Daytona International Speedway is a

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of thre ...

, the most prestigious race in

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA,

AMA Superbike AMA Superbike Championship is an American motorcycle racing series that has been run every year beginning in 1976. For most of its existence it has been considered the premier motorcycle road racing series in the United States. It is sanctioned b ...

, IMSA, SCCA, and

Motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

. The track features multiple layouts including the primary high-speed

tri-oval A tri-oval is a shape which derives its name from the two other shapes it most resembles, a triangle and an oval. Rather than meeting at sharp, definable angles as the sides of a triangle do, in a tri-oval these angles are instead rounded into s ...

, a

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

course, a motorcycle course, and a karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's infield includes the Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is operated by NASCAR pursuant to a lease with the City of Daytona Beach on the property that runs until 2054.

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

is Daytona International Speedway's all-time winningest driver, with a total of 34 career victories (12- Daytona 500 Qualifying Races) (7- NASCAR Xfinity Series Races) (6- Busch Clash Races) (6- IROC Races) (2- Pepsi 400 July Races) (1- The 1998 Daytona 500). The track was built in 1959 by NASCAR founder William "Bill" France Sr. to host racing that was held at the former

Daytona Beach Road Course The Daytona Beach and Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It originally became famous as the location where 15 world land speed records were set. Beach and ...

. 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 third-largest single-lit outdoor sports facility. The speedway has been renovated four times, with the infield renovated in 2004 and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010. The track is north of

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

. On January 22, 2013, the fourth speedway renovation was unveiled. On July 5, 2013, ground was broken on "Daytona Rising" to remove backstretch seating and completely redevelop the frontstretch seating. The renovation was by design-builder Barton Malow Company in partnership with Rossetti Architects. The project was completed in January 2016, and cost

US $ The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...

400 million. It emphasized improved fan experience with five expanded and redesigned fan entrances (called "injectors"), as well as wider and more comfortable seats, and more restrooms and concession stands. After the renovations were complete, the track's grandstands had 101,500 permanent seats with the ability to increase permanent seating to 125,000. The project was finished before the start of Speedweeks in 2016.

Track history

Construction

founder

William France Sr. William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992), also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill, was an American businessman and racing driver. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based stock ca ...

began planning for the track in 1953 as a way to promote the series, which at the time was racing on the

. France met with Daytona Beach engineer Charles Moneypenny 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 Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan to visit the Ford Proving Grounds which had a high-speed test track with banked corners. Ford shared their engineering design of the track with Moneypenny, 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. Daytona International Speedway 2011

The city commission agreed to lease the parcel of land adjacent to Daytona Beach Municipal 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 Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

oil millionaire,

Clint Murchison, Sr. Clinton Williams "Clint" Murchison Sr. (April 11, 1895 – June 20, 1969) was a noted Texas-based oil magnate and political operative. Among his companies was the Southern Union Company. He was also the father of Dallas Cowboys owner Clint ...

Murchison lent France $600,000 along with the construction equipment necessary to build the track. France also secured funding from

Pepsi-Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

designer

Harley Earl Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever ...

, a second mortgage on his home and selling 300,000 stock shares to local residents. Ground broke on construction of the speedway on November 25, 1957. To build the high banking, crews had to excavate over a million square yards of soil from the track's infield. Because of the high water table in the area, the excavated hole filled with water to form what is now known as Lake Lloyd, named after Joseph "Sax" Lloyd, one of the original six members of the Daytona Beach Speedway Authority. (The lake was stocked with 65,000 fish, and France arranged speedboat races on it.) 22 tons of lime mortar had to be brought in to form the track's binding base, over which

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

was laid. Because of the extreme degree of banking, Moneypenny had to come up with a way to pave the incline. He connected the paving equipment to bulldozers anchored at the top of the banking. This allowed the paving equipment to pave the banking without slipping or rolling down the incline. Moneypenny subsequently patented his construction method and later designed

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

and

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track ...

. By December 1958, France had begun to run out of money and relied on race ticket sales to complete construction. He also received a substantial sum of money from the

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

company after attempting to obtain the money to finish construction from the

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...

