Daytona Rising: A Grand Debut

DAYTONA-Rising_CenterInjector

By Keith Waltz

After undergoing a 2.5-year, $400 million reimagining, the new Daytona In ternational Speedway debuts during Speedweeks 2016.

1 FAN INJECTORS Five expanded and redesigned entrances, or “injectors,” lead fans to a series of escalators and elevators, transporting them to three different concourse levels. Each level features spacious areas, or “neighborhoods,” along the nearly mile-long frontstretch. In addition, Daytona International Speedway now has more than 60 luxury suites with trackside views.

2 THE NEW STANDARD The new Daytona International Speedway takes the NASCAR fan experience to an entirely new level, offering amenities only previously seen in the nation’s premier sports arenas and stadiums. To further elevate the experience, the grandstand also includes hundreds of club and loge seats, along with a new hospitality level.

3 MASSIVE GRANDSTAND Daytona International Speedway’s new grandstand is nearly one mile in length. Given its size, the design had to take into account the curvature of the Earth, which measures seven inches from the grandstand’s end to end. In addition, the amount of steel used in the project equals one percent of the U.S. annual steel output.

4 ECONOMIC ENGINE The Daytona Rising project reportedly generated 6,300 new jobs, $300 million in labor income and more than $85 million in new tax revenue. Here, workers install seat backs and bottoms in the grandstand area that overlooks the speedway between the exit of Turn 4 and the entrance to pit road.

5 INTERESTED VISITORS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Ryan Newman (left) and Martin Truex Jr. took a tour of the Daytona Rising construction project during one of their visits to Daytona International Speedway. The iconic 2.5-mile track was the vision of NASCAR founder Bill France and has hosted stock car racing since 1959.

6 ENORMOUS UNDERTAKING Ground was broken on the Daytona Rising Project in July 2013 and construction was completed in the days leading up to the 2016 racing season. The legendary speedway now has approximately 101,500 permanent, wider and more comfortable seats, twice as many restrooms and three times as many concession stands.