For Verizon IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway CRO ROD DAVIS, weekends are about balancing family and work. “I really love what I do. I love the organization that I am a part of,” he said. “Of our nine execs, six of us have been there less than three years. I am the newest in only being there a year. I kind of hit the ground running heading into our 100th Indy 500. I have a great family and I live in a great place. I think I have found a way to make all of these things work together. It’s a labor love.”
FAMILY MAN: I have a nice weekend planned. I am heading to Madison, Wisc., to see my youngest daughter, RYLEE, who is a sophomore at Wisconsin. I’ll drive up from Indianapolis on Friday. It’s about a six hour drive. This is something I am quite familiar with. I have four children -- three girls and a boy -- and my oldest daughters have each graduated from college. This time of year has always been a favorite of mine. I’m a big football fan. My oldest daughter went to Indiana and my second oldest went to Kentucky. I love going to college towns this time of year and taking in games. I spend a lot of weekends like this going to events with the kids.
FATHER OF MINE: We are taking in the Illinois-Wisconsin game on Saturday. We will be tailgating in the morning and the game starts in the afternoon. I’m sure we will then make a Target run to get whatever supplies she needs for the room. When dad gets to town it is always an opportunity for free meals and restocking the room for groceries, necessary supplies or the clothing item or two that they don’t have. The real question becomes how many of her sorority sisters am I buying dinner for over the weekend. I am sure it will be a carb-loaded dinner that night.
RUN WITH THE PACK: My daughter is running in a mini marathon on Sunday morning. I think it will be an early morning and she has been training hard. I hope it will be very successful for her. I’ll be there to lend support and give her snacks and rehydration as necessary. We will then have a post-race lunch before I hit the road and head back to Indy.
WEEKEND WARRIOR: I obviously have a lot of work weekends between the 17 races and our NASCAR weekends at the track. It is almost like I have 21 or 22 work weekends a year. The theme here is that there is a family piece to my activities and supporting them. I really enjoy that our company is really visible in the community. We are involved in a lot of activities trying to support our town. That is something that I am trying to do personally. Indy is a great town. I certainly want to be active in everything from the sports world -- the Colts and Pacers -- to what is happening at the Indianapolis Symphony.
BOOK OF LOVE: Of all things, my mother just published her second book. This is sort of a new career in retirement. I literally just read her book on the plane. It came out this week. My son and I are reading “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS” together. That way we can connect and talk about it. It kind of gives us something fun to do together. I also like to golf. We have a golf course at the track, so there is no excuse not to make my game better because there is access to people who are much better at the game than I am.
