NSSCRA 13- Everything Thread

[Hapilopper]

DRAKE STEVENSON ✓

@HapiDrake81

Hey @REALRVictor, thanks for the laugh! Not sure if this is a parody account or not but your account is the funniest thing I've seen so far this season!


#NSSCRA : #Exhibition

[TJUN-ia]

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

Ever since time immemorial, the importance of the Exhibition at the Proving Grounds has been debated amongst the NSSCRA fanbase. Is it just a glorified test? Is it a great way for everyone to get back in the NSSCRA groove before points are available? Is it a good indicator of where everyone stands at the start of another long season? Does it even matter at all? There is no definitive answer to these sorts of questions on an event like this but no matter what, there was still a race today...and one that was certainly interesting to watch.

Before I start, a quick word on events online surrounding Taylor Henderson. You see, it all started with Chris Holmes, today's polesitter, being asked if Team Blue made an upgrade by swapping Hendo for Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal and he responded with this line - "As for Hendo, I’m wondering if they’re taking bets on what will come earlier, her winning a race or her getting drummed out of that team for being an asswipe.” As expected, Hendo did take kindly to that remark and responded on twii.tur with a veiled threat that Holmes' actions would "get yourself hurt". Of course, neither Holmes nor Drake Stevenson liked that statement at all...but so didn't Lam Chow-Cheung, who came from fucking nowhere to deliver a "Silence, DNQ" meme directly to Hendo in one of the most unexpected things I've ever seen on that platform. I'm sorry Taylor, that's auto MemeWatch territory right there. If you're getting memed by LCC of all people, then something must've gone wrong somewhere. And as for your "fuck around and find out" mantra, here's what you need to know about ours - "Mess with the enby and you won't have a good time".

Anyway, enough about the DNQ Club and onto today's proceedings. We ended up with 6 drivers failing to make the end of proceedings and unfortunately, Maddison Riley-Jones (@MaddyRJ03) was one of them via a fault with the driveshaft. Certainly not ideal but if your gonna have mechanical gremlins, having them on this day won't hurt at all. Both non-charters would make it to the end, with Cocoabo #78 in P29 and Derek Harwood in P37. Surprisingly, none of the 8 qualifiers would DNF from this race, with both Jenna Logan (P4) and Jean Lannes (P6) ending up in the Top 10 and Aurélia Karvonen doing respectably well in P25. Lam Chow-Cheung, on the other hand, was certainly very consistent out there today and I'd imagine they'd certainly take P9 to start their sophomore season.

But what about the boys, huh? Well Michael Stefan (@Stefan07) is certainly someone a few have their eye on across this new season as they attempt to bounce back from not making the playoffs last time out. He knew full well what was expected and his consistency certainly helped out there today, allowing him to start his season with a nice P12 to build upon. He would certainly take that...and he would also take how well Alfonso Mercado (@AM64) did in the blue #64. Mercado certainly had his best season last time out with his first ever race win and an appearance in the Top 8 of the playoffs. Now, he's back to prove that what happened wasn't a fluke and to try and push his Dart towards greater things for us all. Today just simply was his day, only falling to as low as 12th as he took the flag over Maddie Alexander and Tsering Chu. Sure, the celebrations were downplayed due to no points available and the win won't count towards his overall record...but it was still his day and he can certainly celebrate that.

We will all go for real next week, when the first places in the eventual Chase will be handed out. No matter what happens, the great game is about to begin...one that will both make and break careers in this cut-throat sport. No matter if you're a Rainbow Kid or just the average Joe, I suggest you get your seats. The main event shall begin in earnest.

---

Current MCS Standings: #07 - N/A (0pts)/#64 - N/A (0pts+Ex)/#03 - N/A (0pts)
Current ECS Standings: #97 - N/A (0pts)/#96 - N/A (0pts)/#70 - N/A (0pts)
Next MCS Race: Tundra Falls 500, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan
Next ECS Race: Tundra Falls 400, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan
Music of the Round III: WRS Llámame (SNR [ROU2022])

MemeWatch III
1) Already? Taylor Henderson (#80) - for getting dunked virtually by LCC.

[New Northwesteros]

RICKY LEE

@SlickRick100000

Fellow drivers, STAY ON HIGH ALERT! Someone hacked the Twii.tur of Ronald Victor (one of the rookies) & is using it to post the ramblings of a mad man. SECURE YOUR ACCOUNTS!!!


#NSSCRA

[The Sherpa Empire]

强凯 - Kai Qiang - काय च्याङ ✓

@QK98

- -@DCarJR

That wasn't a dunk. That was childish and unprofessional. Fight between Happloppians have nothing to do with Lam, and there is no excuse to insult another driver for DNQ when she is faster than him. Don't insult someone who better than you.


#NSSCRA : #MemeWatch

[Saint Kanye]

THEA ALVAREZ ✓

@Luna_Althea

Whoa boy. I have to put up with that for several months?

#NSSCRA : #BadNeighbor

KEISHA QUENDELTON

@KeishaQ98

First we had that Valentiangate thingy, now we're accusing DNQs on freaking COMMUNISM? What's next, Cocoabos cheating? They actually humans in suits or something?

#NSSCRA : #WorldsGoneMad

NINA DIRNT, ATTORNEY AT LAW

@AttyNinaDirnt

Hey @VampWolfBoy, you're getting out-crazied! Better step up your game!

#NSSCRA

Keisha has changed her username from @KQ89 to reduce confusion with Kevin Queen (@KQ98) as well as Kai Qiang (@QK98).

[Sixty-ninE X]

In the meanwhile, Team Tsunopin released their preseason poster...

[The French Army]

The French were blissfully unaware of the firestorm happening on twii.tur. They were more concerned about the cholera outbreak ravaging the French camp in the Jouoangquoirais countryside north of Chieujeau. The camp still held a few thousand men. Some were there by choice, and others were still waiting to be evacuated to Pridnestrovia.

Returning to the NSSCRA track was a nice escape from all of that. Jean Lannes had started the weekend in a bad mood because he didn't appreciate being asked to qualify in, but when he was actually behind the wheel, that was a rush. It was like the excitement of a cavalry charge without the risk that you might get shot. Driving came more naturally now than it had last year when he was new to it, and the French officers had gotten more comfortable managing the Northwinds and Jouoangquoirais employees that they brought in to help maintaining the cars and equipment. That comfort level was evident during the race. Lannes finished 6th and Massena 11th, both ahead of some big names in the racing world. Lannes' mood had improved dramatically, and he thanked his crew for a job well done.

Murat had not done as well, but he was still reveling in all the publicity and fanfare around the start of the new season. He signed autographs, he posed for pictures, and he flaunted the hell out of his luxurious hair.

[Yakk]

The Yakkian team of Imperial Auto Works came into Newmanistan as well as any team coming from a discipline unrelated to Stock cars could. It was all a bunch of unknowns for a team who was a domestic champion in Touring Cars. As the team prepaired for qualifying, the crew members and drivers prepped.

"Man that was almost a whole fuel run there" said driver Virginy Kyzylov to his crew chief Bryan Tidwell

"I'll have someone on the crew fill it up, I assume Tsering will also be having the same done to his car"

As the teams lined up for qualifying the 3 mile track faded into the distance. It was an intimidating sight for the Touring Car aces. as Virginy got on track he started to take his formation lap he started feeling much more comfortable in the car. The track started getting a bit rougher as older tracks do and the car oscillated a bit as it went around gaining speed for his two qualifying laps. in turn four for his first lap......*clunk*.......
Virginy pulled his car down on pit road He got out and immediately and went to his crew chief.

"Motherfucker Ran out of gas!"

As the crew chief and driver discussed what happen Tsering went out for his lap. The team had found out two members of the crew had said the other one was due to fill up the car but had not due to a communication mix up. as they discussed more on the subject Tsering coasted in to his still behind Virginy.

He got out of the car and threw his helmet back in

"Fucking thing ran out of gas on turn four!"

---

Tsering DNQed for the race and honestly the teams pace wasn't there yet in practice, so it is debatable weather or not the young Mongol-Lhaskan driver would have made it in to the race, but at the same time It was a non points race and they would have time to practice and get the car better than it was on first release. Tsering felt he was lucky to be there. Being a Lhaskan was different. Cultural differences between the Mongolians and Lhaskan people have always seen tension between the two groups. Something that will be discussed in due time.

As for the race Virginy had started last due to speed but immediately started picking up on techniques from Bryan. One of the best parts of having a Hapiloppian crew chief is that he usually has knowledge about oval tracks. Virginy used Bryans knowledge that he had been teaching him to full advantage to work his way up the field. but his day was cut short when on a restart his transmission seized up and he got piled into from the back by Tyson Hoyt. Hoyt's car was damaged and finished near the back while Virginiy was out a mere 30 laps into the race.

Virginiy talked to Hoyt after the race and apologized to Tyson. the two discussed things and talked shop a bit. And the crew went to the teams hauler to get a new Transmission

The next race actually meant something afterall.

[Jebslund]

Eva had gotten too unused to racing in ZTRs.

It was clear from the fact that she was the third slowest driver to actually finish the race. It was clear from the numerous mistakes she'd made during the race due to the differences between racing ultra-light stock cars and heavy tanks. Her cerebellum, it seemed, had almost entirely forgotten how to draft, for instance, and she'd tagged the wall in places where she would, in past seasons, have avoided it, by virtue of having gotten too used to the momentum of her vehicle allowing it (well, that and there being no repulsion fields to protect the walls from the vehicles). She'd also instinctively reached for turret controls that didn't exist, or tried to look through a scope that wasn't there, when she was being passed or would have had a good opportunity for a disabling shot in a tank race.

The way the season was so far, it felt like her first season all over again. Some things from past seasons had stuck, to be sure. But a lot *didn't*, and Eva was feeling it. The pressure, the learning curve, it was all that all over again. But there was a ray of sunshine this season: Eva had been here before, done this before, and had come out respectable near the top. She *wasn't* a rookie, so she knew from experience that she had it in her to climb this mountain, and climb it she would. Just needed some more of that multiverse-famous hard work and perseverance.

