NSSCRA 12- Everything Thread

[TJUN-ia]

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

The PTCCU Auto Loans 300 will be remembered for a lot of reasons. Of course, as a Chase Cutoff race, it will be recognised as the race where 8 became 4. Maybe as the race where Sage Caldwell DNFed or where the chaos of the Chase came to the Oxyrhynchus-Ring in style or where all the predictions of that Finnish writer, already with two blows to the head, took a fatal blow that will certainly require a new prediction to be made in earnest. Or maybe, it will be remembered for when Kai Qiang and Tsering Chu wanted to be our neighbours (through MRJ) over being neighbours to Thea and, ultimately, Ilya. Seeing Qiang and Chu in cars #01 and #02 will certainly be weird next year if this change comes into an effect and with Ilya at the back of the line next year and Qiang trying to file restraining orders in every NSSCRA nation possible (even TJUN-ia - which may be a bit difficult, as the TJUN-ian Court System likes to avoid harsh penalties unless absolutely necessary), I fear that we may end up with an uncomfortable situation on our hands in the months to come - Qiang and his on one side, Ilya and Thea and their allies on the other...and guys like us, among those who are friendly with both, stuck in the middle and wondering what the hell to do.

Now then, onto the race and this one certainly would be a chaotic mess where everything just went down for obvious reasons. Let's get the non-chasers out of the way, not because we hate them but because we have to. We'll mention only Michael Stefan (@Stefan07) for now and his race was a bit iffy, going from P25 to P31, while the HMs certainly had an interesting race too - Lam Chow-Cheung ending up in 10th and Aurélia Karvonen down in 31st. Cocoabo #28 was the best open-charter in P19 while Bismillah Untas cruised home in P30. There were 6 retirements in this contest, including the previously-mentioned Sage Caldwell.

Now then, onto the important stuff and oh boy...let's talk about it. Jenna Logan has always been an underrated driver, a Dagan always overlooked by the more recognisable names of Stacie Houston and Maddie Alexander when people talk about drivers from her homeland. While both Jenna and Maddie ended up over at Team Tropicorp, no one really talked about Jenna...in fact, some were wondering whether she would move on next season, her abilities considered too inconsistent for a program like Tropicorp. But now, she's only managed to drag Team Tropicorp into the Championship 4 after taking this race over our Maddison Riley-Jones (@MaddyRJ03) and Centur Tiones, booking that 3rd ticket into the Chase Finale. Alfonso Mercado (@AM64), representing the furthest JR has ever gone in a Cup Series Chase, ended up in 26th while Stacie Houston's P12 was enough to take the final spot. We started with 4 men and 4 women...and now, the men have been swept aside. For the 3rd season on the bounce, a woman shall rule over the stock car world.

But which one will it be? Can Houston claim a 2nd NSSCRA title and cement Stacemiah as a dynasty of our time? Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye won the title in Season 10, can she do it again and give Valentine Z their 2nd Crown? Thea Alvarez has been to 5 Championship 4s, including the last 2, and has come back empty-handed every time - can this time be the one where this girl finally breaks the glass ceiling and gets the crown everyone hopes she can get? Or what about Jenna Logan, the wildcard of all wildcards in a Torpicorp car that has never been this high before - can she cause a huge upset and claim the crown for herself?

Tundra Falls must decide, as always. My only wish is that Team Cassadaigua was here to see this, to see two of their former drivers be involved in this finale. I have no doubt that no matter what happens, the nation in pink will be watching with keen eyes...

JR Chase Predictions
Anastasia F.Y. Aye: Harpa, Stefan
Jenna Logan: Gao
Thea Alvarez: DCar, Maddy, Robin, Crews (Plurarity across all 6 Crews)
Stacie Houston: Mercado, AJ

---

Current MCS Standings: #07 - 20th (747pts/1 Win)/#64 - 5th (4093CPts/1 Win)/#03 - 18th (793pts/1 Win)/#96 - 61st (15pts)
Current ECS Standings: #97 - 7th (4075CPts+PS)/#96 - 14th (2230CPts/1 Win)/#70 - 11th (3147Cpts/1 Win)
Next MCS Race: Proving Grounds 500, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Championship 4)
Next ECS Race: Proving Grounds 400, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Championship 4)
Music of the Round II: Kalush Orchestra - Stefania (CRI/DON/LUH [UKR - ESC2022])

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

[Kimi-Suomi]

FIRST ROUND ELIMINATIONS
13] Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita ja Turori/Vilita & Turori) - OUT IN ROUND 2
14] Chris Holmes (Hapilopper) - OUT IN ROUND 2
15] Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft) - BANG ON
16] Jenna Logan (Tropicorp) - STILL ALIVE

SECOND ROUND ELIMINATIONS
9] Tsering Chu (Sherpa-Imperiumi/The Sherpa Empire) - BANG ON
10] Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper) - OUT IN ROUND 1
11] Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper) - OUT IN ROUND 1
12] Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (Sherpa-Imperiumi/The Sherpa Empire) - OUT IN ROUND 3

THIRD ROUND ELIMINATIONS
5] Thea Alvarez (Pyhä Kanye/Saint Kanye) - STILL ALIVE
6] Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z) - STILL ALIVE
7] Alfonso Mercado (JYK-inen/TJUN-ia) - BANG ON
8] River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita ja Turori/Vilita & Turori) - OUT IN ROUND 2

FINAL FOUR
1] Stacie Houston (Pyhä Kanye/Saint Kanye) - STILL ALIVE
2] Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z) - OUT IN ROUND 1
3] Jeremiah Brooke (Pyhä Kanye/Saint Kanye) - OUT IN ROUND 3
4] Kai Qiang (Sherpa-Imperiumi/The Sherpa Empire) - OUT IN ROUND 3

Hello. My name is Mätiyäs Eskolinen.
I thought I could predict the unpredictable...and I was wrong. So, so wrong.

I thought Jenna Logan was going to be eliminated in Round 1...she made the Final 4.
I thought Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton was going to the Final 4...but she fell at the first hurdle.
I said I wouldn't be surprised if only 2 of my Final 4 ended up there IRL...now, there's only 1.
Ajattelin, että voisin tehdä jotain oikein... ja poltin. Iso aika.

But across this list from hell, I did get a few things right,
I said Wilma von Cärinthen would fall in Round 1...and she did.
I said Tsering Chu would miss out in Round 2...and she did.
I said that Alfonso Mercado would make it to the Top 8...and he did.
I said Houston would make it to Tundra Falls...and she did.
It certainly wasn't perfect, but at least I got some things right.

But what about now, I hear you ask?
Who do you think will win it all now?
Well...the situation has changed, but here is my final prediction.
I gave a 1/4 chance of being correct...that's certainly better odds.
See you soon. Nauti kisasta. Hei hei!

FINAL FOUR (FINAL PREDICTION)
1] Stacie Houston (Pyhä Kanye/Saint Kanye)
2] Thea Alvarez (Pyhä Kanye/Saint Kanye)
3] Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)
4] Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)

---

HM NSSCRA FINAL FOUR PREDICTIONS (Top 4 + Everlong Champ)
DM: Houston, Anastasia, Thea, Jenna + Edmund Flanders
LCC: Thea, Houston, Jenna, Anastasia + Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds
AK: Jenna, Houston, Anastasia, Thea + Rockii Ezis
IP: Houston, Anastasia, Jenna, Thea + Edmund Flanders
KS: Anastasia, Thea, Jenna, Houston + Agata Kosaryova

---

The following is an interview by Lam Chow-Cheung, given to a reporter on Wednesday at Tundra Falls, Newmanistan

Rep: Lam, this is it. The final weekend of the season, your debut season and HM's at that. Can you describe the thoughts behind that mask as you enter this weekend?
LCC: To be honest, it doesn't feel real that we are at the end already. This season has contained so much, both good and bad, and yet, we're already at the finale. It's crazy how quickly time can pass when you're going out there and doing your job across the year. But despite that, I'm going to try and treat this weekend just like any other and see where that takes me.
Rep: You enter this weekend 26th on 597 points, definitely ahead of Karvonen and not that far behind Koshiro Kawai. What does that tell you about how this season has gone for you, with one more to go?
LCC: When you put it that way...yeah, me having similar points to Koshiro-san sounds about right. We've both had highs and lows, both retired at least once, and both of us got onto the podium once. Koshiro is pretty good for a rookie so to be not that far behind him is a good sign, in my opinion. Of course, I would prefer to be ahead of Kawai come Sunday night but that's not a major concern.
Rep: HM has certainly gotten better over this season, as have all of the drivers such as yourself. Do you guys think you can carry this over into next season?
LCC: Of course! We have to hope we can consistently get better and better as we embed ourselves into this series. I got a podium, still feel chills saying that, Ilmari got a win last time out, and Kaarina got a podium or two as well...we're improving, and that's all we can do. We hope to keep this up so that we can compete with better teams, such as the Tropicorps and Gardeners of the world. It's a gradual process, but we're all getting there.
Rep: One more question...now, you've made it clear that you have become great friends with both Kai Qiang and Thea Alvarez. Qiang is now planning on switching numbers to move away from Thea as many are starting to wonder if Ilya's connections to Thea are causing a rift between both of your friends. What do you think about all this?
LCC: To be honest...I don't know. I simply don't know. Qiang can do what he likes, that's his business, but...something about all this feels...off. I don't know why, but it does. To be completely honest, I'm...scared. I'm scared that both my friends, people that I trust and that I care about, are going to rift apart to a point where...where...I may have to choose...one over the other, by my own choice or not. And I don't want that at all. I want to be friends with both Qiang and Thea...but I'm worried about that not being possible if things continue to sour. Because if it does...I don't know what I'm going to do. I just don't. I would be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Simple as that.
Rep: That's for your honesty.
LCC: No worries. I try to be...human, you know? That's all I can do.

[Hapilopper]

[Vilita and Turori]

Season Standings (25 of 26)

1 [3840] :: @garbage_time

1 [3840] :: @easternrac

3 [3732] :: @skiia

4 [3730] :: @SurfinSummer

5 [3651] :: @PaineStensland

6 [3616] :: @Trixie0921

7 [3597] :: @gorockiigo

8 [3588] :: @ole_yutzie

9 [3585] :: @Kristen01SH

10 [3563] :: @Angela_Stella_Trista

Playoff Chase Standings

1 [431] :: @Trixie0921**

2 [413] :: @PaineStensland

3 [390] :: @Kristen01SH

4 [380] :: @FishStix**

5 [376] :: @ole_yutzie

6 [369] :: @eelcat827

7 [347] :: @skiia

8 [281] :: @easternrac

Yeezie Participants Swarm in Playoff Pick 'em Championship 4

A seemingly unbreakable tie in the NSSCRA Playoff Chase Challenge competition ended up being irrelevant as the two competitors who tied for the top performance in the first race of the Round of 8 would go on to individually put in the top performances in the two subsequent rounds, ensuring advancement to the Championship Round. Overall it was a low scoring round for the Playoff Chase Pick 'em Participants, particularly in the first and third events of the round with winning scores of just 138 and 128 respectively. @Trixie0921 of Saint Kanye and @FishStix of Kimi-Suomi were level in the first race of the round while @Trixie0921 would post the top performance in Race #2 and then @FishStix would take top performance in Race #3 with a season low winning score of 128 - just two points clear of the 126 put up by @eelcat827 which would have turned the Playoff Chase Pick 'em table on its head. As it was, however, there would be two spots available on points and both of those would go to competitors from Saint Kanye. Consistency would see @PaineStensland and @Kristen01SH through to the final round which would feature three participants from Saint Kanye and 1 from Kimi-Suomi. With half of the participants in the Round of 8 being from Vilita and Turori, the fact that none of them made it through to the final round was an impressive achievement and also marked the first time that no Vilita and Turori based participants would be represented in the final round of the Vilita & Turori Racer NSSCRA Pick 'em Playoff Chase Challenge Championship Round. With every Vilita and Turorian participant eliminated, it was assured that there would be a winning competitor from a nation that had never won the Playoff Chase Challenge before.

It was a much different story in the season long standings, however, as the Top 4 places in the overall standings were occupied by Vilita and Turori based participants. @garbage_time and @easternrac were locked at the top of the standings with two other celebrity participants, @Skiia of World Grand Prix 2 fame and @SurfinSummer, a two time olympic gold medalist, also near the top of the leaderboard.

It was a stark departure from one season prior when three of the four Championship Pick 'em Round participants were from Vilita and Turori including eventual champion @garbage_time who remains atop the Overall Standings during NSSCRA Season 12. Now, the participants from Saint Kanye have full replaced the Vilita and Turori participants in the Final Round and will look to shutout Kimi-Suomi's Fish Stick loving entrant to take the title.

VILITA & TURORI RACER -

@VTRacer

Congratulations to the NSSCRA Pick 'em Championship Challengers! Good luck to @Trixie0921, @FishStix, @PaineStensland and @Kristen01SH in the deciding round!


#NSSCRA : #nspickem : #ProvingGrounds500

While each competitor had to carefully select and navigate their roster to make the Playoff Chase, each also started with one driver assigned to them based on their relative position in standings at the end of the NSSCRA Pick 'em Regular Season compared with that of the NSSCRA Regular Season standings.

