Weekend at the Brickyard with Axalta
In early spring 2014, our partner Axalta Coating Systems offered us an opportunity to partner with them in sponsorship of Jeff Gordon’s car at the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late July. Thrilled by the opportunity, we immediately accepted and started planning a weekend of festivities for our team members and several strategic customers across the country. This year’s Brickyard 400 was more unique than most for Axalta, FinishMaster, and Jeff Gordon, as Jeff would be racing to win on the 20th anniversary of his win at the inaugural Brickyard in 1994.
The weekend kicked off with a cookout at our Indianapolis branch. Axalta Racing and Hendricks Motorsports arranged for Jeff Gordon’s show car to be delivered and we hosted our customers, Axalta partners, and team members from across central Indiana. We were thrilled to share in celebration of this rare occasion.
After wrapping the branch event, we headed downtown to historic St. Elmo’s restaurant for cocktails and appetizers with several of our Field Managers and strategic customers from across the country. Indianapolis and racing go hand-in-hand, but none of us realized the excitement that lay ahead as we talked about the rest of the weekend’s festivities on Friday night.
As we watched the qualifying rounds on Saturday from the top of the Pagoda, our excitement intensified as Jeff Gordon clinched the 2nd position in the starting lineup for Sunday’s race. While we were eager for the feature NASCAR event, the weekend also provided us insight to another side of racing, Indy Car.On Saturday evening, we had the opportunity to eat dinner in the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing garage. Hearing from Sarah Fisher Hartman and Ray Everham about their experience in the sport, we were inspired by their perseverance to build a great team, willingness to adapt to an ever-changing environment, and drive to win.
With Jeff’s 20th anniversary race only a few hours away, and despite the stormy start to the day, we were amped for the green flag at the start of the Brickyard. Prior to the race, we were able to walk in the pits to see cars being weighed and readied for the race. The crew gathered around the vehicles, each with a particular job to do, and worked as a cohesive unit making the minor adjustments and tweaks needed to gain an advantage. More than anything else, this served as a reminder to me that behind every great company there are a myriad of other people working their hardest to make sure it succeeds, and succeed they did.
Starting in second position, Jeff Gordon began a day that would become record setting. A true test for the veteran driver, after battling for the lead throughout the race, Gordon pulled ahead with only 16 laps to go. On the 20th anniversary of Gordon’s inaugural win of the Brickyard 400 race in 1994, Gordon finished 2.325 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch, sealing his spot in the history books. The victory would be Gordon’s fifth win at the brickyard and the 90th of his career.
The entire weekend was an unforgettable experience for everyone who attended, diehard NASCAR fan or not, and we are extremely grateful to Jeff Gordon and Axalta for allowing us to share in the winner’s circle.