Vanda Rosa, meanwhile, had a slightly different problem: Issues with her car that had gone undiscovered until after qualifying. While her mechanics tried to fix the issue, most of Vanda Rosa's sim time was devoted to compensating for such issues and squeezing every ounce of speed out of her car regardless. Worst came to worst, they'd leave the main on the hauler and use the backup car, but, ideally, the main car would simply be fixed and ready to qualify for the season opener. And hopefully race *in* the season opener. Vanda Rosa wasn't too worried either way. She had honestly not really expected to last as long as she had so far, if she was being honest, and had been enjoying racing on the international stage. That said, she still hoped to make it to the top this season.

[Kimi-Suomi]

She was so quiet last season that Jeremiah Brooke thought she was a rookie. That was the main thing that Aurélia Karvonen, Kimi-Suomi's Vuohi, pondered as she prepared for her exhibition at the famous Proving Grounds of Uusimiesmaa (Newmanistan). On the one hand, being out of the headlines was certainly good enough for someone of her experience trying to get used to a new series and she was certain Brooke didn't mean anything mean by what he said...but on the other hand, her being relatively quiet by that much wasn't exactly a good endorsement, wasn't it? Of course, the focus from last season was certainly on her teammate and that was fine - charter vs not, 18 vs 30, young gun vs experienced head - but at the same, she couldn't help but feel jealous of her young teammate that they were bringing in the attention to HM and not a local like her.

Still, that was all in the past and this season was her chance to make sure nobody forgot about her at all. The new qualifying format was expected to be cutthroat and she knew that things weren't going to be easy, but some confidence certainly has to be taken from qualifying in 11th as the best non-charter. That set her up for the Exhibition, or "Näyttely", which ended up being a rollercoaster, filled with ups and downs, but she'd certainly take P25 out of today's proceedings. Her main aims on the track will be pretty simple: qualify for races and make everyone remember who the fuck she is. Simple as that.

---

To say they were happy to be back in this arena would be an understatement. Lam Chow-Cheung, someone slowly turning into everyone's 2nd favourite driver, could safely say for a fact that the best moments of their life thus far have come from being here, racing around the world and meeting new people that they didn't initially feel would take a liking to a masked enby. Being back at Tundra Falls brought some genuine joy to Naamiotunut...which was definitely seen when they donned the persona of the Rainbow Kid for the first time in a long old time. Being able to have a bit of fun in Newmanstan again while nobody knew the dude who was rocking the vibrant colours was actually a racing driver felt so...brilliant, above anything else. It was there they felt more alive than anywhere else...and bit by bit, that confidence was leaking into what everyone else saw. That was why the mask they wore on the calendar had rainbow cracks...it was showing the true LCC was starting to reveal themselves.

Two main changes occurred during the offseason for the masked wonder. The first was their living status. They did say that they would be looking for a place to stay in Kimi Kaupunki when they're with HM on race weeks and that's exactly what they found. It certainly isn't the biggest or the flashiest, but it was cosy and that was prioritised above anything else for the heart of gold within them. The second was Batu Tüvshinbayar. You see, the reigning WGP2 Champion contacted LCC just because he "wanted to chat to a fellow Asian rising star" - and they would certainly hit it off. Things then got even better when Tshering Gyeltshen, the Chess Grandmaster and winner of the 4th Elephant Chess Cup, was added to proceedings and the Group Chat was set in stone. Ever since it has acted as a bit of a support group for Lam to improve their social skills with those that understand them and have their back. Heck, they may even be a few times that the two of them could come over to the paddock to support their friend...which would certainly be interesting indeed.

Lam would qualify for this Exhibition down in 39th, but the main focus of attention would be on Taylor Henderson in the new Oliver Marlin Racing #80. She ended up as the first one out, beaten to the grid by Cocoabo #28 in the end. Chris Holmes was quick to jab her for it and she would respond by basically almost threatening violence against her former teammate. To Lam, it just sounded...wrong. Violence was just wrong and Lam felt that Hendo going on her hiatus hadn't helped her in any way at all. It was Batu who suggested the meme and after a bit of thinking, Lam just...did it. And they instantly regretted it. What the fuck were they thinking, poking the bear like that? It was just a mistake...but they didn't think saying sorry would help considering who she was...not the best start to the season at all.

So, desperately hoping that the twii isn't mentioned to them at all, they went out there and pulled off a good old performance. Those fighting words, despite how much they hated them, must've done something within them to put in a very consistent performance out on the track. Sure, the Exhibition is just the Exhibition, but there was no way on this earth that they were going to say no to P9, weren't they? If those types of performances can be replicated over the actual regular season, then maybe the masked enby could end up doing something out there on the track.

But there was something else they needed to do sooner rather than later: investigation. During the race, they managed to fight a bit with a purple car wearing the #44, Kai Qiang's old number, but Lam didn't really know who was driving that car as Kai was now in the #02 due to the Ilya stuff. Now, the question of who was actually in that #44 immediately came to mind and Lam figured they had to find out who it was. The entry list says it's someone named Shuzhen Zhu, but that certainly isn't someone that they were familiar with. So, at some point, Lam knew they had to meet Zhu...who was actually not that far away. All they were waiting for was a reason to head down to #44...a green light, if you will.

[The Daystar Isles]

Samson Tukanova didn't actually get a look at the car he was supposed to drive until landing in Tundra Falls, Newmanistan, for the traditional first race of the season, the Tundra Falls 400 and the Tundra Falls Proving Ground. Due to complicated flight situations and the Tourism Board's drastic underestimation of transportation and maintenance costs for flying the DINTB's #14 race car all over the world, the Daystar Islian team didn't even arrive in Tundra Falls in time for the exhibition race, and barely in time for qualifying.

Samson was not happy. "You expect me to race in this s**tbox? You can't be serious! This isn't race-ready! This is barely road-ready! Who designed this piece of crap?" Team officials suddenly realized that their lack of actual racing knowledge posed... a potential problem. "Assuming I can even qualify in this thing, how exactly is finishing last in every race going to encourage people to visit the Daystar Isles? Is the idea that I drive so slowly people can read an entire brochure printed on the side?" the irascible driver continued, long, unkempt gray hair practically standing on end. "We've got about 18 hours to completely overhaul this thing before qualifying, so I suggest you all shut up, do exactly what I tell you, and pray for a few miracles." Samson disappeared under the hood, irritated grumbling becoming indistinct. He snatched a notebook and pen from one of the bewildered DINTB representatives standing nearby and started scribbling furiously. "Here's a list of all the tools and parts I need yesterday if you want this thing to be fast. What are you all slack-jawed for? Aren't we government-funded or something? Screw the budget, get moving! And bring me back some dip and some f***ing COFFEE!" he roared after the scattering officials.

17 hours and 41 minutes later, outside the garage, a wild-eyed, grease-stained, and very twitchy Samson Tukanova, with prominent dark circles under both eyes, slammed back the dregs of a quite bad cup of coffee, crushed the styrofoam cup in his hand and flung it backwards over his shoulder in the general direction of the bin. It floated limply to the ground six inches away. "Well, when's qualifying?" he grunted, picking the last shreds out of a can of Skoal. "Time to find out if I actually fixed the f***ing thing."

[Saint Kanye]

Like a trio of schoolchildren excited to see their classmates after summer vacation, the Gale Force Racing drivers were more than happy to be back in Newmanistan for the start of the thirteenth season of the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series. At the end of the qualifying sessions for the non-points Exhibition at the Proving Grounds, the GFR three went wandering around the different garage areas, catching up with their old racing buddies and trying to make new ones among the newcomers.

"You should go check out the Team Tsunopin garage, you guys!" exclaimed Thea Alvarez. "Looks like they're all set up to do great things over there. We've seen how Ilya and the Kirbies have done last season, and then they just had to add a Cocoabo to the mix, would be interesting for sure."

""Yeah, sure, but they're not the only team looking to make a splash, if you ask me," came Jeremiah Brooke's reply. "The ROTY battle seems a good one. Swell, and then the Sherpas' new driver Zhu..."

"Fanene from WGP2, don't forget," added Jeremiah's wife Stacie.

"Yup, and Tyson Hoyt, of course."

"And according to this goober, Aurelia Karvonen," Stacie said while laughing and pointing to her husband, who immediately hung his head in shame.

"Huh? She's not exactly a rookie though?" Thea responded.

"Yeah, but apparently, Brooky here didn't recognize her, like, at all," answered Stacie. "He was welcoming her into the league when Lam cut him off! Oh, he looked like he was about to grab their mask and put it on himself out of shame!"

"It was an honest mistake, Stace! Quit making fun of me!" Jeremiah protested as his wife continued to laugh, now joined by Thea. "But yeah.... I feel dumb. I should probably make it up to her in some way."

"I'm sure she'll forgive you, baby. You didn't mean to be, well, mean."

"Nope, not at all, Stace. I wasn't being mean, I was being dumb."

"Brooky, please. You're not dumb."

Just then Ronald Victor, the rookie from Kerthenia, walked by, loudly complaining to anyone and everyone within hearing distance that the reason he failed to make the field for the Exhibition was because he and his car were sabotaged by Jebslunden communists.

"That," Thea pointed out. "That's what's dumb."

The entire GFR trio laughed.

---

By the next morning, the day of the race, Jeremiah had felt a lot better about himself. Thankfully, his honest mistake at the Kimi garage didn't get any media attention, but what had done so were Ronald Victor's insane and inane rants about DNQing on Twii.tur, as well as some trouble brewing between Taylor Henderson and her former teammates (but that was to be expected at some point in time anyway after her firing from Team Blue late last season). Still, he decided to make good on his word to make things right. Jeremiah went over to the Kimi garage with a container of potato salad that he made, plus a note of apology. However, Aurelia was not there at the moment, so he left everything with Lam and hoped for the best.

Meanwhile, Stacie hung out with her fellow Cassadagans Chelsea Taylor, Maddie Alexander and Jenna Logan, talking about their country's current affairs. All looked pleased that their national gridiron squad, the Fillies, would be making a return in the next World Bowl, and Stacie was especially looking forward to bust out her pink and black supporter's gear, since the last few times she watched the Bowl on TV, she was decked out in purple and lime. Thea visited Ilya before returning to her hauler; upon hearing that Ronald was now talking to his crew about wanting to sue the league, she slapped on her headphones (with cat ears, of course) and listened to some Yeezie pop music in order to drown out her hauler neighbor's blabbering.

