pencurve Electronics 500, Jalton Superspeedway, Jalton, Saint Kanye (Superspeedway); Everlong: GGtech 450, Jalton Superspeedway, Jalton, Saint Kanye (Superspeedway)

Anna “De Eeuwige Vreugde” Caitlin Madeline Brigitte Priscilla Teresa Mavis Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe, Tweede Verpersoonlijking van De Sierlijke und Verwonderlijk Feline Utopia ov Valentine Z has already been more than happy before on that day, perhaps getting a decent run with her Valentian friends. She often makes it a point to ensure that her happiness and her appearance is genuine, perhaps to prevent her from creeping out anyone else who might think that she is overly happy for her own good to the point of being weird or unsettling. Anna does understand other emotions, on the contrary of what the others think; it was simply the fact that she is more or less happiness as a person, and thus would have that emotion being her thing for the most parts. Going back to the race, it was a rather average one minus the DNF, except that the good news came to her in the way of the NSSCRA official. He walked towards her cooly, with a sheet of paper in his hand along with maybe a pen. Some contract to sign? Someone trying to sell her something? It was none of that. Instead, Anna finally made it in. In due to her persistence, as well as the relatively consistent performance that she was getting herself, along with interacting with the rest of the racers and her fans, she got a guaranteed charter. That is, Anna is no longer going to chase for qualifications starting from this season, and she is guaranteed an entry (as the name suggests) regardless of her qualification performance. "Aww, thank you so much, my kind friend!" Anna said, crouching a little bit and shaking the hand of the official, "Still, that makes me wonder, wouldn't that mean that other drivers are going to lose their spots?" "Unfortunately yes, but you need not worry about that too much. Such is the way of these seasons, and with the change of hands and the chartered drivers. It's more or less part and parcel of this race." Anna nodded with agreement, and bowed a bit, "I understand, and thank you once again for this opportunity! I will do my best, too!" He nodded.

Holly Aceline “De Stralend en Wonderbaarlijk Licht Koningin Van Haar Mooie Universum” Aurora Symantha Vreugde Astrid Lavender Lexis Lilac Harmony Tsi. Marlie Nova Radiant Lapia Starlight, on the other hand, was not in such a good shape. Come the end of the race, she was constantly hitting her head onto the wall of the Valentian dropship, much to the dismay of the other Valentians inside. Given her nature, she is not hurt by the bashing of her head. Rather, the place that she bumped her head onto would leave a small bit of ice and condensed water, thanks to her extremely cold temperatures. Even though this does not hurt her at all, the Valentians were still worried, with Anna soon joining in after getting the paper and the news from the NSSCRA official. For a while, it would seem like Anna was joyful and yellow, with Holly being a little sad and blue. "Ahh, just a coincidence!" she thought to herself, with her walking towards Holly and then placing a hand onto her shoulders. "No wait, don't touch me!" Holly suddenly exclaimed, to which she quickly retracted the statement, "Ohh, it's you, Anna! Hm hm, you will be fine, thankfully so. I am so sorry, I'm just a little sad lately. My 5th DNF, you know?" Anna nodded and then coaxed Holly to sit together with her in a private room – a little room inside the dropship that is turned into a magical and mystical garden, a fitting room for someone like Holly. Anna winked to the others, hinting that they will need some time alone, to which the Valentians gave them a private time of their own. Holly look around and sat on the little swing set under the tree, with Anna just standing there and gently giving her friend a push. "Hey, so.. sorry about what happened today! It must have been very, very rough." Holly nodded, letting out a small sigh, her two hands on the strings of the swing, "I don't know what's happening, either! I have been trying my best but, ahh, this is getting much more difficult than I thought. 5 DNFs, oh dear. What's been happening to me? Oh and yes, congratulations on your charter as well!" "Aww, thank you! Well, you know what Jolyn told you that time – you just have to keep trying! I mean, from what I have heard, we are not going into the Top 16 (Chase) but there will always be a next season for us! We just need to use this as a practice, you know? Plus, maybe do a bit more on the simulation, and check on the car's condition- is your car handling well?" "Yes, it is, that's pretty okay. I just.. ahh, I will need to think about it. Thanks for talking with me though, I appreciate that. I mean, yes, I am not here to discredit the rest of the Valentians, and they also did a great job. It's just nice that you joined and well, was helping me as well." Anna and Holly hugged it out.

[Abanhfleft]

Maybe it really wasn’t meant to be, Rustam Yudin tried to tell himself as his race came to an earlier end than usual once again. This time, it was at the final race of the regular season of NSSCRA where Rustam had been forced to bow out early, and once again it was because of another driver trying and failing to pull off a bump and run on the young Ceroatian. In this case, it was StrayaRoos’s Yuro Kiuba who tried to make a move on Rustam in order to unlap himself. The Ceroatian driving for UrGa had been running between the top 15 and top 25 before the incident with Kiuba, and when the StrayaRoosian driver tried to push Rustam out of the way, all it ended up doing was sending both of them into the wall. Rustam was able to bring his car back to the pits, but with his front axle in danger of snapping in two, the decision was made to not send him back out again. The damage was just too terminal to be fixed within the day. Oh well, he consoled himself as he went into the garages. He did everything that he could, even trying to unjinx himself on media day by playing down his own chances, but perhaps the racing gods knew what he was trying to pull and caused him to have an early DNF as a result.

That being said, Rustam was still a bit more chipper than expected when he met with his friend Taras Lakrov. Taras was wearing a dark blue military uniform with a large red and white checkerboard patch on the right shoulder with two crossed rifles on top; the symbol of the Ceroatian Ground Forces. At least half a dozen medal bars were clipped onto his left breast, and an oval medal with a red heart over a modern helmet was pinned just underneath the medal bars. Taras was also wearing a blood red beret on his head with a badge showing a cavalryman embossed on a silhouette of a tank, showing his status as a member of the 1st Cavalry Division. The formal nature of Taras's clothes made him stick out from the crowd of casually dressed fans of Yeezie and other such nationalities at Jalton. Taras had watched the race in person, and had seen what happened to Rustam, and so the former Motorsports Ceroat driver was a little bit hesitant when Rustam walked up to him.

“You know, Rustam, we don’t have to go anywhere right now,” Taras said. “If you want to go back to your garage to cool off, I understand.”

“No, no, it’s okay, believe me,” Rustam shook his head. “I need to be out of the garage once in a while! I need to see the sights! I need to know if Jalton’s actually what we thought it would be or not!”

“Again, I’m fine if you don’t want to go tonight,” Taras repeated. “I managed to get myself an extended leave so I don’t have to go back to Ceroat yet first thing Monday morning. And there’s a week-long break before the start of the playoffs so I don’t think your team is in any hurry to get back as well.”

“No! I’m fine! Trust me!” Rustam shouted, which only proved the point that he was anything but fine. Thankfully, he seemed to realize this, so he was able to stop himself from making an even bigger scene out of this. “All right, Taras. You got me. I’m not fine. I’m not okay. I really wanted to make the Chase this year, but no matter what I did, I just couldn’t get in! That’s why I need to go out there right now. I need to get my mind off of this thing. I don’t want to think about anything right now; I just want to be.”

“Are you sure about that?” Taras asked. “You look like you have so much more on your mind that a simple walk around Jalton probably won’t let you deal with.”

“You’re damn right I’ve got a lot on my mind!” Rustam cried out. “UrGa brought me up to this team from Everlong because I got into the Chase there twice! They needed someone who could consistently get into the Chase after Archer had to retire for medical reasons! They expected a guy that could take their second car into the Chase, and what did they get? Some scared kid who couldn’t even finish the last two races of the regular season?”