For the Championship Round, each participants roster would be reduced to just a single driver that must be among the NSSCRA Championship 4. For each V&T Racer NSSCRA Pick 'em Playoff Chase Challenge Championship Contender, if their originally assigned driver was still on their roster entering the Championship Challenge Round then that driver would be locked onto their roster as that contestants sole selection for the Championship Round. If a participant's initially assigned driver has been eliminated from the NSSCRA Chase then they will be assigned a new driver for the Championship Challenge Round through the following priority order:

1) Participants whose initially assigned driver is still eligible will be assigned that driver for the Championship Challenge
2) Participants whose initially assigned driver was eliminated in an earlier round but who replaced that driver slot with a driver who A) is still eligible and B) has not already been assigned through 1) will be assigned that driver for the Championship Challenge
3) Participants whose assigned driver has been eliminated from eligibility will be assigned a Championship Challenge roster as follows:
 --- In order of current position in the NSSCRA Pick 'em Full Season Standings with preference to highest position
 --- Highest finishing driver available based on NSSCRA Chase Round 3 standings who has not already been assigned per 1 & 2.

For the first time in Pick 'em History, none of the four V&T Racer NSSCRA Pick 'em Championship Challenge contestants had successfully ridden their assigned driver through to the final round. Celebrity Participant and defending champion Nikkii Kater (@garbage_time) was originally assigned Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye but was eliminated in the first round. There were actually two participants who ended the Playoff Chase Pick 'em with #27 Stacie Houston in their assigned slot but both had selected Stacie during the course of the competition after their originally assigned driver had been eliminated. @easternrac who was eliminated in the Round of 8 was originally assigned to Stacie while Skiia Vialiv (@skiia), also eliminated in the Round of 8, had been initially assigned Jenna Logan but could not make it out of the Round of 8.

By virtue of finishing higher in the standings, @Trixie0921 would get the first choice on step 2 of the Championship 4 Driver Assignment process and carry their replacement driver, #27 Stacie Houston through to the Championship 4 Round. The remaining three participants would have to drop to Step 3 of the assignment process to determine who they would be paired with for the final round. @PaineStensland would be first up in the assignment process to be paired with Gale Force Racing driver #46 Thea Alvarez who was second highest in the NNSSCRA Chase Round 3 Standings. Thea was already a driver on the @PaineStensland Roster but was in the Tier 3/4 slot. @Kristen01SH would be the first participant assigned a driver who was not on their roster at all getting paired with #15 Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye leaving the last competitor @FishStix to be paired with the ultimate underdog for the Championship 4, Team Tropicorp's Dagan driver #3 Jenna Logan.

CHAMPIONSHIP 4 ASSIGNMENTS

@NuclearBreeze  - #27 Stacie Houston

@PaineStensland - #46 Thea Alvarez

@Kristen01SH    - #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye 

@FishStix        - #3 Jenna Logan

With only one race remaining in the season, the highest performing contestant over the course of the full season from the Top 8 nations represented in the V&T Racer NSSCRA Pick 'em Competition is listed as follows:

1st - VILITA & TURORI   (@garbage_time         -  1st)
2nd - SAINT KANYE       (@PaineStensland       -  5th)
3rd - VALENTINE Z       (@Angela_Stella_Trista - 10th)
4th - TJUN-IA           (@DCarJR               - 11th)
5th - TROPICORP         (@beachexhaust         - 22nd)
6th - CASSADAIGUA       (@PinkHKluvs2718       - 23rd)
7th - SAJNUR            (@Kajera               - 33rd)
8th - STRAYROOS         (@MJ06                 - 37th)

Each of the four Championship Challenge contestants will be earning great prize packages from Vilita & Turori Racer including all expenses paid behind-the scenes admission to the Vilaye Clash All-Star Exhibition during NSSCRA Season 12 where the Championship Challenge winner will be offered the opportunity to waive the green flag.

---

Ezis Sets Sights on Everlong Series Title

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Proving Grounds 400, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan :: After chasing the dream of being an NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series Race Winner for five seasons - from part time efforts on strong teams to full-time efforts on mid-pack teams and a season full of DNQ's, Rockii Ezis experienced it all in their time in the Top Tier of NSSCRA competition - that is, experienced it all but victory lane. Many questioned Ezis decision to drop down to the Everlong Contenders Series for NSSCRA Season 12 after their rumored full time ride with the Rusty Motorsport team out of Filindostan failed to materialize. Instead of Settling for a mid-to-low tier ride, Ezis took advantage of an unexpected opening when Vilita and Turori Motorsports promoted Islago Tizilna within the organization through to the Multiversal Cup Series. It left an empty spot in the Novorali Enterprises shop along side full time Everlong Contenders Series drivers Lotara Novorali and Turakki Mayelli.

Early in the season it seemed that perhaps Ezis gamble would backfire. Unable to finish in the Top 10 early in the season, it seemed that Ezis goal of proving they could win a race if given quality equipment was backfiring. However with consistency and adaption to the second tier series, Ezis would eventually break through. The long time CoCoCo Logistics backed driver finally delivered the sponsor that Race-Winning moment they had been looking for, crossing the line just feet in front of Ilmari Pëkannen of Kimi-Suomi to take home their first career NSSCRA sanctioned race victory and secure a place in the NSSCRA Everlong Contenders Series Playoffs.

After entering the GGTech 400 knowing that there was an outside chance of not qualifying for the playoffs at all, Ezis quickly went from on the verge to on the top of the multiverse as they would go into the very first playoff event: The Contenders at the Rocks at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course and became the first ever Vilita and Turorian driver to win an NSSCRA Sanctioned event at the Rockii Coast based track. It also made Ezis the first driver to secure their place in the Round of 12 and all of a sudden Ezis and the #60 CoCoCo Dart Team were favorites to win the NSSCRA Multiversal Title.

Ultimately that second win in the Challenge At the Rockers would be crucial in more ways than one, as it would also be the deciding factor that would see Ezis advance to the Everlong Contenders Series Championship 4 on a Tiebreaker over teammate Lotara Novorali following the Visit the Fhulghamous! 200 at the Oxyrhynchus-Ring in the Fhulghamous Peninsula Colony. Now, Ezis will compete head to head with three other competitors, #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds of Valentine Z, #40- Agata Kosaryova of Abanhfleft and #47- Edmund Flanders of Hapilopper. In advancing to the Championship Four, Ezis becomes the first ever Vilita and Turori driver to compete for the Everlong Contenders Series Championship after both Ezis and Lotara Novorali had already become the first ever Vilita and Turorian drivers to reach the Everlong Contenders Series Round of 8. Now, the team will put all of their efforts toward supporting Rockii Ezis and the #60 CoCoCo Logistics Team as they contend for their first ever NSSCRA Championship at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds.

[Newmanistan]

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

Qualifying Results:
   NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)          56.753
 2 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                    56.756
 3 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                        56.760
 4 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                           56.773
 5 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)              56.818
 6 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                       56.831
 7 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                    56.838
 8 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                        56.875
 9 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                            56.965
10 #73- Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                          56.971
11 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                            56.976
12 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                        57.021
13 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                   57.036
14 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)           57.064
15 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                          57.070
16 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                     57.075
17 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                    57.113
18 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                      57.152
19 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)                 57.181
20 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                         57.256
21 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                            57.282
22 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                     57.315
23 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                       57.367
24 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                              57.390
25 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army)                       57.412
26 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR)       57.446
27 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                     57.549
28 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                       57.676
29 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                          57.795
30 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                     57.988
31 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros)                       58.016
32 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)             58.048
33 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                             58.120
34 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                            58.221
35 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan) *Q*                   58.318
36 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                        58.588
37 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)                 58.975
38 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)            58.978
39 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                         59.622
40 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos) *Q*                             59.655
41 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                         59.719
42 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria) *Q*                         59.923
43 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                     59.925
44 #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                   59.963
45 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                           1:00.107

Final two spots go to EverLong Champion and the winner of the Proving Grounds 400 (or the 2nd place driver if the champion wins)

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

Qualifying:

NSSCRA EverLong Series
 1 #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)                                56.835
 2 #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                                56.891
 3 #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                                   56.893
 4 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                      56.902
 5 #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)                    56.940
 6 #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                                    56.965
 7 #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                     56.972
 8 #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                                   57.028
 9 #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                           57.127
10 #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                                 57.145
11 #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                                  57.243
12 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                               57.275
13 #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                                   57.451
14 #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                                  57.527
15 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                                57.545
16 #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                                 57.634
17 #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)       58.296
18 #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                              58.634
19 #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                        58.725
20 #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                                59.064
21 #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                     59.348
22 #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                           59.492
23 #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                                 59.606
24 #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                    59.607
25 #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                                  59.645
26 #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                                  59.746
27 #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                                   59.817
28 #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                        59.824
29 #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                               59.980
30 #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                             1:00.330
31 #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                                1:00.523

(Minimum Time To Avoid DNF= 1:00.100 sec)

Race Results:

NSSCRA EverLong Series
 1 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                                      56.944 WINNER
 2 #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)                                   56.976
 3 #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                                   56.980
 4 #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)                                 57.214
 5 #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                     57.286
 6 #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)                                57.316
 7 #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)                              57.507
 8 #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)                                    57.689
 9 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                                57.716 EVERLONG SERIES CHAMPION
10 #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                                57.758
11 #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)                                 57.776
12 #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)       57.997
13 #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                           58.014
14 #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                               58.027
15 #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                                  58.805
16 #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                        58.812
17 #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)                                59.033
18 #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)                                  59.176
19 #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                     59.338
20 #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                                   59.480
21 #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                                   59.655
22 #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                    59.793
23 #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                        59.878
24 #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                                  59.951
25 #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                                1:00.034
26 #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                             1:00.082
27 #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                               1:00.185 DNF
28 #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)                  1:00.188 DNF
29 #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                             1:00.522 DNF
30 #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                         1:00.614 DNF
31 #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                                1:01.674 DNF

#70- Gao and #47- Flanders make it into the Proving Grounds 500. They could each keep their number, so I'll do that unless told by one of the nations to use a different one.

Final EverLong Point Standings:

+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                  EverLong Contenders Series                  | Points |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)*                           |   5029 | CHAMPION
|   2 | #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)**                         |   5024 |
|   3 | #40- Agata Kosaryova (Abanhfleft)***                         |   5022 |
|   4 | #77- Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds (Valentine Z)**              |   5010 |
|   5 | #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)*                      |   4110 |
|   6 | #20- Daryl Calhoun (Saint Kanye)***                          |   4104 |
|   7 | #30- Lexi Patterson (Saint Kanye)**                          |   4104 |
|   8 | #97- Robin Dragonovic (TJUN-ia)                              |   4082 |
|   9 | #22- Pyotr Lavrentiev (Saint Kanye)***                       |   3194 |
|  10 | #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)**                                |   3187 |
|  11 | #10- Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine (Valentine Z)** |   3178 |
|  12 | #98- Jixaka Motorai (Tropicorp)*                             |   3158 |
|  13 | #7- Ilmari Pëkannen (Kimi-Suomi)*                            |   2289 |
|  14 | #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)*                              |   2265 |
|  15 | #42- Ganglie Zhe (Abanhfleft)*                               |   2250 |
|  16 | #5- Bryan Harrison (Tropicorp)*                              |   2245 |
|  17 | #37- Cocoabo #37 (Tropicorp)                                 |    670 |
|  18 | #41- Turakki Mayelli (Vilita & Turori)                       |    633 |
|  19 | #07- Kaarina Salo (Kimi-Suomi)                               |    609 |
|  20 | #24- Dwight Webster (Newmanistan)                            |    543 |
|  21 | #48- Ryan Carroll (Newmanistan)                              |    516 |
|  22 | #50- Tawfiq Chouchane (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                    |    471 |
|  23 | #72- Zacarias Policarpio (Oontaz Dert Li Ng)                 |    441 |
|  24 | #15- Allison Maddox (Sword Island)                           |    325 |
|  25 | #04- Tyler Davidson (Sword Island)                           |    323 |
|  26 | #59- Brookes Benson (Xanneria)                               |    304 |
|  27 | #05- Carson Zanby (Sword Island)                             |    304 |
|  28 | #73- Yuri Piotr (Qzvarkian Qaz)                              |    303 |
|  29 | #44- Alina Carbalo (Dod Rava)                                |    264 |
|  30 | #13- Amr Tarif (Krbustan)                                    |    246 |
|  31 | #34- Mariusz Psikuta (Dod Rava)                              |    245 |
|  32 | #14- Gerges Shenouda (Krbustan)                              |    231 |
|  33 | #33- Joshua Pelayo (Kannapian Sports Federation)             |    111 |
|  34 | #11- Luist Mata (Kharao)                                     |     97 |
|  35 | #91- Aidan Rowan (Kannapian Sports Federation)               |     79 |
|  36 | #87- Agdta Ndugane (Kharao)                                  |     73 |
|  37 | #43- Cynthia Verdenne (Kharao)                               |     65 |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------+--------+

[The French Army]

Kai Qiang and Tsering Chu were engrossed in a conversation, exchanging hand gestures, loving gazes, and an occasional caress. Andre Massena had no idea what they were "talking" about, and he didn't care.

Tsering noticed him first, but she didn't have time to warn Qiang before Massena walked up behind him and ruffled his hair. Qiang swatted his hand away. "Argh, Rinzi, 我说..." Qiang froze when he realized the taller man ruffling his hair was not Rinzi.