Some teams were able to shake off the rust of the offseason better than others, with GFR being one of them as all three members recorded top tens in the Exhibition. Jeremiah finished tenth, just three spots behind her wife, with Thea leading the Eon Energy-sponsored trio in fifth. All of them seemed satisfied with their performance, with Stacie telling reporters during the presser "So far, so good," and Jeremiah's reaction being "Always good to start a season on the right... well, track." "Bring on next week!" said Thea, clearly excited for the real battle to unfold, starting with the Tundra Falls 500 at the very same venue.

Jaguar Racing were at both ends of the standings - Alfonso Mercado showed that last season's performance was not a fluke by claiming the dub (which the Stacemiah pair congratulated), while Maddison Riley-Jones encountered mechanical problems, bowed out early, and was classified last (which Thea comforted). Among other notables, the French team put two drivers in the top fifteen (Lannes in sixth and Massena in eleventh); Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal kicked off his Team Blue career with a 14th place finish; Ilya Tsunopin's first race as a full-timer saw him end up 31st, just two places ahead of Shuzhen Zhu, who led all eligible ROTY contenders.

[Togonistan]

Tundra Falls Proving Grounds
Newmanistan

This was it, the point of no turning back. Car number 83, along with Isaia Fanene and his team, had arrived to Newmanistan for the pre-season exhibition race. The sounds of wheel guns and spanners were coming from the team's garage as a small group of individuals were working on a Super Skychief covered in green and blue paint scheme. Pisa was constantly moving from one end of the garage to another, handing out instructions to crew members while Isaia was simply leaning against a wall, thinking about the mess he had dragged all these people into.

Isaia had to admit that he felt like a black sheep amongst the wolves right now. NSSCRA was one of the biggest and most prestigious racing series in the world, with millions of fans watching on the grandstands or from their TV sets at home. Drivers he was about to go against were international superstars. Then, there was him. Isaia Fanene, hardly known as anything but one of many WGPC rejects. Amongst the motorsports fans back in Togonistan, it was a common joke that WGPC rejects tend to end up in NSSCRA. Jolyn Caulfield, Ilya Tsunopin... and now, himself amongst that mix as well. At least, the former two had, presumably, well established teams to support them in the series. Meanwhile, Isaia had a small group of nutheads who were crazy enough to dive with him headfirst into the unknown.

''The car looks good, the guys are happy and the weather in Newmanistan is dandy!'' Pisa said in a cheerful manner as he leant himself next to Isaia. Having looked at the latter for a few moments, he asked: ''You okay?''

''Yeah...'' Isaia sighed, ''just nervous.''

''It'll be fine. We're gonna ride that bull and grab it by it's nuts!'' Pisa howled while doing some lasso whipping motions with his hand.

''I'm sorry... what?''

Pisa slapped against his knees while laughing. ''Nothing, nothing. Just trying to keep the mood up. Listen, uh, we still need to set a few things straight regarding the team.''

Isaia nod at Pisa, indicating him to carry on.

''So, firstly, you need a crew chief. You know, someone to keep an eye on things on the paddock.''

''Well, that's simple. You're already basically running this whole operation. That makes you my crew chief,'' Isaia said while giving Pisa a look that was supposed to indicate there wouldn't be any second thoughts about what he just said.

''Um... well, if that's what you want. I would love to.'' The freshly appointed crew chief breath in and out a few times before carrying on: ''Alright, another thing. You also need a spotter.''

Isaia's previously confident face expression suddenly replaced with a look that showed nothing but confusion. ''A what?''

''A Spotter.'' Pisa said. He facepalmed as he noticed how Isaia kept looking at him, completely clueless. ''It's uh... well, pretty much same as a race engineer. Someone who keeps an eye on the track and passes information to you during the races.''

Isaia shook his head. He really needed to take some time and learn about all the NSSCRA lingo. ''Right, right, uh... I don't know,'' he scratched his head while trying to come up with someone, ''I admit I should've thought about it sooner.''

''How about someone like, Monica, maybe?'' Pisa tried to give his friend a helping hand.

''Monica? You... you're sure about this?''

''Look man, if I know anything about her it's that her brain works at the speed of light. Also, she has a pretty cute voice, no?''

Isaia gave Pisa a heavy bump against his shoulder. ''You fool.''

''What? Come on, she does!'' Pisa said while gently rubbing the spot that had just been on the receiving end of Isaia's nudge, ''you have any other ideas?''

''Nah, I don't,'' Isaia sighed again, ''I guess she'll have to do. We'll see how she can handle it.''

''Oh, trust me bro, she WILL... handle it,'' Pisa said and did some highly suggestive eyebrow movements.

Isaia was about to give Pisa another, this time much stronger bump when suddenly, he noticed a long-haired man holding hands with some woman approaching their garage. The duo turned out to be Jeremiah Brooke and Stacie Houston, drivers for Gale Force Racing who had come to change a few words and greet them to the series. Initially stunned by Jeremiah's oddly warm attitude, Isaia soon managed to get his act together and replied in a similarly polite manner. Having spoken for a few minutes, their soon to be on-track competitors said their goodbyes and carried on with their activities.

''Seems like an interesting guy,'' Isaia said to Pisa as the two inspected the GFR duo walk away.

''Jeremiah? Yeah, he's one of the coolest people on the grid.'' Pisa replied.

Isaia looked at him: ''You... know him?''

Pisa looked back at Isaia, absolutely baffled: ''Do I know him? Who doesn't know him. It's Jeremiah f-ing Brooke!''

[New Northwesteros]

Sage Caldwell was not happy. For his entire NSSCRA career, he's had a charter, open or not. That was, until this season. Direwolf Auto Team had been granted just one guaranteed spot in the field, and to make things fair between Sage and their other driver Ricky Lee, a series of challenges were held during the offseason to determine which one of them would get it. Ricky won, so Sage, now in his seventh season of competition (fourth full-time), will have to try to make the field on speed for the first time.

It would not go well. 30th fastest out of 59 drivers, tenth out of 21 without a charter, with only the fastest eight getting in. And yet, he didn't go blaming communists or making death threats to his former teammates because of what happened. He had every right to be angry because of such an unsatisfactory result, but he felt that there's no one to be angry at but himself. It was all on him. If he didn't botch quals, if he didn't allow himself to get beaten by Ricky in the offseason, if he didn't falter late in the season, with Team Blue scouts watching his every move, then he'd be in that 73 car instead of Rinzi....

But no. He can't lose hope. He didn't get to be Direwolf's savior last season, so maybe he should take another crack at it? This is a league, Sage thought, where robots and birds and whatever Anna Thanda is compete alongside humans, so maybe finally getting a dub after repeated attempts at getting so close is not the most impossible thing there is. Just needs to treat the qualifying sessions like those in the Berman (whose next edition he hopes to enter once again), survive, and then do well. Maybe not the falling short part though.

Ricky made the race, but he only lasted until about the halfway mark before his engine gave out. He was not the first to retire though, and would be classified 41st out of 46 competitors. "Ugh, and I was just starting to get into the thick of things too," he replied to reporters who were giving their usual questions about what drivers like him felt after the race. "However," he said, "thank goodness for this Exhibition, it's kinda like a practice session so we can afford to mess up before it really matters."

A few reporters also asked him about his opinions on one other thing - Sherpa rookie Shuzhen Zhu's hair, which like his had a blue streak on it. Ricky replied, "I don't see it as her copying me. I've had mine for years, and I think so did she. It's more like.... both of us are well aware of what's cool." Some wanted to know if they're going to be a pair based on their shared taste in hair dye. "You're moving too fast, man. I ain't even befriended the girl yet. But she seems interesting, so I gotta start doing that soon."

[Newmanistan]

Qualifying: Tundra Falls 500, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Superspeedway)
Lap Record: 56.342 sec.

Qualifying Results:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                        56.739
 2 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                              56.742
 3 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp) *Q*                              56.756
 4 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                                56.767
 5 #02- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                           56.792
 6 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                          56.800
 7 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)                56.813
 8 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                           56.815
 9 #01- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                         56.889
10 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                                56.890
11 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)                 56.923
12 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                             56.972
13 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                               56.978
14 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*                       56.980
15 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                        56.994
16 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)                  56.996
17 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*                     57.053
18 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                       57.063
19 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                            57.071
20 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z) *Q*          57.107
21 #90- Ilya Tsunopin (69X)                                     57.143
22 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                                57.189
23 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                         57.253
24 #80- Taylor Henderson (Wreckeria) *Q*                        57.263
25 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                            57.312
26 #48- Ashley Mattews (Newmanistan) *Q*                        57.323
27 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                         57.352
28 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)                     57.377
29 #73- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (Hapilopper)                      57.415
30 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                            57.417
31 #83- Isaia Fanene (Togonistan)                               57.441
32 #28- Cocoabo #28 (69X) *Q*                                   57.444
33 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR) *Q*                 57.453
34 #37- Kiara Iinokanna (Auruna)                                57.711
35 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft) *Q*                          57.744
36 #44- Shuzhen Zhu (The Sherpa Empire)                         57.812
37 #04- Ryan Pearson (Sword Island) *Q*                         57.879
38 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                             57.901
39 #5- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan) *Q*                         57.948
40 #45- Ronald Victor (Kertheniia) *Q*                          57.964
41 #69- Swell Kirby (69X) *Q*                                   58.092
42 #59- Derek Harwood (Newmanistan)                             58.143
43 #60- Tyson Hoyt (Wreckeria)                                  58.158
44 #0- Ezekial "Zeke" Rodger (Esmerel)                          58.162
45 #52- Tsering Bohkmar (Yakk) *Q*                              58.333
46 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                            58.334
47 #11- Gordon Busch (Kertheniia)                               58.366
48 #13- Eva Kerman (Jebslund)                                   58.530
49 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q*       58.663
50 #09- Gertrude Kerman (Jebslund) *Q*                          58.744
51 #6- Vanda Rosa Cordeiro Kerman (Jebslund) *Q*                58.798
52 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft) *Q*                    58.852
53 #12- Virginy Kyzylov (Yakk)                                  58.854
54 #19- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros) *Q*                   58.984
55 #40- Shigeru Ishikawa (Squidroidia)                          59.019
56 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros)                           59.022
57 #33- Wes Cannard (South Americanastan)                       59.116
58 #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                       59.257

Race: Tundra Falls 400, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Superspeedway)
Lap Record: 56.342 sec.

