Champions

September 16, 2023

Champions

The Indy Car racing season concluded at Laguna Seca raceway with Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou capturing his second career championship over his teammate Scott Dixon, which is a nice accomplishment for him and the team and the culmination of a pretty dominating season. But it was a couple of the road to Indy series that really had me excited this year. The drivers and teams that I most closely follow and root for claimed championships in the ladder series, Indy NXT- which is one step below Indy Car and USF Pro 2000 which is two steps down the ladder.

My friend Christian Rasmussen won the Indy NXT championship in style and in dominating fashion by winning the final race at Laguna. He wrapped up the year with an impressive tally: 13 top 10 finishes, 11 top 5 finishes, 8 podiums, 5 thrilling wins, and one well-deserved championship. I have gotten to know Christian and his girlfriend Maria as they spend a lot of time in the suite at Indy during the month of May and I was super excited to see him win. Hopefully it will lead to a step up to Indy Car next year, he already has a test scheduled with Ed Carpenter racing.

In the USF Pro 2000 series, there was an equally dominating championship run by the young and talented Myles Rowe. Myles became the first African American to win an open-wheel championship in the U.S. ever and once again pretty much dominated the series. I have been a fan of his since his very first start and have watched him progress over the past couple of years as he achieved well-earned glory. He has already been tapped for a step-up ride in the Indy NXT series next year and will hopefully continue his journey to Indy Car success.

It has been a fairly mundane time for me in Key West since returning from Las Vegas. Kathy and our dog Clove departed for Colorado. They drove out as they intend to stay there until just after Halloween, returning in time to attend the Miami Book Fair in November.

Along the way, Kathy stopped a couple of nights to spend with friends and even made a visit to the Cadillac Ranch just outside of Amarillo, Texas. She made it out to Colorado and reports that all is well with our house there. She promptly purchased a kayak to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather and to get some time on the water before the winter sets in and has been enjoying her time back in Colorado.

For me, there is a big void when Kathy and Clove are both gone, I enjoy the quiet time and hanging with our cats, but I always find myself with a sudden abundance of free time. I have tried to take advantage of it by heading out a few nights in town. Two trips to the Green Parrot, first to see Mia Borders perform and then the Jimmy Buffett tribute by our friend Cayman.

Cayman literally grew up with Jimmy Buffett as his mother Sunshine was Jimmy’s business partner and co-founder of Margaritaville. Cayman and friends played a full set of Buffet classics before a packed Parrot that included many of Jimmy’s closest friends and family and a bunch of long-time locals. It was bittersweet but ultimately pretty fun and celebratory.

Finally I just wanted to celebrate that a group of wild flamingoes have taken up residence in the lower Keys. Since the recent pass-by of Hurricane Idalia, the somewhat rare birds have been sighted throughout the lower Keys and it always makes me happy to head out and see some rare birds.