Homestead Race Weekend

Denny and the FedEx #11 made it into the Championship Final Four at the Homestead race in Miami. this past weekend. Our team was ecstatic and we have no where near been one of the best cars on the track this season, but the new Championship elimination format suited Denny and our race team well and we managed to survive and advance through each of the 3 previous rounds to compete for the title.

Of course that meant that things were CRAZY for me, since I not only handle all our PR and social media for the team, but was also the race lead on the customer hospitality side for Homestead, too. Ahhh!! I definitely earned my paycheck this week.

A perk of this race is getting to go to Miami in November. The track is in the middle of nowhere, so we actually stay in South Beach in a Ritz right on the beach (FedEx gets awesome rates at Ritz properties that ends up being cheaper than staying at a dumpy hotel closer to the track). It is a haul back and forth but worth it to me to be so close to the beach. Though, I did not step foot on the beach any during our trip, it was nice to see it and know it was there.

I desperately wanted a manicure, so Beth and I find a place within walking distance after we landed and checked in on Friday afternoon. We went out to the track on Saturday to get things prepped for Sunday and then we had some down time. Beth and I enjoyed lunch and shopping at H&M before going back to the hotel for a rest. We had a great team dinner at Joe's Stone Crab before calling it a night.

Yummy stone crabs!

Starr and I sporting #11 in our crab bibs. Ha!

Cheers with the team to a great year.

Sunday morning started early! We were fortunate enough to get behind a police escort to the track so we had zero traffic...but my knuckles were white from trying to keep up. We had a jet full of executives for the race and special social media activation all day in addition to the normal things.

FedEx Racing golf cart brigade!!

To not be competitive all year, our #11 team had the best car on the track for this race. We led much of the race and our pit stops were flawless. The excitement was contagious in the pit box...towards the end of the race, I looked to the right of me and I see that MICHAEL JORDAN is standing next to me! He and Denny are buddies and he came down to support him. His security was crazy tight and I never saw our pit box more crowded in my life!

Haulers all lined up...we are in the #1 spot going into this race, which we like to see!

The start of the race.

On the wall ready for one of many pit stops.

When we took the lead! Eeeek!

Yep, that's MJ standing right next to me!

It all came down to cautions at the end of the race...there were several in the last 20 laps and we decided not to pit to maintain our lead during one of them that cost us the race. We just couldn't hang without fresh tires and finished 3rd  in the championship standings. It was devastating because we were so close and running so well. We all drove back to the hotel in silence. Such a major bummer. Oh well, there's always next year, I guess.