Company and being turned down. For years from when the track opened to France's death, France never allowed Coca-Cola to be sold as a concession at any of the tracks he owned as a result.

Daytona International Speedway on the day of the Daytona 500

The first practice run on the new track was on February 6, 1959. On February 22, 1959, 42,000 people attended the inaugural Daytona 500. Its finish was as startling as the track itself: Lee Petty beat Johnny Beauchamp in a

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

that took three days to adjudicate.Kettlewell, p.503. When the track opened it was the fastest race track to host a stock car race, until

opened 10 years later. On April 4, it hosted a

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...

event which saw Jim Rathmann beat Dick Rathmann and

Rodger Ward Rodger M. Ward (January 10, 1921 – July 5, 2004) was a World War II P-38 aviator in the United States Army Air Forces, and an American race driver with 26 victories in top echelon open-wheel racing in North America, two Indianapolis 500 v ...

, at an average speed of , at the time the fastest motor race ever. It was the occasion of Daytona's first fatality:

George Amick George Reggie "Little George" Amick (October 24, 1924 – April 4, 1959) was an American racecar driver, mainly competing in the American National Championship. He was killed in a crash in a USAC race at Daytona International Speedway. Racing ...

, attempting to overtake for third late in the race, hit a wall and was killed. April 5, a scheduled

event (shortened to by darkness) was won by

Roberto Mieres Roberto Casimiro Mieres (3 December 1924 – 26 January 2012) was a racing driver from Mar del Plata, Argentina. He participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 7 June 1953. He scored a total of 13 championship ...

and

Fritz d'Orey Frederico José Carlos Themudo "Fritz" d'Orey (25 March 1938 – 31 August 2020) was a Brazilian racing driver of German and Portuguese descent. He participated in three Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highes ...

, who shared a

Porsche RSK RSK may stand for: * RSK Group, a UK consultancy group * Republic of Serbian Krajina * Robinson–Schensted–Knuth correspondence in mathematics * Ribosomal s6 kinase, protein kinasesr * RSK Sanyo Broadcasting, Japan * Red Skin Kingz, Native Ame ...

, which proved more durable than more potent competition. 2017 Daytona 500 - Looking Westward Along Grandstands

Lights were installed around the track in 1998 to run NASCAR's July race, the

Coke Zero 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series c ...

at night. The track was the world's largest single lighted outdoor sports facility until being surpassed by

Losail International Circuit The Losail International Circuit or Lusail International Circuit (Arabic: حلبة لوسيل الدولية) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar. Built in just under a year by 1,000 worker ...

in 2008.

Musco Lighting Musco Lighting is a privately owned American company that specializes in design, manufacture of sports and large area lighting systems. Based out of Oskaloosa, Iowa, Musco is responsible for lighting a full range of sports facilities, from Daytona ...

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.

Layouts

Tri-oval

Daytona's

is long with 31° banking in the turns and 18° banking at the start/finish line. The front straight is long and the back straight (or "superstretch") is 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 NASCAR Cup Series circuit that uses

restrictor plate A restrictor plate or air restrictor is a device installed at the intake of an engine to limit its power. This kind of system is occasionally used in road vehicles (e.g., motorcycles) for insurance purposes, but mainly in automobile racing, to li ...

s to slow the cars down due to the high speeds, the other being

. On July 15, 2010, repaving of the track began. This came almost a year earlier than planned due to the track coming apart during the

2010 Daytona 500 The 2010 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 52nd running of the Daytona 500, it was held on February 14, 2010, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, before a crowd of abo ...

. The project used an estimated 50,000 tons of asphalt to repave including the racing surface, apron, skid pads and pit road. Because of good weather, the project was completed ahead of schedule. On October 9, 2013,

Colin Braun Colin Braun (; born September 22, 1988) is an American racing driver. He is the 2014 and 2015 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype Challenge Champion and currently drives the No. 54 CORE autosport Ligier LMP3 for CORE autosport in the IMS ...

drove a

Daytona Prototype A Daytona Prototype is a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype racing class, specificall ...

car prepared by

Michael Shank Racing Meyer Shank Racing (formerly Michael Shank Racing) is an American auto racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and IMSA SportsCar Championship. History Atlantic Championship Michael Shank as an owner of Michael Shank Racing, he ...

to set a single-lap record on the tri-oval configuration of . During NASCAR events, it takes less than a minute for the cars to complete a lap around the tri-oval course.