“Now you’re just being harsh on yourself, Rustam,” Taras said. "Sure, you screwed up by not finishing in the last two races, but to call yourself scared through all this… that's just silly. You've always been the one to try a bold and risky move wherever you feel like it. When the bottom groove turns into a conveyor belt, you're often the first one to move up to find a way through the pack. If only the top is working, you're willing to flirt with the apron as much as you can while still getting away with it. You were one of the biggest risk-taking drivers back home, Rustam. You were never scared of anything on the road. The only thing that’s changed for you between now and then is your luck. You’ve been almost consistently in the top 20 if you don’t take into account the two races where you DNFed. You’ve always been both a competent and a competitive racing driver, Rustam Ilyich. What’s two DNFs in the grand scheme of things, huh? Sure, you may not have made the Chase, but you said it yourself in your media interview. Maybe you weren't meant to be in the Chase this season. Yes, I know you're more than capable of holding your own in the playoffs, but perhaps this season is meant to be one where you're getting back to grips with being in a Multiversal car. Maybe next year, you'll be right back in the Chase, where you belong."

"You really believe all that, don't you, Taras?" Rustam asked. "You really believe it!"

"Come on now, Rustam," Taras said, smiling even as he shook his head. "I've had firsthand experience of driving against you before, so you can bet that I believe every single word I've ever said about you."

"I never knew you thought so highly of me, Taras," Rustam said.

"Don't let it get to your head," Taras warned his friend. "You know what this reminds me of? The first time that I had to go through airport security with my new prosthetics. I had already gotten used to walking around with a metal leg and a metal arm, but I have to admit that I was surprised when I set off the metal detector because, like I said, that was the first time in a long time that I had gone through an airport since the Chaos and everything else that had happened in Ceroat. And you know what sticks out to me about that experience up to this day? The airport staff didn't say anything when I showed them my metal leg, but they were all shocked when I showed them my metal hand. I mean, how does that even make sense? They're both prosthetic limbs, so why is one more acceptable for other people to see than the other? I never got the answer to that question, but I did end up getting myself a more realistic-looking prosthetic hand, one that's made of plastic and colored like my skin. Once I got my new prosthetic hand, I was now breezing through airport security like you wouldn't believe. The point is that sometimes, things happen to us that may not look like they have any meaning at all. I got myself a new hand because of what happened at the airport that now allows me to go through security quicker than before. Maybe, just maybe, there's something that happened in your two DNFs that will eventually make you a quicker driver and finally get you back into the Chase."

"I really wish that that would come true, Taras," Rustam muttered. "And I also wish that it will come sooner rather than later."

"Believe me, Rustam Ilyich, it will come," Taras assured his younger friend. "By the way, where is Pyotr? What's taking him so long?"

---

Well, here he was, Guillermo Archer thought to himself as he waited outside the Team Blue Center for Drake Stevenson. Archer and the Hapiloppians certainly didn't have a history of getting along well, but on this occasion Gil had invited Drake to a drink in Jalton after the latter announced that he had broken up with his girlfriend, defending Multiversal series champion Taylor Henderson. Drake had agreed to the drink, which was probably why Gil hadn't yet been told to beat it.

Drake emerged from the Team Blue Center and met with Gil, and soon the Hapiloppian current driver took the Fleftic former driver to the spot that he wanted. Gil ordered a bottle of Blood Moon, and then once he had taken a swig, he said to Drake, "I'm sorry to hear that you and Hendo couldn't make it work, man. I really am. I guess I've been spoiled by the other driver couples in NSSCRA like Stacie and Jeremiah, Qiang and Tsering, AJ and Gao Gao, and even Stefan and Mercado. Or maybe it's because I'm probably a hopeless romantic deep, deep down inside. But that's enough from me. Tonight, this is all about you and whatever you want to talk about. Talk about whatever you want, man, and I'll just be here to listen."

(OOC: Kept this section short and sweet and focused on Gil so Hap can expand and elaborate on this if he wants.)

[Vilita and Turori]

NSSCRA 12 | Round 17 Preview: Challenge at the Rocks

Vilaye Energy Drink 314, Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Rockii Coast, Vilita

The Vilaye Energy Drink 314 returns for the second consecutive season as the opening round of the NSSCRA Chase Playoffs. The Vilaye Energy Drink 314 also known as The Challenge at the Rocks - s the name that the event has historically had, has grown substantially since receiving an infusion of corporate sponsorship from the Vilisorma Beverage Company and a renaissance at the historic racing facility carved out of the Rock along the Vilitan coast. The relationship between the track and the Vilisorma Beverage Company has helped expand the appeal for fans with many new venues and events on site, a greatly expanded fan zone and even the introduction of a footsport pitch with local club Rockii Coast in town with free admission for race ticket holders on a first come first serve basis. It has also been cited as a critical connection for VilBev in expanding its Vilaye Energy Drink brand.

The event at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course in Rockii Coast is now the longest running continuous event on the NSSCRA schedule, overtaking the long standing race event at the Concord Heights Raceway in Cassadaigua which was not contested from NSSCRA Season 11. Starting with NSSCRA Season 8 the Vilaye Energy Drink 314 has also been included as a part of the Five Star Combo program where Cassadaigua based Five Star Mobile offers Race Winners of some of the seasons biggest events with a monetary bonus.

The NSSCRA uses the original Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course which is a high speed banked road course and does not include use of 'The Boot' - an additional section off the backstretch which adds 20 seconds of low speed braking opportunity typically used during grand prix and open wheel competition.

Challenge @ the Rocks Winners

Race Winners:

4: Ashley Clarke (Cassadaigua)

5: Season Results Vacated

6: Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)

7: Skip Stiller (Saint Kanye)

8: Oberst Eva Kerman (Jebslund)

9: Guillermo Archer (Abanhfleft)

10: Valentina Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)

11: Taylor Henderson (Valentine Z)

Pole Winners:

4: Tegino Kadeni (56.419) - ENSADRINK Hodori

5: Season Results Vacated (00.00) - Unknown

6: Liuyong Xu (56.760) - Guilin Motorsport

7: Stacie Houston (56.803) - Team Cassadaigua

8: Centur Tiones (56.830) - Vilita & Turori Motorsports

9: Frank Bronson (56.857) - Team Blue

10: Kai Qiang (60.755) - The Sherpa Empire

11: Centur Tiones (60.466) - Vilita & Turori Motorsports

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Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course :: Information

Track Location: Rockii Coast, Vilita, Atlantian Oceania
Challenge Lap Record: 56.419 (Tegino Kadeni, NSSCRA 4)
Challenge+ Lap Record: 60.466 (Centur Tiones, NSSCRA 11)
Full Boot Lap Record: 1:25.440 (Stang Crax, WGPC 11)
Precipitation Chance: 14%

Overview:

Located in the picturesque region of Vilitan right overlooking the waters of Atlantian Oceania, the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course was carved out of the Rocks on Vilita's Rockii Coast and offers a unique challenge to all drivers. The original challenge course consists of a wide-open high intensity speed park while The Grand Prix 'Boot' modification of the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course was a new addition to the facility in preparation for its inclusion in World Grand Prix Championship 11.

Where to Eat:

Inside of the pit area in the center of the track you will find the central eatery with all the local cuisine, as well as some brought to you by the other competing nations as well. Everything from meats to the meat free, things that fly, things that moo and things that swim. The "We'll Fry It!" location has become one of the most popular at the track season after season. The "We'll Fry It!" brand is actually banned from regular commerce on the main island of Vilita due to the perceived health risks, however, sporting venues such as the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course regularly apply for and receive a waiver to allow the "We'll Fry It!" shop appeal to foreign and local fans. The business model is supreme as they don't supply any of the food with the price of the meal. The guest brings.... whatever they want... and "We'll Fry It" frys it for them. Fans who don't have anything to fry will still be able to participate in the fun as the staff on hand bring a large selection of various meats and candies that can be purchased and fried for an additional fee, but "We'll Fry It" will fry anything under 2 square feet in size for just 7 tures.