"Bonjour, Chinky McQiangface," Massena said as he gave Qiang's hair one more pat.

"Dammit Massena! What the fuck???" Qiang said in surprisingly good colloquial French.

"I heard you have been calling me Frenchie McFuckface," Massena explained, and he waited for his translator to make sure Qiang understood. "You are lucky I enjoy NSSCRA. I could easily gut you like a fish, but they would not let me come back to the NSSCRA circuit next season if I did that." He reached under Qiang's chin and scritched him like a cat. "You should be more careful what comes out of your mouth."

Qiang swatted Massena's hand away again. "Okay! You made your point!"

[Saint Kanye]

There was a little glimmer of hope in the minds of Jeremiah Brooke and his crew as the second from last race of the season in Abanhfleft approached. He'd gotten himself above the cut line for the Championship Four, and if things go well at the brutal Oxyrhynchus Ring, he could very well see himself in contention for his second title. It was thanks to a runner-up finish at Kardashia that he'd gotten there, which is bittersweet since he could have well locked himself in if he'd just caught up to his fellow Gale Force Racing driver, Thea Alvarez, for the dub.

Qualifying saw Jeremiah lock up position number eighteen, same as his car number, but he would be able to move up from that, get to the top ten, and even grab the early lead. But of course, this was no walk in the park, seeing as there are four other drivers also wanting that sure spot. His own wife, Stacie Houston, in her first full-time season for GFR, and after her pregnancy with their son Jericho. Alfonso Mercado, the Jag youngster, hoping to go all the way in his first ever Chase appearance. Sherpalanders Kai Qiang and Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal, always threats late in the season (as long as they're in title contention, of course). And Jenna Logan, aiming to dig herself out of such a huge hole and get Team Tropicorp their first Multiversal Cup.

Jeremiah fought as hard as he could, not being afraid to trade paints or use his bumper when needed, especially when any of the other Chase contenders are in his territory. This is it. Out of the playoffs early last season due to a freak injury in Sword Island, now he's been able to survive the Rounds of Sixteen and Twelve. He was a warrior, a hard worker, a nice guy, a fan favorite. Why wouldn't this be his season? As he crossed the start/finish line in ninth position, the universe gave its answer: it's because he was a man. He, Qiang, Rinzi and Alfonso can have any other season, but this one would be for the ladies, as Jenna pulled off the improbable and nosed out Maddison Riley-Jones to the line to accompany Thea and Anastasia Aye to the finale, and take fellow Dagan Stacie with her on points,

As he drove back to his box, Jeremiah was speechless, and not in a good way. He knew he did well, but it was nothing if certain people did even better. Now instead of a title, he'd have to settle for fifth at the most. And then, as he climbed out of his car and removed his helmet, he realized that behind this dark cloud was a silver lining. Ever since he crossed the line in fifteenth in Sword Island, at the very track that caused him to be sidelined last season, that was already an improvement to his position in the points. He'd also captured the regular season title, so he'd be back running the full iROS schedule no matter what. He'd been crowned King of the Jungle for winning the TJUN 600. He'd even made a new friend in the form of Ilya Tsunopin, who he went off-roading with in Ilya's native 69X before helping him start a Cup career. He had a drama-free personal life, a lovely wife, and an adorable kid (and hopefully future Cup champion at that). There was lots to smile and even joke about. He went over to the also eliminated Qiang (hoping his disdain towards Thea did not extend to him) and said, "Well, better luck next season for both of us then."

Stacie, on the other hand, can't contain her joy. A twelfth place finish was enough for her to points her way into a fifth Championship Four appearance, second most all time behind Thea's six. And she did it with a brand new team, her husband's team, proving that she made the right decision when she put pen to paper during the offseason. Nothing against Team Cassadaigua, but she'd grown to love everything about GFR, from the cars to the crew to the culture and more. Which is why, the day after the race, she immediately contacted headquarters to discuss a contract extension, regardless of whether or not her old team decides to return and comes knocking at her door. (OOC: Discussed with and given the green light by Cass through TG.)

Thea was a non-factor in the race - she was unable to capitalize on a seventh place start and ended up just 21st, barely avoiding being lapped. However, earning her second win at her hometown track the previous week was enough to lift her to the finale, a fact that was not lost on her legions of adoring fans, the Alvarez Army, who mobbed her, congratulating and wishing her good luck, as she made her way back to the hauler. Ilya was not racing this week, so Qiang was Thea's hauler neighbor. However, instead of exchanging pleasantries like they used to do in seasons past, Thea kept to herself, ignoring Qiang's presence. If she's dead to him, he's dead to her. She doesn't care that he and Tsering would be changing numbers next season to avoid her, nor that he doesn't like that she and Ilya are becoming an item now ("Who does he think he is, my dad?") All she kept thinking about is whether sixth time would be the charm next week. She can't keep falling short all the time.

[Garden at 6th Mile Road]

The Gardeners – Race 24 – Multiversal: Kardashia Chadwick Dealers 400, Kardashia Autoring, Saint Kanye (Speedway); Everlong: Axis Hyper Clean 300, Kardashia Autoring, Saint Kanye (Speedway)

Vice Foresittend Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Moira “Неуловимая, Женщина-шпион” Marlene Wendy Lucille Lapis Jill Khorosheva Vin. Zolina łnt. Natasha Vasilisa Helen Ceeta Tescelyn Maximovna wasn’t particularly happy with herself, clutching her arm as she got out of the car, perhaps still the rush of adrenaline dulling the aching pain from the bruising that she got on her left arm. Did Ezekiel Rodger from Esmerel bumped into her? She did not know, nor does it matter to her. A little frustrated, but again, nothing to write home or to make complaints about. Having been there since NSSCRA 8, Jolyn knew that crashes and hits are inevitable, perhaps even with that one stunt that was nothing but tasteless. She hated it. She hated every single moment of it. If she could remove it from everyone’s memory, she might be a little bit happy in her life, knowing that neither she nor the Valentians have planned such a heinous act. Sure, death may not have been something of concern for the Valentians, but they remembered (albeit a little too late) that the world of motorsports is full of dangers and crashes, and people certainly have died for the entertainment of many, as well as through racing as career. The Valentians have the power of technology on their side, but many others weren’t, and it is not something to be mocked about. Jolyn needed some time alone.

She sat down, alone in her room as expected and wanted. The other Valentians can wait, she told her that she needed some time alone, and they are more than happy to respect that. Her ministry duties for Valentian’s Education can wait; there are other helpful staff and people who are running the thing, and it is not as if the Valentian Education System is in its infancy, and needs her input all the time. Her phones and devices are muted, with the students having been rerouted to other teachers. She sulked and was shocked by the very thought of her doing such a thing, but it was needed. Not once in the decades has she rejected her students who are asking her for help. However, they all understood well, and were more than respectful of her needs, for a teacher, a mentor, a principal, head minister, and the vice president that has possibly the most rational mind of all, and has a heart unlike any other under all of that stern and rather direct appearance. They understood, without a single ounce of doubt, that she is just like any other, even if capable. Jolyn needed a day off, and that was all she asked from those around her in nicest of ways. And they all accepted it without hesitation. “This is eating into my own main career,” she thought to herself, pacing around and as to contemplating on what exactly she was doing there. She was no longer in the main team, which does not exactly spell the death of her motorsports career. After all, people like Holly and even Anna have managed to perform a few miracles here and there. There is little to no deeper differences between Valentians and the Gardeners, owing to the fact that they are all, deep down, from the same world and from the same planet (even Holly, even if she is technically from another world). “What am I doing here,” she trailed off, looking at the night skies of Saint Kanye from our lounge window, with the track slowly shutting off its lights and cloaking the place in near-darkness save from the lights from the living quarters and a few garages. Some may have considered her thoughts as pessimism, something that an outsider may think that it’s impossible for a Valentian to have. Deep down, however, Jolyn was simply being pragmatic, as she is always wont to do. The thrill of the racing is still there, that is not without a doubt. However, with her simply filling in the gaps for the roster, while not getting those podium finishes let alone a win, couple with her school and education work, she wonders to herself on her worth here.

[New Northwesteros]

Sage Caldwell's day at the Oxyrhynchus Ring ended early, as his tires fell victim to the track's brutal surface and caused him to spin out, hit the wall and collect other cars. While he himself was not hurt, he figured that his chances at landing that spot at Team Blue might be.

Sure, the Haps loved his soup run at the Berman - that kind of grit and determination really made an impression on the scouts. However, for every good finish he had, there was a bad one or even a DNF to cancel it out. Team Blue would surely not be happy with that kind of inconsistency. Hence, the season finale would be his one last shot to prove that he deserves to level up, as the news of Stacie signing a contract extension dashed all hopes of a return to GFR.

Ricky Lee has never confirmed any intention of pursuing the 73 seat, but that didn't stop some people from thinking that he'd be the one to get it. "Me in Team Blue? That's as probable as the Shark [River Suzgar] signing with UrGa," he told reporters. There were also some rumors floating about that the Beiyang factory team would be revived, with him in one of the seats, or that GFR will take him on as the R&D driver to replace Ilya, who's going full-time, but the prevalent belief was that he'd return with Direwolf for next season.

Still other rumors state that Direwolf's Everlong branch could make a return with Esmerelian Ezekiel Rodger at the wheel, but team management were quick to dismiss any idea of them reentering the second tier.

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – Race 25 – Multiversal: PTCCU Auto Loans 300, Oxyrhynchus-Ring, Oxyrhynchus, Fhulghamous Peninsula Colony, Abanhfleft (Short Track); Everlong: Visit the Fhulghamous! 200, Oxyrhynchus-Ring, Oxyrhynchus, Fhulghamous Peninsula Colony, Abanhfleft (Short Track)

Foresittend Marcus Alan Ariel Maximillian “Unendlichkeit Jäger” Swifty Felix Maverick Prometheus Revlin Lynx Artyom Lichtenstein Baptiste C. Talon Haydn Lincoln Taal Reynolds Fang Wu Ying could not believe it. He was even about to go as far as jump up with joy, then he remembered that he was in a 20-meter tall suit of armour, and the weight of it all is going to cause a bit of a local tremor. “Maybe I will do it outside,” he thought, just as he went out and then doing the joy jumping. It was not so much that he placed 4th for this short track race. Rather, it was the fact that for the first time in his life, he was going to make it into the Top 4. Would it matter if he was going to win it for real, and maybe even be named a champion? Perhaps it would have made everything sweeter, but for the time being, he didn’t want to think too far and too big about himself. After all, the top 4 was already great, he wanted to thank one of his friends who have always been with him – Valkyrie Valentijn Samantha Constantine. She went as far as shedding a few tears because she got the win while she realised that her friend was not getting the finishes that he would need in order to get through to the Chase. If they were rivals, they would have said something about how the tables have turned, from Valentijn leading the scoreboard for half of the season, to Marcus making what was possibly one of the best comebacks of all – from the middle to top 4. However, since they are close friends, Valentijn shook hands with Marcus, the two gave a shoulder pat and a hug on one another, and even Marcus’ suit of armour celebration jovially, which may be a bit of a terrifying sight to see for a stranger – a large 20 meter tall suit clapping and then growling (happily) towards the person it has bonded telepathically with. Things are doing good.

Anastasia “De Sierlijke en Vrij High Valkyrie ov Valentine Z” Freya Valentina Ada. Jolin Annelijn Caitlin Trijntje Crystal Clarice Constance Judy Voi. D. Nexitros Annile Teresa Thida Myat Yadana Aye was able to make everything even more awesome with her presence, though not exactly due to the short track performance. To start off with, apart from the Everlong Valentians, none of the Multiversal Valentian drivers were able to break the mould, with 13th as the best finish from one Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha. However, the awesome news was in the form of the scoreboard and from the officials, whereby her home victory enabled her to advance to the top 4, right beside three other women – Stacie Houston, Thea Alvarez, and Jenna Logan. Anastasia put in the effort to congratulate each and every one of them personally, either by presumably visiting their lounges right after the race at the short track in Abanhfleft, or right after the Everlong race was over back in the last race of the season – The Proving Grounds in Newmanistan. “I can’t believe it still, it’s nearly over. Another season, haha! Here’s to next season, let’s get going!” With that, all the Valentian eyes would be on Anastasia, especially the drivers. Clarissa and Gwen, at this point, have positively accepted the fact that they may need to wait for the next season in order to get that series of wins, or the championship. With them having teamed up several times on the race courses, it is time for the Valentians to put in an extra effort, not to cheat but to give their friend the much needed support. It’s time to end this with magic.

