NASCAR In Nashville

The week of December 5th was a great week to hang out with all my NASCAR friends. It was a familiar vibe from the standpoint of the faces and the roar of NASCAR power. Yet it was quite unfamiliar because of the setting. NASCAR rumbled into Nashville to celebrate the Awards Banquet with parties, concerts, burnouts on Broadway, a star-studded banquet, and all capped off with a grand celebration for 2019 Champion Kyle Busch. The celebration was held at the iconic FGL House courtesy of Toyota, featuring a late-night no-holds-barred performance by multi-Grammy-Award-winning artist Nelly.

The attire throughout the week was everything from casual country to full-on black tie. And at the center of it all? Celebrations around Kyle Busch, one of the greatest racecar drivers of all time. At Big Machine, we’re proud to call Kyle a partner, and as a person, to call him a friend.

Now I know, some of you NASCAR fans might raise an eyebrow at boasting about befriending the “bad boy” of NASCAR, but I’m OK with that. Kyle and his brother Kurt were both bad boys. They grew up rough and tough, a necessary trait to survive the hard road to the top in NASCAR and to then both become CUP series champions. Traveling the circuit of local tracks across the country in the lower levels of racing can be quite an intimidating experience – especially for the out-of-town guys who show up, hit the track, take the win, and then have to get out of Dodge fast, sometimes before fists would fly.

But I digress, last week was about celebrating on the big stage. The biggest stage in NASCAR.

And I had a blast celebrating with the champ. The benefits translate into lots of invites: a VIP party hosted by M&Ms to watch the burnouts, taking photos in black tie with Kyle and his Championship trophy and a seat at the banquet with our friends from Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Team Penske. We also hosted race teams and associates at our downtown tasting room. I was accompanied much of the time by our rock star distiller, Margeaux Molnar, at times dressed in her formal wear as well, as we talked with our partners about the business and pleasures of our Big Machine Vodka and motorsports. 

I love mixing business with pleasure. I learned that from my dad when we used to travel across country to race our quarter midget race cars. He would stop at radio stations promoting records, occasionally having my brother and me on the air to talk about our racing. It was fun. It was work. It was profitable. All a great mix, which both my brother and I continue to exploit to this day!

But, to close, I want to get back to a final note on Kyle Busch, since I brought him up earlier as the bad boy of NASCAR. Yeah, he’s been moody over the years. He hasn’t always set good examples when he doesn’t win. He punched Logano after Joey wrecked him. He’s ignored interviews, sometimes in the most entertaining ways, including his best impression of Marshawn Lynch, “I’m just here so I don’t get fined.” It has been great for the sport. Gotta hate him or love him. I fall into the category of appreciation. He’s got talent. He’s got passion. He’s quite entertaining. And having spent a little bit of time around him this past year, let me tell you a few of the truly admirable traits I’ve observed. First he’s compassionate. I never seen him pass up a kid once. He stops for them. He looks them in the eye, he talks to them, and he connects with them. He makes them feel special. And the money that he and Samantha have raised to help couples who struggle with infertility has literally helped bring new lives into the homes of childless couples. Lastly, he’s very smart. I suppose that hasn’t hurt him on his road to becoming the winningest driver in the history of NASCAR’s top three series.

So, all in all, last week was a great way to celebrate all the things I enjoy. It was a good time. 

Thanks for reading,

Mark Borchetta

-Executive Vice President, Big Machine Distillery