Fans Can Win Cruise with Suarez Homestead Victory
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – In a perfect South Florida tropical setting, with one of the most dynamic teams in the NASCAR Cup Series, Trackhouse Racing, fans will have a first-of-a-kind opportunity to win the ultimate “Bon Voyage” in a ground-breaking Playoff promotion by one of the sport’s newest sponsors, Princess Cruises.
Should Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez earn a trip to victory lane in his No. 99 Princess Cruises-sponsored Chevrolet in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, 99 people – a nod to his car number – will win a free seven-day cruise courtesy of the popular Princess line. Registration for this one-of-a-kind sweepstakes is at www.trackhouse.com/princess.
“Forget the Playoffs, this is real pressure," Suarez joked. “Actually, this is a lot of fun and there is nothing I would rather do than give a lot of race fans cool vacations. Princess really stepped up with something new and cool for race fans.’’
The potential of giving away 99 cruise vacations this weekend will mark a high point of the Playoff-long, and unprecedented promotion from the company and the team. In addition to the big giveaway, Princess is also offering specially-priced cruises with a QR code placed on Suarez’ No. 99 Chevrolet. Fans can click here for more information about that.
Princess Cruises announced their enterprising ideas in August – pairing with the team to offer 10 free cruises every time Trackhouse drivers Ross Chastain or Suarez scored a Top-10 in the 10 Playoff races. And the two drivers have delivered big time. Last week, Chastain’s runner-up showing in Las Vegas meant the cruises have been given away at four of the seven Playoff races to date – meaning 40 people are already packing for a cruise.
“We wanted to enter this legendary sport offering an innovative way for race fans to feel vested in our Trackhouse drivers and teams,’’ Princess Cruises President John Padgett said. “Giving as many chances as possible to win the iconic Princess Cruise vacation is sure to create a ton of excitement.’’
Certainly, the partnership has been as well-received in the NASCAR garage as it has been by the fans. And the 2022 season has been a real breakout year for the two-year old Trackhouse Racing operation – co-owned by longtime NASCAR competitor Justin Marks and musical superstar Pitbull.
This season Trackhouse expanded to two cars with Chastain joining Suarez. And the pair have both become first-time winners in the premier NASCAR Cup Series – with Chastain celebrating in victory lane at Circuit of the Americas and the Talladega, Ala. spring race. Suarez won a dramatic event at the Sonoma, Calif. road course this summer placing both drivers into Playoff contention.
READ MORE: How Sonoma Was a Win For Trackhouse's Foundation
They have combined for 18 Top-5 and 30 Top-10 finishes including their three wins. And they have exponentially increased the team’s laps-led count, combining for nearly 1,000 miles out front (972) this season.
Going into Homestead, Chastain remains championship eligible and is ranked second among the eight drivers who are still competing for the championship trophy in this penultimate round of the Playoffs. And Suarez is currently a career high 10th place in the standings.
The team’s success signals a legitimate chance for more cruise giveaways this weekend.
“This is the first of its kind program to engage all race fans to follow an exceptionally exciting and dynamic team through the Playoffs, knowing if those drivers win, fans can just as big’’ Padgett said.
Trackhouse Racing’s Director of Race Operations Jeff Dowling said there have been thousands of entries for the Princess Cruise promotion and that is has been extremely well-received by fans and the team. And, he added, it’s been admired by the other organizations who have taken note of such a unique Playoff marketing opportunity.
“We all tend to do things over and over again or do it the same way we’ve done business, so anytime you can bring new ideas to the sport, having someone creative and open to doing things like this is a lot of fun and exciting,’’ Dowling said of the Princess Cruises relationship. “It’s just different and having partners come in and doing something like this makes it a lot more fun and interesting for them too.’’
And now, not only do Trackhouse Racing drivers, who are both enjoying the best years of their NASCAR Cup Series careers, have every reason to feel optimistic about this weekend’s 400-miler in South Florida – a whole lot of fans do too.
It’s legitimately the ultimate win-win-win opportunity – good for fans, the Trackhouse Racing teams and their corporate partners.
Homestead-Miami Speed has been an important and successful venue in Suarez’ NASCAR career. He led a dominating 133 of 200 laps to win the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship race there and the series title. He has a pair of Top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the track as well and last year, led his first lap in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead.
Chastain is actually from tiny Alva, Fla. a couple hours north of the facility and counts Homestead-Miami Speedway as his “home” track. He has a third place finish in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series race there and four Top-10s in the truck series – including a career best of third in 2020.
“it’s a lot of fun to see the excitement for them and for us,’’ Dowling said. “So hoping more people take advantage of the opportunity and get a nice cruise and holiday.’’
