Slacks for Ella Funt

Every November, Nascar holds its Championship Week in New York to attract media and business attention, as well as distance itself from its southern roots. The good part is that part of Championship Week is the “Victory Lap”—when the top ten drivers drive a loop down the streets. They start in Times Square and go west on 42nd Street to Madison, which means they pass directly in front of my office building. It’s great—Nascar comes to me.

Unfortunately, this year wasn’t as good as last year and the year before. They used to spin their tires and rev their engines. Last year a couple of the drivers even waved at me. This year—nothing. They just drove by. Still fun, but I missed the smell of the tire smoke and roar of the engines.

Also, this year my driver wasn’t in the Chase, so I didn’t have anyone in particular to cheer for. However, if Ryan Newman doesn’t get it together and not continue to stink next year, he may not be my driver much longer.

For lunch, we went on another holiday lunch to Tao. We had a huge group, so we had booked their upstairs skybox. Lots of fun, we felt very vip up there. The food at Tao is good, but not spectacular, but it’s a fun, clubby looking place and going there always feels like a party. They have a 20-foot buddha statue with a goldfish pond beneath it, glamorous lighting, and sexy fortunes in their fortune cookies.