It felt like there were twice as many people at the Rolex 24 at Daytona 24 this year, and last year was supposed to be the all-time attendance record. Before the race, the infield was shoulder to shoulder, and even the stands were crowded with fans. The weekend saw a record 19 manufacturers in competition. I don’t know that I could name 19 manufacturers without cheating. We’ll see what the final numbers were, but it’s not crazy to think that sports car racing is as big as it’s ever been in the U.S. Even through the rain, the racing was impossibly beautiful. Alonso and Castroneves battling at dusk, and then Alonso again in the morning, in turn 1, displaying mastery of a car he barely knew, mastery of a downpour that consumed some of the best in the field — not to mention Zanardi’s heroism and the No. 57 MSR Acura team that carried decades of unknown slights, missed opportunities and doubt with joy and with the strength that women earn. Just another weekend watching mortals try to scratch their names on something permanent.

And yet — as I write this the morning after — there are bloodless functionaries typing and retyping emails, compiling notes, building their cases for why this racing thing’s a waste. For why the money would be better spent with the grifters at Facebook, on product placement or prestige TV — on people who don’t care and can’t be made to care. But at the companies that put their cars in the paddocks, there’s someone, or a group of someones, willing to stand up in the face of enormous pressure and make it happen. Because they know, ­innately, as we all do, that win or lose, racing means something. And yeah, it’s harder to quantify, but we’ll remember who had the magic, who screwed up, who had another hard luck weekend in the rain. There are a lot of ways to advertise a product. Some are fun, some are smart, some are new and fresh, and some (Autoweek) are even effective. But if you want your products imbued with meaning — if you want people to live and die on your successes and failures — then yes, in 2019, you still have to suit your people up and go racing. I’m thankful there are still people who get it.

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