[Garden at 6th Mile Road]

The Gardeners – Race 25 – Multiversal: PTCCU Auto Loans 300, Oxyrhynchus-Ring, Oxyrhynchus, Fhulghamous Peninsula Colony, Abanhfleft (Short Track); Everlong: Visit the Fhulghamous! 200, Oxyrhynchus-Ring, Oxyrhynchus, Fhulghamous Peninsula Colony, Abanhfleft (Short Track)

Vice Foresittend Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Moira “Неуловимая, Женщина-шпион” Marlene Wendy Lucille Lapis Jill Khorosheva Vin. Zolina łnt. Natasha Vasilisa Helen Ceeta Tescelyn Maximovna finished her grievance, and along with the rest of the Valentians, she too has accepted the fact that there is little to nothing to be done for this season. For her, it’s a lot of determination to help Anastasia, but with a hint of melancholy, a remnant from the time she spent thinking about the whole thing back in Abanhfleft. Of course, with every speech expressed, there is bound to be someone who may take notice, even if Jolyn told them that she would be fine and that there is nothing to worry about. It was Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds. Shortly after celebrating his finish and making it into top 4, he – in his armour as always – walked towards Jolyn’s lounge, being able to knock on her window instead of doing something as mundane as going down and using the door to enter the room. Jolyn was not surprised, perhaps a little vexed at first, but she simply could not hate her friends for showing concern, especially Marcus. “Hey there,” she started.

Marcus nodded, gently opening the window as he stood and talked to Jolyn through it, “Hi, Jolyn. Well, hmm, a wonderful day today, isn’t it? A little warm, but I think I will be fine with the weather, eh.” He then shook his head a little, taking a step forward, “Ahh, who am I kidding, I am sorry to intrude, Jolyn. It’s just- hey, I see that you are a bit stressed out lately. I know you said don’t bother you, but I was just wondering if you needed someone to talk.”

“Yeah, well, since you are here… I suppose we can go out for a walk and then talk a little bit. I mean, so long as these people do not mind a tall woman and a very large suit of armour walking about, not knowing a man was inside.”

Marcus let out a small but hearty chuckle, and then slowly pushed his shoulder onto the window, “Here, climb on,” he said, Jolyn gripping one of the antennas on the armour’s shoulder, and then making herself comfortable there. With all that said and done, Marcus walked away from the driver’s lounges and then to one of the destinations – the Marble Arch, trying their best not to scare any of the other persons, residents or otherwise. “Ahh, you always know where to take me to,” Jolyn remarked, still sitting on the shoulder while she took a photo of the Arch with her free hand. From the database that they have obtained from the website of Abanhfleft, “The arch itself has been standing in the middle of this Fhulghamousian beach when Fleftic explorers and colonists landed on this place, and it only seemed logical to name a settlement around this marvelous piece of architecture. Evidence points to the arch being built around the years 1889 to 1901, although the purpose for the building of the arch remains unknown, as is the reason why it was built here in the first place. There is a one-meter circular cordon around the Marble Arch to protect it from damage that could be caused by inquisitive and "nosy" tourists.” Both of them appreciated the history behind it, as well as the architecture. However, they were simply there to talk about the white elephant.

“So.. all right, I suppose I will start first,” Jolyn said, hopping off from Marcus’ armour and then facing him, the two sitting down and not minding the other visitors and confused (and terrified) people around them, “I guess it all started with NSSCRA 8, and the many things that have happened there. The stunt, me coming back to NSSCRA and only having the middling presence of being average, and well, I am a bit tired at times, Marcus. I’m also sorry I kind of made you weep a little and you being not in the joke as well.” Marcus definitely took it well. As heinous as the stunt was, he understood that there were simply times where people have done something outlandish, “Hey, don’t worry about that. Everyone makes mistakes here and there. Besides, ahh… I mean, have you seen the news and happenings in Twii or in blogs from the drivers and journalists alike? It’s crazy, I will have to say.” Jolyn nodded, perhaps a bit amused (and disturbed) that it really could have gone worse. “Well, if I am going to be honest, I am at least kind of glad that I am not followed by someone like Ilya. The man isn’t that bad in the car, but… I don’t know. Something’s not very right with him, do you think so?” Marcus nodded, amused, though something came into his mind what with the relevance from Ilya going after someone. “Massena? I heard he’s trying to get close to Holly.”

“Ahh, I wouldn’t worry about him too much. I don’t think they have interacted and contacted each other in the more recent races. Everything seems relatively fine as of now. I do keep an eye out, of course,” Jolyn winked, with Marcus slowly standing back up and then walking around a little bit to the other sights to see around. Jolyn followed him from behind, placing a hand on his left arm, “Hey, Marcus. Thank you, yeah? I really appreciate that. I mean, it can be a bit obvious when you talk about it, or that there could have been even more drama, but it’s just- well, this has been bothering me, you know? First day off only after decades of working and then managing my time well, I never thought I would need it. Well, probably should not work that hard as well, but that’s besides the point. Again, thank you.” Marcus nodded and then gave Jolyn a friendly and soft hug, trying his best not to crush his friend, “Ah, you’re welcome! Can tell you are a little distressed, which is rare, but still…” “Am I that easy to read, though?” “I mean, you did say that you needed a day off and are blocking calls and texts, it’s a little obvious.” “Hahah, that’s fair!”

“So, what are the plans for Multiversal for you? I mean, no offense, but I think you will have to wait for another season at this point.” “Just help Anastasia out, I suppose. Give her all of the support, and maybe even friendly bump.”

[Saint Kanye]

Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan
The Proving Grounds 500

Carl Tanner, SKYNET Sports 12 commentator: And here we go, folks. After twenty-five races in several different countries, it all comes down to this. Four girls, one cup.
Shaun Pitt: The NSSCRA Multiversal Cup to be specific, the grandest prize in international stock car racing. I'm Shaun Pitt, here with Carl Tanner for the start of the Proving Grounds 500.
CT: Thank you, Shaun. You know, it's not only the race winner and slash or the series champion that we're gonna find out at the end of the day. There's also the Rookie of the Year, and of course, the next driver of the #73 car for Team Blue, which they're gonna reveal later today.
SP: Yup, but before all that, let's take a look at the starting lineup for today's race.
CT: Only one sent packing, and that's Kassie Collins in the #35 for Sword Island's Union Racing.
SP: And surprisingly, none of our Championship Four contenders starting in the top ten!
CT: But you and I know just what these drivers are capable of, Shaun. Expect them to work with others and get to the front as soon as they can.
SP: Yeah, for sure. Alright, first row. Starting on pole, it's Clarissa "Big Blue" Samantha in that #7 Eveline for the Valkyrie Racing Team.
CT: And to her outside, one of our ROTY contenders, Rustam Ilyich Yudin in that green #39 for UrGa Stock Car Division.



CT: On the second row, we've got Drake Stevenson in the #81 Good Oil Preston for Team Blue.
SP: Shock exit for Drake in the Round of Sixteen, could've really gone all the way, and for the past few weeks he's been driving like he's gonna do so.
CT: And beside him is Alfonso Mercado in the #64, this is his best season yet. First career victory. First Chase appearance, lasting until the Round of Eight at that.



SP: Row three now. River Suzgar, aka the Shark, in that #14 Dart.
CT: Suzgar of course, our season six champion.
SP: And beside him, our season nine champion and three-time winner at this track. Jeremiah Brooke, aka JB, aka Big J, in that purple #18 Chadwick.
CT: Violet. It's violet. See, because the sponsor is...
SP: Okay, fine, I get your point.



CT: Fourth row, there's Wilma von Cärinthen in the #98, also won her first race and made her first Chase. Beside her, Lam Chow-Cheung, the masked marauder themselves in that nonbinary themed #38 car.
SP: That'll be hard to miss indeed.



SP: On the fifth row, it's the Lumberjack, Centur Tiones in the #2 Dart.
CT: Tiones of course won here back in season ten.
SP: And warming up what's already the hottest seat at the moment, Frank Bronson in the #73 unsponsored Prezzie.
CT: That smiley face on the hood really showing how they really feel about Taylor Henderson's departure, huh.



SP: Sixth row, Chris Holmes in the #8.
CT: Became father to a healthy boy called Zach earlier this season.
SP: And to his outside, the first of our four title contenders, Stacie Houston driving the #27 Five Star Chadwick for Gale Force Racing.
CT: What a great GFR debut for Stacie, and what a day for Cassadaigua - two drivers representing them despite not fielding a team this season.
SP: And speaking of Team Cassadaigua, still no clear news on whether or not they'll return next season, but one thing's for sure.
CT: Stacie won't be with them, as she just signed a contract extension with GFR.
SP: Possible Hendo destination?
CT: I personally don't see it, but who knows? Moving on...



CT: Row seven, a real intriguing one. Two of the drivers that many believe are the frontrunners for the vacant spot at Team Blue.
SP: That's Sage Caldwell on the inside in that #13 Bloodmobile, and Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal, Mr. Mayhem himself, on the outside in that #06.
CT: Glorious dreadlocks or fabulous mustache, who's it gonna be in that seventy three?



SP: Okay, and we're about a third of the way in.
CT: Row eight now, that's Fleftic rookie Koshiro Kawai in that gold #58 machine, alongside Tsering Chu the Sherpa driver in the #43.
SP: Let's take a break, we'll be back after these messages.

[Saint Kanye]

SP: And we're back with our coverage of the Proving Grounds 500 here on SKYNET Sports.
CT: First eight rows accounted for, now let's continue with row number nine.
SP: That's YG, Yraaga Gilli'i, on the inside, car #41, alongside Maddison Riley-Jones, last week's runner-up in the #03.



CT: And on row ten, Holly Starlight on the inside in that blue #55 Eveline.
SP: Starlight Suites, why aren't you sponsoring her already!
CT: And then we've got Maddie Alexander in that #1 Team Tropicorp ride.
SP: Looks kinda similar to YG's car just ahead, but at the same time, different. If that makes sense.
CT: Yeah, I get what you mean.



SP: Row eleven, Sherpalander Liangmei Li driving for the hometown team, Rocket Motorsports...
CT: And alongside Li's #5, her hauler neighbor Islago Tizilna in the #4 Dart for VTM. Tizilna of course one of the Rookie of the Year hopefuls.



CT: Row twelve now.
SP: The polesitter at last season's finale, Kai Qiang in the #44.
CT: Qiang is the only member of the Back to Back Club, that's two straight race wins in two weeks, to not become champion in the same season.
SP: Yeah, another shock elimination if you ask me, the Round of Eight being a rough one for him.
CT: And yep, it's been six more rows before we've seen another Championship Four driver, this time it's Jenna Logan in the Team Tropicorp #3. Last week's surprise winner.



SP: Time to get lucky now on row thirteen. That's Jean Lannes of the French Army Racing Team in that #63 car, and beside him is Anna Thanda in the #10.



CT: Row fourteen, Lannes' teammate Joachim Murat in the #61, together with Aurelia Karvonen of Kimi-Suomi in the #71.



SP: Row fifteen, yet another Championship Four driver in Thea Alvarez, that's her in the seafoam green #46.
CT: Could this be her time to shine? Sixth appearance at this stage, it's a record too.
SP: And she's just twenty-four! Could you believe?
CT: To her outside, our third Frenchie in the field, Andre Massena driving the #62.



SP: Next up, we've got Ricky "Slick Rick" Lee in the #99 Chad on the inside of the sixteenth row...
CT: And that hard to miss #31 car of Gwen Oxton to his outside.
SP: And that's two thirds done, let's take another break.

[Saint Kanye]

CT: Welcome back, it's the Proving Grounds 500 on SKYNET Sports.
SP: We've already covered the first sixteen rows for this race, just seven more to go.
CT: Okay, continuing with row seventeen.
SP: Laura McKenzie, the lone Sajnuran participant, in the #16 alongside Michael Stefan of TJUN-ia in the #07.
CT: "Micky" has some success in this track, he won the Tundra Falls 500 to start last season.



CT: Row eighteen, both Rocket Motorsports machines, it's Ashley Matthews inside in the #48 and Chelsea Taylor outside in the #24.
SP: Chelsea is a Dagan, wonder who she'll root for, Stacie or Jenna?
CT: Or maybe she'll just try to win the race herself.
SP: That's possible.



SP: Nineteenth row, Jolyn Caulfield in the #76, beside her old ride, the #15, now occupied by Anastasia Aye.
CT: Anastasia will be starting further behind than the rest of the Champ Four, let's see how it plays out for her.



SP: Twentieth row, the StrayaRoos duo of Yuro Kiuba in the #74 and Al Jak in the #88.
CT: Yup, they're still around, folks.



SP: Last three rows now. Row twenty-one, we've got Chris Gordon in the #05 and Kelly Monroe in the #56.



CT: Row twenty-two, Lexie Shelby in the #90, and Ezekiel "Zeke" Rodger in the zero car.



SP: And finally, occupying the last row, our two open charter users....
CT: Newly crowned Everlong series champ Edmund Flanders in the #47, and making his return to the Cup Series at least for now, Gongming Gao, yesterday's winner, driving his familiar #70.



SP: And that's our field! We'll see you for the start of the race after this break.

[TJUN-ia]

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

And so we arrive once more at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds to determine our wearers of the NSSCRA Crowns. We started this journey here in Newmanistan and as always, we will end the long journey of NSSCRA 12 at this circuit. This season has had it all and was filled with so many stories and characters that will be remembered for a long time - the Team Blue implosion, Ilya Tsunopin, HM's rise, Ren Mazenoda, VideoGate and all of that fallout, the rise of NSSCRA fanfiction, and so on and so forth. I will admit, I will certainly miss this one a lot more than I realised initially, despite all the chaos that has occurred, but all good things must come to the end at some point and no matter what, we have to find our champions. So let's get on with it, shall we?