Qualifying:

NSSCRA EverLong Series
 1 #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                                  56.712
 2 #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                                  56.932
 3 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                                57.154
 4 #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                                   57.179
 5 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                      57.237
 6 #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                                   57.256
 7 #00- Colin Meredith (Hapilopper)                                 57.293
 8 #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                                 57.364
 9 #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                           57.460
10 #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)       57.515
11 #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                                   57.534
12 #14- Samson Tukanova (The Daystar Isles)                         57.554
13 #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                                    57.564
14 #43- Maurice Cavins III (69X)                                    57.610
15 #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                                 57.613
16 #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                              57.627
17 #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)                    57.779
18 #44- Wang Anjiao (69X)                                           57.832
19 #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                                 57.839
20 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                               57.858
21 #24- Zack Greene (Newmanistan)                                   57.891
22 #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                                  57.932
23 #66- Patricia nic Neill (Abanhfleft)                             57.934
24 #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                           57.987
25 #0- Alex Remington (Hapilopper)                                  58.136
26 #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                                58.148
27 #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                     58.183
28 #17- Ian Larson (South Americanastan)                            58.196
29 #09- Curtis Kirby (69X)                                          58.290
30 #13- Nur-Bahk Erdginbet (Yakk)                                   58.531
31 #62- Alice Kjäran (Auruna)                                       58.572
32 #32- Michelle Kass Evelyn Vítková Pavlína (Valentine Z)          58.731
33 #31- Patrick Sullivan (South Americanastan)                      58.768
34 #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Sultanate of Oontaz)                      59.063
35 #04- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island)                                 59.132
36 #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Sultanate of Oontaz)                   59.150
37 #35- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                               59.198

(MInimum Time To Avoid DNF: 59.000 sec)

Race Results:

NSSCRA EverLong Series
 1 #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                                   56.958 WINNER
 2 #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                                  56.969
 3 #0- Alex Remington (Hapilopper)                                  57.000
 4 #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                                57.056
 5 #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                                 57.146
 6 #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                                  57.287
 7 #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                           57.338
 8 #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                                   57.346
 9 #13- Nur-Bahk Erdginbet (Yakk)                                   57.388
10 #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                                 57.408
11 #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)       57.477
12 #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)                    57.517
13 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                               57.587
14 #00- Colin Meredith (Hapilopper)                                 57.769
15 #14- Samson Tukanova (The Daystar Isles)                         57.791
16 #31- Patrick Sullivan (South Americanastan)                      57.801
17 #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                           57.814
18 #62- Alice Kjäran (Auruna)                                       57.842
19 #32- Michelle Kass Evelyn Vítková Pavlína (Valentine Z)          57.899
20 #04- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island)                                 57.936
21 #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                                  57.976
22 #24- Zack Greene (Newmanistan)                                   58.008
23 #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                                    58.062
24 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                                58.070
25 #09- Curtis Kirby (69X)                                          58.108
26 #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                     58.120
27 #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                                   58.207
28 #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                              58.214
29 #44- Wang Anjiao (69X)                                           58.236
30 #43- Maurice Cavins III (69X)                                    58.271
31 #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                                 58.350
32 #17- Ian Larson (South Americanastan)                            58.371
33 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                      58.544
34 #66- Patricia nic Neill (Abanhfleft)                             58.712
35 #35- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                               58.998
36 #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Sultanate of Oontaz)                   59.023 DNF
37 #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Sultanate of Oontaz)                      59.131 DNF

With the win, Salo gets the second open charter, and will start at the back of the field. A new number will need to be given.

Point Standings:

+-----+------------------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                 EverLong Contenders Series                 | Points |
+-----+------------------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)*                            |     40 |
|   2 | #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                            |     37 |
|   3 | #0- Alex Remington (Hapilopper)                            |     35 |
|   4 | #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                          |     34 |
|   5 | #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                           |     33 |
|   6 | #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                            |     32 |
|   7 | #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                     |     31 |
|   8 | #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                             |     30 |
|   9 | #13- Nur-Bahk Erdginbet (Yakk)                             |     29 |
|  10 | #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                           |     28 |
|  11 | #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z) |     27 |
|  12 | #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)              |     26 |
|  13 | #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                         |     25 |
|  14 | #00- Colin Meredith (Hapilopper)                           |     24 |
|  15 | #14- Samson Tukanova (The Daystar Isles)                   |     23 |
|  16 | #31- Patrick Sullivan (South Americanastan)                |     22 |
|  17 | #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                     |     21 |
|  18 | #62- Alice Kjäran (Auruna)                                 |     20 |
|  19 | #32- Michelle Kass Evelyn Vítková Pavlína (Valentine Z)    |     19 |
|  20 | #04- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island)                           |     18 |
|  21 | #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                            |     17 |
|  22 | #24- Zack Greene (Newmanistan)                             |     16 |
|  23 | #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                              |     15 |
|  24 | #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                          |     14 |
|  25 | #09- Curtis Kirby (69X)                                    |     13 |
|  26 | #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                               |     12 |
|  27 | #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                             |     11 |
|  28 | #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                        |     10 |
|  29 | #44- Wang Anjiao (69X)                                     |      9 |
|  30 | #43- Maurice Cavins III (69X)                              |      8 |
|  31 | #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                           |      7 |
|  32 | #17- Ian Larson (South Americanastan)                      |      6 |
|  33 | #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                |      5 |
|  34 | #66- Patricia nic Neill (Abanhfleft)                       |      4 |
|  35 | #35- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                         |      3 |
|  36 | #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Sultanate of Oontaz)             |      2 |
|  37 | #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Sultanate of Oontaz)                |      1 |
+-----+------------------------------------------------------------+--------+

[Vilita and Turori]

NSSCRA Pick 'em - Fantasy Sports Competition

Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan :: Vilita & Turori Racer is preparing for the kick off of the Thirteenth NSSCRA Season with the return of its NSSCRA Pick 'em Fantasy Sports Competition with minimal changes to the competition from its multiverse-wide contest held during previous NSSCRA Seasons.

Fans looking to participate in VTRacer's NSSCRA Pick 'em Competition should finalize their team selections prior to the season opening Tundra Falls 500.

Each Pick 'em Team will consist of 5 drivers; 1 each from five different Grade of drivers with the defending championship Four drivers; Reigning champion #15 Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye of Valentine Z, long time Championship 4 participant #46- Thea Alvarez of Saint Kanye, former series champion #27 Stacie Houston of Cassadaigua and her nation-mate and former teammate #3 Jenna Logan of Team Tropicorp joined by Regular Season specialists #81 Drake Stevenson of Team Blue and #18 Jeremiah Brooke of Saint Kanye as drivers available for selection in Grade 1. Entries will earn points based on the performance of each of their five selected drivers during each event. Throughout the season a user can make change to trade one driver within a Grade for any other driver in the same Grade at a cost of an additional 2 fantasy championship points per transaction by submitting the transaction in writing through the Vilita and Turori Racer Pick 'em Form.

VT Racer may re-seed drivers during the regular season based on their performance in the NSSCRA standings while adding any drivers who were not assigned an initial Grade. If an entry includes a driver who is promoted to a higher tier during a re-assessment, that driver will be grandfathered in their original slot and continue to count as against that entries original tier until such a point they are dropped from the team and subsequently re-added at a later date.

The standard Pick 'em Competition will culminate with the Pencurve Electronics 500 at the Jalton Superspeedway after which Fantasy prizes will be awarded and the VTRacer NSSCRA Chase Pick 'em competition would begin.

---

Grade 1 Drivers - Choose One
#15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)
#46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)
#27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)
#3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)
#81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)
#18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)
-

Grade 2 Drivers - Choose One
#02- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)
#8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)
#14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)
#73 - Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (Hapilopper)
#64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)
#41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)
#01- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)
-

Grade 3 Drivers - Choose One
#03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)
#07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)
#1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)
#2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)
#31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)
#38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)
#39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)
#4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)
#44- Shuzhen Zhu (The Sherpa Empire)
#5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)
#7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)
#80- Taylor Henderson (Wreckeria)
#90- Ilya Tsunopin (69X)
#98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)
-

Grade 4 Drivers - Choose One
#0- Ezekial "Zeke" Rodger (Esmerel
#05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)
#10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR)
#12- Virginy Kyzylov (Yakk)
#13- Eva Kerman (Jebslund)
#19- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)
#24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)
#28- Cocoabo #28
#37- Kiara Iinokanna (Auruna)
#40- Shigeru Ishikawa (Squidroidia)
#48- Ashley Mattews (Newmanistan)
#55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)
#58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)
#6- Vanda Rosa Cordeiro Kerman (Jebslund)
#60- Tyson Hoyt (Wreckeria)
#61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)
#76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)
#83- Isaia Fanene (Togonistan)
#99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros)
-

Grade 5 Drivers - Choose One
#00- TBD (Esmerel)
#04- Ryan Pearson (Sword Island)
#09- Gertrude Kerman (Jebslund)
#5- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)
#11- Gordon Busch (Kertheniia)
#33- Wes Cannard (South Americanastan)
#35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island)
#45- Ronald Victor (Kertheniia)
#52- Tsering Bohkmar (Yakk)
#62- Andre Massena (The French Army)
#63- Jean Lannes (The French Army)
#69- Swell Kirby (69X)
#71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)

---

Those looking to compete in the NSSCRA Pick 'em Competition for Season 13 Can submit their application following the instructions on the enclosed form.

The NSSCRA Season 13 Schedule continues its form with 16 races in the Regular Season followed by a 10 race chase. 37 Drivers will be guaranteed a spot in each event with a further seven slots available to non-chartered drivers and the final two spot on the grid to open charter drivers.

