It’s a quiet night in the America’s Challenge Command Center, and judging by some of the conversations being had with the five teams still aloft, it’s quiet aloft too.

Often when the teams call into the Command Center with updates or requests, the controllers will at the end of the conversation ask, “Any other requests?” One pilot responded with one word: “Food.” Another was more specific, asking for “beer and chips.” Well, if they have time to think of food, things must be going pretty smoothly. And it’s a healthy trend, since the race participants say they often don’t have much appetite for eating while aloft.

As to the race itself, at this writing (about 9:30 PM MDT or 0330Z), the leaders continue to be Team 5, Andy Cayton and Bill Manuel, who are near Lamar, Colorado. Last year’s winners, Barbara Fricke and Peter Cuneo (Team 4) are slowly gaining, with Team 1 (Phil Bryant/Willi Eimers) and Team 3 (Mark Sullivan/Cheri White) not far behind. The fifth balloon still aloft, Team 6 (David Hempleman-Adams / Jonathan Mason) is near Walsenburg, CO about to cross Interstate 25, and after traveling north on a totally different track for most of the race is heading towards the party in eastern Colorado. As noted, earlier, three teams – Team 2, Team 7, and Team 8 – have reported safe landings.