Know Your Track: Daytona

Daytona International Speedway

Track Name: Daytona International Speedway

           

Nicknames: "The World Center of Racing"

Location: Daytona Beach, Florida

Capacity: 147,000 (101,000 beginning in 2016)

Date of First Race: February 20, 1959

Layout: Daytona is a 2.5 mile "Tri-Oval" (meaning it has a bend in the front straightaway), 4 turns which are banked at 31 degrees, front stretch banking at 18 degrees and back stretch banking at 2 degrees. It is categorized as a superspeedway.

Current Sprint Cup Races: 

• February 14, 2015 - The Sprint Unlimited, an exhibition race featuring last seasons pole winners, previous Daytona 500 pole winners, previous Unlimited winners and last season's Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers. This is a 187.5 mile, 75 lap Saturday night event.
• February 19, 2015 - Budwesier Duels No. 1 and 2, qualifying races that set the starting order for the Daytona 500. This is the only time qualifying races are used in the Sprint Cup Series all season. These are 150 mile, 60 lap Thursday night races run in succession.
• February 22, 2015 - The Daytona 500, a 500 mile, 200 lap regular season points race. This is a Sunday afternoon event.
• July 5, 2015 - The Coke Zero 400, a 400 mile, 160 lap regular season points race. This, for the first time, is a Sunday night event.

Most Wins:   

• All-Time: Richard Petty, 10 wins
• Active: Jeff Gordon, 6 wins
• Latest Winner:
• 2015 Sprint Unlimited: Matt Kenseth
• 2014 Budweiser Duel No. 1: Matt Kenseth
• 2014 Budweiser Duel No. 2: Denny Hamlin
• 2014 Daytona 500: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
• 2014 Coke Zero 400: Aric Almirola

Description: Daytona is the unquestioned heart of NASCAR. It hosts the sports grandest, most coveted race, the Daytona 500, at the beginning of every season. The high banks of the speedway create the ability for some of the fastest laps ever run in stock cars (in excess of over 200 miles per hour), thus requiring the need of restrictor plates to keep the cars running a mere 190 miles per hour. The use of a restrictor plate does, however, keep the cars running in a gigantic pack, which can lead to some incredibly violent crashes:

When the drivers can keep their composure and avoid these giant wrecks, it can lead to some of the most heart-pounding, close finishes the sport has ever seen:

Notable Races: The track is one of the most historic in all of NASCAR, but here a few of the many big races that have occurred at the speedway.

• The 1979 Daytona 500 - This was the race that put NASCAR into the public eye for the first time. Much of the country was trapped in a blizzard and this was the first 500 mile race to be broadcast in full. NASCAR legend Richard Petty won the race, his sixth Daytona 500, but the fight that erupted in the infield between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison (who wrecked each other going for the win) made the race part of the "water-cooler" talk the next day and for years to come.
• The 1998 Daytona 500 - After years of Daytona 500 close-calls and heartbreaking finishes, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt finally captured what would be his one and only Daytona 500 win.
• The 2001 Daytona 500 - While Michael Waltrip, driving for Dale Earnhardt's team, went on to win the race (his first ever victory) the day was not known for his underdog win. Dale Earnhardt was involved in a crash on the final turn of the final lap that caused Earnhardt to suffer a basilar skull fracture, ultimately leading to his death on site. NASCAR lost one of it's legends that day, but is also shaped landscape of NASCAR safety to be as good as it is today.
• The 2001 Pepsi 400 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. scores the win at the track his father had died at months earlier, being pushed to the victory by none other than Michael Waltrip, his teammate and winner of the race in which his father was killed. 

Fun Facts: The track is seeking to host a Jacksonville Jaguars NFL game by 2016, just a year after their current re-construction, known as Daytona Rising, finishes. The re-construction is expected to provided NFL-like seating, as well as better sight lines.