Road courses

While the more famous

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

is held near the

summer solstice The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...

, Daytona's endurance race is held in winter (meaning 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. The road course was built in 1959 and first hosted a three-hour sports car race called the Daytona Continental in 1962. The race length became in 1964, and in 1966 was extended to a 24-hour endurance race known as the

Rolex 24 at Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...

. It was shortened again to six hours in 1972 and the 1974 rendition of the race was cancelled entirely. In 1973, a very sharp chicane was added at the end of the backstretch, approaching oval turn three. In 1984 and 1985, the layout was modified, re-profiling road course turns 1 and 2, and moving what is now turn 3 (nicknamed the "International Horseshoe") closer to its preceding turns. Also, the chicane on the backstretch was modified. A new entry leg was constructed approximately earlier, resulting in a longer, three-legged, "bus stop" shape. Cars would now enter in the first leg, bypass the second leg, and exit out of the existing third leg. Passing would now be possible inside the longer chicane. The construction resulted in a final length of for the complete road course. In 2003, the backstretch chicane was modified once again. The middle leg was repaved and widened, and now cars would enter through the first leg, and exit out of the second leg. The existing third leg was abandoned. This allowed cars a cleaner entry into oval turn three. After favorable results, in 2010 the third leg was demolished and removed permanently. Daytona International Speedway - Moto Course

Daytona International Speedway - Moto Course

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 . The Daytona SportBike that runs the Daytona 200 however, uses the main road course except for the motorcycle Pedro Rodríguez Hairpin (tighter than the one used for cars; the car version is used as an acceleration lane for motorcycles). On September 26 and 27, 2006, the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

held a compatibility test on the 10-turn, modified road course, and the 12-turn motorcycle road course with 5 drivers. The drivers who tested at the track were

Vítor Meira Vítor Meira (born March 27, 1977) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He formerly competed in the IndyCar Series and has twice finished second in the Indianapolis 500. IndyCar Series 2002 After participating in an open test for Panther Racing ...

Sam Hornish Jr. Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017. He began his top-tier raci ...

Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani an ...

, Scott Dixon and

Dan Wheldon Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...

. This marked the first time since 1984 that open wheel cars have taken to the track at Daytona. On January 31 – February 1, 2007, IndyCar returned for a full test involving 17 cars. NASCAR DIS Road Course Layout

On July 8, 2020, NASCAR announced that it would race the Daytona road course in all of its national series for the first time in mid-August (with the Cup Series racing the Go Bowling 235), due to current

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

health restrictions in

New York state New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

(requiring 14 days self-isolation on arrival from other states) preventing the use of

Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...

. On July 30, a modification of the course to add a chicane near the exit of Turn 12 (NASCAR Turn Four) was announced, lengthening the course to 3.61 miles.

Supercross

During

Daytona Beach Bike Week Daytona Beach Bike Week, also called Daytona Bike Week, is a motorcycle event and rally held annually in Daytona Beach, Florida. Since 2021, events have been added in DeLeon Springs. Approximately 500,000 people make their way to the rally are ...

, a supercross track is built between the 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 2008–2013 track configurations were designed by former champion,

Ricky Carmichael Richard Joseph Carmichael (born November 27, 1979) is an American former professional motocross and stock car racing driver. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1997 to 2007 and in NASCAR from 2008 to 2011. Carmichael is notab ...

. Daytona has hosted an AMA Supercross Championship round uninterruptedly since 1971.

Flat track and infield kart track

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 & 2 of the main superspeedway. It seats 5,000 in temporary grandstands and opened in December 2009 for WKA KartWeek. From 2010 to 2016, it also hosted the AMA Grand National Championship, before it was moved in 2017 to the tri-oval section and became a TT course. There is also a short paved kart/autocross track in the infield just inside of turn 3. The SCCA holds autocross on this track in addition to hosting sprint karting races during KartWeek.

