Buckle Up at Daytona

by Tammy

I'm Daytona bound this week! Time for some last-minute research for Kate's book 3, Avoidable Contact (look! it's on Amazon!), and time for a first-look at the Tudor United Sports Car Championship.

Time also for another Team Kate giveaway, now including book-cover belt buckles. Just tweet a photo of yourself and someone in a Team Kate shirt (most likely, me) and "Buckle up, Team Kate" to @tkaehler and @katereilly28, and you'll win two items from the Team Kate prize list, PLUS a belt buckle of your choice.


Prizes:

• Team Kate book bag
• Team Kate shirt 
• Signed copy of Dead Man’s Switch
• Belt buckle featuring Dead Man's Switch or Braking Points cover

How to Find Me
I'll be at the track Thursday through Saturday about noon, and then I'm heading home—I know, I'm flaking on the race itself. But I'll watch what I can from home and get my fingers back to the keyboard. After all, my research is about talking to people and verifying car and track details ... which can't be done when everyone's absorbed in the race.

I'll be checking Facebook and Twitter, so hit me up for my location. I'd love to chat with friends and fans!

Team Kate Awards and Rogues Gallery

by Tammy

Welcome to 2014 ... and the official start of the racing season in 16 days (or maybe it's already started, with the Roar before the Rolex 24?). I wanted to start the year with my favorite Team Kate shots of 2013 and some totally made-up "awards."

Newest member: Jim Strong.

Farthest traveled: Gail Vann (in Myanmar/Burma).

The coldest: Roger Kaehler (arctic circle).

Best selfie: Erin Charlton at Petit Le Mans.

Best track placement: Honestly Sherry on the starter's stand at Fontana.

Best shot with a hero: Barb and Mary with Leena Gade.

Best groupie shot (I'm not wearing the Team Kate shirt, but it still counts): me with Jay Leno.

Do you have any recognition or favorite photos I'm missing?

Book Title Needed!

by Tammy

Finding the right title for a book is tough. For the Kate Reilly Racing Mystery series, it's got to be a term that relates to racing, but also sound vaguely menacing—and if it can vaguely relate to the theme of the book, so much the better. (For example, Braking Points reflected how overwhelmed Kate was and how she struggled to cope with everything.)

I've got a couple ideas for Kate Book 3, but I'm not in love with them. So I need help, and I'm offering prizes. 

If your is one of the three best title ideas, I'll send I'll send you any three items from the premium Team Kate prize pack (that's a Team Kate shirt, a signed copy of Dead Man's Switch, a Team Kate bag, earplugs, and even a book-cover belt buckle). And if I use your title now, I'll name a character after you (in either Book 3 or Book 4).

What do you have to do?
Post your book title suggestions here, on Facebook, or Tweet to @katereilly28 (follow me there, while you're at it).

Remember, book titles need to:

• relate to racing, or be a racing term/phrase
• relate to murder and bad things happening (e.g., no "Kittens and Rainbows Race Team")
• reflect the book's story/theme

What's the book about?

It's set at the 24 Hours of Daytona, starting on the pre-race grid, and ending with the checkered flag (same team and car, now in the United Sports Car Series). Key aspects of the story: hidden secrets from the past; situations, events, or people that aren't what they seem; family relationships (especially siblings and cousins); big money teams versus small, one-car efforts; and just how long a 24 hour race really is.

Throw me any ideas you've got, I beg you!

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!