Daytona 500 Experience

While in Daytona Beach, I experienced the Daytona Speedway "Experience". My main goal was to take the track tour and to see the NASCAR IMAX 3-D movie. The admission price of $24 covers it all.

I got in line for the 4:30pm track tour which turned out to be me and two other young fellows. Since the Sports Car Club Of America (SCCA) was racing that day, we did not get to ride on the track. Our driver stopped at the infield gate and escorted us over to Victory Lane for a photo (which could be purchased once the track tour concluded). I would have preferred the track portion of the tour... maybe next time. Upon the tram's return to the starting point, the queue was full of folks for the 5pm tour. I don't know where they came from and why they missed out on our tour. We had plenty of available seats.

Back inside the building, I stopped by to see Ryan Newman's winning Dodge Charger from this year's Daytona 500. The winner of the race loses his car for the season. They roll it into the building to be displayed just as it came out of Victory Lane... complete with oil, grime, confetti and champagne stains. Several cars were on display including Malcolm Campbell's Bluebird and one of Dale Earnhardt's #3 GM Goodwrench cars. I ended my day with the 3-D IMAX movie.

A stop by the gift shop was mandatory. All the major drivers had buttloads of branded merchandise. Put a number and a driver's name on crap and you can sell it... the Jeff Gordon juice box holder, for example. That's why a juice box comes in a box... it doesn't need a second box to hold the first box. Tony Steward, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and a few others had items you could buy for your dog... bowls, leashes, sweaters and dog cookies... all with the driver's number. They had mouse pads and cell phone caddies and shot glasses and window flags (don't you get a thrill from those folks who drive at interstate speeds with their window flags just a flappin'?). I bought son Jonathan a Tony Steward #20 Camry shirt. Jonathan drives a Camry and `Smoke` will be the owner and driver of his own team next year and it won't be in a Camry. Wear a true collector's item. In the mid 90s, Dale Earnhardt would qualify for a race at Talladega and fly in afterwards to our local Chevrolet dealer. He was at that Chevy dealer for several years but later moved on to some other dealer in the state. The year he won the pole and the race at Talladega was the last time we saw him in person. He signed the Dale Earnhardt special edition Monte Carlo on the showroom floor. We spoke to him at the autograph table and got several signed photo cards. Dale noticed that Jonathan was wearing one of his shirts and stood up to lean over the table to sign it. I discouraged that by telling Dale that "if you sign it, he will never be able to wear that shirt again". So it goes.

I left the gift shop a few bucks lighter, resisting the urge to buy needless stuff. I did buy a track pin, but I do have a rather large pin collection from NASCAR tracks I have visited.

I'll be back for a race someday now that I know my way around Daytona. As an added bonus, the Daytona Hooters is across the street from the speedway.