Short track

In February 2012, it was announced that a short track would be constructed along the backstretch of the Speedway's main course, for NASCAR's lower-tier series to compete at during Speedweeks called the

UNOH Battle at the Beach The University of Northwestern Ohio Battle at the Beach was a nonpoints, all-star race that brought together the top drivers in NASCAR's lower-level series and club racing. A successor to the Toyota All-Star Showdown, held from 2003 to 2011 at ...

, which is similar to the Toyota All-Star Showdown, formerly held at Irwindale Speedway. The first races were held on that track in February 2013. The track was shortened to a oval in 2014 by shorter straightaways. The future of racing at the short track became uncertain after 2015 with the grandstands on the back straightaway being demolished as a part of the Daytona Rising project.

Football

In the fall of 1959, the track hosted several high school football games for the Father Lopez Green Wave in the first year of the school's football program. The track hosted four

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

games featuring the Daytona-based Bethune–Cookman Wildcats in 1974 and 1975. In early 2014 track president Joie Chitwood expressed a desire to bring football back to the track.

Soccer

On July 2 and 3, 2022, the track hosted Daytona Soccer Fest, a 2 day event highlighted by a friendly match between heated Colombian rivals

América de Cali América de Cali S. A., best known as América de Cali or América, is a Colombian professional football club based in Cali. It competes in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight league of Colombian football. The team plays its home games at ...

and

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful footbal ...

and a

NWSL The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

regular season match between the Orlando Pride and

Racing Louisville FC Racing Louisville Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League team based in Louisville, Kentucky. It began playing in 2021 at Lynn Family Stadium. The team is owned by Soccer Holdings LLC, which also owns Louisville City FC of the USL Cham ...

Video games

In 1994,

Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

released an arcade game called ''

Daytona USA is an arcade racing video game developed by Sega AM2 in 1993 and released by Sega in 1994. Players race stock cars on one of three courses. The first game released on the Sega Model 2 three-dimensional arcade system board, a prototype debute ...

'', using their Model 2 Arcade hardware. It was developed by their famed "AM2" development team. It featured a fully detailed 3D model of the circuit for the very first time. The soundtrack for the game included vocals by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi. It is widely considered to be one of the most successful and influential racing games of all time. ''Daytona USA'' spawned many sequels, both in the arcades and on various home videogame consoles. The latest version, ''Daytona Championship USA'', was released to arcades in 2017.

iRacing.com ''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online racing simulation video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, t ...

have laser-scanned the facility twice. The first in 2008, and 2011 once the repave was completed. Both are available in official racing series. There has been no word to when and if it will be re-scanned now that the Daytona Rising project has now been completed. Both the oval layout and Rolex 24 Hour layout are available in both

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

video games '' Gran Turismo 5'' and ''

Gran Turismo 6 ''Gran Turismo 6'' is a racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sixth major release and twelfth game overall in the '' Gran Turismo'' video game series. It ...

'', and in the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 i ...

game ''

Gran Turismo 7 ''Gran Turismo 7'' is a racing simulation video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game is the eighth mainline installment in the '' Gran Turismo'' series. The game was announced on June 11, ...

''. Daytona International Speedway is also featured in ''

Forza Motorsport 6 ''Forza Motorsport 6'' is a 2015 racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One. It is the sixth ''Forza Motorsport'' and eighth overall installment in the '' Forza'' series, and available w ...

'' and '' Forza Motorsport 7'' for the Xbox One and Windows 10. ''

Real Racing 3 ''Real Racing 3'' is a 2013 racing game developed by Firemonkeys Studios and published by Electronic Arts for iOS, Android, Nvidia Shield and BlackBerry 10 devices. It was released on iOS and Android on February 28, 2013, under the freemium bu ...

''s second NASCAR update featured the Daytona International Speedway as a new circuit coming in three layouts. In addition to the oval and Rolex 24 Hour layouts in ''Gran Turismo'', there also exists a Daytona 200 layout in the game.

