I had the opportunity to visit the Daytona International Speedway a couple of days prior to the running of the 58th Annual Daytona 500, which took place Feb. 21.
I was at the track for Mack Trucks’ announcement agreement designating Mack as the “Official Hauler of NASCAR.”
This took place during the Daytona 500 Media Day on Feb. 16. This is when the press have an opportunity to interview all of the drivers taking part in the race.
Following the event, the select truck trade press members invited to take part in the event – of which I was one – were treated to a personal tour of the speedway, which just completed a three-year, $400 million remodeling project dubbed Daytona Rising.
The racetrack, which calls itself The World Center of Racing, was built in 1959 Daytona Beach, Fla. It has now been turned into something new to motorsports: a real stadium.
The redevelopment includes the replacement of all the 15-inch wide seats with new 20-inch seats (there are more than 100,000 seats). The entire grandstand was reworked and the angle of the seats was increased for improved sightlines.
The structure underneath the grandstand is all new. There are multiple concourse levels, 40 escalators, 14 elevators, twice as many restrooms, more than 60 luxury suites and a completely revamped hospitality experience for corporate guests.
A video of the remolding project can be viewed here.
Photos from Mack’s NASCAR announcement and the Daytona 500 Media Day can be viewed here.