Daytona International Speedway
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| Daytona International Speedway | |
| The World Center of Racing | |
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| Facility statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | 1801 West International Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114 |
| Broke ground | 1956 |
| Opened | 1959 |
| Owner | International Speedway Corporation |
| Operator | International Speedway Corporation |
| Construction cost | $3 million |
| Architect | Charles Moneypenny Bill France |
| Former names | |
| Daytona | |
| Major events | |
| NASCAR Nextel Cup Daytona 500 Pepsi 400 Bud Shootout Gatorade Duel NASCAR Busch Series |
|
| Seating capacity | |
| 167,785 (NASCAR) | |
| Current dimensions | |
| Track shape | Tri-oval, combined road course |
| Track length | 2.5 miles / 4 km (oval) 3.56 miles / 5.7 km (road course) 2.95 miles / 4.75 km (road course) |
| Track banking | Turns - 31 degrees Tri-Oval - 18 degrees Straights - 2 degrees |
Daytona International Speedway is a superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is a 2.5 mile (4 km) tri-oval race track facility with a seating capacity of 168,000 spectators. It hosts races of motor vehicles of various kinds, including go-karts, motorcycles (on and off road), sports cars, modified pickup trucks, and stock cars. The facility also includes a 3.56 mile (5.7 km) road course and a 180-acre infield, including the 29 acre Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing.
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[edit] Course history
NASCAR was founded by William France Sr. and a small group of fellow race promoters at Daytona Beach, Florida in 1947. The original premiere event in the series was held at the Daytona Beach Road Course. France began planning a new track for the premiere event in his fledgling series in 1953. On August 16, 1954 he signed a contract with city officials to create this new track that would become famous as the Daytona International Speedway. Ground was broken on November 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track, and the large hole in the infield was filled with water and is now known as Lake Lloyd. The speedway opened on February 22, 1959 to a crowd of 41,000 people.
The Daytona 500, the most important race for NASCAR's premier series, is held annually at Daytona International Speedway. It is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) stock car race. The list of Daytona 500 winners is very long dating back to the inaugural race in 1959, and includes Richard Petty, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, and Dale Earnhardt.
NASCAR, the premier stock car organization in the United States, holds some of its most important races on this track. These include competitions in its Craftsman Truck Series (where pickup trucks are raced), Busch Series (the stock car junior league), and Nextel Cup series. The 24 Hours of Daytona is also held at Daytona.
The racing season begins at Daytona starting with the testing sessions. The year's racing begins with Speedweeks, starting with the 24 Hours of Daytona race in the Grand American Sports Car series. Then the racing begins for the Nextel Cup with the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duel. The Craftsman Truck Series begins with the Chevy Silverado HD 250. The Busch Series begins with the Orbitz 300 and then it is back to the Nextel Cup in "The Great American Race," the Daytona 500. The Nextel Cup also features the Pepsi 400 in July at Daytona.
Lights were installed in 1998 so that the Pepsi 400 could be held at night. However, the race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires that summer. The Pepsi 400 has been held under lights ever since.
It is one of the two tracks on the circuit that uses restrictor plates to slow the cars down due to the high banking, the other being its sister track in Talladega. However, there are some differences in the racing at the two tracks, as Daytona is narrower and more handling-oriented than Talladega, which allows the huge packs to break up somewhat on long runs, which makes "the Big One" that plate tracks are famous for less frequent and usually on a start or restart, as opposed to Talladega, where such huge wrecks occurs in almost every race in almost any situation.
It also contains an attraction called Daytona USA. The winning car from the Daytona 500 is placed inside the attraction building each year.
See also: List of NASCAR race tracks
[edit] Indy Racing League
On September 26 and 27, 2006 The Indy Racing League held a compatibility test on the 10-turn, 2.73-mile modified road course, and the 12-turn 2.95-mile motorcycle road course with 5 drivers. The drivers who tested at the track were Vitor Meira, 2006 Indy 500 Champion Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, and 2005 Indy 500 and Indy Racing League champion Dan Wheldon. This marked the first time since 1959 that Indy Cars and the first time since 1984 an open wheel car have taken to the track at Daytona.
On January 31-February 1, 2007, the Indy Racing League returned for a full test involving 17 cars. No official announcements were made, but the series is reportedly considering the ultimate goal of having a race during Speedweeks 2008.[1]
[edit] Deaths at the speedway
Many notable drivers and participants, including Dale Earnhardt (possibly the most noted racer in NASCAR history), have been fatally injured during auto, motorcycle, and powerboat racing events at the Daytona International Speedway. These deaths have been the focus of widespread media attention and many safety studies, leading to the development of more effective racing seats, seatbelts, helmet restraint systems, energy-absorbing walls, and other safety-related gear.[1]
See List of Daytona International Speedway fatalities.
