Thinking of it that way felt a little bit arrogant. Like I was going to be their Fairy Godmother who could just swoop in and suddenly make everything better. It almost felt like I was suggesting they didn’t know how to run their own company and weren’t successful. But that’s not what I meant. They were already successful and popular, but there were ways it could get better. I was under the firm belief that there are always ways companies could improve and reach higher levels of success. No matter how beloved they were among the populace, no matter how much money they were making or how well they performed in the market, there was always something they could do better. There were ways they could be stronger.
And even though I came into this without any knowledge about racing and no idea how a racing fan thought, I quickly grew attached and found myself wanting to do more. Fortunately, they were extremely supportive of me. Minnie especially. She was always interested to hear my ideas and work with me to polish them up into workable plans. That’s how it was with these parties. It all started with us chatting about nothing in particular and me ending up sharing a story from my high school days. I was telling her about homecoming and the tailgating party one of the student organizations put together. It was so much fun and one of my favorite memories.
From there, I threw out the idea of using that model to build up fan engagement and get the team connected with the people who came out race after race watch them. The first one was a gamble. Nobody was really sure if anybody would want to come and if they would be interested in sticking around or buying merchandise. But it was wildly successful, and we ended up completely selling out of the shirts we had for sale and giving away all the other pieces of swag we’d ordered.
Even after that success, I was possibly even more nervous about the second one. I wondered if the novelty of it had drawn in the first crowds and that time it wouldn’t be interesting anymore, so the attendance would dwindle. Instead, it was just as busy if not more. From there, it was just a part of the race we looked forward to.
Last night’s had been probably the best. The team agreed to be more of a part of it rather than just stopping by, and fans were lined up to take pictures with Darren and Greg. We hired two more food trucks to offer more variety, and the merchandise table was cleared out well before the event started. Halfway through, Gus came running up to me, his eyes bright and filled with excitement as he told me he wanted to bring one of the old bikes that wasn’t being used in races anymore but was still in good condition. They were sometimes used as decoration around the complex or at shows, so he thought it would be fun to bring one to a party so fans could sit on it for pictures.
It was great to see everybody so excited and involved. The only challenge I had was staying away from the beer. The first couple of parties I enjoyed a beer while I was eating. I knew I was technically at work, but everyone else in the family tipped one back, and Minnie reassured me it was just fine. So, this time she offered to get me one when we first arrived. She didn’t seem to think anything strange about the first time I declined, but she offered more throughout the evening and looked at me with more questions in her eyes every time. It was a departure from the norm, and she definitely noticed.
But I got through the party with no beer and no direct questions. The race went well, and a photo finish of Darren and Greg all but tying for first well ahead of the rest of the pack earned the rest of the week off work for everyone. They went back to the complex after the race to unload and put everything away, but then the complex would be closed until Monday morning.
Which was exactly why I was there first thing in the morning Friday. I gave myself Thursday to sleep in and relax, giving in to the tiredness that seemed to never really go away now that I was sharing my body with a whole other human being. But Friday I decided to take advantage of the complex being closed and headed into the office. Everybody being gone meant I could just work casually and catch up on some of the analytical stuff I’d missed when I was out sick for those two days.