Qualifying for the Proving Grounds 500 was arguably the most important qualifying session of the season and getting a good track position here could be important for whatever final day aspirations you may have. None of the 4 Chasers ended up in the Top 10 as Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha took the final pole of the season over Rustam Ilyich Yudin and Drake Stevenson. For our part, Alfonso Mercado (@AM64) will lead the charge from P4, Maddison Riley-Jones (@MaddyRJ03) will be in P18 and Michael Stefan (@Stefan07) starts from P34. HM, who have been nothing but climbers in their first-ever NSSCRA season, will start their first-ever season finale with Lam Chow-Cheung, a new name that many in sport have become familiar with over this season will start in P8 while Aurélia Karvonen, someone I feel will turn up strong next season, starts from P28. Ashley Matthews was the best of the non-charters once more with Kassie Collins the odd one out.

The two open-charter slots would be determined through the Everlong Contender's Series Finale - the Proving Grounds 400, where both the Race Winner and the Champion (or, if both are the same driver, the Top 2) would get into Sunday's Season Finale. Agata Kosaryova would take pole over Lexi Patterson and both Alice Jepkosgei (@AJ96) and Gongming Gao (@GG70), who locked out Row 2, with Marcus Alan Ariel Reynolds in 5th, Kaarina Salo in 8th, Ilmari Pëkannen in 10th, Robin Dragonovic (@RD97SNL) in 11th, Rockii Ezis in 12th and Edmund Flanders in 15th. The race ended up being one of the most chaotic of the entire year, fitting for a season finale like this, where both Robin and MAAR failed to make the end amongst 5 DNFs. The battle for the crown was pushed towards the midfield as those with nothing to fight for wanted to claim the final win of the season. Salo fell back to P20 while Ilmari was involved with AJ, Gao and Bryan Harrison heading into the final lap. In the end, teamwork would end up being the dreamwork as the final standings looked as follows: Gao took it at the flag, Harrison in 2nd, AJ in 3rd, Ilmari in 4th and Flanders in 9th. Gao and AJ are on the podium, and Edmund Flanders takes the crown - a perfect way to end the Everlong season.

You just knew that Gao and AJ were going to have fun on that podium and they certainly did that, spraying each other with the bubbly from the moment allowed. Gao and the newly-crowned Flanders will now start the Cup race tomorrow from the back row, the Hapiloppan in 45th and Gao in 46th. No matter what happens tomorrow, or with the Car #78 saga or with anything that happens in the weeks and months to come, I hope you are watching.
We have a King...now all we need is a Queen.

---

Current MCS Standings: #07 - 20th (747pts/1 Win)/#64 - 5th (4093CPts/1 Win)/#03 - 18th (793pts/1 Win)/#96 - 61st (15pts)
Current ECS Standings: #97 - 7th (4075CPts+PS)/#96 - 14th (2230CPts/1 Win)/#70 - 11th (3147Cpts/1 Win)
Next MCS Race: Proving Grounds 500, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Championship 4)
Next ECS Race: Proving Grounds 400, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Championship 4)
Music of the Round II: Kalush Orchestra - Stefania (CRI/DON/LUH [UKR - ESC2022])

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

[Tropicorp]

Heroic Logan Fights for Victory, will Race for Championship!

PTCCU Auto Loans 300, Oxyrhynchus-Ring, Oxyrhynchus, Fhulghamous Peninsula Colony, Abanhfleft :: Two seasons prior at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, two organizations were unsure of there future in the NSSCRA. Team Tropicorp had been competing in the Multiversal Cup Series for four seasons and achieved three race victories with two different Cocoabo Drivers. They had made one playoff appearance but never seemed like challenging for a title. It was a much different story over at Team Cassadaigua where championship pedigree was a given - although most of that was with the #27 Team of NSSCRA superstar Stacie Houston.

So when Stacie Houston announced she would not be competing in NSSCRA Season 11 to focus on her family life, it immediately left questions about what would happen with the team. While Team Cassadaigua had a future star in waiting in the Everlong Contenders Series - Maddie Alexander - the youngster was an unproven talent at the Multiversal Cup Series level and didn't bring in quite the same pull with the sponsors or realistic expectations from the team.

Team Tropicorp had been considering dialing back on the Cocoabo program. While the highly trained Cocoabo drivers were certainly capable of running up front and winning races, there were concerns that the grueling 26 race schedule of the NSSCRA was not great for the well being of the Cocoabo. Maintaining a fleet of Cocoabo specific cars also detracted from the teams efforts with citizen driven cars, emphasized by the fact that as of the final round of NSSCRA Season 10, Team Tropicorp had never won a race with a citizen driver. With questions surrounding both teams plans for NSSCRA Season 11, at some point the two organizations got together and started to discuss a merger. Twelve teams being reduced to Seven - three full time each in the Multiversal Cup Series and the Everlong Contenders Series along with one part time entry. Then the details started to finalize.

With Stacie Houston out of the sport for now, Five Star Mobile would come on board to sponsor the team and driver Maddie Alexander in the #27 car, retaining the number made famous by Stacie Houston. Team Tropicorp made the decision to keep Cocoabo #28 merging the two-car Cocoabo fleet down to a single entry taking the best cars from both the #28 and #78 teams and utilizing them for the new season. The #27 and the new #26 entry for Jenna Logan would use a mixture of new model Hybrid Dart's and the 'Dagan model Blaze chassis left over from Team Cassadaigua. The Dagan shop would be shut down as far as NSSCRA would go. Usable Blaze chassis would be sent to Team Tropicorp's shop in Tropicoast to be used for the two Dagan drivers, Maddie Alexander and Jenna Logan on a rotational basis until they were exhausted - with no plan to purchase any new Blaze chassis if any were wrecked or determined to be outside their useful life. Blaze Chassis would also be provided in the Everlong Contenders series for Newmanistan driver Bryan Harrison who would take over the ride that Maddie Alexander had nearly won the Everlong Contenders Series title in the year before.

This new look "Five Star Team Tropicorp" team put forward the best of two Motorsport heavy nations. Maddie Alexander would drive the #27 Five Star Mobile Blaze/Dart to the Coleman and Thorne Rookie of the Year. Of course, the highlight of the season came in Tropicoast when Jenna Logan put the #26 Tropicorp Dart into victory lane in the Tropicorp 500 - a big coup for the team creating an exceptional day for promotional photos and videography for the Tropicorp Brand. It also put Logan into the NSSCRA Playoffs. While the largely R&D focused team did not have the resources dedicated to championship contention that some of the other playoff teams did, it was still an achievement to be represented among the 16 team playoff field.

Though the partnership seemed to at the very least work as well as Team Tropicorp without Cassadaigua had done before, there would be another shakeup yet to come when it was announced that Stacie Houston would be returning to the Multiversal Cup Series for NSSCRA Season 12 and taking the Five Star Mobile sponsorship and car #27 with her. After two seasons with the #27, Maddie Alexander needed a new identity. Having run the numbers 26-27-28 during NSSCRA Season 11, losing the #27 also meant the numerolgy no longer worked out. Additionally, after a poor showing overall by Cocoabo #28 during NSSCRA Season 11, Team Tropicorp was seriously considering dropping the Cocoabo driver to a part time schedule for NSSCRA Season 12.

With the Five Star Mobile funding gone, Five Star Team Tropicorp had now reverted back simply to Team Tropicorp. When former Vilita and Turori Motorsports driver Centur Tiones came available on the market along with the Tiones Lumber funding, Team Tropicorp jumped at the opportunity to bring Tiones onto the roster and make Cocoabo #28's part time schedule official.

Heading into NSSCRA Season 12, most pundits projected that Tiones would be the teams top driver with rising star Maddie Alexander close behind. Although Jenna Logan had won a race the season before, overall her results seemed to be trending downward and she was projected early on to be the lowest of the three Team Tropicorp drivers. If the pundits got anything right at the start of the season it would be the continued impressive development of Maddie Alexander. Now driving the #1 Tropicorp #1 in Tires Dart, Alexander would be in and around the top ten all season long, on the cusp but never quite achieving that first career victory. Centur Tiones was another story altogether. Tiones inherited the proverbial R&D-Squared car - the R&D Entry of an R&D Team - as the citizen driver could not conveniently fit in the Cocoabo configured cars that would remain associated with Cocoabo #28's part time effort. Tiones season would be plagued with parts failures, DNF's and trouble even on pit road costing the team a number of solid finishes.

Then there was Jenna Logan. Literally assigned the #3 on a three car team with numbers 1, 2 and 3, Logan once again stepped up to take her chances with the poise of the veteran driver that she is. Though her performances were much closer on par to those of the struggling Tiones than they were to those of her high-flying fellow Dagan Maddie Alexander, Logan once again was able to put her Tropicorp / twii.tur / Dagan Airways Dart in victory lane to make a second consecutive playoff appearance for Team Tropicorp.

Much like the projections at the start of the season, very little was expected from Logan and Team Tropicorp in the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series Playoffs - and with good reason. Logan finished the regular season well outside the Top 16 in points and was by far the lowest driver in the Regular Season standings who advanced to the NSSCRA Chase. The press was near unanimous in its thoughts that Logan would be among the first four drivers eliminated from the playoffs at the conclusion of the Round of 16. She Wasn't.

While big names like Hapilopper's Drake Stevenson faltered at the first hurdle, Jenna Logan showed consistency and poise to advance through to the Round of 12. Whether it was simply a matter of a favorable track schedule or the benefit of having the best of the best of the personnel from all three Team Tropicorp entries collaborating with the sole intent of helping Jenna and the #3 team progress in the playoffs, the Jenna Logan that arrived in the NSSCRA Chase was much different than the one that had largely run mid-pack during the Regular Season. Multiple podium finishes put Jenna and the #3 Tropicorp Dart team through to the Round of 8.

It was there in the Round of 8 that reality started to catch up to Team Tropicorp. Jenna struggled at Valentine Z and in Kardashia leaving her with a near insurmountable points gap to climb if she was going to advance to the Championship 4. Of course, points were irrelevant if she could win the final race of the Round of 8 at the O-Ring. It was the race chosen to replace Concord Heights on the NSSCRA schedule, the famous Cassadaigua short track had occupied the slot before the decree came down that the Dagans shall not support these motorsports activities at a multiversal level any further. It was here that Jenna Logan would put up not only the performance of her season, but perhaps the performance of her career fighting tooth and nail for every position then with the help of her team, using pit strategy to take the lead and never relinquish it. Jenna made old tires stretch until a much needed yellow flag, holding the field up behind her all the while and refusing to let anyone pass. Once her tires were back on par with the field after the yellow flag pit stops, Jenna was able to competitively hold off the challenges as she executed the classic win-and-in result for her second victory of the season.

Altogether it was a fantastic day for Team Tropicorp putting two cars on the podium with #2 Centur Tiones finishing in third place, three cars in the Top 11 (#1 Maddie Alexander) and four cars in the Top 20 with Cocoabo #28 piloting the Ilya Tsunopin funded Red and Black #28 Dart to a 19th place finish. Logan's victory in the Fhulghamous Peninsula Colony would ensure that all four of the Championship contenders in the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series are female, knocking out Regular Season champion Jeremiah Brooke from Championship contention with her victory. Logan would be one of two Cassadaigua born drivers in the Championship 4 along with Stacie Houston who was returning to the final in her first full time stint back in the NSSCRA. The two Dagans would square off with long time Championship contender #46 Thea Alvarez and former NSSCRA Champion #15 Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye with the highest finisher at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds being crowned NSSCRA Season 12 Champion.

Team Tropicorp & Team Cassadaigua say Good Luck Jenna!

[Kimi-Suomi]

The Chequered Flag waves and just like that, the debut season is over. But how do HM's drivers react and what do they feel about the offseason to come? Part 1 will focus on Saturday and the Everlong Contenders Series, with Ilmari Pëkannen and Kaarina Salo now finding themselves reflecting on their first attempts of NSSCRA racing...

P4 was just off the podium and P20 certainly wasn't the best, but they simply did not care right now. Ilmari and Kaarina, the T2 drivers for HM, had completed their mission of racing in NSSCRA and both now had a full season under their belts. It certainly was an interesting one for both of them, one filled with good and bad moments, but as they had their final post-race debrief of the season, how did they think they went for the first 26 races of the rest of their lives?

If Kaarina could describe this season in one word, it would be "koulutuksellinen" - educational. A weird word to choose for sure, but Kaarina felt it perfectly described just how much her perception of this challenge had changed across the season. At the start, her main aim was to try and do well and shut Ilmari up at the same time. She managed to get a podium at the literal first attempt but from there, Ilmari would take the initiative. She used to hate him with a passion, his cockiness and attitude something that must've been designed from high above to specifically piss her off...but then she figured out why he acted like that, why he had to do that. Ever since then, she become more and more content with Ilmari's progression and while her driving hasn't brought her much success as of yet, she held some belief that next season would be far different.

As for Ilmari, his word would be "valistava" - enlightening. He fully admits that he wasn't the best person when this season started, a man on a mission to take names on the track and piss off Kaarina, by any means necessary, out of the car. His performances were good, really good, at times but when he wasn't doing as well, as one would expect in a series like this one, his father would always rear his ugly head and berate him, berate Kaarina and just be the asshole that he wanted Ilmari to be as well. It was only after a video call that he began to realise just how bad this situation actually was and once he figured out that Kaarina knew that as well, things seemed to fall into place. He now feels like a better person, being the asshole for his father and the friend for his teammate, and winning in Abanhfleft cemented Ilmari's status as a changed man - one with his eyes firmly fixed towards the future.

