Roughly 60 years ago, a shade-tree mechanic with political ambitions named Bill France convinced the local, state, and federal governments to help him build a temple to speed on what amounted to swampland adjacent to the local dog track. For the past 57 years, that facility, known simply as the Daytona International Speedway, has gone on to host the Super Bowl of auto racing where one of the fastest growing sports on Earth begins their yearly jaunt around the raceways of the United States.
The speedway is a prime example of the diverse nature of the United States. Built to be the ultimate in racing entertainment, it takes the best aspects of modern football and baseball stadiums and applies them to the auto racing world.
For the ultra wealthy amongst us, it offers first class dining and air conditioned comfort in the Daytona 500 Club, where your every need is met and exceeded. You are treated to meals prepared by five star chefs, alcohol from the finest bartenders, and given the opportunity to talk with the competitors and track officials on a one-on-one basis.
For those of us with a slightly smaller bankroll, you can enjoy the many corporate suites, located on both the front and super stretch sections of the track. These may not offer the one-on-one access, but do offer many of the same amenities as well as sweeping vistas of the entire facility.
Guests of the teams, such as sponsors and media, are able to explore the garage and pit areas. These hot passes give you virtually carte blanche access to the teams, drivers, owners, and other racing professionals, and let you get up close and personal when all the action starts on the track. You are even provided the ability to participate in pre-race festivities, standing close to your favorite car on the grid, and taking in all the majesty that is the Daytona 500.
Even the grandstands are set up in a class system. Unlike many other sports, the most expensive seats are generally the ones that are furthest from the track. The upper rows, which tower more than 500 feet above the ground, are more than twice the price of the lower rows. Tickets for the 2015 event started at $65 per person, and with a seating capacity of more than 100,000, you can imagine the vast sums of money that flow into the coffers of the International Speedway Corporation each year!
The facility even caters to those people who might not even end up inside the gates. A large Midway area adjacent to the track offers a wide variety of entertainment options, each one relating in one way or another to the sponsors who make the entire race possible. This year, they even had a Toyota themed ferris wheel!
For a sport that has often been labeled a blue collar, redneck paradise, it has adapted over the years to reflect the economic, social, and even racial diversity that reflects the country as a whole. Stay tuned for part 2 of the series, where we discuss the race teams and how they are also a reflection of the dichotomy that is the United States of America, as well as part three which talks about the drivers in the series, and part four which reveals more about the most passionate fans in motor racing.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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