This was the first motor race I attended in person. Honestly, I was nervous beforehand. I didn’t know if I would feel comfortable there. I didn’t know if I would be able to handle the noise. I didn’t know if I would be able to follow the action and enjoy it as much as I could at home.
The answer to all of those is: I would.
This is the first installment in a format I am calling Race Notes. It does not even attempt to cover everything that happened at the race meeting. For a 24-hour sports car race, there are probably stories I will still be writing new posts about years from now. Race Notes are the most minimal posts I will write about races I attend in person, just to mark particularly poignant, memorable things. I will add to them over time, too, as I continue to process photos, uncover crumpled napkins I wrote on, or learn new things about the races after the fact.
Turning Fortune launched in January 2026, just before Luke and I set off for the next Rolex. But since I still have the opportunity to write Race Notes for every race I go to in my life, I’m going back to the beginning.
Conditions were sketchy on the roads, so I walked to the MARTA station to get to the airport. It was a fairly arduous day of travel for reasons that the first image should make clear, but I made it to Florida and the Philadelphia contingent for a late dinner and beer or two. Made it to the track in the morning and got to have that Tunnel Feeling everybody talks about. First race car I saw with its engine running. Enjoyed some quality time with MX-5 Cup. Plambo. First WeatherTech practice. I had already picked out the AWA Corvette as my adoptive team (good call), and I was right there when they had their first moment. Spent some time getting our gear dialed in with some help from Marshall Pruett, who did us the solid of setting up our mic for this recording. The weather got a bit shitty at times, but we got on TV for it, so that was cool. If you like racing and want to meet your heroes, go to the Rolex. That’s me with Sean Heckman and Ryan Eversley of Dinner with Racers and Luke with Wayne Taylor. And that’s Luke with Kenny Habul and his stable of thoroughbred Mercedes drivers Maro Engel, Jules Gounon, Mikael Grenier). Night practice. Got our pre-race sightseeing in. Then a motor race happened. We encountered the local wildlife. Yes, we did the ferris wheel. Yes, it was awesome. I know what melted Corvette smells like now. It was a long night that led into a long morning. Hearts were broken. Gifts were given, and rubber was burnt.