In all, the first season of T2 action was certainly fruitful for HM. These two rivals ended up as good friends in the end and while only one of them made the Chase, they will both be hoping to break through next time around. First will come a long-needed break for both of them back home, resting in saunas and maybe wandering around the wilderness or enjoying the winter, and then...well, it would be back to HM and preparing for the season to come. They both did Kimi-Suomi proud, but the journey ain't done yet. Ne ovat vasta alkaneet.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Houzhi Chang understood why Qiang wanted to get away from Ilya and Thea. He had seen the disturbing scene when Ilya burst out of that cake in Vilita, and he agreed with Qiang that they had to make sure Kami and Sima never witnessed another scene like it. The only small mercy was that some frosting had stuck to Ilya's body when he burst out of the cake, and one gob had stuck in a particularly fortuitous place, where it protected everyone's eyes from what they did not want to see.

Still, Change was going to miss being parked so close to the #46 hauler. He like having a short walk to go over and talk to Thea's spotter, Naomi.

Since the Proving Grounds 500 might be the last time Qiang and Thea parked their haulers next to each other, Chang decided he should make the most of it. He didn't have the resources or the temperament to make a big grandiose gesture like buying a million roses. But he still made a long stop at the florist's shop. Qiang was getting impatient and struggling to control his children so they wouldn't make a mess, but Chang still spent several minutes picking out exactly the flowers that he wanted.

"Can you make up your mind already?" Qiang asked impatiently. "Kami, don't touch that. No, Sima, put that back. We're not buying that one!"

"Just give me a minute," said Chang. The florist was standing nearby holding a few camellias and yarrow blossoms, and a pine branch with tiny pine cones and short silvery-green needles. He drifted back and forth between talking to Chang about the flowers, talking to Qiang about NSSCRA, and casting nervous glances at the children, apparently worried they might spill something. Chang made up his mind and picked out a graceful sprig of yellow orchids to finish off his bouquet.

The florist put the orchids together with the other flowers and adjusted them so all the blooms faced outward where they would be easier to see. "Oh, that's very pretty!" he said when he saw the way the yellow of the orchids contrasted against the deep fuschia pink of the camellia, the bright white of the yarrow, and the green of the pine needles.

"There is a lot of symbolism in it too," Chang said. "Yellow orchids represent new beginnings. It is for a woman who works on one of the other crews. We have been friends for a while, but I want to start something deeper between us."

"Ohh, that's sweet," said the florist. He could hear the depth of Chang's feelings in the tone of his voice, and see it in his eyes.

"I just hope I can tell her how I really feel," said Chang. "It's very easy to talk about everyday things, but it is harder to talk about deeper feelings."

In the background, Kami was fussing over some dahlias -- she had apparently decided that she wanted a bright orange one -- and Qiang was telling her to leave the flowers alone.

"Why did you bring the kids?" Chang asked.

"Mendok wanted some girl time with Tsering, and I thought they would behave!"

Chang rolled his eyes. "When do your kids ever behave?"

---

At the track, Chang nervously made his way over to the #46 hauler with the flowers and asked for Naomi.

He smiled when he saw her. "Hi, these are for you." He handed the flowers to Naomi. "I want you to know that whatever is going on with Qiang and Thea, it doesn't change how I feel about you. It's been a long time since I've felt close to a woman the way I feel close to you. I still want to see you again when we come back next season. Maybe we could even see each other in the offseason, away from the track, if you want to. I hope you understand, the reason why we can't have Thea around...it doesn't have anything to do with you, and I hope it doesn't come between us. It's a question of safety for Qiang's daughters. If Thea is around and she's dating Ilya, then Ilya's going to be around, and we can't take the chance that he might start acting out sexually in front of the children. But it doesn't change how I feel about you. I still care about you as a friend, and I think someday, I'd like to be more than just friends."

[Hapilopper]

The Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan
The morning of the Proving Grounds 500

On the bright side, everything just seemed more relaxed on this morning compared to this time one year before. There was no pressure of a championship fight. There was no concern about Taylor Henderson, or more specifically, what would happen if Drake Stevenson had beaten Taylor for the title. Instead, all that Team Blue was worried about was how their new third driver would be like with the team, and if Drake was going to actually use that train horn in the race.

Drake got in his car when his car was pushed onto the line, and he fully suited up, which was incredibly unusual. It turns out that Drake had intended to blast the horn while a television crew walked by his car, ideally if they were on live, conducting a standup shot or if they were interviewing someone. Drake had chuckled to himself not-so-secretly at the idea of someone from SKYNET or HTN or another network interviewing someone right in front of his car, he’d tug the train horn and send everyone scurrying. So when John Malloy caught wind of what Drake was planning, he had Team Blue send a message to all the broadcasters of the NSSCRA – avoid Drake Stevenson’s car at all costs.

Malloy, setting his work station up on the pitbox, along with Team Blue crew engineers who work on the box, looked out to the grid, where fans were gathered, enjoying their access on the grid for the season finale. He looked a little nervous as he thought about the train horn. What if a fan found a button, pushed it and became exposed to the loudest noise they had ever heard?

Well, at least fans had respect and wouldn’t touch the cars, wouldn’t they? Thinking of that, Malloy went back to work, setting up his work station.

All things considered, it seemed like standard procedure on the morning of the season finale. Everything seemed like it was going normally. Same in the Team Blue Center, where Drake Stevenson was sitting in a private room, trying to think about the 500 miles ahead on the Proving Grounds. He was trying to picture what he needed to do to take victory. He had forgotten about the train horn – or at least, he wasn’t trying to think about it. He was trying to think about actually winning the race to put this frustrating season out of its misery.

All across the multiverse, billions of fans were tuning into the season finale. One network was going over all 46 starting drivers. Other drivers had made it out to the grid. But, for whatever reason, Drake was still sequestered by himself in the Team Blue Center.

Maybe it was the fact that the night before, Jeanie Wilson had given him a phone call. Thoughts of that disastrous date a few weeks before weighed heavily on Drake’s mind, and after talking to her for a couple of hours, he wondered if he could consider trying again with her. After all, it wasn’t her fault the date had gone poorly, nor was it his. It was a douchebag ex-husband trying to make life miserable for them, and Drake wanted nothing to do with it. He liked her a lot, but he just wondered if that would just produce way too much drama for his liking.

The call rattled Drake, and while he had started that evening in a great mood, he was forlorn and miserable for the rest of the evening, and still didn’t look all that pleased as race day got started.

But then, something happened that got everyone’s attention. As a crew member knocked on the door to Drake’s room in the Team Blue Center, reminding him to go out to the track because driver introductions had just started, another crew member walked over to Drake’s car to tell a fan to not touch the car. The crew member noticed an unusual lever on the car, attached to the A-pillar of the car. The lever was not normally there and the crew member wondered if Drake had put that lever there to do something trick, like maybe lowering the spoiler or lowering the rear-end with a very illegal hydraulic lift. A NSSCRA official walked by and spotted the crew member looking at the unusual lever.

The official asked the crew member to pull the lever. After all, something like that could do one of several things. It could send lead pellets flying out of a hole, giving the car about a 200-pound weight advantage. It could lower the rear end, giving it an aerodynamic edge. It could flatten the spoiler, giving it an even bigger aerodynamic edge.

None of those things happened.

Instead, when the official pulled the lever, what resulted was the loudest sound either the official or the crewmember had ever heard. It sent crew members, fans, drivers and media members into a frantic panic as a sound resembling a horn from a train blared from under the 81 car. It could be heard all over the 3.5 mile Proving Grounds, could be heard on the television broadcasts and across the area.

John Malloy looked over towards the 81 car and, when he realized an NSSCRA official asked the pit crew member to tug on the horn lever, he cringed. He wished it had been a fan that tugged the horn at that point.

Meanwhile, Drake Stevenson, on his way to the grid, stopped when he heard the horn. For all intents and purposes, his attempt at a prank had backfired spectacularly and he was most likely going to be in all sorts of trouble. If he didn’t have to go out there, he probably would have gone back to the Team Blue Center and hid himself in his little hole. Instead, he’d go out there and face the music from, most likely, a very pissed off cadre of NSSCRA officials demanding to wonder why there was a train horn in his car and why it had just interrupted driver introductions.

On the bright side, at least it gave Drake time to get out to driver introductions without having to lose his place on the grid.

[Newmanistan]

Race: Proving Grounds 500, Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan (Superspeedway)
Lap Record: 56.342 sec.
Minimum Time to Avoid DNF: 1:00.200 sec.

Segment 1:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                     56.853
 2 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                        56.922
 3 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)              56.928
 4 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                           57.203
 5 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                          57.273
 6 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                              57.376
 7 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                       57.391
 8 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                        57.393
 9 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)            57.405
10 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army)                       57.417
11 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                     57.442
12 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                    57.481
13 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                     57.547
14 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                            57.559
15 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                        57.596
16 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros)                       57.603
17 #73- Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                          57.616
18 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                        57.723
19 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                            57.771
20 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)                 57.835
21 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                     57.964
22 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                         58.106
23 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                       58.119
24 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)             58.176
25 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                            58.417
26 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                          58.422
27 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                            58.521
28 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan) *Q*                   58.533
29 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                        58.559
30 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                   58.648
31 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                              58.768
32 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)                 58.804
33 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                    58.957
34 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)          59.037
35 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                      59.115
36 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                             59.126
37 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                    59.129
38 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)           59.184
39 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                             59.593
40 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                     59.609
41 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                         59.649
42 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos) *Q*                             59.707
43 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria) *Q*                         59.769
44 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                       1:00.060
45 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                     1:00.115
46 #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR)     1:00.319 DNF

Segment 2:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                    56.821
 2 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                  56.843
 3 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)           56.854
 4 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                 56.865
 5 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                   56.933
 6 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                         56.950
 7 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                         56.966
 8 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                     56.977
 9 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                        56.988
10 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)       57.128
11 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)         57.198
12 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army)                    57.202
13 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                    57.233
14 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                  57.238
15 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                    57.257
16 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros)                    57.259
17 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                         57.259
18 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                 57.268
19 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)          57.304
20 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                      57.328
21 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                  57.387
22 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                     57.441
23 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                       57.458
24 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                       57.496
25 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan) *Q*                57.497
26 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                           57.889
27 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                 57.896
28 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                     57.942
29 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                         57.984
30 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)        58.168
31 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)              58.363
32 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                58.448
33 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                  58.451
34 #73- Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                       58.454
35 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                     58.676
36 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                     58.859
37 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                          59.375
38 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                          59.545
39 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                      59.630
40 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                  59.646
41 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos) *Q*                          59.646
42 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria) *Q*                      59.806
43 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                      59.995
44 #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)            1:00.446 DNF
45 #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                         1:00.638 DNF

Segment 3:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)           56.871
 2 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)         56.893
 3 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                    56.920
 4 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                     56.951
 5 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                        57.014
 6 #73- Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                       57.019
 7 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                 57.021
 8 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)        57.036
 9 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                     57.087
10 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                      57.124
11 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                   57.140
12 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                57.148
13 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army)                    57.194
14 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                  57.204
15 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                           57.270
16 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                         57.334
17 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                         57.345
18 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)       57.378
19 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                  57.399
20 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                 57.579
21 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros)                    57.652
22 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                  57.673
23 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                         57.720
24 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                       57.761
25 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                         57.761
26 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                    57.852
27 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                  57.890
28 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                       58.074
29 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan) *Q*                58.172
30 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)          58.237
31 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                     58.273
32 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                     58.300
33 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                    58.521
34 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)              58.977
35 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                     59.098
36 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                  59.610
37 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                      59.662
38 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                      59.667
39 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                          59.711
40 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                          59.773
41 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria) *Q*                      59.888
42 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                 59.928
43 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos) *Q*                        1:00.018

Segment 4:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)           56.827
 2 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                     56.843
 3 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                    56.896
 4 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)         56.914
 5 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)        56.922
 6 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                         56.962
 7 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                    57.024
 8 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)       57.061
 9 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                       57.142
10 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                     57.165
11 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                  57.219
12 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                   57.335
13 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                     57.338
14 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                       57.449
15 #73- Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                       57.456
16 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                         57.473
17 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                      57.566
18 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                  57.597
19 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)              57.690
20 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)          57.747
21 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                     57.860
22 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                  57.938
23 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                 57.979
24 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                    57.980
25 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                         58.005
26 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                  58.005
27 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                         58.030
28 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                58.114
29 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                 58.353
30 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan) *Q*                58.387
31 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                     58.490
32 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                        58.648
33 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros)                    59.135
34 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                 59.166
35 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                          59.411
36 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                          59.457
37 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                           59.466
38 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos) *Q*                          59.651
39 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria) *Q*                      59.727
40 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                      59.842
41 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                  59.887
42 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                      59.931
43 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army)                  1:00.054

Segment 5:

NSSCRA Multiversal Series
 1 #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)         56.800
 2 #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                    56.864
 3 #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)                 56.940
 4 #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                       56.979
 5 #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                        57.102
 6 #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                     57.104
 7 #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                  57.114
 8 #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                     57.193
 9 #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)       57.272
10 #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                 57.295
11 #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                     57.299
12 #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)              57.362
13 #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                         57.369
14 #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                         57.426
15 #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)                 57.434
16 #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army)                    57.465
17 #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)           57.563
18 #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                         57.646
19 #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                  57.754
20 #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                    57.802
21 #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                     57.862
22 #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                     57.883
23 #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                         57.929
24 #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)        57.978
25 #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                       57.980
26 #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                  57.985
27 #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                           58.082
28 #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                   58.366
29 #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)                  58.409
30 #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                      58.512
31 #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                    58.792
32 #73- Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                       58.927
33 #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                          59.049
34 #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                59.058
35 #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                          59.384
36 #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                      59.680
37 #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros)                    59.680
38 #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan) *Q*                59.681
39 #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                      59.791
40 #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                  59.795
41 #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria) *Q*                      59.880
42 #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos) *Q*                        1:00.059
43 #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)        1:00.566 DNF

Race Results:

+-----+----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                       Driver                       |  Avg.  |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)        | 57.009 | WINNER
|   2 | #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)      | 57.042 | NSSCRA 12 Champion
|   3 | #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)                  | 57.054 |
|   4 | #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)                  | 57.262 |
|   5 | #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)                      | 57.296 |
|   6 | #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)                 | 57.299 |
|   7 | #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)               | 57.341 |
|   8 | #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)                     | 57.391 |
|   9 | #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                      | 57.564 |
|  10 | #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)    | 57.575 |
|  11 | #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                    | 57.584 |
|  12 | #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)               | 57.591 |
|  13 | #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)                      | 57.607 |
|  14 | #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)                 | 57.622 |
|  15 | #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)                    | 57.623 |
|  16 | #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)               | 57.690 |
|  17 | #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                   | 57.727 |
|  18 | #62- Andre Massena (The French Army)               | 57.761 |
|  19 | #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)                | 57.778 |
|  20 | #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)              | 57.824 |
|  21 | #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)     | 57.858 |
|  22 | #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army)                 | 57.866 |
|  23 | #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                  | 57.871 |
|  24 | #73- Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                    | 57.894 |
|  25 | #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)              | 57.990 |
|  26 | #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                      | 58.019 |
|  27 | #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)              | 58.044 |
|  28 | #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                  | 58.092 |
|  29 | #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi)                 | 58.196 |
|  30 | #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)           | 58.239 |
|  31 | #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros)                 | 58.266 |
|  32 | #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)             | 58.283 |
|  33 | #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                  | 58.288 |
|  34 | #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                        | 58.295 |
|  35 | #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan) *Q*             | 58.454 |
|  36 | #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                       | 59.347 |
|  37 | #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                       | 59.538 |
|  38 | #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*               | 59.709 |
|  39 | #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                   | 59.783 |
|  40 | #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                   | 59.798 |
|  41 | #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                       | 59.814 |
|  42 | #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos)                           | 59.816 |
|  43 | #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)       | DNF    |
|  44 | #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)           | DNF    |
|  45 | #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)                        | DNF    |
|  46 | #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) | DNF    |
+-----+----------------------------------------------------+--------+

Final Point Standings:

+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+
| Pos |                         Driver                         | Points |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+
|   1 | #15- Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (Valentine Z)***       |   5045 | CHAMPION
|   2 | #27- Stacie Houston (Saint Kanye)**                    |   5044 |
|   3 | #46- Thea Alvarez (Saint Kanye)**                      |   5032 |
|   4 | #3- Jenna Logan (Tropicorp)**                          |   5002 |
|   5 | #18- Jeremiah Brooke (Saint Kanye)*                    |   4157 |
|   6 | #64- Alfonso Mercado (TJUN-ia)*                        |   4132 |
|   7 | #44- Kai Qiang (The Sherpa Empire)***                  |   4117 |
|   8 | #06- Rinzi Aogar Zakhilwal (The Sherpa Empire)*        |   4101 |
|   9 | #14- River ‘Shark’ Suzgar (Vilita & Turori)**          |   3235 |
|  10 | #8- Chris Holmes (Hapilopper)*                         |   3217 |
|  11 | #41- Yraaga Gilli’i (Vilita & Turori)*                 |   3209 |
|  12 | #43- Tsering Chu (The Sherpa Empire)                   |   3193 |
|  13 | #81- Drake Stevenson (Hapilopper)***                   |   2334 |
|  14 | #98- Wilma von Cärinthen (Abanhfleft)*                 |   2269 |
|  15 | #31- Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton (Valentine Z)           |   2241 |
|  16 | #73- Taylor Henderson (Hapilopper)*                    |   2078 |
|  17 | #1- Maddie Alexander (Tropicorp)                       |    883 |
|  18 | #4- Islago Tizilna (Vilita & Turori)                   |    822 |
|  19 | #03- Maddison Riley-Jones (TJUN-ia)*                   |    821 |
|  20 | #07- Michael Stefan (TJUN-ia)*                         |    781 |
|  21 | #7- Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha (Valentine Z)        |    758 |
|  22 | #39- Rustam Ilyich Yudin (Abanhfleft)                  |    746 |
|  23 | #2- Centur Tiones (Tropicorp)                          |    694 |
|  24 | #13- Sage Caldwell (New Northwesteros)                 |    653 |
|  25 | #58- Koshiro Kawai (Abanhfleft)                        |    649 |
|  26 | #38- Lam Chow-Cheung (Kimi-Suomi)                      |    621 |
|  27 | #55- Holly Aurora Lapia Starlight (G6MR)               |    581 |
|  28 | #76- Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Ceeta (G6MR)               |    575 |
|  29 | #61- Joachim Murat (The French Army)                   |    558 |
|  30 | #71- Aurélia Karvonen (Kimi-Suomi) *Q*                 |    532 |
|  31 | #99- Ricky Lee (New Northwesteros) *Q*                 |    489 |
|  32 | #5- Liangmei Li (Newmanistan)                          |    487 |
|  33 | #10- Anna Star Joy Thanda Pwint Thinzar Nwe (G6MR) *Q* |    463 |
|  34 | #63- Jean Lannes (The French Army) *Q*                 |    414 |
|  35 | #62- Andre Massena (The French Army) *Q*               |    380 |
|  36 | #48- Ashley Matthews (Newmanistan)                     |    368 |
|  37 | #24- Chelsea Taylor (Newmanistan)                      |    362 |
|  38 | #0- Ezekiel Rodger (Esmerel)                           |    275 |
|  39 | #28- Cocoabo #28 (Tropicorp)                           |    270 |
|  40 | #73- Frank Bronson (Hapilopper)                        |    214 |
|  41 | #16- Laura McKenzie (Sajnur)                           |    205 |
|  42 | #45- Ilya Tsunopin (Saint Kanye)                       |    204 |
|  43 | #05- Chris Gordon (Sword Island)                       |    152 |
|  44 | #56- Kelly Monroe (Xanneria)                           |    141 |
|  45 | #90- Lexie Shelby (Sword Island) *Q*                   |    128 |
|  46 | #37- Yageny Qabaliq (Qzvarkian Qaz)                    |    119 |
|  47 | #17- Timo Szaba (Qzvarkian Qaz) *Q*                    |     64 |
|  48 | #50- Bismillah Untas (Sultanate of Oontaz)             |     63 |
|  49 | #35- Kassie Collins (Sword Island) *Q*                 |     62 |
|  50 | #88- Al Jak (StrayaRoos)                               |     57 |
|  51 | #77- Juracai Klianiota (Vilita & Turori)               |     56 |
|  52 | #77- iBen Toralmintii (Vilita & Turori)                |     56 |
|  53 | #49- Lotara Novorali (Vilita & Turori)                 |     53 |
|  54 | #74- Yuro Kiuba (StrayaRoos) *Q*                       |     42 |
|  55 | #40- Ongmu Yeti (The Sherpa Empire)                    |     40 |
|  56 | #12- Daniel Wynfor (Kannapian Sports Federation)       |     36 |
|  57 | #59- Derek Harwood (Newmanistan)                       |     36 |
|  58 | #9- Curtis Kirby (Saint Kanye)                         |     34 |
|  59 | #60- Rockii Ezis (Vilita & Turori)                     |     20 |
|  60 | #47- Edmund Flanders (Hapilopper)                      |     19 |
|  61 | #84- Jamie Izabella Astrid Eirian (Valentine Z)        |     17 |
|  62 | #96- Alice Jepkosgei (TJUN-ia)                         |     15 |
|  64 | #70- Gongming Gao (TJUN-ia)                            |     13 |
|  65 | #69- Swell Kirby (Saint Kanye)                         |      4 |
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------+--------+

Next Races:
TBD, My thought right now is to try and begin NSSCRA 13 in either late August or early September.

[Hapilopper]

TEAM BLUE ✓

@TeamBlue

We here at Team Blue are excited to welcome Rinzi Zakhilwal, the new driver of the #73 Preston Super Skychief.

#NSSCRA : #TheNewDriver

TAYLOR HENDERSON ✓

@Taylor_Hendo

Very proud to announce I will be joining @OMarlinRacing for NSSCRA 13 alongside @TysonHoyt. You can't get rid of me that easily.


#NSSCRA

(A season-ending RP will follow in a few days.)

[Kimi-Suomi]

The Chequered Flag waves and just like that, the debut season is over. But how do HM's drivers react and what do they feel about the offseason to come? Part 2 will focus on the Cup Series drivers, Aurélia Karvonen and Lam Chow-Cheung, and how they are feeling about what they achieved in their first go around and what could come in the future...

28th to 29th...consistent, if anything else. That was the main observation that Aurélia Karvonen could deduce from Kilpailu Kaksikymmentäkuusi, the final stop in the debut campaign of Kimi-Suomi in the NationStates Stock Car Racing Association. Ending up in P30 overall, the best of those who started as a non-charter long ago, what could she say that would perfectly describe this season? What could she possibly say?

Well, let's start with an obvious word that would come to mind in a time like this: "mielenkiintoista" - interesting. Simple, but so fitting at the same time. This season has certainly been interesting for the Vuohi and she felt that this was down to a couple of factors:
- Starting without a charter was a struggle at the start but once she got into the groove of things, the good performances kept on coming.
- Earning that charter made it worth a lot more than it should've, which certainly helped Karvonen in realising she had to take her chances out there on the track
- Finally getting that handshake off Wilma was fun, which turned practically nothing into a long-awaited deed. She's certainly become good friends with HM as a whole over this season and maybe that can continue after the winter?
- Daniel Marx was certainly a guiding boss, one who knows he's made mistakes in the past and is trying to do better for this team because of this. That sort of boss can certainly have an effect and Karvonen felt that maybe that was the case here. He's certainly caring, albeit a little wacky in their conversations over the season.

But there was one question that had planted itself within her mind, a question she was scared to even admit she was thinking about but one she knew was certainly real. It sounded selfish, sounded egotistical and outright self-centred to think about...but considering her history and the allure she had back home, it made sense that she would think of this in some capacity. Had HM, KImi-Suomi's team, been effectively turned into Lam's team? Lam seemed like the team's focal point now, the more famous of the 4 internationally, and while that isn't entirely a bad thing (all publicity is good publicity and all that), it did feel weird to her that the 18-year old masked enby was the apparent centre of a team that didn't share their nationality. Surely, a KImi-Suomen should be the face of the Kimi-Suomi team...right? Siinä on järkeä, eikö?

No. Stop. This is not Lam's fault. Lam is young and is only here because of a situation outside of their control. It was not their call to come here and be the charter driver in the Cup Series, that was Jaguar Racing's call in order to facilitate Gongming Gao suddenly falling into their laps. Karvonen knew she couldn't blame Lam for any of this and to be honest...they clearly made the best of this situation, getting that podium in Kardashia and ending up 89 points ahead of Karvonen at the end of it all. They're only 18, nearly half of Karvonen's age, and they're here, in the top tier of stock cars, getting podiums and Top 10s. She couldn't curse Lam for doing what she herself would've done in their shoes and just got on with the job, even depute everything they have been through both before and during this season. Maybe Lam represented HM right now, in its infancy and without much history behind them, but one day will come a time when all of HM is viewed as ones to watch and not just the masked enby.

And what now? Well, a break for a start that will certainly be well deserved and then it will be back to business in January. Vuohi nousee vielä kerran...mutta nyt sen täytyy levätä.

---

It was a drab finish, starting from P8 and ending up in P23, but considering everything...that did not matter. For Lam Chow-Cheung, the masked enby in car #38, this race's final result did not matter at all to them. It was what comes after it. This season was over. The debut campaign had finally run its course and now, they had some statistics they could look at and say " that was me. I did that." P26 overall, 1 podium, 621 points. 89 ahead of Karvonen, 150 back on Michael Stefan, 201 back on ROTY Islago Tizilna. What did this all mean?

Looking back at this season feels like a saga in its own right, despite the time passing by quicker than anyone expected. Many moons ago, they were expecting to make their NSSCRA debut at JRT2 in the Everlong...but Gongming Gao's situation would send the masked enby to HM and the Cup Series itself. Initially, they were a little scared...both of their public perception and of fighting it out with the big boys and girls of this series, but this season certainly turned out alright in the end. In the end, maybe it was Kai Qiang and his act in Brisbane that made them realise that they alone had the power to decide their fate and that they had to try and become the person they wanted to be this entire time. That certainly helped indeed, culminating in that podium in Kardashia and the feeling that everyone actually liked them. They felt alive that day and they hoped that they would have another day like that at some point in the future.