Outside of the paddock area, the hidden gem of the course is the famed Poultry Shack in Turn 13. The Poultry Shack is an absolutely exquisite source to quench that meaty craving and they will dish it any way you can handle it. You can walk away with a leg in your hand or even a cup of soup. Fans sometimes don't like to make the walk all the way to the Shack however, in addition to the food, the view is incredible looking out over the Vilitan cliffs over the Water. Visibility at turn 13 and the shack is thought to be amongst the most impressive in the entire Island.

Cocoa-bo will be on hand with their famous delectables with small stands serving their signature chocolate topped drinks throughout the facility as well as two full-service Cocoa-bo eateries - a new edition for this season, will serve as a social 'hang-out' for fans who are spending the whole weekend at the track offering items such as Bagels for the morning, Soups and Sandwiches for Lunch or Dinner and Salads for the entire day.

Where to access the drivers:

Drivers are readily accessible to those with a Paddock Pass. However, in the Paddock the drivers are working so fans are asked to to approach the drivers. Instead, let the drivers approach you. There will also be designated driver interaction zones for fans with scheduled driver appearances posted throughout the weekend. The Vilisorma Beverage Company has also invested in a new viewing area for fans where they can safely peer into the garage area behind a plexi-glass barrier as the teams prepare their cars for the on track activities.

Where to get Free Stuff or Prizes:

Fans likely won't have to walk more than a few hundred yards without being coerced into taking a free sample of various products on display such as the local-based race title sponsor Vilaye Energy Drink. Check the boot area around Turn 7 for the best Vilaye booths where they will not only be giving out full beverages but they will have other prizes you can win and games for the children. A Second Vilaye Booth by the start/finish line will be double its normal size for this event given Vilaye's role as a title sponsor and will have additional activities and giveaways. Vilaye will also be featuring a Vilaye BOOM! display offering gratuities free samples of its latest product as well as a meet and greet scheduled with Vilaye Energy Drink drivers River 'Shark' Suzgar II and Islago Tizilna. Look for giveaways and handouts from other event and team sponsors throughout the Fan section of the paddock and grandstand areas.

The most exciting display however is the recurring Tiones Lumber display outside Turn 1. Tiones Lumber holds mini-lumberjack competitions for the fans at each major event at the course and you can line up to compete in many famed wood-based competitions such as the 40-foot speed climb, Long rolling, the Standing Block Chop and there will even be a team relay. The best times each day win prizes from Tiones Lumber. First prize winners will be excluded from winning on subsequent days but alternate prize winners can compete for the big prize the following day. Fans who beat the all time-records could find themselves winning free Paddock Passes or other great prizes from Tiones Lumber. There will also be a #2 Tiones Lumber Dart Show Car at the display throughout the weekend to allow pictures.

Perhaps looking to challenge Tiones Lumber for the 'most exciting display' honors, Tropicorp Racing Supply will be on hand with their popular 'Pit Stop Challenge" display at the end of the pit lane where fans will be able to test their ability to change a tyre or act as the fuel person so long as they first sign a release form indemnifying Tropicorp and the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course of any injury that may occur as they attempt to set the fast times to qualify for prize drawings from Tropicorp including the highly coveted Tropicorp Sifaka hat and seat cushions.

Toys '4' All will return with its popular a slot car racing track that fans can compete for a small fee in races against their fellow fans. Anyone who makes a purchase from the Toys '4' All sales tent at the track will receive a coupon for one free drive on the Slot Car track.

Other companies such as Five Star Mobile are expected to be present in the Fan Zone area while Arcticala Electrical will have an educational display discussing future Energy technologies.

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:: Tiones Lumber Lumberjack Challenge ::

The Tiones Lumber corporation has a long history of aligning itself with sporting events in Vilita & Turori, from being the long time shirt sponsors of the Vilitan Stellar Division's Yeaddin Owls AFC, to their sponsorships in motorsports, the name "Tiones" is always on the forefront. Competitors and fans alike reap the benefits of Tiones Lumber involvement in sporting events with their finances sometimes allowing a team to compete or an event to proceed and their famous Lumberjack Competition displays always a hit with the fans.

Instead of just having one or two concurrent 'zones' that fans can test their lumberjack mettle in, there will be five distinct zones where fans will be able to participate in various activities. There will be four 'competitive' zones where participants will be timed and scored for their execution - whether they are truly competitive or not - with each days top times earning a prize and the best scores of the race weekend crowned champions. The fifth zone will be deemed a 'family zone' with events and challenges more suited for children to participate in.

The Five zones will be as follows:

COMPETITIVE ZONES ::
Note, All competitive events will explicitly require a waiver and release of all liability against Tiones Lumber signed by the participant

Zone 1: Chopping & Cutting

There will be 3 distinct events available in Zone 1, the Standing Chop, the Firewood Split and the Saw-Through Cut.

Standing Chop: Tool: Standard Axe :: In the Standing Chop Challenge, competitors can be scored in two different categories: Time and Number of Chops. A single 12 inch diameter log will be stood vertically and the competitor will be tasked with chopping through until the log is severed. Competitive times are expected to be under 20 seconds.All contestants are required to wear chain mail protection from the waste down to protect against injury from errant chops.

Firewood Split: Tool: Standard Axe :: Like the Standing Chop, there are two separate criteria used to grade the Firewood Split. Contestants will have 45 seconds to split. as many firewood segments as they can. The first 10 segments will be pre-staged and the contestant will be timed in completion of the first 10 successful splits. Should they have time remaining on the clock after the 10th split they will be tasked with resetting and further chopping segments until time runs out. Winners will be declared both on speed and number of splits made. All contestants are required to wear chain mail protection from the waste down to protect against injury from errant chops.

Saw-Through Cut: Tool: One-man Bucking Saw :: Contestants will saw through an elevated, horizontal log with a 20 inch diameter using a one-man bucking saw. Competitive times are expected to be below 15 seconds.

Zone 2: Climbing

The Climbing zone will see three identical Climbing Challenge stations to allow multiple contestants to attempt the event at the same time.

The event consists of a 20 meter tall vertical log which the contestant must after starting from a position with both feet on the ground, climb and bypass the 18 meter mark. Contestants will have spurred climbers on their feet and steel-cored climbing ropes. Several safety precautions are taken in the event. A support pole next to the designated climbing log will support a belay rope system managed by event staff. Time will stop once the contestant reaches the 18 meter mark on the vertical log and the contestant will not be timed on the way back from the top of the climbing log to return to the ground. Competitive times are expected to be below 13 seconds.

Zone 3: Log Rolling

A new addition, the Log Rolling competition will take place in water. Multiple floating logs will stretch from one end of the log pool to the other with a dry dock on either side. Contestants will be timed on crossing the pool twice - or from the starting dock to the opposite dock, then back to the starting dock. If the competitor falls into the water they are permitted one attempt to re-mount the log and continue their run. If the contestant should fall a second time their run will be ended and they will be given credit for the number of total logs they have traversed.

Zone 4: Team Events

Team Saw-Through Cut: Tool: Two-man Bucking Saw :: Contestants will saw through an elevated, horizontal log with a 20 inch diameter using a two-man bucking saw. Competitive times are expected to be below 7 seconds.

