DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Races

Daytona International Speedway is a high banked, high-speed racetrack with plenty of history and tradition. Daytona is the second largest oval on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Circuit. It is a two and a half mile monster that is so big it doesn't just have a backstretch it has a 'SuperStretch'. The turns are banked at 31 degrees with the front stretch banked at 18 degrees. The front stretch is really a trioval shape designed with a slight bend so the fans on either side of the start/finish line can see the action without leaning forward in their seats. To give you an idea how big the speedway is there is a forty-four acre lake (Lake Lloyd) in the infield of the speedway along the 3000-foot backstretch.... umm I mean 'Superstretch'. Daytona also has more than 1800 lights making it the biggest lighted sports facility.



Start Finish Line at Daytona by bobmarley753 CC 2.0


In NASCAR size equates to speed. So much speed that NASCAR slows down the cars by mandating that they use a carburetor ' restrictor plate'. Bill Elliot's qualifying record of over 210 MPH set on February 9, 1987 will never be broken since the record was set before the use of restrictor plates. Because the restrictor plates slow the cars down they tend to run in tight packs. These tight packs make watching racing great for the fans and nerve racking for the drivers.

Talladega Superspeedway is the only other track where NASCAR requires restrictor plates.

The Daytona International Speedway hosts NASCAR’s biggest event every February, the Daytona 500. The Daytona 500 is also the first official race of the season yet it is the end of a longstretch of racing called speedweeks. Speedweeks is almost two weeks of racing, practice and qualifying which includes the Budweiser Shootout , the qualifying races, the Nationwide Series race and the NASCAR Truck Series race.

Recent Daytona 500 Winners:

What do I like about NASCAR racing at Daytona International Speedway? I like that the cars are going 190MPH just inches away from the other cars. They don't just lineup three or four wide ten cars deep and just drive in line, the cars are moving and sliding around. Its similar to driving down a freeway with a big 18 wheeler pulls up to pass you and the wind from the truck just wants to push your car off the road. But at Daytona its 43 cars going 190MPH just inches apart. One bobble and a huge pileup could happen. That huge pileup is called the BIG ONE. Sometimes half the cars could be taken out in one wreck. I personally don't like to see the BIG ONE because the odds that my favorite drivers are involved are too great.

The unique part of racing at the Daytona International Speedway is that the cars run in a draft. The draft is where two or more cars run together and are faster than one car by itself. The air off the front car creates a pocket just off the rear bumper. A second car can slip into that pocket and basically push the car in front. The two cars together have less resistance and can go faster.

Bump drafting or slam drafting is where the car in front actually bumps or even slams into the back of the other car which pushes the first car forward. This gives the second driver 'the bumper' some options. Depending on what the situation on the speedway is at that time the 'bumper' can follow the car he bumped or dive below them and hope to get pushed by another car to the lead. NASCAR has put in some rules to try to discourage bump drafting since it is frequently the cause of the BIG ONE.

Drivers must work together to get to the front of the pack but in the end it is every driver for themselves. The racing becomes a high-speed chess match. A driver who knows how to use the draft uses these 'drafting techniques' to gain one position or even several positions at a time and at the end of the race can put themselves in position to win.

The Daytona International Speedway also hosts a 400 mile night race in July. There is something about night racing that is just awesome. I don't know whether it’s the lights gleaming off the racecars or the shadows of the cars flickering off the backstretch wall but it truly is amazing to see.

Recent July Night Race Winners:

At low tide the beaches can be almost 500 feet wide and cars are permitted on most of those beaches. But aspiring NASCAR drivers will have to leave the speed at the speedway since the speed limit is only 10 MPH.

Also nearby the Daytona International Speedway is the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where families can learn about space shuttles rockets and space exploration but only if there are no racing activities at the speedway.

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