Fatalities

A total of 40 people have been fatally injured in on-track incidents: 23 car drivers, twelve motorcyclists, three go-kart drivers, one powerboat racer, and one track worker. The most notorious death was that of

, who was killed on the last lap of the

2001 Daytona 500 The 2001 Daytona 500, the 43rd running of the event, was the first race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series schedule. It was held on February 18, 2001, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, consisting of 200 laps and ...

on February 18, 2001.

Fan amenities

UNOH Fanzone

The UNOH 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. 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. The 2004 renovation of the infield, headed by design firm

HNTB HNTB Corporation is an American infrastructure design firm. Founded in 1914 in Kansas City, Missouri, HNTB began with the partnership made by Ernest Emmanuel Howard with the firm Waddell & Harrington, founded in 1907. Considered as one of the ...

, was the first major renovation of the infield in the history of the track. 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 to 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. Following the success of the UNOH Fanzone at Daytona,

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...

and

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...

each built a similar infield fanzone. On December 9, 2016, the speedway announced that the

University of Northwestern Ohio The University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) is a private university in Lima, Ohio. It was founded in 1920. As of 2020, the school had an enrollment of approximately 4,500 students on a campus. The university, approved by the Ohio Department of ...

purchased entitlement rights to the fanzone, and that the area will be named 'UNOH Fanzone'.

Budweiser Party Porch

The Budweiser Party Porch was a porch located along the backstretch of the track. It was built on top of a portion of the backstretch grandstands and includes a , sign, the largest sign in motorsports. The porch featured tables, food and drinks, offering fans a "fun-filled" atmosphere that breaks fans away from the confines of grandstand seating without sacrificing the view. Below the porch was an interactive fan zone featuring amusement rides, a go-kart track, show cars and merchandise trailers. After the 2015 racing season, the Party Porch was torn down with the backstretch grandstands as part of the DAYTONA Rising project.

Events

Current

2.5-mile superspeedway

2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400 final stage from frontstretch

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

**Points-paying races:

, Coke Zero Sugar 400 **Qualifying races: Bluegreen Vacations Duel *

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

** Beef. It's What's For Dinner. 300 ** Wawa 250 *

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of ...

** NextEra Energy 250 *

ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

** Lucas Oil 200

Road course

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

(formerly Grand-American

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

) **

* IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge **BMW Performance 200 *Historic Sports Car Racing **Classic 24 Hours at Daytona *

Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includ ...

**Trans-Am Finale * WKA Vega Road Racing Series driven by Mazda **Daytona Kart Week *

ChampCar Endurance Series The ChampCar Endurance Series is a budget class endurance race held on paved road race courses across North America, formerly known as the ChumpCar World Series, run by ChumpCar International Inc. Founded in 2009, the range changed its name in ...

**The 14-Hours of Daytona Beach * WRL **Concorso Daytona 14 Hours * MotoAmerica (from 2022) **

Daytona 200 The Daytona 200 is an annual motorcycle road racing competition held in early spring at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was founded in 1937 when it was sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Associat ...

Other

* Monster Energy AMA Supercross **Daytona Supercross by Honda *

Amateur Supercross *AMA Pro Flat Track Racing **Daytona Flat Track *WKA Mazda/Bridgestone Manufacturers Cup Series **Daytona Kart Week *WKA Speedway Dirt **Daytona Dirt World Championships *Daytona Beach Half Marathon *

Welcome to Rockville Welcome to Rockville is a four-day hard rock and heavy metal music festival. The festival is held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. History The first Welcome to Rockville was a one-day event held on Moth ...

Former

*AMA Daytona SportBike **

Brumos Porsche 250 The WeatherTech 240, also previously known as the Paul Revere 250, was a sports car race held on the road course at Daytona International Speedway on or around Independence Day, the same weekend of the NASCAR Cup Series' Firecracker 400. It has b ...

(race ran by several series & sanctioning bodies) *

IROC International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...

**Superspeedway (1975–1978, 1985–1989, 1991–2006) **Road Course (1974, 2006) *

ISCARS Dash Touring Series The ISCARS Dash Touring Series (previously known as the NASCAR Baby Grand National, Goody's Dash Series and IPOWER Dash Series among others) was a stock car racing series created by NASCAR in 1973, initially running solely at North Wilkesboro Sp ...

