Covering Avoidable Contact

by Tammy

The cover is here! And it's gorgeous! How's this for evoking the mood of the 24 Hours of Daytona?

And to whet your appetites, here's the summary:

Racecar driver Kate Reilly is suited up and ready for the start of the legendary 24 Hours of Daytona. But what’s ahead will test her will and nerve more than any other endurance race.

Even before the green flag waves over Daytona International Speedway, Kate receives word her boyfriend Stuart is fighting for his life after a hit-and-run earlier in the day. Still reeling from that news, Kate must absorb other shocks in the race’s opening hours, including an on-track accident with tragic consequences and an eyewitness who claims Stuart was run down deliberately by someone from the race paddock.

Alternating stints behind the wheel of her Corvette racecar with stretches of quizzing colleagues and searching for clues, Kate taps every possible source—friend, foe, and family—to find out who’s after Stuart and why. As the race clock counts down to zero hour, Kate must come to terms with her own fears about the past and decide who she’s willing to trust. Only then can she identify who’s willing to kill to keep a secret buried—and stop them before they lash out again. 

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Avoidable Contact will be released in August 2014. Pre-order on Amazon or Barnes & Noble (I know it's got the old title, we'll fix it).

A Sneak Peek of Avoidable Contact

by Tammy

I spent all weekend frantically working on a draft of Kate #3, Avoidable Contact, and that's the only motorsports I'm thinking about. So I thought I'd share a short snippit of the story for today's blog. It's actually Chapter 4, at the start of the 24 Hours of Daytona....

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CHAPTER FOUR

“Green, green, green! We are green for the 24 Hours of Daytona!”

All eyes in Daytona International Speedway focused on the sixty-eight racecars sweeping under the green flag. As they crossed the start/finish line, the official clock began its twenty-four hour countdown.

Every one of the hundred-plus people packed into the Sandham Swift tent strained to monitor each twitch and bobble of our Corvettes as they negotiated the melee. I exhaled, my release of tension echoed up and down pit lane, as the field got through the narrow, tricky Turn 1 with no accidents.

Holly grabbed my arm. Someone else pointed at the camera feed showing two prototypes shoving each other through Turn 2—only two cars ahead of Mike.

The cars slid off-track driver’s left at the approach to Turn 3, the right-handed International Horseshoe. Mike and the rest of the sportscars checked up but weren’t impeded. We breathed again.

Mike fought for position. Still second in class. Dogging the back of the BMW on the GTLM pole.

“Easy,” I muttered. “It’s only the first lap.”

As if he’d heard me, the half a car length between Corvette and BMW widened as both cars powered through the Kink, Turn 4, a flat-out, left-hand bend in the track’s inner loop.

Through the West Horseshoe, Turn 5. One of the prototypes forced off two turns prior sliced through the GTs on his way back to the front.

The car dove under our 29 Corvette, and a mechanic next to me growled, “Careful there, you sumbitch.”

I laughed, provoking a sheepish grin from the mechanic. Daytona was big enough that unless the cars were all on the front stretch, or a car was directly in front of us making a pit stop, we could carry on conversations—and sometimes hear under-the-breath mutterings.

Someone leaned over my shoulder to point at one of the screens. The lead BMW had bobbled under braking. Distracted? Missed a shift? Whatever the cause, he drifted wide approaching Turn 6, the left-hander that transitioned from the inner loop to the banked oval track. I tensed as Mike pounced, slipping under him and scooting away into the lead.

“Whooooo!” We all cheered. I high-fived everyone around me, feeling energized and alive. Regardless of what happened in the next twenty-four hours, we’d made a small mark on the race.

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(More to come in August 2014 ... pre-order it today!)

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

by Tammy

Those of you who've read Braking Points know that Kate now has her own Twitter account: @katereilly28. I've now gone one step further (to crazy, you might say), and given Kate her own official fan club.

To join, just sign up for my newsletter via my Web site (Join Team Kate) and follow Kate on Twitter. I'll be running contests with giveaways such as earplug packs, signed bookplates, stuff bags, team shirts ... and maybe something even more spectacular later this year.

Details to come if you join Team Kate today!