DAYTONA – FLORIDA 2017

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DAYTONA BEACH – FLORIDA 2017

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THE 6 MOST INTERESTING FACTS about Daytona International Speedway. The World Center of Racing has long been hosting action-packed races since 1959, this speedway has attracted millions of fans who enjoy rooting for their favorite driver to cross the finish line. Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. Home of the Daytona 500 (NASCAR). In addition to NASCAR, the track also hostS races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, and Motocross.

‹•› THE TRACK TOOK OVER A YEAR TO BUILD. The track was built in 1959 by NASCAR founder William "Bill" France, Sr. to host racing that was held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course.

‹•› IT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST OF ITS KIND, two full Disneylands would fit inside Daytona International Speedway’s 180-acre infield. The largest outdoor stadium in the U.S. It includes 11 social areas, known as neighborhoods, each measuring the size of a football field. It's the third-largest single-lit outdoor sports facility, with over 2,000 lights installed since the first night race in 1998. The Size of the Earth Mattered. The Daytona International Speedway measures nearly 1 mile, and builders had to take the curvature of the Earth into account.

‹•› IT'S HOSTED RACES FOR OVER 60 YEARS. The first race held at the track was the Daytona 500 in 1959. The 1959 First Annual 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona was the second race of the 1959 NASCAR Grand National (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) season. It was held on February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectators. It was the first race held at the 2.5-mile (4.0 kilometer) Daytona International Speedway.

‹•› The Pontiac Trans-Am is the most-used DAYTONA 500 Pace Car, having made 13 appearances in the Great American Race.

‹•› U.S President Served as Grand Marshal. George W. Bush is the only person to have served as Grand Marshal for both the DAYTONA 500 and the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola.

DAYTONA BEACH. A city on Florida’s Atlantic coast known for Daytona International Speedway, which hosts February’s iconic Daytona 500 NASCAR race. The beach has hard-packed sand where driving is permitted in designated areas. Near the boardwalk’s rides and arcades, Daytona Beach Bandshell stages free summer concerts. Steps from the beach, Daytona Lagoon water park offers go-karts, laser tag, and waterslides.