(formerly NASCAR Goody's Dash Series & IPOWER Dash) **IPOWER Dash 150 (1979–2004) **DaytonaUSA.com 150 (2001) *

LATAM Challenge Series LATAM Challenge Series is an open-wheel racing series based in Latin America. LATAM is the replacement for Formula Renault 2000 de America. Venues In the 7 seasons, 20 venues were used, all road courses. The races were mostly held in Mexico unt ...

(2014) * NASCAR Convertible Division ** Can-Am Duels (race now used for the NASCAR Cup Series) (1959) * USAC Championship Car *

** O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 *

** Super Start Batteries 188 *

BrakeBest Select 159 The BrakeBest Select 159 presented by O'Reilly, also known as the BrakeBest Brake Pads 159, was a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at the Daytona International Speedway infield road course in Daytona Beach, Florida. Originally created ...

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nation ...

**General Tire 100 **

Daytona 100 The Daytona 200 is an annual motorcycle road racing competition held in early spring at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was founded in 1937 when it was sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Associati ...

(1959) *NASCAR K&N Pro Series East **

on backstretch oval (.375 miles) *NASCAR

Whelen Modified Tour The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) (previously the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour and NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series from 1985 until 2005) is a modified stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified Division. The Mod ...

& Whelen Southern Modified Tour **

on backstretch oval *

United States motorcycle Grand Prix The United States motorcycle Grand Prix was a round of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship. History The first United States Grand Prix was held in 1961 as a non-championship race at the Daytona International Speedway on the ...

(1961–1965)

Track records

As of February 2015, track records on the tri-oval are as follows. As of January 2022, fastest official race lap records on the road course layouts are listed as:

Weather and climate

Daytona has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

( Köppen ''Cfa''), which enables year-round use of the facility. Light frosts are in theory possible, but unlikely, during the 24-hour event's nighttime under clear conditions, but general racing conditions are mild also during winter. With a dry season taking place during the winter months, the 500 generally has good odds of being run without rain delays. The summer event under the floodlights is more likely to undergo disturbances, due to the rainy tendencies of the hot, muggy, and humid summers. Due to the complete difference of seasons, the two NASCAR Cup races at Daytona see vastly different track conditions.

Gallery

File:Daytona-International-Speedway-June-30-2005-Night.jpg, Main Entrance at night (prior to renovation) File:NASCAR practice.jpg, Cars practicing in 2004 File:Brumos-Porsche-250-Caution.jpg, Old Flagstand File:Daytona-International-Speedway-July-1-2005.jpg, Grandstand (prior to renovation) File:Brumos-Porsche-250-StartCaution.jpg,

Paul Revere 250 The WeatherTech 240, also previously known as the Paul Revere 250, was a sports car race held on the road course at Daytona International Speedway on or around Independence Day, the same weekend of the NASCAR Cup Series' Firecracker 400. It has be ...

restart after a caution File:Pepsi-400-2005-Raceby.jpg, View from the former backstretch grandstands at night File:Enduros.jpg, Endurance kart race File:Daytona International Speedway skidmarks on racetrack view of grandstand.jpg, Racetrack skidmarks and view of old grandstand File:Daytona International Speedway.jpg, File:Lake lloyd daytona.jpg, View of Lake Lloyd File:Garages daytona.jpg, Infield garages File:Daytona presidents row.jpg, Infield view from President's Row File:Victory lane from skybox daytona.jpg, View of Victory Lane from a skybox File:Dale Earnhardt Sr statue.jpg, Statue of Dale Earnhardt Sr. holding his winner's trophy File:Josh bilicki (40197697643).jpg, Rolex Clock at the garage

References

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

' website
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at

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

website
Daytona Deaths Chart
at

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

's website {{authority control NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway Sports venues completed in 1959 Motorsport venues in Florida Motorsport in Daytona Beach, Florida Sports venues in Volusia County, Florida Tourist attractions in Daytona Beach, Florida NASCAR tracks ARCA Menards Series tracks International Race of Champions tracks Grand Prix motorcycle circuits IMSA GT Championship circuits Buildings and structures in Daytona Beach, Florida 1959 establishments in Florida