{"id":2453075,"date":"2020-01-09T18:40:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T01:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/clubhouse-chronicles-a-nascar-champion-and-an-x-games-champion-walk-into-a-ski-race\/"},"modified":"2020-01-09T18:40:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T01:40:00","slug":"clubhouse-chronicles-a-nascar-champ-and-x-games-champ-walk-into-a-ski-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/clubhouse-chronicles-a-nascar-champ-and-x-games-champ-walk-into-a-ski-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Clubhouse Chronicles: A NASCAR champ and X Games champ walk into a ski race\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.5357142857143\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-318921-97\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/avsccolumn-atd-011020-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/avsccolumn-atd-011020-1-1008x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy | Aspen Valley Ski &amp; Snowboard Club\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Aspen Valley Ski &amp; Snowboard Club<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/avsccolumn-atd-011020-1-1008x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen Valley Ski &amp; Snowboard Club\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/avsccolumn-atd-011020-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/avsccolumn-atd-011020-1-1-732x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | AVSC executive director Mark Godomsky\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>AVSC executive director Mark Godomsky<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/avsccolumn-atd-011020-1-1-732x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"AVSC executive director Mark Godomsky\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/avsccolumn-atd-011020-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/avsccolumn-atd-011020-1-2-1024x768.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Olympic halfpipe skier Alex Ferreira, left, is greeted by NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson after winning the final race of the Audi Ajax Cup on Monday, Dec. 30, 2019, at Aspen Mountain. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14\">\n<p><strong>Olympic halfpipe skier Alex Ferreira, left, is greeted by NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson after winning the final race of the Audi Ajax Cup on Monday, Dec. 30, 2019, at Aspen Mountain. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/avsccolumn-atd-011020-1-2-1024x768.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Olympic halfpipe skier Alex Ferreira, left, is greeted by NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson after winning the final race of the Audi Ajax Cup on Monday, Dec. 30, 2019, at Aspen Mountain. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/clubhouse-chronicles-a-nascar-champion-and-an-x-games-champion-walk-into-a-ski-race\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/clubhouse-chronicles-a-nascar-champion-and-an-x-games-champion-walk-into-a-ski-race\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">On Dec. 30, Aspen Valley Ski &amp; Snowboard Club <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/ferreira-jimmie-johnson-win-first-ajax-cup-championship\/\">hosted our 10th annual Audi Ajax Cup on the face of Aspen Mountain<\/a>. Sixteen teams battled it out in the morning to secure a spot in the finals and a shot at winning the coveted Gorsuch Cup and a silver belt buckle. Teams were led by team captains and professional skiers ranging from renowned speed skier and Hahnenkamm winner Daron Rahlves to AVSC head U16 Alpine coach Casey Puckett to AVSC and U.S. Ski Team alumna Katie Ryan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The race came down to team Alpine Bank and team West End Hillbillies \u2014 an even match until the final race between the team\u2019s pros: U.S. Alpine ski team alumnus Nolan Kasper and U.S. freestyle team member, X Games champion and Olympic silver medalist Alex Ferreira, also an AVSC alumnus and board member.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While this is my fourth Ajax Cup as AVSC\u2019s executive director, it was my first in the finish corral during the final round of racing. The excitement was palpable, the crowd falling quiet as they grew more and more focused on the impending result. When Alex crossed the finish line just a hair ahead of Nolan, spectators erupted with excitement as the West End Hillbillies\u2019 team captain Jimmie Johnson rushed toward Alex for a congratulatory and celebratory hug.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Watching this scene unfold epitomized both the magnitude and uniqueness of this event. Here we are at the base of Aspen Mountain \u2014 a place steeped in ski racing history from the start. We are surrounded by caring and compassionate community members, many of whom are Audi Ajax Cup team captains, assembling their own communities to rally behind ours. We are surrounded by businesses, families, community members, and others who, through both gestures large and small, show their commitment to local kids and their growth. We are surrounded by a culture of passion, competition, excellence, and overall, fun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Across the world, the Roaring Fork Valley is known for many things. To us, it is a caring and compassionate community that we\u2019re incredibly lucky to call home. It is a playground in which to grow and learn respect for ourselves and for others. A place to experience failure and success. A place to develop our passions, challenge ourselves, and pursue excellence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maybe that\u2019s why the Audi Ajax Cup is such a fun event year after year: it emulates many of the lessons that our athletes are learning on a daily basis. Plus, where else in the world do you find yourself in the finish corral of a ski race with a seven-time NASCAR champion and an Olympic silver medalist, who after spending a day together are fast friends?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Thank you to our incredible Audi Ajax Cup team captains, race chairs, event chairs, business sponsors, staff, pros, racers, spectators, volunteers, and more. Without each and every one of you, we would not have raised nearly $900,000 to continue to provide local kids access to the mountains. A special thank you to Aspen Skiing Co., who generously allows us to run the race on Little Nell during the busiest week of the year!<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><em>Clubhouse Chronicles is a behind-the-scenes column written by the Aspen Valley Ski &amp; Snowboard Club that runs periodically in the Outdoors section.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/clubhouse-chronicles-a-nascar-champion-and-an-x-games-champion-walk-into-a-ski-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspen Valley Ski &amp; Snowboard ClubCourtesy AVSC executive director Mark GodomskyAustin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Olympic halfpipe skier Alex Ferreira, left, is greeted by NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson after winning the final race of the Audi Ajax Cup on Monday, Dec. 30, 2019, at Aspen Mountain. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Show [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2453075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 21:41:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2453075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453075\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2453075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2453075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2453075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}