By: The Cruise Web, Inc.
Saturday April 2nd, The Cruise Web Management team traveled to Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia to test their karting skills on the region’s best racetrack. The idea came to Frans shortly after he won NASA (National Auto Sport Association) National Championship.
The Management Race began at 1 PM sharp with a safety video that made it clear that we were taking our lives into our own hands by karting. Fortunately, this message did not scare off a single manager, so we all donned our jumpsuits, were fitted for headsocks and helmets and hit the racetrack.
The day was divided into three races. The first race was a practice race. It was 10 minutes long and the goal was to get the quickest lap time possible so that we could get an idea of our rankings and skill level. The second race was the Qualifying race, where we raced for position on the Final Race. And then, we finished our day with a race to the finish; first manager to cross the finish line wins.
Racing these karts that can reach up to 60 mph while just inches off of the ground can be challenging. Mother Nature decided that The Cruise Web Management team needed it to be even more challenging. Throughout the entire day we intermittently had driving wind and rain that formed deep puddles. The asphalt track became extremely slick and caused numerous spin-outs. During the Qualifying race we even had sleet pelting us as we navigated our way through the ice to the finish line.
The race provided Frans a metaphor for the Management Team. On the racetrack, every little detail impacts where you finish. If you mistakenly take a corner too wide or if you fail to accelerate upon entering a corner you will lose precious seconds off of your finish time. And when the difference between winning and losing is measured by 
fractions of a second, you learn that intense focus and preparation are required if you are going to be successful. The same can be said for our company. If we are focused on all of the right things, (our client’s needs, researching the perfect itinerary for a particular client, making sure that every passenger is taken into account when it comes to the choice of ship, itinerary and cabin selection, customer service before, during and after the sailing) then we will be successful. We will be number one. In racing, it’s a culmination of a lot of little things that determines the race’s outcome. The same goes for The Cruise Web.
As for the Management Team, we came away with a new appreciation for kart racing and we can’t wait to see what it’s like to race on a dry track. As for the standings? Well, Frans “Formless” Hansen ended up winning all three races. Chris “Dirty Headsock” Roth came in second and Mike “Captain America” Harris finished with the Bronze trophy.
The Cruise Web, Inc.
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