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The idea for a short video honoring Roger Penske’s 50th anniversary season in motorsports came to Michael Dery in an instant. The result was an experience of a lifetime.

Dery’s winning entry in the #REVItUpInMiami Sweepstakes – a lighthearted video about the championships won by Team Penske drivers Brad Keselowski and Helio Castroneves in addition to Rusty Wallace’s 10-win 1993 season – put Dery and three of his friends front and center for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway this past weekend.

Among the highlights of his reward for winning? A chance to sit in on a drivers’ meeting.

“I’ll never forget this,” said Dery. “When’s the next time I’ll ever be able to sit in on a drivers’ meeting? There was so much effort put into this. It’s been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

The sweepstakes gave Dery and three guests an all-expense paid trip to Ford Championship Weekend, including round-trip air transportation and use of a fully-stocked luxury motorcoach at the track courtesy of the REV Group, a Team Penske partner. Penske partner MillerCoors provided gear and beverages for the group while Shell and Coke also supported the weekend experience. The four friends received passes that gave them exclusive behind-the-scenes access throughout the race weekend as well.

“The effort that Team Penske has put into this has been amazing,” Dery said. “They’ve been super accommodating. They tailored it around the idea that we’d have VIP treatment but also have our own freedom to do what we wanted. We’re blown away by the level of effort they put into it to make it unforgettable.”

The rules of the contest were straightforward: create a social media video no more than 60 seconds in length describing what Team Penske meant to the contestants or highlighting their favorite moment from the team’s 50-year history. Videos were posted to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube and included the hashtags #REVItUpInMiami and #Penske50.

Dery decided to make a video honoring three of the most significant moments in Team Penske history: Rusty Wallace’s 10-win season in 1993, Castroneves’ first Indianapolis 500 victory in 2001 and Keselowski’s Sprint Cup championship in 2012.  

“Those were the three things that stood out to me,” Dery said. “After that I started researching to freshen my memory. I started with Rusty Wallace’s 10 races, then went to Helio and then Brad. I started thinking outside the box, and that’s what I came up with.”

To view Dery’s full video entry click here: http://bit.ly/2eBBCVD.

At Homestead, Dery and three friends – Matt Pratt, Nate Poole and Greg Brown – received the full VIP treatment. They met Castroneves and Keselowski, getting autographs and pictures and chatting at length with both drivers.

“Helio actually stopped by the RV,” Dery said. “He’s a super nice guy. He stayed and chatted with us, took pictures with us and signed autographs. Then right before the XFINITY Series race we were right next to Ryan Blaney’s car right up until the race. It was all-access. Roger Penske was literally five feet away from us.”

A resident of Manchester, New Hampshire, Dery is a regular at NASCAR races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

“We go to both races at Loudon every year,” he said. “I have some friends in Pennsylvania, so we go to Pocono often, too. I’ve been to NASCAR races before, but nothing like this one.”

Indeed. Dery and his buddies were right there in the mix Sunday as Team Penske’s Joey Logano battled for the Sprint Cup Series championship, ultimately finishing second in the title chase.

“It’s been an unforgettable experience,” Dery said. “We’re just blown away by it.”