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Texas is known for doing things in a big way. Unfortunately they lived up to that reputation on the April 6th and 7th weekend with two days of torrential downpours that challenged the resolve of the dedicated Workhorse employees who had put together a spectacular series of events associated with NASCAR. Workhorse Custom Chassis, who earlier this year signed a multi-year agreement with the Texas Motor Speedway to sponsor three campgrounds with more than 8,500 permanent campsites at the speedway, had a chance to showcase their people and products at the April NASCAR Busch and Winston Cup Series races.

An information package provided to all campers contained a coupon they could take to their RV dealer for a test drive of a motorhome on a Workhorse platform. If they return the coupon to Workhorse after the test drive, they are entered into a drawing for the 2003 Winston Cup week-end at the Texas Motor Speedway. The chassis manufacturer also sponsored the Workhorse Pit Stop exhibit, where the Kingsford/Johnsonville Chevrolet Monte Carlo race car was on display.

"Our goal in sponsoring the campgrounds at TMS is to continue to build brand preference with very loyal NASCAR fans," said Tony Monda, director of motorhome marketing for Workhorse. 

In addition to the consumer activities planned for the week-end, the company had also invited RV industry executives to join them in their private suite high above the first turn and looking straight down pit road toward the start-finish line. 

"We took care of everything except the weather," said John Margalski, director of recreational vehicle & bus sales for Workhorse.

The Workhorse guests headed out to the track at 7:00AM Saturday morning, under cloudy skies. Shortly after arriving the skies opened up and everyone settled in for an extended delay to the start of the Busch race. They eventually did get the race started by mid-afternoon, only to see it cut short by another round of showers after 116 laps with Jeff Purvis taking the checkered flag.

Although saddled with a dismal forecast for the Sunday race, the Workhorse executives and support staff maintained an air of optimism as their invited guests once again boarded the bus for the short trip to the Speedway. The windshield wipers were working overtime but that couldn’t dampen the spirits of this brave group that was determined to see this storm through to its conclusion, which they hoped would come sometime during the day so that the Winston Cup event could still be held on its scheduled date.

The weather just wouldn’t cooperate.

Despite the disappointment of having the race scrubbed around 3PM,to be run on Monday morning, the folks in the Workhorse suite were treated well by their gracious hosts. They passed the time away by taking quick naps, trips to the trailer village where most drivers have 18-wheelers selling their memorabilia and collectibles, and by playing cards. These were real high stake games. One table played with hard candy from the refreshment dish and the other table used sugar and sugar substitute packets.

Mike Jacque, president of National RV, proved quite adept at the variety of card games and accumulated quite a pile of candy for his efforts. Jacque said, "This is a great way to pass the time and we are happy to be here with the Workhorse team. Our engineering team has done a great job of integrating the W Series chassis into several of our products."

An unexpected benefit of the delay was the enjoyment of each others company as the RV executives had a unique opportunity to meet and greet their peers in a non-standard business setting.

Mike Bourne, executive vice president and COO at Rexhall Industries noted, "I don ’t like the rain and was really hoping they would get the race in on Sunday. I will stay over and come back on Monday before heading back home. This was a great opportunity to meet a lot of new people in the RV industry, which we probably could not have done with a full day of racing. Workhorse has put on a great event, it’s unfortunate that the weather chose not to cooperate.

"Our terrific marketing hosts from Workhorse, Sheri Crocenzi and Amanda O'Connor did an outstanding job of coordinating the event and weathered the storm along with their guests just fine. The hospitality and dry surroundings of the suite allowed everyone to enjoy their visit to TMS, despite the rain and race delays.

It was an early wake-up call on Monday morning as most of us met once again at the Dallas-Ft.Worth airport around 5:00AM for the trips back to the office and the work world after a fun weekend in Texas.

I was waiting in the same line as Gary Groom, president, and Dave Miller, vice president of sales, for Damon Corporation. Gary said, "I really wanted to stay, but business calls and we have to get back home .This was a terrific weekend and I ’m amazed at how fast the time went by, despite the long rain delays. We will come back. Maybe next time we ’ll get to see the sun and the race."

This just proves that NASCAR fans, and especially RVers, will have a good time whenever they get together with friends and family, no matter what the weather conditions may be.

The consumers in the campground had as much fun as the executives in the suite. Tony Monda summed it all up when he said, "The Workhorse mission is to provide products that better fit and enhance our customers’ lifestyles. Handling, drivability, durability, power and performance are all measures of what customers expect in a motor home. NASCAR fans are particularly attuned to these driving qualities and are demanding them in their recreational vehicles."

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