[edit] Current races
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - Budweiser Shootout
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - Gatorade Duel
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - Daytona 500 - "The Great American Race"
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - Pepsi 400
- NASCAR Busch Series - Orbitz 300
- NASCAR Busch Series - Winn-Dixie 250 presented by PepsiCo
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - Chevy Silverado HD 250
- IROC Round One
- IROC Round Three
- ARCA RE/MAX Series - Daytona ARCA 200
- Daytona 200 Superbike racing (motorcycles)
- Daytona Supercross (motocross racing) (motorcycles)
- Rolex 24 at Daytona
- Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series - Paul Revere 250 by Brumos
[edit] Records
| Record | Year | Date | Driver | Car Make | Time | Average Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | ||||||
| Qualifying | 1987 | February 9 |  Bill Elliott |
Ford | 42.783 | 210.364 |
| Race (500 miles) | 1980 | February 17 | Buddy Baker |
Oldsmobile | 2:48:55 | 177.602 |
| Race (400 miles) | 1980 | July 4 | Bobby Allison |
Oldsmobile | 2:18:21 | 173.473 |
| NASCAR Busch Series | ||||||
| Qualifying | 1987 | Tommy Houston |
Buick | 46.299 | 194.389 | |
| Race (300 miles) | 1985 | February 16 | Geoff Bodine |
Pontiac | 1:54:33 | 157.137 |
| Race (250 miles) | 2003 | July 4 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. |
Chevrolet | 1:37:35 | 153.715 |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | ||||||
| Qualifying | 2000 | Joe Ruttman |
Dodge | 47.984 | 187.563 | |
| Race (250 miles) | 2006 | February 17 | Mark Martin |
Ford | 1:42:18 | 146.622 |
- Most wins at Daytona International Speedway: Dale Earnhardt, 34[2]
- 1 win- Winston Cup Daytona 500
- 2 wins- Winston Cup Pepsi 400
- 6 wins- Winston Cup Budweiser Shootout
- 12 wins- Winston Cup Twin 125s
- 7 wins- NASCAR Busch Series Goody's/NAPA 300
- 6 wins- International Race of Champions
[edit] Trivia
- A Lego version of Daytona Speedway is on permanent display at Legoland California in the Florida Miniland section of the park. Miniature Lego race cars drive around the track when a visitor presses a button next to the display.
- Daytona's lighting system is the largest outdoor lighting system in the world. [3]
[edit] References
- ^ Daytona: From the Birth of Speed to the Death of the Man in Black. Hinton, Ed. Warner Books, 2001. ISBN 0-446-52677-0.
[edit] External links
- Daytona International Speedway Official Site
- Daytona International Speedway Page on NASCAR.com
- Jayski's Daytona International Speedway Page - Current and Past Daytona International Speedway News
- Early track history
- Trackpedia guide to driving this track
- Satellite picture by Google Maps
- Musco Lighting
| Current NASCAR Nextel Cup Series racetracks |
|---|
|
Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Darlington - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Joliet, Illinois - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Martinsville - Miami - Pocono - Phoenix - Richmond - Sonoma, California - Talladega - Watkins Glen |
| Current NASCAR Busch Series racetracks |
|---|
| Atlanta, Bristol, Brooklyn, Michigan, Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Dover, Fontana, California, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Joliet, Illinois, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Loudon, Madison, Illinois, Martinsville (1982–1994, 2006), Memphis, Mexico City, Miami, Milwaukee, Montreal (2007), Nashville, Phoenix, Richmond, Sparta, Kentucky, Talladega, Watkins Glen |
| Current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racetracks |
|---|
|
Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Madison, Illinois - Mansfield - Martinsville - Memphis - Miami - Milwaukee - Nashville - Phoenix - Talladega - Sparta, Kentucky |
| Tracks of IROC |
|---|
| Current Tracks Daytona International Speedway • Texas Motor Speedway • Atlanta Motor Speedway Former Tracks |
| Tracks of the USAC Championship Series |
|---|
| Former Tracks (1956-1981) Arizona Fairgrounds • Atlanta • Darlington • Dayton • Daytona • Detroit • Dover • DuQuion • Hanford • Indianapolis • Lakewood • Langhorne • Michigan • Milwaukee • Nazareth • Ontario • Phoenix • Pocono • Sacramento • Sedalia • Springfield • Syracuse • Texas World • Trenton • Williams Grove Road Courses International |
| Tracks of ARCA |
|---|
| Berlin • Chicagoland • Daytona • DuQuoin • Gateway • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Michigan • Milwaukee • Nashville • Pocono • Salem • Talladega • Toledo • USA Int'l • Winchester |