---

Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan :: After a disappointing NSSCRA Season 12 campaign it was a massive boost for Vilita and Turori Motorsports and their driver #41 Yraaga Gilli'i when the former NSSCRA Championship 4 Contender placed the #41 Tropicorp Racing Supply Dart on pole position for the season opening Tundra Falls 500. Gilli'i had struggled in qualifying throughout NSSCRA Season 12 - statistically their worst with Vilita and Turori Motorsports posting just 1 win and 6 Top five finishes. It was also the first time since NSSCRA Season 7 that GIlli'i went an entire NSSCRA Season without recording a pole position. It was perhaps no surprise to see the Tropicorp Racing Supply Dart as fast in Qualifying at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, as it was Gilli'i's third pole position overall at the track having now completed the trifecta at the course, having previously earned pole position for the Exhibition at The Proving Grounds presented by Rocket Automotive during NSSCRA Season 10 then following up one season later with the Pole Position for the season-ending Proving Grounds 500 one season later. That pole position in Newmanistan was also the most recent NSSCRA Top-starting spot for Gilli'i prior to posting the fastest time in the Vilaye Energy Drink Pole Award qualifying session in Tundra Falls.

Gilli'i was far and away the best performing Vilita and Turori Motorsports driver in the session with teammate River 'Shark' Suzgar II starting in 16th position and sophomore driver Islago Tizilna further back in the 23rd place. There will be some help for Gilli'i at the front, however, as NSSCRA Season 12 Championship Four contender and Fellow Tropicorp-sponsored driver #3 Jenna Logan will start from the third position directly behind Gillil'i. It is believed that from the start of the event it will be a plan for the two Dart drivers to work together and, in trade, Team Tropicorp's Driver #2, former Vilita and Turori Motorsports driver Centur Tiones will be paired up with Islago Tizilna in the Vilaye BOOM! Dart for Vilita and Turori Motorsports. Elsewhere in the field, Ilya Tsunopin begins their highly anticipated first full-time campaign in the Multiversal Cup Series from the 21st position though it remains unclear if the 69Xer will be eligible for the Coleman and Thorne Rookie standings after having competed in 10 races during NSSCRA Season 12. It was not a good qualification session for drivers making their NSSCRA debut with Togonistan's Isaia Fanene performing just well enough in 31st place to lead Auruna's Kiara Iinokanna and Sherpalander Shuzhen Zhu among true newcomers to the series.

[Kertheniia]

THE Ronald Victor ✓

@REALRVictor

Look at @QK88 making the ohfishals give him a better fake time. Where's the justice, #NSSCRA? You're letting #RadicalCommunists and birds get good fake times while keeping #RealPatriots from entering your races even though you know we're the fastest!

#CommunismIsTheProblem #Where'sTheJustice

---

THE Ronald Victor ✓

@REALRVictor

- -@HapiDrake81

I am the real, jenuwin Ronald Victor, and, if I wasn't getting cheated out of racing, I'd be showing all of you how to run a real race. Come by my hauler if you want the #RealTruth about the so-called "fair and balanced" NSSCRA.

#RealPatriot #Where'sTheJustice

---

THE Ronald Victor ✓

@REALRVictor

- -@Luna_Althea

You, my dear, have the honor and the privilige of being the neighbor of the best, richest, fastest, most powerful, richest, and most famous man in the free world, and the realest patriot, too! We should do covfefe some time.

#RealPatriot #Where'sTheJustice #45ForVictry

---

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Being from the same country as that delusional ass was beginning to get embarrassing and not-insignificantly frustrating for Gordon. NSSCRA fans seemed to love throwing everything the Cheeze-O in a Suit said in his face, and Gordon's fans specifically had already started distancing themselves due to not wanting to risk drawing the ire of the fans whose heroes Victor had managed to insult or annoy. Gordon had already had to ban himself from Twii.tur for his own sanity as people seemed to assume being from the same country meant they were teammates and that Gordon had control of the Golden Toilet.

It didn't help that his racing wasn't exactly giving fans any other reason to pay him any mind. He was consistently posting back-marker times, and, while the season was only beginning, it was already making investors and sponsors nervous, which meant more pressure to speed up and make the grade. The bad publicity being created by Ronald Victor only made things worse, as some sponsors were already talking about possibly pulling out just to avoid being tarred with the same brush as the egomaniac, and very few new ones lining up to potentially be ridiculed on the international stage. For the moment, however, just doing well enough to be talked about in a semi-positive light was the goal. A win was unlikely, but it would definitely help take fans' focus off of his supposed teammate. To that end, Gordon's agent had already made a statement over every social media they had an account on to officially disown Victor as a teammate.

[Saint Kanye]

The non-points race weekend to kick off the thirteenth season of the NSSCRA had reached its conclusion. Drivers who did well were now hoping that the momentum would carry over into next week; those who performed poorly looked to bounce back and/or were thankful that the standings weren't affected yet; those who failed to qualify altogether are likely doing anything in their power to make the field this time (except for poor Ronald Victor, who despite claiming to sue the league had not actually done anything but keep ranting on Twii.tur).

Many stayed in Newmanistan as the Tundra Falls 500 will still be held there, but the now dual Yeezie/Dagan power couple of Stacie Houston and Jeremiah Brooke went back to St. Kanye for a few days to check on their son Jericho as well as Jeremiah's parents. They would return to the Reborn Empire by Thursday night, just in time to have some practice done by Friday and then qualify on Saturday. Thea Alvarez, the third member of Gale Force Racing, was one of those who stayed, though the absence of her teammates for a few days meant that she spent more of her breaks from practice hanging with her boyfriend Ilya Tsunopin and his new posse.

Twii.tur was still buzzing from Ronald's incessant complaints about his DNQ, as well as the disagreement between Taylor Henderson and her former teammates at Team Blue, which also ended up having Lam Chow-Cheung and Kai Qiang involved. Fans also sided with whichever driver they supported and took shots at the others, with one telling Hendo "Maybe you should go drive forklifts for a year, I mean, it certainly did [Chris] Holmes good", and another asking Qiang "If you're #02 to Tsering's #01, does that mean that she wears the pants in your relationship?" But the GFR trio refused to get affected by all this early season drama, and instead just put their focus on the race at hand.

Thea was fast during qualifying. It looked like she was going to get ahead early in the point standings by virtue of the polesitter's bonus point, with none of the seventeen drivers who made an attempt after her managing to put up a faster time. But then it was Yraaga Gilli'i of Vilita & Turori Motorsports to climb into his car, and he would edge Thea by 0.003 second, relegate her to the outside of the front row, and nab that point for himself, much to her disappointment.

Jeremiah locked up the eighth starting spot on the grid. Looking up at the scoring tower, he noticed that he would be starting beside defending titleholder Anastasia Aye, same as he did during the Exhibition. "Well, this could only mean one thing," Jeremiah said to himself. At the end of the quals, he would hop over to the #15 hauler just beside his #18 (the two numbers between them were unused), greet Anastasia, and then propose an alliance.

"You must really like me," the tall Valentian driver said.

"Sure do," came the reply. "But you know, only as friends." Jeremiah flashed his wedding band, causing Anastasia to laugh. "Hopefully I'm in your good books enough to consider me as one," he continued.

"Yeah, I'm cool with you as a friend," Anastasia said, flashing a thumbs up gesture. "And I agree to work together."

"Awesome, just what I needed to hear. Thanks!"

Stacie found herself 19th, but she too would find a drafting partner in the form of Ilya, who was just a row behind her. Thea just hoped she could get a jump on YG with the right person pushing her, maybe even her friend Maddison Riley-Jones, a couple rows behind. Unfortunately for her, Qiang is also in the mix, and that's a man she'd have no chance in hell of reasoning with.

Other interesting qualifying results include Cocoabo #28 (now with Team Tsunopin) once again grabbing the final non-charter spot by just 0.009 second ahead of Jolyn Caulfield. Sage Caldwell once again missed the cut, and so did Ronald Victor; Thea braced herself for whatever outburst would come from her new hauler neighbor this time. Thankfully, Hendo was able to make the field this time.... but just behind her would be ex-boyfriend, ex-teammate and now bitter rival Drake Stevenson, causing some fans to believe that it's not a matter of whether or not the two would run into each other, but rather when. The 46th and final place in the grid belonged to the winner of the Everlong race, which would turn out to be Kaarina Salo of the Kimi team.

[Hapilopper]

DRAKE STEVENSON ✓

@HapiDrake81

Heh @REALRVictor, yeah brah. You mention "getting cheated", heh, Maybe you should try doing that. You've probably got the best people, they'd know how to get around the rules to go fast. Just saying.


#NSSCRA : #TF500

HAP O'LOPPA

@HapOLoppa

Am I seeing this? @HapiDrake81 admitting to @REALRVictor that Team Blue indeed cheats? What a story!!!

#NSSCRA : #Cheating

DRAKE STEVENSON ✓

@HapiDrake81

Hey @HapOLoppa... bite me.


#NSSCRA : #TF500

(A fuller RP coming up later. Same with Wreckeria.)

[Auruna]

Livonsk, Auruna

Experiencing what NSSCRA was like in actual racing conditions left a lasting impression on both Kiara and Alice leaving them wanting more. The Kuyo-Aurun duo of Viska-LVK performed as expected of rookies in their first outings in their respective categories, while not impressive, they managed to hold their own. And it is still at the early stages of the season, who knows what the two will manage to do in future races. Some speculate about their supposed performance on track but that's up to fate to decide whether or not they will fulfill people's expectations, especially the ones from experienced motorsport teams.

With that out of the way, there was not much for Alice to do in between races. Not much to do back home in Kuyonne, she's not participating in another series in Auruna, and not knowing anybody else in NSSCRA (apart from Michelle Kass Evelyn Vítková Pavlína who was her teammate at Livkend in the Aurun WGP3 but she decided not to bother her about that), she had no choice but to hang out with Kiara for most of the season. Besides, she's basically her senior. At the fields of Livonsk, the Viska-LVK duo walks around Livonsk's famous Lumikuran Kätänet (Fields of the Snow Flowers) for a relaxing moment on the paths through the vast fields of flowers. She never thought that the hyper Kiara has a calming side to her, Alice expected that she would be dragged into a club or a small circuit but this was much better.

