Some national champions would take it easy with Christmas dinner before the beginning of a title defence two days later, but the fates dictate Leighton Minnell has other plans.
Unquestionably, this is the busiest time of the year for Minnell as he looks ahead to the start of tomorrow's New Zealand Jet Sprint Championship series at Shelter View.
But far from sitting in a quiet corner visualising how he and wife Kellie can match their feat of winning all six rounds last season, he has been arm-deep in petrol fumes and feasting with a host of international guests.
After a massive gathering of world-travelled friends at the Minnell household on Christmas Day, Leighton will spend all of today working hard as an official on Cemetery Circuit.
This after the parts for his boat finally arrived from America recently making Christmas Eve a busy night getting everything ship-shape for Upokongaro.