Where to begin?…This weekend has been one of the greatest adventures I have had in a long while. I was fortunate enough to intern with Andretti Autosport at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida. I arrived on Wednesday and the rest of the team got there Thursday. On Thursday afternoon, I went to the track with Al, the Director of Corporate Communications. Mr. Larsen was so great the whole weekend and he let me dive in right away for the full experience! I met Mike Conway, who is one of the drivers for Andretti, as he was getting ready to do a TV cooking appearance at a local restaurant. Al and I then took Ryan Hunter-Reay, another driver for Andretti, to take some photos in his fire suit.

Friday was when the race weekend really started to pick up! It was also a special day for Andretti driver Danica Patrick, as it was her birthday! I walked to the track with Ryann, Marco Andretti’s PR rep, bright and early. We arrived at Hospitality where I met Michael Andretti. That was definitely a great experience to be around a racing legend. Ryann and I then took Marco to a Baltimore radio show appearance to promote that upcoming race. Following that, we took him to his ESPN shoot, dropped him off at the drivers meeting and went on to the PR meeting. This was something I really wanted to experience, to see how public relations for the weekend would be carried out. For part of the afternoon, I checked guests into the Hospitality area before Al and I took Mike Conway to his ESPN shoot. There were many simple moments throughout the weekend that seemed to make the overall experience that much sweeter. One of those was when Al and I were waiting outside of the ESPN room with Helio Castroneves and Jamie Little from ESPN, as they talked about the exciting race ahead. That same day, Al had me list the crew members for each of the four cars, which was helping them out, but it also allowed me to learn about the people that work hard and contribute each weekend. At the end of Friday afternoon, the cars had practice, so we went to the pits to observe that. Later that night, I was able to help at a sponsor reception at the Vinoy Hotel. This was a neat experience to meet some of the people whose companies keep the team going.

Before we knew it, Saturday had arrived! This was an important preparation day for the race tomorrow. In the morning, the Indy Lights cars practiced, followed by the Indy Cars. We stayed in the pits the whole time, in order to see how well the team was doing. I then went to the USF2000/Star Mazda autograph session for a bit before IndyCar qualifying began and we were back in the pits. After various qualifying runs occurred, Mike Conway would be starting the race in 4^th position, which was the highest of the Andretti drivers. After Mike did a few interviews, Al and I took him to a press conference with the “Firestone Fast Six” drivers. That night, I went to a tweet up with one of Andretti’s employees, Kim. Social media has now become very important, so it was neat to attend an event where that was the focus in order to promote the race over Twitter.

As you walk around the track on a Sunday, many people will tell you “Happy race day!” and happy it was! We arrived at the track one hour before the public gates opened, in order to start and get things set up. Kayleigh, from Andretti, and I went up to one of the suites to make sure it was ready to go for the sponsor guests. We then ate breakfast at Hospitality before the rush began. Hats off to Chef Erwin for always making the greatest meals all weekend! Everything seemed to turn busy instantly, but that is what I found so exciting. Kayleigh and I gathered a sponsor group at Hospitality and dropped them off at the driver transporters for a tour. I then went back to Hospitality myself and gathered roughly 40 people for their upcoming garage tour and meet and greet with Danica Patrick and Mike Conway. Once Danica and Mike got out of their driver meetings, they came to the garage and that was when the fan excitement began. Wendy, from Andretti, and I handed out autographed hero cards as the tour group then took their picture with the drivers. Before we all knew it, it was time for the race so everyone went to the pits for the pre-race festivities. Andretti unfortunately didn’t have very good luck, as Marco and Mike were taken out of the race on the first lap. Ryan Hunter-Reay also ran into trouble and couldn’t finish the race, and Danica finished 12^th. My day ended on a high note as I met the man behind it all, Mr. Mario Andretti. Talk about being in great company!

I know that was a lengthy description of my weekend, but each aspect made the experience whole. It was so great being back at the track and I was honored to meet and work with some of the best. This quote seemed to sum up my weekend and past racing experiences nicely – “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our heart and we are never the same.” Each and every person has definitely impacted me and I can’t wait to see them at the track again in the future…