The Daytona International Speedway Logo. |
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| Location | 1801 West International Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | GMT-5 |
| Capacity | 167,785 |
| Owner | International Speedway Corporation (Leased from Daytona Beach Racing and Recreational Facilities District) |
| Operator | International Speedway Corporation |
| Broke ground | 1957 |
| Opened | 1959 |
| Construction cost | $3 million |
| Architect | Charles Moneypenny William France Sr. |
| Major events |
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series NASCAR Nationwide Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series ARCA RE/MAX Series AMA Daytona SportBike AMA Motocross |
| Tri-Oval | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.5 mi (4 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | 31° Turns 18° Tri-oval 2° Back straightaway |
| Lap record | 0:42.783 (Bill Elliott, Melling Racing, 1987, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) |
| Sports Car Course | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 3.56 mi (5.7 km) |
| Turns | 12 |
| Banking | 32° in oval turns 18° in tri-oval |
| Lap record | 1:39.195 (Yannick Dalmas, Ferrari 333SP, 1998, USRRC Can-Am) |
| Motorcycle Course | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.95 mi (4.75 km) |
| Turns | 12 |
| Banking | 32° in oval turns 18° in tri-oval |
| Lap record | 1:37.546 (Ben Spies, Suzuki, 2007, AMA Superbike) |
| Dirt Flat Track | |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Length | .25 mi (.40 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | Flat |
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.5 miles (4.0 km) high speed tri-oval, a 3.56 miles (5.73 km) sports car course, a 2.95 miles (4.75 km) motorcycle course, and a .25 miles (0.40 km) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The track was built in 1958 by NASCAR founder William France Sr. to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course. His banked design permitted higher speeds and gave fans a better view of the cars. Lights were installed around the track in 1998, and today it is the second largest single lit outdoor sports facility. The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004, and the track repaved in 1978 & 2010.
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NASCAR founder William France Sr. began planning for the track in 1953 as a way to promote the series, which at the time was racing on the Daytona Beach Road Course.[1] France met with Daytona Beach engineer Charles Moneypenney to discuss his plans for the speedway. He wanted the track to have the highest banking possible to allow the cars to reach high speeds and to give fans a better view of the cars on track. Moneypenny traveled to Detroit, Michigan to visit the Ford Proving Grounds which had a high speed test track with banked corners. Ford shared their engineering reports of the track with Moneypenney, providing the needed details of how to transition the pavement from a flat straightaway to a banked corner. France took the plans to the Daytona Beach city commission, who supported his idea and formed the Daytona Beach Speedway Authority.[2]
The city commission agreed to lease the 447 acres (181 ha) parcel of land adjacent to Daytona Beach International Airport to France's corporation for $10,000 a year over a 50 year period. France then began working on building funding for the project and found support from a Texas oil millionaire, Clint Murchison. Murchison loaned France $600,000 along with the construction equipment necessary to build the track. France was also able to secure funding from Pepsi-Cola, General Motors designer Harley Earl, a second mortgage on his home and selling 300,000 stock shares to local residents. Ground broke on construction of the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) speedway on November 25, 1957.[2]
To build the high banking, crews had to dig out millions of tons of soil from the tracks infield. Because of the high water table in the area, the hole that was excavated filled with water to form what is now known as Lake Lloyd, named after Joseph Saxton "Sax" Lloyd, one of the original six members of the Daytona Beach Speedway Authority. 22 tons of limerock had to be brought in to form the track's binding base, where the asphalt would be laid on top. Because of the extreme degree of banking, Moneypenney had to come up with a way to pave the incline. He connected the paving equipment to bulldozers that were anchored at the top of the banking. This would allow the paving equipment to pave the banking without slipping or rolling down the incline. Moneypenney subsequently patented his construction method and later designed Talladega Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway. By December 1958, France had begun to run out of money and started relying on race ticket sales to complete construction.[2]
The first practice runs on the new track began on February 6, 1959. One February 22, 1959, 42,000 people attended the inaugural Daytona 500.[2] When the track opened it was the fastest race track to ever host a stock car race, until Talladega Superspeedway opened 10 years later.
