Who knew that the Superbowl of Motorsports would end 120 miles short of its destination? After weeks of hype and a buildup which saw around 160,000 fans, the perennial event of the NASCAR season came to a screeching halt on Sunday evening in Daytona. Luckily, that was the end of our trip and not the beginning of something terrible.

Yee-Haw

We got out of Atlanta the previous Tuesday so we could to get ready for a week of life in sunny Florida. After an easy trip into town, we arrived at the Speedway, grabbed lunch and knocked out a few errands. Everything we were expecting had arrived and we were ready for a busy day of set-up on Wednesday.

As most days do while in Daytona, Wednesday started with a trip to McDonald’s. We then were off to the Speedway .We arrived with little fanfare to set up our SunTrust display. Our 20’ x 20’ footprint was surrounded by tractor trailers, glitz and glamour.   We waited for our packages to be delivered in the cloud-covered sunshine, but little did we know that we would be roasted by the end of the day.

Thursday saw a more prepared Andy Williams as I had packed an abundance of sunscreen. There were great crowds all day and our display was consistently busy – always a good thing. Our day ended at 2:00 pm and after a short calculation, we decided that we may need to have a few more items to hand out if the crowds were going to continually grow – as we knew they would.

This doesn't even begin to describe the crowds...

Friday and Saturday saw a huge boost in fans visiting the SunTrust display.  All in all, we calculated that in the first two days of being open, we had almost as many fans as we had in the FOUR days of last year!

Once Sunday came, it felt like we had been in Daytona for at least a month. The crowds were massive, the fans were excited and I was exhausted. A steady rush of patrons resulted in quantities of our freebies getting smaller and smaller. It was finally to the point where we could start giving out the shirts off our backs, or close up shop. We chose the ladder.

The rest is history and we’re glad to be back home.

-Andy Williams

Hello world – Rachel Fort here on the beat with a little update on our week at the Beach for the Daytona 500.

I have always heard that the Daytona 500 is the ultimate race of them all, but I definitely wasn’t prepared for what awaited us in Daytona. My partner in crime Lauren and I arrived in Daytona on Wednesday morning and I was amazed at the number of people that were already there – four days before the green flag for NASCAR’s Super Bowl!

Why isn't that guy interested in taking my picture? Doesn't he know who I am?

After my first NASCAR experience in November during Championship Weekend at Homestead I thought I was prepared.  But nothing compares to the “Great American Race” and Daytona International Speedway (DIS). DIS is like its own little town within Daytona Beach and unlike anything I have ever seen before.   The track property is so huge that it’s so hard to figure out how to get around.  The entire infield was flooded with motorhomes, campers and tents and by Friday they were so close to one another that you could practically reach over and grab a frosty beverage from your next door neighbor!   And although we were there to work – I was definitely jealous from seeing all of the tailgating going on…

Pretty nice view!

Although we spent most of our time with our guests in the Tower Suites, I did get to see some of the fanaticism that NASCAR is so well known for.  Among the many sights and sounds were:
•    Guy with a number “20” shaved into the back of his head
•    Millions of Dale Jr fans
•    At least 15 Richard Petty look-a-likes
•    One, Dale Earnhardt, Sr look-a-like (something is just wrong about that!)
•    Many, unmentionable yet provocative trade-request signs (Hey…it’s a family blog!?)

There is something very wrong about this...

Overall, I have to admit (don’t tell anyone) that I actually did enjoy my time at “The 500” (actually “The 380”).  I know many people were upset that the race was called with 48 laps to go, but those of us who were there to work rather than party were quite pleased with the shortened race.   After four days of racing, I was just happy the rain held out for as long as it did so that we could get to at least the halfway point of the race so it was official.

And yes…we were able to keep our original travel plans of returning to Atlanta on Monday as planned, rather than coming back to the track for another day of racing.  And better yet, there are only four months until we are back in Daytona for the Grand-Am Brumos 250 and the NASCAR Coke Zero 400. It will be here before we know it, so Lauren and I need to get back to the office for more planning!

Photo time!

See you at the track!

Rachel

PS – I don’t want to forget to mention one last piece of advice. Do not try to drive your motorhome through the old Turn 4 tunnel at Daytona…it won’t fit! If you need more proof, just ask the enlightened gentleman that got his coach stuck trying to leave the track on Monday morning…oops!

Late last week,  a|i|m found out that it was named one of the Top 100 Woman Owned Businesses in Georgia by DiversityBusiness.com.

As the beginning of each year is one of the busiest times for our entire team, this news was a great morale booster and a small reminder that hard work pays off and our accomplishments do not go unnoticed.

This award is given to companies who “challenge the long-held notion that a privately held business is small or insignificant.”

We appreciate this award and all hope that this is just a hint of what’s in store for 2009.