Racing Year in Review

by Tammy

Simon and I are taking a blog hiatus for the end of the year (going dark for 2 weeks over the holidays), and when I return, it will be January 6, 2014. Leaving aside that I'm not prepared for the new year, at that point, we'll be less than two weeks to the 24 Hours of Daytona, the first race of the year and the first race of the TUSCC (the Tudor United Sports Car Championship). Big stuff.

So it's time to reflect on what I thought was significant about 2013. Chime in with your thoughts and anything I've missed....

• Daytona 24: I was embedded in a race team, and it was fabulous.
• Daytona 500: Danica on pole, which set a bar too high for her to meet the rest of the year. By the stats, I think she did well for a rookie, but of course, the Danica lovers or haters will believe what they believe, no matter what. We'll see if she improves in 2014.
• Long Beach Grand Prix: the introduction of Team Kate! And the start of the long good-bye to the American Le Mans Series (the merchandise trailer was absent from this race, for instance).
• Indy 500: Kanaan wins!
• Le Mans: the death of Allan Simonsen (which, as I noted in a blog post, eerily reflected a plot idea I'd hatched just the night before), the triumph of Audi. Leena Gade as a rock star.
• Baltimore GP: what a bus-wreck of accidents.
• IndyCar: A more contentious year between drivers and Race Control? The oval races were mostly uninteresting? Dario retires.
• Petit Le Mans: farewell to the ALMS. Hello to the Corvette Stingray. A great time had by all.
• Formula 1: a total snoozefest. I'm not sure I watched more than 10 laps of a single race.
• NASCAR: Jimmie wins 6. Danica receives hate mail. Smoke breaks a leg. 

What did I miss? What do you remember as being the most significant racing events of 2013? Overall a thumbs-up or thumbs-down?

Hey, while you're ending the year and prepping for 2014, make sure you're following me on Facebook and Twitter (@tkaehler and @katereilly28)!

Planning the Racing Year

by Tammy

When the leaves are off the trees (except here in Southern California). When the last racing champion has finally been crowned. When there's nothing on television on Sundays but football ... you know what time it is, right?

Time to plan what races you'll get to in 2014!

So let's talk. We've got NASCAR, IndyCar, and the new United Sports Car Championship. Oh, and don't forget the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The givens for me in 2014 are Long Beach and Le Mans. I'm considering at least a pre-race trip (is that a travesty?) to the 24 Hours of Daytona to double-check some last details for the next book and lay eyes on the new C7.R, so I'll add that one in.

Then there's talk about a trip to Indy to hook up with some of my new racing besties, Glass Hammer Racing ... and that's more likely to be the IndyCar road race, given the proximity of the 500 to Le Mans.

Then I start getting tempted by all kinds of other options ... Laguna Seca's just up the road (USCC May4) . We have family in the Detroit area (USCC May 30-31—wait, too close to Le Mans). Petit is always an E-ticket ride (USCC October 4). NASCAR's out here March 23 (nope, I'll be in Monterey at a mystery convention). IndyCar's out here August 30 (doable).

And that's not even considering Houston or Austin (family, friends, and a great mystery bookstore in the state) for any number of types of racing. That's not considering F1 at all. But I don't think it's the year for either the Indy500 or F1. Maybe 2015.

Because the big one is going to be Le Mans. June 14-15. Wahoo!

So here's my schedule so far:

• January 24-26, Daytona 24 (USCC
• April 11-13, Long Beach (USCC/IndyCar)
• ?May 10, Indianapolis? (IndyCar)
• June 14-15, Le Mans

And the rest, TBD. So tell me, what am I missing? Where are you going in 2014?

Which Track Next?

by Tammy

For a few minutes yesterday, we toyed with the idea of going to the Formula 1 race at Suzuka in October. That's Japan. That's the cool, figure-eight of a track that means drivers go both clockwise and counter-clockwise in the same race.

That sounds awesome.

In the end, the timing isn't going to work with some other trips planned this year (most specifically, going to the last-ever ALMS-run Petit Le Mans, the weekend after Suzuka). But looking into the possibility made me add that track and race to my racing wish list.

And it got me thinking about what tracks or events I want to get to. I know we've had this conversation before, but I've learned more, and new tracks and events have come up. So tell me the top two or three races on your wish list. Here are mine....

1. Le Mans. We're going next June to see the hoopla around the brand new Porsche LMP1 effort (and the new GT contender).
2. Indy 500. It's about time I get to this race. Not because I love ovals (you all know me better than that), but for the spectacle. It won't happen in 2014, but maybe 2015....
3. F1 at Suzuka. Partly I want to experience the track. Partly I'm intrigued about experiencing a race in a very, very polite society. And partly I want to see F1, anywhere.

Where do you want to go next?