Team Log Rolling: Multiple floating logs will stretch from one end of the log pool to the other with a dry dock on either side. Contestants will be timed on crossing the pool twice. Two team members will start on opposite sides of the pool and will have to traverse from their starting dock to the opposite dock and back resulting in two 'passes' where teammates will have to bypass each other on the same log. Contestants must bypass each other on the logs and can not use the docks or the water to complete a bypass. If the competitor falls into the water they are permitted one attempt to re-mount the log and continue their run. If a team suffers a total of three combined falls their run will be ended and they will be given credit for the number of total logs the least advanced competitor has traversed. Time will be stopped once the second of the two team competitors has returned to their starting dock.

NON-COMPETITIVE ZONES ::

Zone 5: Family Zone

The non-competitive family zone will feature learning zones where Firewood Splitting techniques will be taught; three single-log rolling pools including one with a picture zone where the log can be locked into place for an individual or family to pose for photos, two 7 meter climbing logs, a firewood stacking challenge area and a special tree planting zone that teaches youngsters and parents alike the value of Tiones Lumber's Renewable Lumber Operations.

As always, Tiones Lumber is also inviting all NSSCRA drivers to try their hand at the various Lumberjack events in a special reserved time slot after the Qualifying session.

---

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Contenders at the Rocks Presented by The Dart Group, Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Rockii Coast, Vilita

The Everlong Contender's Series will make its second appearance at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course to contest the "Contender's at the Rocks" event Presented by the Dart Group. It will mark the opening round of the NSSCRA Season 12 Everlong Contenders Series Chase and the opening event of the race weekend in the Vilitan Cove.

Vilita & Turori Motorsports driver Islago Tizilna holds the qualifying record from one season prior at 60.630 seconds. The defending race winner is Rustam Ilyich Yudin. Neither driver will be competing in the NSSCRA 12 Contenders at the Rocks event as both have moved up to the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series where they are competing for the Coleman and Thorne Rookie of the Season honors.

Fans attending the race weekend in Rockii Coast can visit the Cocoabo Park booth in the infield or on the main concourse to purchase tickets for the second round of the AOCAR Stock Car Series Playoffs in Cocoabo Park and receive 50% off any overnight stay at the Cocoabo Park Resort. AOCAR Stock Car Series Teams will not be on hand as the series will be competing the following weekend at the Mavalaio Speedrome on Turoki Island.

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[Vilita and Turori]

TORALMINTII SET FOR NSSCRA RETURN IN ROCKII COAST

Nationstates Grand Prix IV - Reserve Driver
NSSCRA Season 4 - Driver - Vilita & Turori Motorsports
NSSCRA Season 5 - Driver - Vilita & Turori Motorsports
WGPC 11 - 18th Place (5 Points) - WGPC Motorsport Works Driver
WGPC 12 - 19th Place (4 Points) - WGPC Motorsport Works Driver
Super Formula Championship 1 - 1st Place (52 Points) Vilita & Turori Motorsports
Super Formula Championship 2 - 1st Place (77 Points) Vilita & Turori Motorsports
WGPC 14 - 2nd Place (128 Points) - Vilita & Turori Motorsports
WGPC 15 - 12th Place (35 Points) - WGPC Eelandii Motorworks
NSSCRA Season 6 - 1 Start (24th place - Vilaye 314)
WGPC 16 - 1 Start; WGPC Eelandii Team Principle
NSSCRA Season 7 - 3 Starts (9th Place - Vilaye 314)
WGPC 17 - 2nd Place (147 Points) - Tropicorp Racing Ælund
NSSCRA Season 8 - 2 Starts (Pole - Rumble in the Rice Fields)
iROS-I - 1st Place (58 Points)
NSSCRA S9 - IRACT Rumble in the Rice Fields (3rd Place)
WGPC 18 - 2nd Place (101 Points) - Tropicorp Racing Ælund
NSSCRA S10 - IRACT Rumble in the Rice Fields (3rd Place)
AOMC - 5th Place - Team Turori
NSSCRA Season 11 - 2 Starts (Best Finish: 34th)
iROS-II - 5th Place (52 Points)
WGPC 19 - 1st Place (127 Points) - Tropicorp Racing Ælund

Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Rockii Coast, Vilita :: With the World Grand Prix Circuit in an offseason and the iROS having not yet kicked off its season, there were some questions as to whether iBen Toralmintii would make a familiar stop in at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course when the NSSCRA visited the circuit to kick off the NSSCRA Chase Playoffs. Any such doubts were erased with the big announcement that Toralmintii would make their return to the NSSCRA Circuit in a joint-effort entry between Tropicorp Racing Aelund, Race Eelandii and Vilita and Turori Motorsports. Toralmintii's #77 Hybrid Dart will be painted to resemble the Turorian's Tropicorp Racing Aelund World Grand Prix race car which Toralmintii recently piloted to the World Drivers Championship in the 19th World Grand Prix Championship season. It will include all of Toralmintii's sponsors from the World Grand Prix circuit with the exception of Fryst Energy who are not involved in the NSSCRA and whose interests would conflict with that of race sponsor Vilisorma Beverage Company.

Toralmintii's #77 entry is not expected to be a one-off entry either, with the World Grand Prix and NSSCRA Veteran expecting to take the same vehicle with them to The Sherpa Empire to compete in the Rumble in the Rice Fields with a view of improving on their runner-up performance in the previous running of the event and potentially making an additional NSSCRA Start at the Li River Speedway. The impetus for the new partnership is in an attempt to improve Toralmintii's performances in one-off NSSCRA Appearances. The Turorian - who has a best career NSSCRA finish of 2nd place at the HorusLand 400 during NSSCRA Season 5, has not posted a top 10 finish since NSSCRA Season 7 when they posted a 9th place finish in a one off appearance at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course. Toralmintii and the team are hoping that the new partnership will give the #77 car the speed it needs for Toralmintii to once again put in a competitive showing on the NSSCRA Circuit.

In addition to plans to potentially bring the car to the Rumble in the Rice Fields at the Li River Speedway and the Tyrrhenian Heavens 500 in Valentine Z, if Toralmintii is able to bring the #77 Tropicorp Racing Aelund machine home relatively unscathed there are discussions of allowing Toralmintii's friend and Race Eelandii partner Juracai Klianiota pilot the #77 at an upcoming NSSCRA event in Kannap. Klianiota struggled during the regular season of the AOCAR Stock Car Series this season and is out of championship contention, potentially allowing the Turorian driver to shift focus and take advantage of the chance to return to the track in the NSSCRA. Klianiota's last NSSCRA appearance came during NSSCRA Season 9 at the Vilaye Energy Drink 314 in place of Toralmintii who was unable to compete due to other commitments. Klianiota previously competed a partial NSSCRA Season in the #73 car for Hapilopper's Team Blue, recording a best finish of 7th place at the NSSCRA 8 season ending Proving Grounds 500.

iBen Toralmintii: Career Summary ::
The transition from full-bodied Stock Cars to Open Wheel was not immediate for iBen Toralmintii who left the struggling NSSCRA circuit to take on open wheel racing as a WGPC Motorsport Works driver during WGPC Season 11. After having to fight tooth and nail for every position and accruing just 9 points over two seasons as a WGPC Motorworks driver, Toralmintii decided to hit the reset button, departing the WGPC circuit to join the Nationstates Super Formula Championship series.

In Hodori, Toralmintii quickly caught on to the driving style - putting together strong consistent finishes throughout the season before claiming their first Super Formula victory in the final event of the season along with the season Championship. Due to the great success, Toralmintii returned for a second season of Super Formula action and started things off the same way winning the opening round before a runner up finish at his home track in Turori. Posting another consistent and smooth season, Toralmintii had all but defended the title heading into the final round but left nothing to chance, claiming their third career Super Formula race victory and second consecutive series championship.

