UPS RACING

Claude (L) and Jim (R) during pre-race

UPS employees Jim Marzolf and Claude Rigsby were selected to deliver the green flag at Texas Motor Speedway. As part of UPS’s official partnership with the Texas track, UPS has exclusive rights to deliver the green flag on race day.

Jim is a 23-year UPS employee  and delivery driver out of the Grapevine, Texas UPS center.

“I am a big racing fan so being out to deliver the green flag in Texas was great. Everything was just really exciting and the whole day was great. To get out on track before the race and get the VIP treatment all day was really special. We had like five guys at the track from my center, and they were just really psyched that we were able to deliver the green flag. The day was great and everyone treated us like royalty.”

Claude is a 29-year UPS employee that is heavily involved in the UPS Road Code program, and getting ready to retire at the beginning of next year. With the Road Code program and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America featured on the No. 6 for the weekend, it was only fitting Claude be a part of Sunday’s green flag delivery.

“I’m very thankful for being asked to do the green flag delivery in Texas. And with it being the Boys and Girls Clubs Road Code car design, it was extra special. I’ve really enjoyed my time working with the kids at the Boys and Girls Clubs in Dallas and teaching them about safe driving. It was really an really honor to have been out at the track to help deliver the flag. Being out there with the sounds and smells was great and we were trying to make it as enthusiastic as possible. I had a really good time and really enjoyed it.”

Sunday's green flag delivery

Stephen delivering the green flag for the race

Stephen Smith, a UPS Package Car driver from the Dublin Center, was chosen to deliver the green flag for Saturday night’s race at Richmond International Raceway.

It was an honor to be chosen to go out to the track and deliver the green flag for the race in Richmond. Rain came over the track for a little bit, so we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to go through with what was planned, but we did and it was fun.

It’s going on 34 years since I first started with UPS, and I’ve been a package car driver the entire time I’ve been with UPS. I really like the people that meet on the job and working with our customers.

Saturday was my first time out to the track, so it was very special for my first race to include the delivery of the green flag.

The advice I got from my co-workers about the delivery was just to have fun and drive safely.

When I’m not working, I just like spending time at home and working around the house.

-Stephen

Stephen making his way to the starter's stand

Billy delivery the green flag!

For Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, UPS employee Billy Amesbury was chosen to deliver the green flag. Billy is a UPS delivery driver from the Ocala, Florida UPS center.

To get chosen as the driver to deliver the green flag for the race at Daytona was something that was really exciting for me. I have never been out to a race and I was able to bring my wife Elena along with me to experience the race.

I’ve been working at UPS for 10 years, and this delivery at the track was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and something that I’ll always remember.

There’s a lot more to what goes into the races than I thought. I didn’t know what to expect. It was pretty overwhelming. You just expect some cars and a few people working on them, but it’s a lot more than that. There are people all over the place and they’ve all got a job to do to put on the race.

My co-workers knew that I would be at the race over the weekend and the advice that they gave me was to make sure that I had a good time and to take a lot of pictures. I really like my job at UPS and the stability of it. We’ve got a good group of people that we work with and I just really enjoy what I do.

Everything with the delivery went well and we safely and delivered the flag. It was very cool to be down on the track and something that I will never forget.

- Billy

On the famed 2.5-mile track in Florida

Rich Koch was scheduled to deliver the green flag for Saturday night’s race at Richmond International Raceway. But, because of inclement weather, the parade lap and delivery were cancelled. Before the cancellation, Rich took some time to talk with UPS Racing about being at the track.

Rich and his son in Richmond\

Rich is based at the UPS Freight General Office and was chosen to delivery the green flag because of his commitment to community service. Rich was the 2009 recipient of the Jim Casey Community Service Award and has dedicated himself to helping Special Olympics.

I’ve been with UPS since 2005 and with Freight since 2000. At first when I was told that I was chosen to deliver the green flag for the race, it sounded like it was going to be a presentation on dry land, I didn’t know that I would be delivering it out of a UPS vehicle, so that was going to be pretty neat. Of course everyone I work with and my family members and friends told me whatever I did, just don’t drop the green flag. I’ve was beat up pretty good because that is one of the most things at the track is to deliver the flag safely. And with UPS, you better deliver it safely. I was laughing about that, but it’s a good presentation of what our company does.

One part of why I was chosen for the delivery was because I was awarded the Jim Casey Community Service Award and that was a thrill. It’s really an important thing to UPS employees and staff to give back. I always knew that UPS was a good company to work. It’s a powerhouse and it’s a good company and it does good things and it’s nice to spread the word about the good things we do and encourage employees to do the same. I think it’s another hallmark that we’re a bunch of special people working for a special company. And that makes me very proud to be affiliated with UPS. 

Joe Watson is a UPS driver based out of the Longview, Texas center. He is a 24-year employee of UPS and Joe was at the race this past weekend to deliver the green flag for Sunday’s Samsung 500. Joe was chosen for this honor because of his outstanding service and safety record.

The Longview center where Joe works was chosen as the first center recognized for service, safety or growth on David Ragan’s No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion to kick off the ‘Maximum Center’ program that will run through the remainder of the 2009 season.

Being at the track this weekend really meant a lot to me because this weekend was the start of the UPS Maximum Center program and it’s recognizing the Longview Center here in Texas where I work. We’re all just so proud to have our center’s number on David’s car. The drivers in our center do such a great job out there and we really do a lot of positive things with the drivers to help promote safety. We’re just really excited and proud to have the Longview Center on David’s UPS car.

Safety is a big part of us being No. 1 for the last three years and safety is the biggest reason that I was chosen to participate in the race. I’m a co-chair at work with my boss and we run a safety committee in our center. We have a program that is all about positive reinforcement and awareness and prevention. It’s reacting before an accident or injury ever occurs and we’ve been able to do a really good job down there in the center.

We’ve had a lot of good help from the other drivers, too. Almost all of the employees are involved in some way to promote safety. And that makes it easy to be No. 1 in safety when everyone is working together.

A lot of the same things that we, as UPS drivers are taught to do out on the streets can really also apply to what David does out on the track. As far as being aware of your surroundings and making sure that you’re driving safely; I’m sure David has been told the same things. When you make safety the No. 1 priority, everything else falls into place.

I became a pretty big race fan when UPS first got involved with Dale Jarrett. I had never really watched NASCAR until UPS sponsored Dale and I remember turning on the Daytona 500 to watch him race and I was hooked from then on. And now David Ragan seems like a real good representative for UPS and a good guy to get behind for us employees.

To tell you a little bit about I really like about working for UPS is getting out on route and interacting with the customers. I really like having them know that when they have something coming to them, they know that it’s in good hands.

Sunday was a great day for me and a an even greater day for everyone that works in the Longview Center.

Longview Center Maximum Center Photos