Lights were installed around the track in 1998 to run NASCAR's July race, the Coke Zero 400 at night. The track was the worlds largest single lighted outdoor sports facility until being surpassed by Losail International Circuit in 2008. Musco Lighting installed the lighting system, which took into account glare and visibility for aircraft arriving and departing nearby Daytona Beach International Airport, and costs about $240 per hour when in operation.[3]
Daytona's tri-oval is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long with 31° banking in the turns and 18° banking at the start/finish line. The front straight is 3,800 feet (1,200 m) long and the back straight (or "superstretch") is 3,000 feet (910 m) long. The tri-oval shape, was revolutionary at the time as it greatly improved sight lines for fans. It is one of the two tracks on the Sprint Cup Series circuit that uses restrictor plates to slow the cars down due to the high speeds, the other being Talladega Superspeedway.[4]
On July 15, 2010 repaving of the track began. The repaving came almost a year earlier than planned due to the track coming apart during the 2010 Daytona 500. The project used an estimated 50,000 tons of asphalt to repave 1,400,000 square feet (130,000 m2) including the racing surface, apron, skid pads and pit road. Because of good weather, the project was completed ahead of schedule.[5]
The 3.56 miles (5.73 km) road course was built in 1962 to host a three-hour sports car race called the Daytona Continental. Eventually the race was extended to a 24-hour endurance race known as the Rolex 24 at Daytona. While the more famous 24 Hours of Le Mans is held near the summer solstice, Daytona's endurance race is held in winter (meaning that more of the race is run at night). The track's lighting system is limited to 20% of its maximum output for the race to keep cars dependent on their headlights.[6]
In 2005, a second infield road course configuration was constructed, primarily for motorcycles. Due to fears of tire wear on the banked oval sections, oval turns 1 and 2 were bypassed giving the new course a length of 2.95 miles (4.75 km).[7] On September 26 and 27, 2006, the Indycar Series held a compatibility test on the 10-turn, 2.73-mile (4.39 km) modified road course, and the 12-turn 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle road course with 5 drivers. The drivers who tested at the track were Vitor Meira, Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon. This marked the first time since 1984 that open wheel cars have taken to the track at Daytona.[8] On January 31 – February 1, 2007, Indycar returned for a full test involving 17 cars.[9]
During Daytona Beach Bike Week, a supercross track is built between pit road and the tri-oval section of the track. Historically the track has used more sand than dirt, providing unique challenges to riders. The 2008, 2009 and 2010 track configurations were designed by former champion, Ricky Carmichael.[10]
Popular dirt-track races in karting and flat-track motorcycle racing had been held at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium, but in 2009, the city announced the stadium was replacing its entire surface with FieldTurf, and thereby eliminating the flat-track racing at the stadium. To continue racing, speedway officials built the Daytona Flat Track, a new quarter-mile dirt track outside of Turns 1 and 2 of the main superspeedway. It seats 5,000 in temporary grandstands and opened in December 2009 for WKA KartWeek.[11]
A total of 27 people have been fatally injured in the track, with most during auto, motorcycle, and powerboat racing events. Arguably the most notable was Dale Earnhardt, who died February 18, 2001.[12]
The Sprint Fanzone is an access package similar to pit passes for fans to get closer to drivers and race teams. The fanzone was built in 2004 as part of a renovation of the track's infield.[13] Fans are able to walk on top of the garages, known as the "fandeck", and view track and garage activity. Fans can also view race teams working in the garage, including NASCAR technical inspection, through windows. The garage windows also include slots for fans to hand merchandise to drivers for autographs. The fanzone also includes a live entertainment stage, additional food and drink areas and various other activities and displays.[14]
The 2004 renovation of the infield, headed by design firm HNTB,[15] was the first major renovation of the infield in the history of the track.[16] In addition to the fanzone, a new vehicle and pedestrian tunnel was built under turn 1. The tunnel posed a challenge to engineers because it was be built under the water table. Another challenge came during construction when three named hurricanes passed by the track, flooding much of the excavation work. The infield renovation involved landscaping and hardscaping, such as a new walkway along the shore of Lake Lloyd, and the construction of 34 new buildings, including garages and fueling stations, offices and inspection facilities, and a club. The renovation project received a 2005 Award for Excellence from Design-Build Institute of America.[16] Following the success of the Sprint Fanzone at Daytona, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway each built a similar infield fanzone.
The Budweiser Party Porch is a 46 feet (14 m) high porch located along the backstretch of the track. It is built on top of a portion of the backstretch grandstands and includes a 277 feet (84 m) wide, 33 feet (10 m) tall sign, the largest sign in motorsports. The porch features tables, food and drinks, offering fans a "fun-filled" atmosphere that breaks fans away from the confines of grandstand seating without sacrificing on the view. Below the porch is an interactive fan zone featuring amusement rides, a go-kart track, show cars and merchandise trailers.[17]
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:[18][19]
NASCAR Nationwide Series:[18][19]
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series:[18]
Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series:[20]
ARCA RE/MAX Series: Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200[21]
AMA Daytona SportBike: Daytona 200[19]
AMA Motocross: Daytona Supercross by Honda[22]
As of November 2010, track records on the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) tri-oval are as follows.[23]
| Record | Year | Date | Driver | Car Make | Time | Speed/Avg Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | ||||||
| Qualifying | 1987 | February 9 | Bill Elliott | Ford | 42.783 | 210.364 mph (338.548 km/h) |
| Race (500 miles) | 1980 | February 17 | Buddy Baker | Oldsmobile | 2:48:55 | 177.602 mph (285.823 km/h) |
| Race (400 miles) | 1980 | July 4 | Bobby Allison | Oldsmobile | 2:18:21 | 173.473 mph (279.178 km/h) |
| Race (250 miles) | 1961 | July 4 | David Pearson | Pontiac | 1:37:13 | 154.294 mph (248.312 km/h) |
| NASCAR Nationwide Series | ||||||
| Qualifying | 1987 | Tommy Houston | Buick | 46.299 | 194.389 mph (312.839 km/h) | |
| Race (300 miles) | 1985 | February 16 | Geoff Bodine | Pontiac | 1:54:33 | 157.137 mph (252.887 km/h) |
| Race (250 miles) | 2003 | July 4 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 1:37:35 | 153.715 mph (247.380 km/h) |
| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series | ||||||
| Qualifying | 2000 | February 17 | Joe Ruttman | Dodge | 47.984 | 187.563 mph (301.853 km/h) |
| Race (250 miles) | 2006 | February 17 | Mark Martin | Ford | 1:42:18 | 146.622 mph (235.965 km/h) |