Building on the momentum gained as back-to-back Nationstates Super Formula Champion, Toralmintii and the Vilita and Turori Motorsports team made a triumphant return to the World Grand Prix Championship during WGPC Season 14 putting up the single most dominating performance by any constructor in a single World Grand Prix Championship season with Toralmintii finishing narrowly behind debutant teammate Terho Talvela for the drivers championship. It was just the second time in WGPC history that two drivers from the same team finished 1-2 in the drivers standing after Team Rolatia did so during WGPC season 2 with drivers Thomas Ragji and William Sralt.

But things turned sour for Vilita & Turori Motorsports and Toralmintii during the off-season as Talvela and the funding from Abovian sponsors Nortec and Arctic Air sought glitz and glamour at the MRT race team sacrificing technical performance and results in the process. The VTM team closed its doors after just one season and its assets were repurposed as a Works team, WGPC Eelandii. After driving one season for the WGPC Eelandii Motorworks team Toralmintii announced that they would retire from driving full time in order to take on the role of Team Principle overseeing the development of new drivers.

With the time off from driving, Toralmintii rekindled the flame running some local events within the Vilitan Cove included the popular NSSCRA Stock Car event, the Challenge at the Rocks. After posting a Top 10 finish at the Challenge and putting on a display of the WGPC Eelandii Motorworks ride for fans, it was clear the desire for success was still there. Toralmintii stunned the World Grand Prix ranks by signing a deal to return to top-level World Grand Prix Championship racing with the newly formed Tropicorp Racing Aelund team based out of Aboveland.

The move re-united Toralmintii with his former Vilita and Turori Motorsports teammate Terho Talvela and while the season got off to a slow start, the duo slowly started to re-gain some of the magic that had seen them combine for the highest points haul in World Grand Prix history during the World Grand Prix's 14th season. Toralmintii's dream of winning the World Grand Prix title was dented by a slow start to the campaign but they secured their place in the conversation of greatest auto racing drivers of all time by finding a new gear as the World Grand Prix circuit hit its Atlantian Oceania swing. Toralmintii piloted the #77 machine to back-to-back-to-back-to-back race victories to become the first driver in World Grand Prix Championship history to win four consecutive races. By seasons end Toralmintii had missed out on the drivers Championship by just five points and the conversation had wholly shifted from whether the Turorian driver would return for one more season behind the wheel to whether or not they could finally best their Abovian teammate to become a World Grand Prix Champion.

The Answer, however, was once again no. Toralmintii finished behind Talvela once more in WGPC Season 18 in the most inexplicable fashion. Toralmintii was in Top form throughout WGPC Season 18 leading the field with three race victories and entered the final race in Mattijana needing just a handful of points to convery their comfortable points lead into a championship. In the final round, however, the #77 Tropicorp Racing Aelund machine lasted only two circuits and teammate Terho Talvela rallied to a runner-up performance turning a winless season into an unlikely championship, besting Toralmintii by just 4 points. Marking the end of an era, Talvela retired on the spot becoming the first ever three-time World Grand Prix Champion. After some speculation, the veteran Toralmintii confirmed they would Return to Tropicorp Racing Ælund for WGPC Season 19 while attempting to compete for the Championship with a new teammate for the first time. As the clear #1 driver at Tropicorp Racing Ælund, Toralmintii took charge and instead of the checkers or wreckers mentality that had earned them notoriety in previous campaigns and made the Turorian the all time winningest driver in World Grand Prix history, Toralmintii took a measured approach to WGPC Season 19 becoming the circuits most consistent driver with three runner-up finishes and one late-season victory to secure the World Drivers Championship for the first time.

Toralmintii's brief detour into the NSSCRA during NSSCRA Season 7 is credited with re-energizing the Turorian drivers career and Toralmintii hasn't forgotten that by any means, returning to the stock car ranks whenever their busy schedule as a top tier World Grand Prix driver permits. After making three appearances during the NSSCRA Season 7 campaign, iBen Toralmintii made just one appearance for Vilita and Turori Motorsports during NSSCRA Season 8 joining the team for a fifth straight appearance at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course Challenge at the Rocks NSSCRA Race Weekend. Unfortunately it would be Toralmintii's worst performance at the track in all competitions after a number of issues plagued the team throughout the race weekend. Toralmintii ended the race in 34th place well behind their full time Vilita and Turori Motorsports teammates who, after starting together on the front row, finished 3rd, 4th and 7th in the race.

While their schedule did not permit participation at the Vilaye Energy Drink 314 in NSSCRA Season 9 or 10, Toralmintii did compete at the Li River Speedway in the Rumble at the Rice Fields both seasons. During NSSCRA Season 9, Toralmintii would take pole position at the Rumble for the second consecutive season but finish the event in third place. During NSSCRA Season 10, Toralmintii would once again finish 3rd at the Rumble, missing out on advancing to a place in the NSSCRA Event. Having become something of an expert at the course, Toralmintii would return again during NSSCRA Season 11 - struggling in Qualifying with a 28th place run but would drive up through the field and nearly take the victory, finishing just behind Jaguar Racing's Batu Tüvshinbayar who took the victory. The runner-up finish booked Toralmintii a spot in the Guangxi Telecom 400 for the first time but unfortunately the old Chassis brought to the Guangxi Territory by The Dart Group and Team Tropicorp for the IRACT event was simply not on par with the top tier cars on track in the NSSCRA, and even Toralmintii's World Class driving talent and familiarity with the Li River Speedway course could produce a result as the Turorian would finish in 35th position.

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[Kimi-Suomi]

And so, that was that. HM's first NSSCRA Regular Season was in the books and with 1 driver making it in overall, many in Kimi-Suomi can consider this debut campaign a success. But as the road to the crown formally got underway in Jalton, how was everyone feeling with 10 races to go?

DM
Seeing that chequered flag certainly produced an emotion for HM's Pomo - one of reflection and one of hope at the same time. Seeing his drivers go out there and actually make a bit of noise in both tiers of NSSCRA was certainly enjoyable to Daniel Marx and he knew that no matter what happened now, the HM Machine was certainly in full effect. Getting Ilmari into the T2 Playoffs will be the start of a team he hopes to build into one that can be just as respected as the Jaguar over in JYK-inen. All teams have to start somewhere and this start certainly leaves hope for the future.

But just because the regular season is done, doesn't mean the job is as well. 10 more races remain in this season and points will always be points after all. Now, the aim for T1 will be to focus on getting both cars into the Top 30 and increase their chances of getting two charters next season. One for the mask and one for...the goat Marx still didn't know how to reveal his heart to. T2 will be all about trying to go as far as possible, with no pressure or strings attached. Just go out there and have fun! Mene vain ulos ja pidä hauskaa!

T2
The Toisen Tason Duo went out and did the best job they could and that would certainly mean both drivers would leave Jalton in a very good mood. Kaarina Salo converted 15th to 11th and while she ended up too far back to make the playoffs, she certainly felt happy that she was in the mix and she hoped she could support Ilmari Pëkannen indirectly in his push in the Chase.

Ilmari secured his spot in with one of the best weekends he's ever had, both qualifying and finishing in 2nd and getting HM to the podium for the 3rd time this season. He will certainly have a tough time up in the Top 16 battle over the next 3 races, but getting some good results could lead to advancement up the ranks if he can do something magical...like this weekend was. His handshake with Kaarina after the race was a visual confirmation that the truce was in effect and now, all eyes shall turn to Vilita.

AK
Starting from kuollut viimeisenä meant that the only way was up for Aurélia Karvonen, essentially trying to get a bonus from the race sponsors by climbing the most places from starting position. In the end, she would end up gaining 22 spots on route to ending up in 24th, which was certainly a good shift by all things considered.