Indy Report: Two Winners and a Sponsor

by Tammy

I'm sure you all know the big news from Indy yesterday: that other TK finally won the Indy 500. My sense is that almost no one doesn't like Tony Kanaan, so it seemed like a pretty popular victory ... in that way of "if it can't be me, then I'm glad it's him." I imagine TK winning Indy would be like Mark Martin winning Daytona. Not many people would mind.

Anyway, the Indy 500 was an epic race, with not too many cautions but so many lead changes you couldn't type a social media update before the lead changed again. And a great result, even if the last two laps were under caution.

But there was another big winner in Indy this weekend, though he won't be making the media tours this week or picking up a check the size of TK's (sorry, Rick).

He will, however, be receiving a nice prize package from me and Team Kate. Yes, that's right, someone won the grand prize in the Team Kate Contest: which includes a Team Kate shirt, signed books, and an official Kate Reilly special edition Kreisel Timepiece!

So kudos to Rick Hunt, who found a member of Team Kate and a racing driver sponsored by Glass Hammer Racing (hi, Jessica Bean!) in the Indy social media garage and tweeted this photo. I'm pretty excited to send out a prize pack.

And let's be honest: I'm just pretty freaked out and excited that members of Team Kate were running around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And that other people, like Rick, recognized and cared who they were.

It's one thing to think about my words out there in the world (hopefully) entertaining people, but to have my fictional world come to life in a real-world setting is really, extremely astonishing and thrilling.

Oh, and the sponsor I mentioned in the title? Kate picked up a real-world sponsor over the weekend also: Glass Hammer Racing. Full details in the official release: It's For Real: Fictional Race Car Driver Gets Real-World Partnership with Glass Hammer Racing. 

Good times from Indy! Did you like the weekend?

Win Team Kate Prizes

(from Kate Reilly, guest blogger)


If you're at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, you could win one of three fantastic prize packages. Details, photos, and requirements to win below:

Team Kate: Basic Prize

Number available: 3

What you need to do: Tweet a photo to @katereilly28 and @GlassHamrRacing by Monday, May 27, of

  * You
  * Someone in a Team Kate shirt (see right)

What you can win:

  * Signed Dead Man’s Switch
  * Signed Braking Points
  * Team Kate book bag

Team Kate: Premium Prize 

Number available: 2 

What you need to do: Tweet a photo by Monday, May 27, to @katereilly28 and @GlassHamrRacing with #beatbyagirl of

  * You

  * Someone in a Team Kate shirt

  * Someone in a Glass Hammer Racing shirt 

What you can win: 

  * Team Kate shirt

  * Signed Dead Man’s Switch 

  * Signed Braking Points 

  * Team Kate book bag

  * Team Kate bookmarks, earplugs

Team Kate: Grand Prize 

Number available: 1 

What you need to do: tweet photo by Monday, May 27, to @katereilly28 and @GlassHamrRacing of

  * You

  * Someone in a Team Kate shirt

  * A Glass Hammer Racing–sponsored driver (in race or street clothes)

What you can win: 

  * Kate Reilly Special Edition watch (man’s or woman’s)

  * Team Kate shirt

  * Signed Dead Man’s Switch 

  * Signed Braking Points 

  * Team Kate book bag

  * Team Kate bookmarks, earplugs

 

Tweet away and good luck!

Indy 500 Planning

by Kate Reilly (special guest blogger)

I can't tell you how exciting Pole Day for the Indy 500 was on Saturday ... well, maybe I don't have to, because maybe you were watching. But I can assure you, it was a hell of a lot more exciting from the pits!

Then again, it was also depressing, because I wanted to be in one of those cars so badly I could taste it. Jack just smirked when he looked at me, but that was because he wanted to be there too, with a team on the wall and a stopwatch in hand.

I was really excited for Women of Pressdog® Pippa Mann, Simona de Silvestro, Ana Beatriz, and Katherine Legge to ALL make the field! You go, girls! That's some #SteelOvaryNation action, especially for Katherine, who had almost zero practice time. I expect to see those women be patient at the back and work their way carefully forward during the race.

And damn, but I wanted to be in there trying to be the fifth woman (and only American) in the field. What racer doesn't want a chance at the greatest spectacle in racing? Maybe next year ...

In the meantime, Jack and I are both fired up to talk with some teams and sponsors over the next couple days. He keeps saying, "You never know what can happen."

Well, I know two things that're going to happen for sure this week.

1. I'm going to have a pretty cool announcement to make later this week. That's all I'm going to say, except that it's a partnership and a mission I can really get behind—or in front of, with the boys behind me? (HINT)
2. I'm going to get some wheels on that track. I'm not sure how soon or in what car exactly—or how many times—I might get out there, but it's going to happen. So you just keep your eyes peeled! There are plenty of cars that'll be circling the track, between now and 12:12 p.m. next Sunday. 

As Gramps would say, I can guaran-damn-tee you some excitement in the coming week. Stay tuned!