After a while of walking, making their way through some tourists, the pair sit down on a bench at an area that overlooks the fields. "Finally." Say Alice as she grabs a bottle of water from her bag. Meanwhile, Kiara immediately hops on her phone where she was entertained by something to which Alice's curiosity peaked. She first tries to look over and see what it was about but she eventually decides on asking her directly. After finishing an entire bottle, she asks. "What are you looking at?"

"Not much." Kiara replied. "Just some online drama at twii.tur."

"What is it about?"

"Some NSSCRA driver are going against each other apparently and some of their posts are amazing. It just gets boring between races sometimes so I find these things entertaining."

"Why don't you hop on and join in if you're that bored?"

"Well, my manager doesn't allow me to just in case I say something. That's why I just lurk around."

"Manager? How does Viska function?"

"It's a bit complicated when you're not a full-time Viska driver so I can't explain it well. Is it different in Livkend?"

"Well yeah, it's what you expect how a team operates."

"Ohh..."

"Anyway, anything else from that social media site?"

"Just that for now. You should try going on it!"

"Wha-- well, I'm kinda curious."

"It'll be fun!"

"I'll make an account then but I'll stay away from the drama. Those things are not for me. Send me the name of the site and I'll make one later."

"Great! But you're staying with me here in Livonsk before the next race so I'll just tell you."

"Oh right."

After that, Alice just let's Kiara continue het online exploration while she takes in a brief moment of peace as the cold Northern Livonsk wind blows. Something different for once since their schedules tend to get packed with different activities like tests and sponsor events. After nearly shutting her eyes, Alice shakes herself awake and taps Kiara's arm. "Låte os går hema." She sleepily says in Kuyonnen followed by a yawn. Without understanding what she said, how she said it gave Kiara the hint to head home. So she first helps Alice up and afterwards, she grabs her arm and darts off towards the city. This shocked Alice to the point she used all the energy she could muster to remain awake just to keep up with Kiara. I have no idea how fast she is on track but I can't even keep up with her on foot!

[Abanhfleft]

"'In accordance with the points earned by your team last season, it has been determined by the organization that your charter no longer automatically includes your entry into the first eight to ten races of the season. The holder of your charter must now qualify into one of eight available places for the aforementioned races in order to be included as an entry in those races.' What in the world does this mean?" Albert Rasmussen, team principal of Duisdorf Motorworks' NSSCRA team, asked the team's legal advisor as the team and everyone else taking part in the 13th season of NSSCRA prepared for the Exhibition at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, the curtain raiser for the curtain raiser of NSSCRA, the Tundra Falls 500.

"It means that Koshiro must be among the eight fastest drivers with must-qualify charters in order to make it into the race itself," the legal advisor replied.

"No, I understand that," Rasmussen shook his head. "What I don't understand is how we ended up with such a charter. The one that UrGa sold to us was supposed to be a guaranteed charter just like the one that Cärinthen has! How come Koshiro has to qualify to make it in now too?"

"The rules about the second national charter varies from season to season, sir," the legal advisor explained. "But the first national charter is always guaranteed, and it appears that that is what UrGa are hanging on to. I don't have the details of the sale at hand right now, but I can find where it says that they agree to sell to us the second charter reserved for a team registered in Abanhfleft."

"Don't bother with that," Rasmussen shook his head. "There's a call that I can make that will help me find that out sooner. All right, off you go." He waited until the advisor had left before Rasmussen picked up his phone and dialed a number from memory.

"Yurievsky," the man at the other end said in a bored tone.

"Yurievsky, you sneaky son of a bitch," Rasmussen said immediately. "Why did you sell me one of your non-guaranteed charters?"

"What? What the fuck are you talking about, Albert?" Yakov Yurievsky, the weasely "financial advisor" of Urotovsky-Gatutin Motorsports, asked in reply to Rasmussen's accusation.

"Don't you dare try to pretend to be innocent, Yakov," Rasmussen said through gritted teeth. "Everyone knows that you're anything but. Now tell me, why did you sell us a non-guaranteed charter?"

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about," Yurievsky insisted.

"Stop playing games with me, you fucking commie bastard!" Rasmussen shouted. "Is this yet another way for you to get your petty revenge over the team that tried to challenge your position as Abanhfleft's representative in international stock car racing? Is this really how low you're willing to go just to beat us?"

"The charter that we sold to you was a guaranteed charter at the time we sold it to you!" Yurievsky shouted back. "Don't be mad at me, Albert! If there's anyone or anything that you should be mad at because of this, it's NSSCRA! They're the ones who make the rules about why your charter is now not guaranteed at all!"

"Don't you claim that you were ignorant about all this! You know exactly which charter to sell to us so that you'll keep hold of the one true guaranteed charter!"

"We were here first, Albert! We have the ultimate right to own it because we were in NSSCRA before you! Also, maybe you should not have built a slow car despite three years of studying the rules and regulations."

"Yakov, you little piece of shit! Why don't you come down here and say that to my face!" Rasmussen shouted.

"How about you go to Myrilsk and make me say it to your face?" Yurievsky retorted.

"Don't give me that, you card-carrying Red!" Rasmussen shouted back. "I know that you're right here in Tundra Falls! Come out of your mobile office and face me like a man!"

All the while, Koshiro Kawai couldn't even be bothered to care about the reasons why he now had to put up a good time in qualifying in order to actually make it into the race, or even the backroom politics going on between Abanhfleft's rival teams in NSSCRA. So much for finally being able to fight for a playoff spot, he thought to himself. His first season in the premier stock car class of the multiverse had been an eventful one to say the least. The reality of racing with the multiverse’s best stock car drivers had been vastly underestimated by Duisdorf’s leadership, and the Fleftic outfit had been left in the dust pretty much from the start. Koshiro had not come anywhere close to challenging for a race win at all and that, coupled with a fair share of DNFs, had resulted in both Koshiro and Duisdorf falling far enough down the standings that Abanhfleft itself lost the “guaranteed” status for the second charter allotted to the nation.

Koshiro could honestly say that he had never been in such a situation before in his racing career. There was no “must qualify” system in the Abanhfleft Racing Truck Series (ARTS), meaning that Koshiro had always been able to take part in races no matter how well or badly he qualified. This time, this season, was completely different. Now Koshiro had to do good at qualifying if he wanted to actually be included in the races. And, if the Exhibition at Tundra Falls was anything to go by, he had neither the car nor the pace to make it through.

Koshiro wandered around the paddock area, taking in sights that he had not yet seen despite a racing career spanning more than two decades. This was the first time that he saw what was going on behind pit wall while everyone else was racing out there. It had been easy for both spectators and drivers to criticize their crews and their pit walls for what they did wrong, but now Koshiro saw that the situation behind the scenes was just as chaotic as what was going on out on the track. It was all too easy for someone to lose their head behind the scenes, and Koshiro had a newfound appreciation for what pit crews went through. Now, if only he could actually be out there along with the best of the multiverse…

Koshiro then turned his attention to the garages, trying to find someone who was both out of the race because they didn’t qualify well and whose personality was not liable to rub him (or anyone else) the wrong way. That immediately eliminated a few choices, but on the other hand, he didn’t know a lot of the others to be able to judge if he could hang out with them and watch the race for a few hours. Koshiro pondered his options, and then he decided to walk over to the garage of the 19 car. Koshiro was familiar with Sage Caldwell, having seen the man with the long dreads hanging out with Leo Baxter (along with both the GFR and UrGa teams) a few times already, and he knew that Caldwell had not made it into both the Exhibition and the actual Tundra Falls 500, just like Koshiro. Maybe he would like to sit back and shoot the breeze with a fellow “must qualify” driver and poke some fun at NSSCRA’s charter system.

“Hey, Sage,” Koshiro said. “Mind if I stay here and watch the race with you? Man, this ‘must qualify’ system is a rough one, huh?”

---

It was hard not to feel a little sad for Agata Kosaryova when she emerged from her gray Visit the Fhulghamous!–marked car with tears in her eyes at the end of last season’s Proving Grounds 400. That was the closest that she had ever come to winning a championship in her entire racing career, and she had let it slip from her fingers. Gasha may have gotten pole position for the Proving Grounds 400, putting her in the driver’s seat to claim the Everlong Series championship, but an unfortunate series of long pit stops resulted in Gasha falling into the clutches of the midfield, and she would be unable to get herself out of there. She had done nothing wrong on her part, and her car definitely had the pace to catch the leaders, but Gasha spent too much time battling for position with the midfield cars that time simply ran out for her. Edmund Flanders, though he finished ninth in the race itself, would end up claiming the title, while Gasha fell to third place.

Once she had wiped away the tears, however, Gasha went right back to business. She announced that she had made a decision to return to Abanhfleft and compete in ARTS once again. She had been keeping an eye in Abanhfleft’s local truck racing series and had seen that the title picture back home had become more unpredictable and chaotic with the departure of the heavy hitters for larger and more international series. Drivers like Wilma von Cärinthen and Koshiro Kawai were now in NSSCRA, while Yasir Nasri had opted to become a full-time driver in AOCAR alongside his brother Hossem. And Gil Archer had retired for medical reasons, leaving the ARTS title race wide open for anyone with speed and consistency to claim victory. Just ask Jocasta Yatco, winner of the 2032 ARTS Championship and the first owner-driver to win the Fleftic title since the early 1990s. Sure, there was some controversy in the finish of the championship race in Abanhfleft, but Yatco had been consistent enough throughout the season that nobody would really begrudge her of the title. Gasha felt that the 2033 season was going to be her best chance at finally winning the ARTS Championship, and she believed that her experience in Everlong was going to help her in that campaign.

Gasha’s departure from UrGa’s Everlong team was a surprise, mostly because it was a move that was out of the blue. Gasha herself had not given any indication that she was planning on moving back to ARTS at the end of the season, although she did clarify that she was going to move back to Abanhfleft whether she won the Everlong title or not. And because it happened right at the end of the season, the rumor mill did not really pick it up until deep in the middle of the offseason when UrGa had not yet made an announcement on who would take that seat for the coming NSSCRA season. Normally, UrGa had already announced their lineup for the next season by that point, so seeing that there was still a vacant spot in the Everlong team finally got the rumor mill ticking.