Her aim now will be trying to secure HM's future as a 2-Charter team by getting both cars as high up the rankings as possible. Racing for points over the final 10 races will certainly be useful for the team's overall development and Karvonen will hope to get some good points on the board now that the pressure is off everyone's backs.

LCC
Considering their recent form, some people across the NSSCRA world may have suggested that Lam Chow-Cheung could've sprung a surprise and made it into the Chase at the 11th hour. Starting from 27th, Lam felt that maybe actually doing that might be a step too far but considering they would end up in 8th come to the flag, they certainly gave it a good old go - a sign that the masked driver was improving their standing in the NSSCRA grid. Now that the regular season is over, Lam can confidently look at their 27th placement in the standings and think "Wow, I did a good job" - and they've got 10 more races to improve that standing in some great locations.

That chat they had with Kai Qiang was still floating around the mind, both an eye-opener and a sign that Lam was certainly getting more social in general. Turning up to that cafe without their mask was a big step in its own right, but actually holding a deep conversation with Kai Qiang of all people, in public no less, was just on a whole other level. They had a great time chatting at that cafe and the entire day of Lam Sans Mask made them realise that maybe...they could...do it again. Maybe they could go out without the mask in Vilita (with the Yeezie outfit, of course) and go exploring. And then maybe do the same in Kannap. And Sword Island. And Guilin maybe (in a different outfit, of course). Lam certainly enjoyed stepping out into the world both incognito and noticeable...and they felt like they needed to do it again. Lam Chow-Chueng felt powerful in the fact that in the days to come, some in Jalton and maybe beyond will ponder who was the fan Kai Qiang was talking to that weekend.

[Hapilopper]

PART I: Drake’s side of the story

A bar somewhere in Jalton, Saint Kanye
During the weekend of the Pencurve 500
“You know, I appreciate that, Gil, but as far as breakups go, it’s not that bad, I got off lucky.”

Drake Stevenson was staring down a bottle of Blood Moon beer as he sat next to Guillermo Archer in a bar not far from the Jalton Superspeedway. Archer had invited Drake out to get a few drinks feeling sorry for him that he and Taylor Henderson had split up. It was a nice gesture, and Drake accepted it. Plus, Drake had actually kind of missed Archer out there, and was glad to see that it looked like he was in a much better place than he was this time one year ago.

The evening allowed Drake to reflect on the end of his relationship with Taylor – a relationship that officially began a year ago that weekend, but probably didn’t last because their personalities clashed badly. There was nobody bothering him – inevitably there had to be a few fans there but they weren’t bugging Drake or Archer. There might have been a few media types there, but knowing the NSSCRA media, once the day’s work was done, they’d much rather go visit the local watering hole and unwind rather than interview another god damn prima donna NSSCRA driver.

“We just kept yelling at each other,” Drake started. “She’s maybe the most competitive person I’ve ever met. And that’s good on the race track, but in home life, you just got to slow down and let yourself relax. She wouldn’t let herself relax. It freaked me out and it made me wonder if she was going to snap on me. And I wonder if I made her feel the same way. Wouldn’t surprise me.”

Drake took a sip from his beer as he stared out into space. He didn’t like showing his emotions as much as he was doing at this point, but it was helping.

“Guillermo, neither of us were really enjoying doing what we were doing. We didn’t have a lot of time for us to be just a couple. But when we went out on my boat to be a couple, Taylor just fuckin’… she was miserable that we weren’t at the track. She was miserable that we were away from everything. She was miserable that we were on the boat. I love racing too, but, sometimes you got to give it a rest. This was three days we gave ourselves in order to help ourselves as a couple and it was screwed. I had enough.”

Drake took a deep breath and thought about his next words.

“Morning of the race in Hap City, we said nothing to each other. Didn’t need to, but after the race, after we got home, we still didn’t speak. Taylor was pissed about something and couldn’t leave it at the track. I guess the problem was, she’s got a certain intensity that I can’t handle. At the end of the day, when I’m not on the track, not at the track, not at the shop, not anything near a racing event, I wanna chill. I wanna sit on my back porch, smoke a cigar and drink some whiskey, listen to some tunes and talk about baseball. See some pro wrestling show. Calm the nerves. Taylor was on it from the word “go” and wouldn’t get off it until she went to bed.

“So, two days later I told her we needed to talk. To my surprise, she said that yeah, we did. So we spoke for hours. I mean, hours upon hours, and she said that she felt I was too angry all the time and she couldn’t handle it. And I mean, I get it, I fly off the handle a little prematurely sometimes, and I told her that she was too intense.”

Drake picked up his bottle and stared at it.

“‘Nah,’ she said. ‘This is who I am. You knew who I was when we got together.’”

Drake turned the bottle to where the “BLOOD MOON BEER” label was facing him right in the eye.

“She said ‘Remember Sage Caldwell? You know what I am and I really don’t want to change for you or for anyone else,’” Drake said reflectingly. “You remember that shit with Sage, right? I told her to calm down that night and she acted like I had betrayed her.”

Drake looked at Guillermo and lazily shook his head. He had a tinge of sadness in his eye but also a tinge of disappointment.

“She said she had to do what she did because that was her code. The Hampton Cities rule of racing. Destroy or be destroyed. It’s how she was raised, and she said if she changed that for good, she couldn’t look at herself in the mirror. And she spoke of having high expectations for everyone, and if they underperformed, well, they weren’t worth their time. She said she got that from her dad. That’s the guy that runs Sharpe’s Coffee. He’s a prick.”

That would be Donald Henderson, president and CEO of Sharpe’s Coffee Company, known for demanding long hours for his employees when they needed to get products out, known for loudly berating his employees when they didn’t make it to standard, known for his abrasive “my way or the highway” style of leadership.

“And she told me that I wasn’t performing to the level she expected of me in this relationship,” Drake continued. “Yeah, she said, she wanted the time on the boat, but no, not during the Berman Brothers Classic. I withdrew us both from that race. I was at a mental breaking point, and I needed to get away from the shit. I was hoping Taylor would have wanted some alone time with me. After all, isn’t that what all people in relationships want? Some time to be themselves with themselves? Nah. Had to be on her terms.

“So I asked her, what do you want to do? And she looked at me, looked around, and said ‘we need to move on from each other. It’s not working.’ And I said ‘You’re right.’ And I think the two of us felt a lot better afterwards, but you know, now the goal is to stay friends. At a distance.”

Drake looked up near the ceiling, where a huge Sage Caldwell Blood Moon neon sign sat, and took a deep breath.

“I think I’m gonna take a step back from dating,” Drake said. “Maybe for good. I’m happier by myself anyway. I’m happier doing things like this. It’s hard to enjoy yourself when your partner is competing for everything all the time and is never happy. I tell you, Gil, I'm glad to see you, and I'm glad to see you're hopefully better than you were last year. We miss you out there. I mean it.”

TOMORROW: Taylor’s side of the story

[Newmanistan]

Qualifying: Vilaye Energy Drink 314, Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Vilita (Road Course)
Lap Record: 60.000 sec.

