Daytona - Finish of Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona

Travis (Mom, Dad, Nolan and Barrett too!) thoroughly enjoyed attending the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona this weekend. Travis didn't want to miss a minute of things while at the track, he never napped while we were there. We ended up leaving around 10p on Sat night after his 5th or 6th wind of the day. We spent time talking with other families tied to the Park Place Motorsports teams, NF and crew families. Yes, Travis made many new friends this weekend.

When we woke up this morning, we were greeted by a Facebook tag that Travis made the Daytona local paper...story and pictures. That's a nice way to start the morning. :) A reporter with The Daytona Beach News-Journal "interviewed" (more of a very friendly conversation) us after Travis signed the car on Saturday morning. If you missed the story, click here for Travis in the Daytona News. The same story ran in the printed edition of the paper with a different picture (yes, we have copies). We arrived at the track a little after 9a and went to watching the races. The #73 had a few bumps during the night, but was running strong when we arrived at the track.

Travis, Nolan, Barrett & Scott watching the race Sunday morning

The next few hours were spent watching the race from the above and in our tent. Jason Hart, one of the drivers for our #73, was up in the patio suite and Travis went to talk with him. Naturally the fun discussion was about cars and the favorite parts of the race so far.

Travis and Jason Hart discussing racing and cars

Travis saw several cars he didn't have in the gift shop that he wanted to add to his collection and play with at the track. The afternoon was spent creating his own races, including lining up the cars, and playing cars with his fellow NF Heroes and their families.

Travis playing and watching cars, the #73 is approaching the finish line.

Travis (R) and his friend Nic (L) playing cars and trucks while watching the race

The race drew to a close with the #73 Park Place Motorsports / Children's Tumor Foundation Porsche finishing 16th (#72 finished 14th, the other car on the team) in their class. We are so proud of our drivers, crew, staff, support, and friends. We were able to see the car and drivers on pit road after the race. Thank you Jill Beck for your hard work and effort that is the success of Racing4Research.

Jill and Travis, he LOVES her (and giving her a hard time)

Travis' name on the car at the end of the race. You can see where he wrote
his name going up the black stripe. That's homework, right?

After racing 24 hours, plus the prep time on Saturday, the drivers of the #73 and #72 spent time with our NF Heroes and families. You could tell that the drivers enjoyed spending time and are inspired by the NF Heroes and families. Thank you team!

After 24 hours of racing, NF Heroes, siblings, and drivers
(Spencer Pumpelly, Patrick Lindsey, Patrick Long, Jason Hart, and Daniel Graeff).

Racing's over, it's time to rest

We are incredibly blessed. Thank you to all those that helped make this a reality for Travis. You could tell his leg and back was bothering him at times, yet he continued on not wanting to miss anything. We're still on vacation and it's a little over a week before Travis restarts his meds. Back to more vacation fun and Praise God for these gifts!