Unlike Team Blue’s much publicized search for a new driver in the 81 car after Taylor Henderson’s less than amicable departure however, UrGa didn’t really have their own search for a new driver in their stable, nor did they want to. The team at first looked at internal options, but soon determined that David Clarke was not suited for stock car racing and both Katarzyna Mõr and Polina Astashenko were too raw to be thrown into NSSCRA straight away, even if it was just for Everlong. And because the empty slot was in Everlong, NSSCRA’s secondary and “development” series, other drivers who had otherwise expressed an entry to jump into NSSCRA hesitated in actually approaching UrGa for the seat. It had gotten to the point where the seat was still empty with only one month to go before the official start of the new season, and there were reports that UrGa had approached Prince Bismillah of the Sultanate of Oontaz, owner of the Oonaftco Oontaz NSSCRA Team with an offer to borrow one of the team’s drivers to drive for UrGa while allowing the Oontaznik outfit to promote another driver from the Prince’s academy. And then out of the blue, just like when Gasha Kosaryova announced that she was going back to ARTS, UrGa announced that they had signed a new driver for their Everlong team: Patricia nic Neill.

Little was known about Patty nic Neill's background, and Patty herself didn't want to answer a lot of those questions about her past. But what was known about her life didn't paint a particularly flattering picture anyway. She was from the Island of the Lost, s mysterious island reportedly capable of moving to different regions by means that could only be described as magic. The Island of the Lost was currently located in the region of Mandalanusa, but there was a time when the Island was located off the coast of Rushmore. And it was during that time that Patty, already an orphan girl by then, had stowed away on a cargo ship leaving the port of Playa del Mal for Bratsk in Pridnestrovia. Once she got to Pridnestrovia though, the language barrier was too much for her to handle, and she sought out another ship with a crew that spoke English. Patty eventually found one such ship, and she once again became a stowaway while the ship made its way to the Port of Porcusces in Abanhfleft.

Once she was in Abanhfleft, Patty immediately fell in with the wrong crowd. The Port of Porcusces was notorious in Abanhfleft for being both the entry and exit point of various black market goods ranging from drugs and guns to exotic animals and exotic cars and everything else in between. Conam, one of the largest and most powerful gangs in Abanhfleft, had an iron grip over smuggling activities in Porcusces, and nothing escaped their notice, not even a little Irish girl stowaway. Patty was rounded up by Conam and, though she feared for her own life, she managed to convince the gang that she could actually be useful to them as a runner or courier. It also probably helped her cause that she had learned how to ride a bike and a motorcycle during her time in Pridnestrovia, adding to her potential skillset for the gang. And that was how Patty's life of crime started, running small packages around the city of Porcusces on a dirt bike. Eventually, she would rise up the ranks of the gang's runners until Patty finally ended up behind the wheel of eighteen-wheeler trucks.

The law would eventually catch up to her, though. However, some quick thinking on her part allowed Patty to get off the hook. Word had gotten to the gang that the cops had been tipped off to one of their drop-off points, and Patty had volunteered to lure them away with her empty truck. The chase lasted for all of two hours before Patty finally ran out of gas and she allowed herself to be arrested. However, because there was no evidence of any sort of smuggled goods in the truck (and because Patty had immediately asked for a lawyer), the cops had nothing on her except resisting arrest, and since she was a first-time offender as well, she got off with a light sentence.

Footage of Patty's night-time in a trailer truck had gone viral, and one man who saw the video was Rufus Pilkington, owner and former driver of the eponymous Pilkington Trucks team in the Abanhfleft Racing Truck Series. Rufus had been forced to retire from the series after a medical check-up had revealed that his eyesight had deteriorated to the point that he was no longer legally qualified to drive and operate a vehicle. This necessitated a search for a new driver to take the seat that Rufus had vacated, but because Pilkington Trucks were a backmarker team, nobody wanted to join them, not even the so-called "pay drivers." Running out of both time and choices, Rufus had been forced to look elsewhere for a replacement driver. He was soon exposed to the viral video of Patty's night-time police chase, and Rufus immediately believed that there was a potential race driver in this young ginger woman. So as soon as she was released, Rufus approached Patty with an offer to drive for his team. Patty didn't have anything that she could bring to the table for a racing team, but Rufus Pilkington was not overly concerned about that. His plan was to get Patty in a truck and then wait for the sponsors to come to them. After all, what was more marketable than a young female driver in a male-dominated sport, especially one with the looks and the mysterious past like Patty nic Neill?

Unfortunately, the sponsors didn't seem to think the same way. Contrary to expectations, companies were not tripping over themselves to put their name or their product on the side of Patricia nic Neill's truck. But nobody could really say why though. The end result of it all was that Patty ran an unsponsored truck for a good part of her rookie season, with only small local companies being brave enough to let their names and products be plastered onto her truck on the day that ARTS was actually racing in their local area. But those sponsorships only lasted for one race, and as soon as a race was over, the mechanics were peeling off the decals on Patty's truck while the marketing team tried to find the next one willing to pay. The situation would eventually improve as Patty showed that there was indeed a skill racing driver underneath her pasty white exterior, and that she had seemingly left behind her old life of crime. Patty and Pilkington Trucks eventually secured deals from a small brewery, an energy drink company, and an athleisure brand to let themselves be featured on the 60 truck in ARTS.

However, when Patty had decided to make the leap to NSSCRA and the Everlong Series, she suffered the same problems that had plagued her early career. No sponsors were willing to attach themselves to her, and once again it looked like Patricia nic Neill was going to have to take to the Everlong field in a black unmarked car. Thankfully for her, just a few weeks before the start of the season, somebody jumped at the chance to be featured on the 66 car. Unfortunately, it was a Northwesterosi cryptocurrency outfit called KryptoKoin. Patty didn't really understand how cryptocurrency worked, and because of that she had an immediate distrust of both crypto in general and KryptoKoin in particular. But because they were the ones paying her to let them plaster their name all over her car, Patty was not really in any position to speak up or talk about it. She basically had to shut up, take the money, and drive.

Patty nic Neill hoped that there wouldn't be any good or bad consequences from this decision.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Twii.tur was still buzzing from Ronald's incessant complaints about his DNQ, as well as the disagreement between Taylor Henderson and her former teammates at Team Blue, which also ended up having Lam Chow-Cheung and Kai Qiang involved. Fans also sided with whichever driver they supported and took shots at the others, with one telling Hendo "Maybe you should go drive forklifts for a year, I mean, it certainly did [Chris] Holmes good", and another asking Qiang "If you're #02 to Tsering's #01, does that mean that she wears the pants in your relationship?" But the GFR trio refused to get affected by all this early season drama, and instead just put their focus on the race at hand.

强凯 - Kai Qiang - काय च्याङ ✓

@QK98

Tsering #01 because ladies first.


#NSSCRA

酒醉龙

@drunkdragon

We all know Mendok wears the pants in that marriage.

#NSSCRA

Karsang Qu 曲咖桑

@QK88

- -@REALRVictor

I'm a marine biologist. I definitely have not bribed NSSCRA officials to give me a fake time.

#Derp

[TJUN-ia]

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

Last week was about refinding your feet and now, shit is about to get real. The Exhibition at the Proving Grounds was certainly a fun way to get back into NSSCRA's famous groove, with both a win and a retirement for us over at JR to mull over this week...not that we were going anywhere, of course. But now, the time for practice is over. Both the Tundra Falls 400 and 500 was now upon us, the first proper race of the season on the long road to the crowns that shall be handed out here in the distant future. Everyone knew that from this point forward, everything was certainly going to matter a lot more to a lot of people and for all the drivers that were here, they all had one goal in mind - to win and to get into that Chase, no matter the costs. Will Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye and Edmund Flanders be able to defend their crowns or will someone else rise to the top of the mountains we fight for? The next 26 races shall answer those questions, one way or another.

Let's start with Qualifying for the 500, shall we? The drama that last weekend showed us certainly put us in the mood for anything this weekend is going to throw at us and this session certainly delivered. Yraaga Gilli’i would just about take pole over Thea Alvarez and non-charter Jenna Logan (seriously, who came up with that decision?) with Maddison Riley-Jones (@MaddyRJ03) starting as the best JR car in 6th, alongside new paddock neighbour Kai Qiang and who will be looking to try and move on from the technical gremlins she suffered from last week. Michael Stefan (@Stefan07) ain't too far behind in 10th, starting alongside Tsering Chu because patterns are cool, while Exhibition winner Alfonso Mercado (@AM64) won't be too far behind in 13th, starting alongside Aurélia Karvonen of all drivers as she made it in as the 2nd best non-charter. Andre Massena (17th), Jean Lannes (18th), Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (20th), Taylor Henderson (24th), Ashley Mattews (26th) and Cocoabo #28 (32nd) all also made it in, with Hendo starting just ahead of Drake tomorrow in a classic case of the Racing Gods laughing in all of our faces. Lam Chow-Chueng has gone quiet ever since that twii, maybe due to fear of getting their face ripped off (which is fair enough), but will hope to mirror their Top 10 result last week by starting from 39th for the 2nd week on the bounce. Derek Harwood will start from 36th while the 2nd non-charter...was still yet to be decided.

Yes, that's right...another tradition was coming back as the winner of the 400 down in the EverLong would start the 500 in 46th place. I've always liked allowing someone from the 2nd Tier their moment in the spotlight in the Multversal Cup Series for one day and with that opportunity on the line, you better believe the competition was fierce. Robin Dragonovic (@RD97SNL) would get off to the best start with pole over Jixaka Motorai and Flanders with Kaarina Salo looking ominous from 4th and the lovebirds of Gongming Gao (@GG70) and Alice Jepkosgei (@AJ96) starting from 5th and 6th respectively. Salo, in the #07 HM car, pulled off a miracle last season by finishing 2nd in her first ever race, just pipped to the post by Agata Korsaryova that time...but Agata isn't here and today, she would not be denied a second time. She beat Robin and Alex Remington to the flag for her 1st ever win and HM's 2nd with Ilmari not that far behind in 5th, AJ doing alright in 9th and Gao not too concerned with starting the season from 33rd. A podium to celebrate and a win for our mates too...what's not to love?

