This week’s race brings us back to my old stomping grounds in Miami — a place I know well, even if my eight months living there were far less successful than I hope this race will be. The toughest part of this season has been accepting the possibility that we might simply be a middle‑of‑the‑pack team right now, and that this might be our ceiling for the moment.

But I’m not going down quietly. I poured another $29 million into preparation for this race, pushing us up to a Level 5 car. Now it’s time to justify that investment, step up, and finally deliver the kind of result we’ve been chasing all season.

After the chaos of the last race, today is all about redemption. We’re sticking with the core strategy—fresh parts, targeted upgrades, clean pit work, and a willingness to push when it counts. But when you’re fighting uphill against teams with stronger cars, deeper budgets, and higher‑tier drivers, even the smallest setback can snowball. If we don’t turn this around soon, the slide back toward Rookie level becomes very real. Time to steady the ship and prove we still belong in this division.

For today’s race, everything looked flawless. The pilot was at full strength, the car was dialed in with zero weaknesses, and the track might as well have been custom‑built for our setup. It should’ve been the perfect storm — and then the storm actually hit. One thing goes wrong, then another, and suddenly the whole plan unravels in spectacular fashion. A complete, breathtaking disaster.

It’s time to lock in. We’re coming off two 31st‑place finishes with a lone 20th wedged between them — not exactly the form we want. Today, though, the car finally gets the upgrades it deserves, pushing us up to a true Level 4 contender. The catch is the engine: too worn to trust, too expensive to replace. I’m gambling that it survives one more race, but every lap could be the one where it bites back. Let’s see what the risk is worth.

We come out of Race 2 with a steady 20th-place finish — not spectacular, but solid enough to raise the real question: which version of us is the truth, the Week 1 contender or the Race 2 grinder. Today we dial back the spending, stretch the components for one more round, and see what this car has left in it. Stick around — the answer reveals itself on track.