Qualifying Results:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)          1:00.628
 2 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                  1:00.636
 3 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)        1:00.639
 4 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                     1:00.647
 5 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                          1:00.725
 6 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                         1:00.726
 7 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)         1:00.874
 8 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                  1:00.875
 9 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                      1:00.886
10 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                          1:00.935
11 #77- iBen Toralmintii (Vilita & Turori)                1:00.947
12 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR)     1:00.979
13 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                 1:00.991
14 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                      1:01.032
15 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                   1:01.114
16 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)            1:01.200
17 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                     1:01.345
18 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                   1:01.359
19 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                          1:01.392
20 #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)                     1:01.434
21 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)               1:01.470
22 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                   1:01.497
23 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                       1:01.692
24 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                     1:01.773
25 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                   1:01.832
26 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                           1:01.858
27 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                        1:01.982
28 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army)                     1:02.049
29 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                      1:02.148
30 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan) *Q*                 1:02.174
31 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                    1:02.343
32 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                     1:02.361
33 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)               1:02.449
34 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                  1:02.458
35 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                   1:02.574
36 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                      1:02.580
37 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                            1:03.021
38 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros)                     1:03.460
39 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                          1:03.733
40 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                           1:03.919
41 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)           1:04.177
42 #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz) *Q*                1:04.227
43 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                        1:04.269
44 #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                 1:04.342
45 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria) *Q*                       1:04.595
46 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                       1:04.959
47 #17- Timo Szaba (Qzvarkian Qaz) *Q*                    1:05.235
48 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos) *Q*                           1:05.305
49 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                       1:05.540

Race: Contenders at the Rocks, Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course, Vilita (Road Course)
Lap Record: 60.000 sec.

Qualifying Results:

NSSCRA EverLong Series
 1 #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)                  1:00.736
 2 #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                               1:00.754
 3 #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                   1:00.783
 4 #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                                1:00.902
 5 #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                               1:00.905
 6 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                              1:00.923
 7 #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)     1:00.926
 8 #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                                 1:00.932
 9 #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                         1:00.988
10 #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                                 1:01.034
11 #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                            1:01.194
12 #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                         1:01.205
13 #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                                1:01.250
14 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                    1:01.618
15 #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                                  1:01.754
16 #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                   1:01.784
17 #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                      1:01.818
18 #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                              1:02.330
19 #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                              1:02.515
20 #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)                              1:02.875
21 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                             1:03.503
22 #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                             1:03.605
23 #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                             1:04.082
24 #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                                1:04.262
25 #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                                 1:04.658
26 #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                      1:04.839
27 #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                                 1:04.864
28 #73- Yuri Piotr (Qzvarkian Qaz)                                1:04.897
29 #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                                1:05.025
30 #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                  1:05.045
31 #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                                1:05.047
32 #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                               1:05.422

(Minimum Time to Avoid DNF- 1:04.600)

Race Results:

NSSCRA EverLong Series
 1 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                             1:00.826 WINNER
 2 #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                                1:00.872
 3 #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                              1:00.897
 4 #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                               1:00.926
 5 #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)     1:00.975
 6 #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                         1:00.984
 7 #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                               1:01.043
 8 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                              1:01.112
 9 #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                                1:01.181
10 #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                         1:01.208
11 #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                            1:01.266
12 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                    1:01.486
13 #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)                  1:01.541
14 #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                                  1:01.699
15 #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)                              1:01.702
16 #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                                 1:01.849
17 #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                      1:02.192
18 #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                                 1:02.284
19 #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                                1:02.331
20 #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                   1:02.638
21 #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                   1:02.656
22 #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                              1:02.678
23 #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                                 1:03.205
24 #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                             1:03.417
25 #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                               1:03.633
26 #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                             1:03.663
27 #73- Yuri Piotr (Qzvarkian Qaz)                                1:04.513
28 #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                                1:04.523
29 #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                  1:04.652 DNF
30 #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                                 1:04.663 DNF
31 #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                                1:04.980 DNF
32 #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                      1:05.024 DNF

Point Standings (After 17 Races):

+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                  EverLong Contenders Series                  | Points |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)**                         |   2043 |
|   2 | #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)**                          |   2041 |
|   3 | #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)**                           |   2040 |
|   4 | #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)** |   2039 |
|   5 | #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)*                             |   2039 |
|   6 | #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                       |   2032 |
|   7 | #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                             |   2031 |
|   8 | #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)*                         |   2030 |
|   9 | #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                            |   2030 |
|  10 | #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                              |   2029 |
|  11 | #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)**                          |   2029 |
|  12 | #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)*                                 |   2029 |
|  13 | #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)*               |   2029 |
|  14 | #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)*                               |   2027 |
|  15 | #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)*                              |   2023 |
|  16 | #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)*                              |   2018 |
|  17 | #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                       |    431 |
|  18 | #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                 |    409 |
|  19 | #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                               |    382 |
|  20 | #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                              |    348 |
|  21 | #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                            |    337 |
|  22 | #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                    |    292 |
|  23 | #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                 |    272 |
|  24 | #73- Yuri Piotr (Qzvarkian Qaz)                              |    260 |
|  25 | #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                           |    208 |
|  26 | #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                           |    200 |
|  27 | #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                               |    196 |
|  28 | #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                             |    196 |
|  29 | #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                |    158 |
|  30 | #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                              |    142 |
|  31 | #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                    |    136 |
|  32 | #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                              |    135 |
|  33 | #33- Joshua Pelayo (Kannapian Sports Federation)             |    111 |
|  34 | #11- Luist Mata (Kharao)                                     |     97 |
|  35 | #91- Aidan Rowan (Kannapian Sports Federation)               |     79 |
|  36 | #87- Agdta Ndugane (Kharao)                                  |     73 |
|  37 | #43- Cynthia Verdenne (Kharao)                               |     65 |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------+--------+

[The French Army]

Ever since Leujouje told Andre Massena why was she was so eager to get married, he had been avoiding her. He wasn't going to marry her -- couldn't even if he wanted to -- and he didn't want to keep talking about it. He had found a new woman to keep him company in Jalton, a Yeezie divorcee in her 40s who seemed to spend a lot of time talking about sex or complaining about her ex-husband. Her French wasn't very good and neither was Massena's English, so their conversation was full of awkward pauses and mispronounced words -- but neither of them was there for the conversation.

At dinner, the Yeezy woman had said something about practicing her French, but as soon as they were alone together, it became pretty obvious that the only French she really wanted to practice was French kissing.

When they were done...practicing...they turned on the TV to watch some movies. They were about an hour into a movie about World War Two when Massena suddenly sat up looking very confused. "Wait...Is that supposed to be France?"

The Yeezy woman looked at him like he was an idiot. "That's Paris," she said. "I thought you were supposed to be French; don't you know what Paris looks like?"

"Of course I know what Paris looks like!" said Massena. "But that doesn't look anything like it. It's full of cars, and what is that weird tower thing?"

"You mean the Eiffel Tower?" The woman sounded more convinced than ever that Massena must be an absolute moron.

"The tall pointy one. We don't have any tower like that in Paris, and nobody in France wears that kind of suits."

The woman rolled her eyes. "It's 1940, not 1740. Do you want to stop the movie and see if you can find one about the French Revolution?"

Massena scowled at her and said, "There was no Revolution in 1740. 1740 is before I was even born." He was beginning to see why the woman's ex-husband had left her.

"Whatever, I'm not a historian. Hey, are you into roleplays? I could be Marie Antoinette and you could be--"

"Shhh!"

"Ugh... I know you're not a royal, but could you just try to play along and say something sexy for like five seconds?"

"No, shut up. I know that square!" Massena was excitedly pointing at the screen, where the characters in the movie were now standing in a square surrounded by old buildings. "Do you know how to get there?"

"Like, buy a plane ticket..."

Massena looked very confused. "But you can only buy a plane ticket if there is somewhere for the plane to land," he said. "We don't have airports in France."

"OH. MY. GAWWWWWD. It's not 1740. Or 1789. Or whatever. There's an airport in Paris. Oh my Gaaaawwwwd! Come on, let's do a roleplay. Do you have any fancy clothes so I can dress up like Marie Antoinette?"