Of course, that was certainly also influenced by the double life they had lived since Jalton - one as Lam Chow-Cheung and the other as the now-infamous Rainbow Kid. The Kid has been a tool of exploration for Lam, a chance to rediscover the enby they were before the walls came crashing down. They were able to play off as a Yeezie pretty well, even here in Tundra Falls, and to be both without that mask and incognito at the same time felt liberating in itself. The fact that only a few people knew who the Rainbow Kid truly was made Lam feel in control of everything, even if they did kinda jump the gun in telling Gil Archer 2 weeks ago. That conversation with Gil, someone TJUN-ian race fans still felt some form of mistrust of, was certainly a catharsis of emotion, one where two people with a lot to say said what they needed to say. Archer certainly was a smart man and his guidance will certainly be taken into account for next season, but Lam also had something to say to Gil: they want to be his friend, or something like that because Lam felt that after that talk, they could trust someone many back home did not.

But that doesn't mean that things were all rosy in this season and that was mainly due to one reason - the dispute between their two closest friends, Kai Qiang and Thea Alvarez. Even in these 26 races, Lam had shared a lot with both of these great people, stuff that they will always cherish. With Qiang, Lam had two good chats and a general understanding of the twists and turns of this series. With Thea, Lam had a friend - one that helped them and one they helped in turn through a letter from their heart. Now, these friends were now in a split that could be fatal - spurred by Thea's growing connection to the ever-illusive Ilya Tsunopin - and Lam knew that they could find themselves in the middle if they weren't careful. They didn't want this at all, but life is like that at times...just like the thoughts from the heart that are clouding their brain. Thoughts that can never be uttered, thoughts that they will have to sit on for maybe the rest of their days, thoughts that they may have to discard painfully if someone else makes them feel the same way. But that's a matter for another day.

Now, they have to focus on the future to come. They will head back to Tiankong for the winter, certainly in a happier mood than when they left for the first time, but once the New Year once around, they will call a rental property in KImi Kaupunki home to continue the process with HM. HM is now home to Lam, no matter any issues arising from such, and they feel they have to be closer to this home in order for it to be better in every way. For now, as the sun sets on this season of NSSCRA, they would write a simple message in their diary - a reminder that they, Lam Chow-Cheung, were alive and could feel things they never felt were possible even before the dark time. In the end, Lam could say one thing confidently now: they were indeed human.

Touché Cocoabo. Touché.

---

LAM CHOW-CHEUNG - 林周翔 ✓

@LCC38

I would like to thank everyone, teammates, fellow drivers and fans alike, for making me feel welcome this season. I look forward to coming back and trying to pull off more magic after the winter break!


#NSSCRA

LAM CHOW-CHEUNG - 林周翔 ✓

@LCC38

我爱你们。 我真的。 和平。 Xxx
Rakastan teitä kaikkia. Minä todella. Rauha. Xxx
I love you all. I really do. Peace. Xxx


#NSSCRA

---

ME PALAAMME.
VI ÅTERKOMMER.
我们会回来的。
WE WILL RETURN.

[TJUN-ia]

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

And thus, that is that. NSSCRA 12 is done. And what an ending it was.

The Shark took the final win but the main focus was below, where Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye beat Stacie Houston both to 2nd and the Crown, hers and Valentine Z's 2nd in this series and one that won't be tainted by any rumours of cheating like two years ago.

Congrats to her and to the other 3 contenders, who all showed that women in motorsports are always welcome and can succeed like the boys before them.

Alfonso Mercado ended his best ever season with a P8, Michael Stefan was P13, Maddison Riley-Jones ended up P19 and good ol' Gongming Gao was P34.

Now, the story is over. The book of this season has been written.

But a new one will be on the horizon soon enough...and it will be very interesting.

Jebslund are heavily rumoured to be coming back.
Sixty-ninE X will have a team next time, headed up by Ilya Tsunopin.
Wreckeria returns via Oliver Marlin Racing, Team Blue's arch-rivals down in HASCAR. Their two drivers? Tyson Holt...and Taylor Henderson.

What about those who could make a splash next season?
Rinzi is now at Team Blue, I expect him to do some good stuff.
Who will replace him at AutoModi, if anyone at all?
What about HM, can they keep their momentum up next year?

All these questions already and it's only the day after the curtain closer. Sounds like NSSCRA to me.
See you all after the winter break. Sweet Dreams.

---

Final MCS Standings: #07 - 20th (781pts/1 Win)/#64 - 6th (4132CPts/1 Win)/#03 - 19th (821pts/1 Win)/#96 - 62nd (15pts)/#70 - 63rd (13pts)
Final ECS Standings: #97 - 7th (4075CPts+PS)/#96 - 14th (2230CPts/1 Win)/#70 - 11th (3147Cpts/2 Wins)
New MCS Champion: Anastasia Freya Yadana Aye (#15, Valentine Z)
New ECS Champion: Edmund Flanders (#47, Hapilopper)
Music of the Round II: BLACKPINK - How You Like That (SAM/JJU/MTQ/MAF)

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

[Hapilopper]

Andrew’s Pub, Hapilopper City
Two days after the Proving Grounds 500
None of Team Blue’s drivers won the NSSCRA championship. That’s fine. Andrew’s Pub was still buzzing with excitement as Drake Stevenson and Chris Holmes walked into the bar. The excitement was over their other teammate, who wasn’t with Drake or Chris. The night before, Team Blue announced it had signed Rinzi Zakhilwal to be the third driver for the team for the next season and possibly beyond, something which, to put it mildly, excited the Hapiloppian fans greatly. Rinzi was, after all, a fantastic racing driver and an even better person, and was enormously popular amongst the fans in the Dominion.

So the excitement was there, and the regulars were excited to ask Drake and Chris about what it would be like to have Rinzi as a teammate. The two tried to answer to the best of their ability, figuring it was going to be a fun ride during the next season, at the very least. Drake could see Rinzi getting along with the team very, very well, and could see him coming into the team immediately and producing top results. On top of that, he had felt like Rinzi would be a lot easier to hang out with than some certain people, namely Taylor Henderson.

But in the middle of the mess and mayhem, Drake saw Jeanie Wilson, sitting at a table by herself in the corner, not wanting to be bothered by anyone. She was the one Drake had gotten together with, only for any prospects of a relationship to collapse dramatically thanks to her ex-husband. When she saw Drake, she looked up, hoping he would come over. The two had spoken briefly over the weekend on the phone, and that set Drake’s mood south. He didn’t want to be reminded of that weekend and he wasn’t all that enthusiastic about trying again with her. But after hesitating for a little bit, he walked over to her table to speak. Chris was about to join, but Drake told him to hang out with other people.

“Drake, I wish I could take that day back,” Jeanie said. “I understand if you don’t want to hear it, and I understand if you don’t want to try again, but I really wish we could have another chance. It just seemed like everything was perfect between us.”

Drake sat there for a long time, trying to think of what to say. His silence made Jeanie rather uncomfortable, and she wondered what was going through his mind. Instead, he pointed to the front door.

“It’s too noisy in here,” Drake started. “I want to talk to you, quietly, outside.”

So the two moved out of the pub and towards his car, where the two decided to speak about what had happened. Good thing Drake left at that time, as just seconds after, the televisions showed the other big news of the day: Taylor Henderson would drive the second car for Oliver Marlin Racing next season in the NSSCRA Multiversal Cup Series.

“Jeanie, I need you to understand a few things, I may ramble a bit, but I’ve got my reasons,” Drake started, quietly but firmly. “I wish I could have that day back too. Trust me, I really wish I could have that day back. But when there’s someone else in the picture, I want nothing to do with it. I don’t want to be involved in some bullshit love triangle. I’ve been in that before and it hurts. I’ve had some bad breakups, Jeanie. I just had one a couple of months ago, and I’ve wondered if maybe trying to make it work with someone really isn’t worth the trouble.”

“Drake… I wish we could just try again…”

“I’m sorry, Jeanie. I can’t,” Drake continued. “I can’t get together with someone and some ex comes in and tries to start drama. I have no tolerance for drama. You’re wonderful. You really are. But any time I’ve tried to make something work like this, something just happens that ruins it. Every single time. I wish you nothing but the best, and I’m sorry it turned out the way it did, but…”

Drake stared out the windshield and towards the other cars in the Andrew’s parking lot. His thought just simply sputtered and died. He was thinking back to a few things. Back to Hendo and how that all went wrong due to her volatility. And back to someone else from his past, someone who he never quite got over.

“Drake?” Jeanie asked.

“I wish I knew what else to say,” Drake tried to say. “I got scared. I don’t want to be involved in something where somebody could actively try to sabotage it. It makes me wonder if being by myself is just better for me than trying to get together with someone. And when I saw your ex-husband coming in, wrecking our date, I figured it was bound to happen to me. It was too good to be true. I decided that night I would never try again with anyone.”

“But Drake… what if I told you, you could try again?” Jeanie asked. “Trust me, I’m just as pissed off about what happened as you were. I couldn’t just get away from him, he would have caused a scene and it would have been much worse. What if I told you that we could try it again, find some way to keep him away from us, and we could make it work?”

Drake shook his head. He wasn’t quite sure it could work, and didn’t want to try.

“I think you need to see it from my point of view, Drake,” Jeanie explained. “I can find a way to make this work. You won’t hear from my ex-husband ever again. I promise you. His work is transferring him to Halsted. We don’t ever have to see him again.”

Drake looked at her with a grim look on his face. As much as Jeanie wanted Drake to think that they would never run into her ex-husband, Drake figured that “never” was an impossibility. Especially after she had admitted she had some sort of feelings for her ex-husband. He figured if they ever reconciled, he’d be the third wheel and that would be that. Just like he had been weeks before.

“We can’t,” Drake said. “We can’t, I don’t want to risk my happiness and my sanity on that possibility. I just… I wish you all the luck in the world, but I’m not going to deal with this drama.”

And with that, the two got out of the car to find a frantic-looking Chris Holmes running out of Andrew’s, shaking his head as if something had gone horribly wrong.

“STEVENSON!” Chris shouted. “Stevenson… Hendo’s driving with Tyson Hoyt next year!”

“Good,” Drake sarcastically said. “One prick deserves another.”

“Uh, Stevenson?” Chris asked nervously. “You know the rule how they line up the garages by car number? She’s running car 80 next year. Her garage is next to yours.”

Drake just looked at Chris and said absolutely nothing. He was already in the midst of an emotionally heavy situation, so to find out Hendo would have her garage stall next to hers? But on the bright side, they wouldn’t have to address that situation for a few months. The offseason had begun, and Drake Stevenson and Chris Holmes were more than ready for it.

Not long after the offseason got going, Chris and Angela got married in a small ceremony in Hapilopper City, a ceremony so small that it featured only their parents, a maid of honor (Angela’s lifelong best friend), and a best man (Drake, who, for one reason or another, saw weddings as the same as funerals and had to be bribed heavily for it). Chris welcomed the offseason as it gave him a chance to be with his young family more, and to help raise young Zack R. Holmes.

Drake, meanwhile, decided he wanted nothing to do with racing for the next few months. During the season, he had been slowly but surely collecting cigars for his humidor, and as the offseason got started, Drake figured he’d take a chance to start smoking them out on the back porch of his house. After all, he’d need a restful off-season in order to prepare for the Hendo Menace.

But for Team Blue, rest was nonexistent. The team was on a hiring spree, in the process of hiring a handful of crew members that would work for the Rinzi Zakhilwal team – specifically, crew members that could communicate with him without having to worry about a language barrier. A room in the shop was being modified to fit one of Rinzi’s needs – specifically, when he needed, he could go into the room and pray to Allah, something that Team Principal Amanda McAlister referred to as “one of our top priorities”.

Everyone pretty much figured, though, that next season was going to be one of the most interesting years Team Blue, or anyone in auto racing, encountered.

Hapilopper and Team Blue will return
in NSSCRA 13.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Soon after the Proving Grounds 500, Rinzi and Tashi Zakhilwal went home to the Sherpa Empire, where they spent a couple of weeks visiting their families and going through their stuff deciding what they wanted to bring to Hapilopper with them. They were planning to rent a small apartment where they could make themselves at home when Team Blue flew back to Hapilopper between races, and they had lots of things that would have been nice to decorate the apartment or to have handy in the kitchen -- but there was only so much you could fit in a suitcase. In the end, some treasured possessions -- including Tashi's favorite pot and a set of wall tiles decorated with Arabic calligraphy -- had to be left behind.

It was all worth it, though. Rinzi was looking forward to a new chapter in his career. They got a warm welcome when they arrived in Hapilopper. They had some invitations to press events or social gatherings, their downstairs neighbor offered them a home-cooked lasagna on their first night at the new apartment, and Amanda McAlister was very kind and thoughtful every time Rinzi or Tashi spoke with her. Rinzi was deeply appreciative that she'd set aside a dedicated space for him to pray.

When a TV crew asked Rinzi what he thought about driving for Team Blue, he told them in halting English, "I am happy to drive for Team Blue. I think this year... This will be a good year."