Well, you all know what tomorrow is...and tomorrow shall be the genesis of everything there is to come. All I can say is that the games are soon to begin...so good luck to you all.

---

Current MCS Standings: #07 - N/A (0pts)/#64 - N/A (0pts+Ex)/#03 - N/A (0pts)
Current ECS Standings: #97 - N/A (0pts)/#96 - N/A (0pts)/#70 - N/A (0pts)
Next MCS Race: Tundra Falls 500, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan
Next ECS Race: Tundra Falls 400, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan
Music of the Round III: WRS Llámame (SNR [ROU2022])

MemeWatch III
1) Already? Taylor Henderson (#80) - for getting dunked virtually by LCC.

[Hapilopper]

The Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan
The driver’s meeting – the day of the Proving Grounds 500

There was something so cathartic about heading to the driver’s meeting for the first points-paying race of the NSSCRA season for Drake Stevenson. The offseason – that long, gloomy, depressing offseason – was ending, and now it was time to race. It was time to do battle. There were the familiar faces – the Sherpalanders, the Gale Force drivers, that weird but strangely-sexy Ilya Tsunopin, the Jaguar Racing bunch, Hendo, and there were the faces he hadn’t seen in some time – guys like Tyson Hoyt, someone he wanted to approach at a distance, but he seemed like he was wanting to change from his bad-boy demeanor to someone he could have as a friend.

And then there was that weird guy from Kerthenia, Ronald Victor, who seemed, to put it mildly, very full of himself. Drake figured he was playing some sort of comedy bit. As Drake looked at his twiis, he figured Victor was some sort of popular comedy character back in his home country, and Drake figured he could feed Victor with something. But he wasn’t sure what kind of driver he was and figured if he encountered him on the track, he would try to keep his distance.

But if there was someone Drake definitely wanted to keep his distance from, it was Taylor Henderson. There were still bad feelings between the two, and figured he didn’t want to see her, either on the track or off. He walked into the deadline room of the media center, where the NSSCRA traveling media, as well as a number of local reporters, were enjoying lunch and writing preview stories, among other things. A number of the Hapiloppian reporters – and a lot of Hapiloppian reporters typically traveled to NSSCRA races – were discussing the stories of the day. Things like the Oliver Marlin team making its NSSCRA debut with Tyson Hoyt and Taylor Henderson. Things like that strange Ronald Victor guy and where he came from. Things like the ongoing battles on twii.tur that appeared to be just as entertaining as what was going on over on the race track.

“Hey Stevenson, got a question for you,” asked Jim Tanner with the Buckridge Sentinel. “Who the hell is Ronald Victor?”

“Probably some performance artist,” Drake replied. “I mean, nobody would be that eccentric and that lunatic in real life, would he? Maybe I ought to pay him a visit and see what he meant by the ‘Hashtag Real Truth.’ Maybe it might enlighten me.”

“Yeah, report back when you do,” Tanner said. “I’m curious.”

“You working with Hendo today?” asked Doug Goodman of the Hapilopper City Herald. “I mean, I know that may seem like a strange idea, but…”

Drake scoffed.

“Shit, no way,” Drake replied. “It’s funny, I think that’s like the tenth time someone’s asked me that, between fans and random people out there. I don’t want to be near her. She’s gonna get pissed, take someone out and that might wind up being me. But nah, there’s guys I’ll work with and guys I’d rather wreck myself than work with.”

“What about Hoyt?” Tanner asked.

Drake nodded and stared out into space. He was seriously considering the idea.

“Yeah, I’d work with Hoyt,” Drake replied. “Dude wants to be great in NSSCRA and seems like he’s trying his hardest, so yeah, I’d let bygones be bygones. Besides, I ain’t worried about him as much as I am others. I bet there’s a mental block there from when he got hurt.”

“True.”

The driver’s meeting was in 20 minutes, not far away, and Drake wanted to just relax and take in the surroundings as he got ready to start another NSSCRA season. Everything just felt so good, so right.

Same with Chris Holmes and Rinzi Zakhilwal, who were making their way together towards the driver’s meeting along with crew chiefs Lawrence Malloy and Gombu Sejwal. Together, it seemed like the two were making mental notes of who to draft with and who to stay away from. The night before, over dinner, the three Team Blue drivers had held a strategy session over who to work with and who to push out of line.

There had been a decent amount of consensus as the evening wore on. Obvious picks of who to work with included the usual suspects: Brooke, Stefan, the Valentians, Houston. There were others that the layman might not have thought of, including Isaia Fanene, starting right behind Rinzi.

Fanene, from Togonistan, was driving a fourth Super Skychief in the race, for the Team 83 team, and the Team Blue squad, figuring they could help out a corporate teammate (if you will), decided they would absolutely draft with Fanene if given the opportunity. Same with Virginy Kyzylov, driving a fifth Super Skychief for the team from Yakk, an obscure neighbor of Hapilopper’s, and a nation that, strangely, took a lot of cultural cues from the Hapiloppians.

Even more surprising were the picks of Tyson Hoyt and Kai Qiang, picks that didn’t necessarily get consensus.

“Remember when Qiang had to start at the back for a race about a year ago, and he and I were on the back row?” Drake said. “We worked together and we went from the back of the pack to the front in a hurry. We may not see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but we were on the same page when it came to drafting. He said ‘let’s go to the front’ and we did. Even avoided a couple of wrecks together, too.”

“Stevenson, I’m not fucking working with Kai Qiang,” Chris grumbled.

“Well, you don’t have to, but he’s a great drafting partner,” Drake reasoned.

“I don’t care how good a drafting partner he is,” Chris shot back. “He came in here to fight me.”

“Twice,” Drake interjected.

“Shut up,” Chris replied. “But I’m not working with him. You two can but I ain’t.”

“Fair point,” Drake said. “And same with Hoyt, I think he could really help us out when he’s out there…”

“Hang on a GOD damn second, Stevenson, I need to interrupt,” Amanda McAlister yelped. “Tyson Hoyt? That asshole? You’re talking about working with HIM?”

“I guess his reputation precedes him in your eyes, right?” Drake asked. “I’m willing to give him another chance.”

“Well, you give him an inch and he’ll take a mile. Tread lightly, Stevenson,” Amanda snapped.

“Fair point.”

There were a few drivers on Team Blue’s “no” list, drivers that the team would not draft with if given a choice. There was nothing personal with most of these drivers – it was a matter of just plain not knowing who those drivers were. This involved most of the rookies, drivers that most of Team Blue had not heard of. It was nothing personal – Team Blue probably wouldn’t have a problem with any of these drivers come the next superspeedway race.

But Taylor Henderson was on this list. She absolutely was on this list. In fact, her name was on top of the list, circled, in red ink and underlined. There was no way that Team Blue would work with her in the slightest.

“Hell, I’d rather wreck myself than work with her,” Chris joked.

[Kimi-Suomi]

Today would be a day she'd never forget...but she didn't know it initially. Kaarina Salo certainly had fond memories of this place, the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds of Uusimiesmaa (Newmanistan), and the more she spent here, exploring the local town and spotting the Rainbow Kid (Lam incognito) amongst the crowd, the more she remembered about just how different things were 12 months ago. It was this exact race, the Tundra Falls 400, where she put HM on the map in its very first event by way of an unexpected 2nd place on debut. It was Agata Korsaryova who beat her to the win that day but at that point, she didn't care...she was just both happy that she was there and also that she beat Ilmari to the feat. Kuinka ajat muuttuvat.

She finished 8th in the Prospect Showcase after some consistent running, but there was something in the back of her head that said that she could do so much more. Ilmari thought so too and after a very consistent qualifying which would see #07 in 4th and #7 in 15th, a lot of time was spent by the two drivers working through the race strategy and what she had to do in order to make this position count. Both Lam and Karvonen would come to help too, solidifying the perhe that had certainly developed within this developing unit.

Then came the race itself and for one thing, it certainly was as frantic as she remembered NSSCRA racing to be. She was just battling and battling up towards the front, swapping positions with almost every turn of that wheel she hung up tp for dear life, but she was especially duelling with JR's Robin Dragonovich. A nice guy, at least according to the calendar photo she had of him, but a right nuisance to her quest to take this win. Without Agata here, Robin was certainly acting on her behalf and Kaarina knew that if she wanted this race to be her, she would most likely have to beat the South Newlandian to the line. Heading into the final lap it was looking like a duel between her, Robin, Alex Remington and Lexi Patterson with Ilmari acting as support behind. Lexi and Alex would begin to fall back heading into turn 3, meaning that it would definitely be Kaarina and Robin duking it out for that all-important win and a charter spot for tomorrow. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her body as she dived towards the line with one thing in mind - revenge. Robin is not Agata and she was certainly determined not to make him another her. The results were certainly tight and she had to wait for confirmation...but she felt she had it. And she would be proven right.

HM: TAJUSIT SEN!
KS: WOOOOOOOOOO! PYHÄ JYSÄYS! MITÄ VITTUA?! MITÄ VITTUA?! AAAAAAAAAAAH! SHIT!
HM: KAARINA SALO, TERVETULOA VOITTAJAN PIIRIIN! YOU'VE DONE IT! YOU'VE MADE THE CHASE, TOO! HYVIN TEHTY, KAARINA! Hyvin Tehty!
KS: Oh my goodness...fuck! I don't know what to say...Kiitos... kiitos teille kaikille niin paljon.
HM: No worries, Kaarina. You've fucking earnt this one. Now go out there and celebrate!

And so she did, doughnuts and hugs and everything in between. She did wonder what it must've felt like for Ilmari to claim that win late last season...but now, she knew too. It felt fucking glorious to celebrate to the roar of the crowd, to hug the Pomo and Ilmari and Karvonen and even LCC like the onnellinen perhe they had become, to go up there and receive that trophy, to hear your national anthem be played for you and only you, to grab that bottle of champaign and spray it like there was no tomorrow. Lam's been up here before, Ilmari's struck gold himself...now it was Kaarina's turn. Rauhallinen wasn't quiet today at all...in fact, she had made a statement of intent on Day 1 of the new season. The Quiet was certainly, for one day, the loudest of them all.