Team Kate at Indy

by Kate Reilly (special guest blogger)

This is unexpected. I didn’t realize at the beginning of this week that by the end of it, I’d be in Indianapolis. But here I am.

I didn’t even realize that Jack (that’s my boss at Sandham Swift Racing, Jack Sandham) had planned to be here to “check things out,” as he put it. But he called me Monday and told me to get my butt on a plane Tuesday, so here I am.

Turns out, Jack’s always dreamed of bringing a team to the Indy 500, so he’s at the Racing Capital of the World to talk to Series officials and teams. I’m here because “I have buzz” (Jack’s words). I asked him if that meant I’d be part of a team he brought to the Indy 500, and he told me anything could happen.

But I’m also here because of Corvette. You see, the new (gorgeous!) 2014 Corvette Stingray is the official pace car this year, in honor of the car’s 60th anniversary. And, well, let’s just say that there will be a lot of other Corvettes putting rubber down on that oval this weekend and next—and I’m not supposed to say much more….

Just keep your eyes peeled at the track this weekend. You never know who you might see!

Team Kate Goes National

by Tammy

I posted last week about giving my fictional racecar driver protagonist, Kate Reilly, her own fan club (read it). What started out as a fun thing for me and a few friends to do at the Long Beach race is starting to spread--apparently, because other people think it's a fun thing to do also.

First, there's @KelseyUSA, social media guru, who tweeted the photo below of her dressed up in Kate's gear for a day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway yesterday.

Then there were my friends up at the ALMS race at Laguna Seca (which I couldn't attend, because of another event that conflicted). Michael (@Mfriedman_63) even showed off the shirt to my friends at Corvette Racing.

I'm still awed and grateful (and a little in shock) about this. To think that people are wandering around a prep day for the Indy 500 and an ALMS race (neither of which I'm attending!) wearing team shirts for my fictional racecar driver just blows my mind. I can't thank everyone who's gotten behind Team Kate enough, from founding fans Barb and Mary, to Kelsey and Michael and Kevin, to Shea and the #SteelOvaryNation, and to real-life sponsor Pressdog.

If you'd like to join us in the silliness and fun, just sign up for my newsletter via my Web site (Join Team Kate) and follow Kate on Twitter. We'll have some exciting news coming soon (hint: working on a new real-life sponsor!), contests with some pretty awesome giveaways. I hope you'll join us!

Memorial Day

by Tammy

If you don't have barbeques today, than you're probably dealing with a meat hangover from yesterday. Certainly we've all got racing hangovers ... what a day of racing! Monaco, the Indy 500, and the Coke 600. All of that, and I'm focusing on Petit Le Mans for the story I'm writing.

I'm going to keep this brief except for a few shouts-out:

To Dario Franchitti for the Indy 500 win. I saw a tweet from someone saying they were tired of him winning, but I'm more tired of Chip winning. Besides, Dario sure can drive.

To Oriol Servia and DRR Panther Racing who took fourth in the Indy 500 and celebrated (I hear) like it was a win. A great job for a one-car team that isn't one of the big boys.

To Beaux Barfield for officiating his first Indy 500. You keep doing your new job with humor, grace, and skill. Have a great rest of the season. I hope you enjoyed it.

To Mark Webber for the F1 Monaco win. Nice to see him get his first win of the season (because the person I'm really tired of seeing win is Sebastian Vettel).

I'm sure there are plenty of others who deserve recognition for the weekend. Who were you impressed with or happy for?

Indy Weekend!

This weekend is the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indy 500. Will you all be watching?

TAMMY: I'll be watching ... with one eye, while watching my writing with the other (damn, these deadlines). I expect it to be a lot of things, including sad (as they celebrate last year's winner, Dan Wheldon), intriguing (as they cover the penalties handed out to 13 teams for rules violations), relevatory (as several teams race brand new engines after switching manufacturers to get away from the under-performing Lotus), and exciting (because, come on, Indy!). But I'm not sure I expect it to be a good race. This car and the engine packages are still very new. Plus, how often does a finish like last year's (when Wheldon won in the last turn because rookie J.R. Hildebrand hit the wall) happen? Not very.

SIMON: Yeah, I'll be watching betweening editing session.  I don't know what kind of race we can expect.  The 500 is like that.  My eye will be on Sara Fisher's team.  She has a promising driver in Josef Newgarden.  I think the most interesting thing is whether Honda can compete with Chevy.  It looked as if they were catching up, but Chevy's engines are the thing to beat this year.

TAMMY: I agree with you on the promising drivers. I like Newgarden also, and James Hinchcliff is absolutely hilarious out of the car ... so far he's translating that charisma into talent in-car as well. I'm also with you: I think it'll be a Chevy getting milk-doused at the end. 

What do our readers think? Do you agree with us? What are you excited to see?