Massena grabbed the woman by her hair. She let out a startled yelp, and he snarled in her ear: "Trust me; you do NOT want to see what I would do to Marie Antoinette if she crawled into my bed!"

[Saint Kanye]

31st. Twelve laps down. After starting eighth. And in his home country. Some drivers in the NSSCRA would be raging after such a race, but not Jeremiah Brooke. One of his defining characteristics is his ability to keep a cool head no matter the situation. Sure, it had been a frustrating outing at the Pencurve Electronics 500 for the former champ, but not only was he his usual calm and collected self after the race, he actually appeared to be happy. Overjoyed even, judging by the way he was laughing and joking with fans. That's because, despite losing badly in the battle that was the Pencurve, he managed to win the war. The day ended with a tie atop the point standings, only broken by the number of victory each of the drivers had. And thanks to a masterful display of Yeezie magic to end the TJUN 600 three weeks ago, it would be Jeremiah Brooke, not Gwen Oxton, who would capture the regular season championship.

---

"Look bud, I know it hasn't been your day, but if we could just get another point or two, we're gonna be lifting a trophy later, ya know?"

"I'm doing my best, alright? Only I'm stuck behind these two farts," Jeremiah responded on the radio to his crew chief Ben Warwick. The #18 team started the race in the top ten, only to have an encounter with the wall while trying to get past Yuro Kiuba and Rustam Ilyich Yudin's disabled cars (not to mention a thick screen of smoke). Jeremiah had to retreat to his box to have both his bodywork and handling fixed, but that only served to put him a couple of laps down. He would regain one of them on a lucky dog, and the other during pit cycles (where he lead his only lap), but would later tumble again, this time due to an overheating issue caused by too much tape on his grill. And that is how the man that most of the rabid Yeezie crowd wanted to see run up front, instead found himself bogged down in the thirties with just three laps to go, being held up by both Joachim Murat and Andre Massena of the French Army Racing Team (hence "farts").

"Come on, you Frenchies! Make way for Big J," Jeremiah said as he attempted a pass on the inside, and then failing that, the outside. He pushed, shoved, rubbed and bumped against both Murat and Massena, taking care not to wreck neither one of them, but still to no avail. Finally, as Murat moved up to let the leaders pass, that left a gap between him and his teammate for Jeremiah to squeeze into, and he would eventually pull away from the pair during the final two turns of the last lap.

---

Meanwhile, Stacie Houston was having a much better day than her husband, running in the top fifteen in the end. Despite not being in contention for a win, that didn't mean that she didn't have her own mission. Gwen was making a charge to the front, trying to gain as many points as possible to win the regular season, and now she was coming up on Stacie. "Not today, sister," said the Dagan as she slid up the track to block Gwen's path. "Look, we're tight, but that title's gonna go to the father of my child."

Stacie protected her position as hard as she could, continuing to throw blocks and nudge Gwen aside whenever she tried to pass, and like Jeremiah she also tried to be as clean as possible despite getting physical. Gwen eventually made a great final push in the end, but it didn't matter. Despite being overtaken for thirteenth, Stacie had successfully wasted the Valentian's time and prevented her from passing more people and getting more points and the title.

---

Thea Alvarez was out of the running for regular season champion, but she was still very much in contention to win the Pencurve. After leading 94 of the first 182 laps, she was battling for third with several other female drivers, with Hapiloppian teammates Chris Holmes (a new father) and Drake Stevenson (a newly single guy) ahead of them.

"Excuse me, Maddies," Thea said as she weaved between Maddie Alexander and Maddison Riley-Jones. "Hi, Anastasia! Bye Anastasia!" she said upon approaching and then pulling a bump and run on Anastasia Aye. "Now let's go catch those Haps," she said, looking momentarily to her "co-driver", a stuffed bird toy called Cocoabo #46. As Thea turned out faster and faster laps, the gap between her and either Chris or Drake, whoever was in second, became smaller and smaller. "Alright, just a little more, maybe next lap," she said as she found herself only a quarter of a second behind, only for Anastasia to creep back up on her from the inside.

"I thought I said bye already?!" Thea said in an annoyed tone as she gave the #15 a tap on the side. That seemed to loosen Anastasia up, but only momentarily, as was able to catch back up again as they rounded a turn. "Oh no, you don't." Thea has been in the NSSCRA for seven seasons now, but many people are still surprised that her sweet and innocent exterior hides a tough contender who races as hard as her teammates do. The two kept making contact, even as Drake and Chris protected their place in front of the field and eventually finish 1-2, in that order. Anastasia was also able to inch ahead of Thea to take the remaining podium position, but would also fall short of the regular season battle by four points. A win, which she could possibly have gotten if Thea hadn't held her up, would have given her six more.

---

"Did I get it?" Jeremiah asked Ben on the radio at the end of the race.

"Let me see....Gwen finished thirteenth, that's 33 points, bumping her up to 568."

"How about me?"

"You're 31st, meaning fifteen points. That brings your total to...."

"568," answered spotter Raymond Goldfarb.

"Yup," said Ben. "That means we're going to a tiebreaker."

"Which is.... ?" Jeremiah asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Wins," Raymond replied again.

"Wins?"

"Yup."

Some drivers in the NSSCRA would be screaming "YEAH! REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION, BABY!" after letting the truth sink in, but not Jeremiah Brooke. "Cool." he said. "Thanks guys."

"Don't mention it, though you know, I thought you'd be way happier than that," spoke Ben.

"Oh, I'm very happy alright. Thing is, it's just the regular season. It ain't over until the Chase is. That's our next goal, guys."

"Fair enough. Copy that," said Raymond.

Despite the mostly Yeezie crowd celebrating like mad, Jeremiah politely refused to do doughnuts, as he didn't want Drake's third dub to be overshadowed more than it already had been to some. He still allowed himself to be mobbed by fans and his own teammates and crew members on the way to the presser, however. "It was a team effort," he told reporters, referring to how he got some help from Stacie and Thea as they held off the Valentians until the last moment. The entire team had a mini party back at the garage, not only for Jeremiah but also for Pyotr Lavrentiev, who himself captured the Everlong Series' regular season championship a day prior. R&D driver Ilya Tsunopin also celebrated his second career top twenty, finishing four spots behind Stacie in 18th, while Swell Kirby, who crashed out and got classified fourth from last in his debut, figured he'd cheer himself up with some pizza.

---

"By the way, where is Pyotr? What's taking him so long?"

"Lav", as Pyotr had been nicknamed by his teammates, ducked out early from his joint celebration party because he had another important matter to attend to. He and the other two ex-members of Motorsports Ceroat were meeting - while this wasn't the first, this was certainly the most special, since he, Rustam, and Taras Lakrov have all been dreaming of being in Jalton at the same time since they made their debut three seasons ago. However, with the team shuttering early, they would never get the chance to, until last season. But Rustam, now part of the Ceroatian army, fell ill then, and so the reunion had to be moved again, to today. It wasn't hard for Lav to catch his buddies despite the size of the Jalton crowd - one wore a green firesuit, having participated in the Pencurve not even an hour ago, while the other was in full military gear.

"Hey, sorry guys, there was a party over at the garage," Lav said as he approached the two. "We won the regular season championship in both divisions. Jeremiah for Multiversal, and for Everlong, yours truly." He handed Taras a large slice of pizza he had brought with him. "So, what have I missed? Anything you've talked about so far?" He turned to Rustam. "Oh yeah, man, here you go, sorry to hear about your wreck earlier today. Wanna go beat that Kiuba guy with a wrench?" Taras gave Lav a look. as if he was surprised that his good-mannered teammate would resort to violence. "It's a joke. I'm joking. Have some pizza and feel better, at least."

[Saint Kanye]