Daytona International Speedway: Difference between revisions
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===Deaths at the speedway=== |
===Deaths at the speedway=== |
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In the history of the Daytona International Speedway ([[as of 2005]]), many people have been killed at the speedway. [[Marshall Teague]] became track's first fatality, in a practice crash in 1959. |
In the history of the Daytona International Speedway ([[as of 2005]]), many people have been killed at the speedway. [[Marshall Teague]] became track's first fatality, in a practice crash in 1959. Slick Johnson died from injuries in an [[Auto Racing Club of America|ARCA]] race in 1990. [[Bruce Jacobi]], [[Ricky Knotts]], [[Friday Hassler]] and [[Talmadge Prince]] were killed in qualifying races. [[Neil Bonnett]] and [[Rodney Orr]] were killed in practice sessions for the 1994 Daytona 500; and Dale Earnhardt — the first person ever to be killed '''in''' the Daytona 500 — was killed on the final lap in [[2001]]. |
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[[Ray Paprota]] struck and killed track worker [[Roy Weaver]] in [[2004]] during the IPOWER Dash Series 150. |
[[Ray Paprota]] struck and killed track worker [[Roy Weaver]] in [[2004]] during the IPOWER Dash Series 150. |
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Revision as of 23:40, 10 July 2006
Template:Infobox Nascar Racetrack Daytona International Speedway is a superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is a 2.5 mile (4 km) tri-oval race track facility with a seating capacity of 168,000 spectators. It hosts races of motor vehicles of various kinds, including go-karts, dirt bikes, motorcycles, sports cars, modified pickup trucks, and stock cars. The facility also includes a 3.56 mile (5.7 km) road course and a 180-acre infield, including the 29 acre Lake Lloyd.
Course history
NASCAR was founded by William France Sr. at Daytona Beach, Florida in 1947. The original premiere event in the series was held at the Daytona Beach Road Course. France began planning a new track for the premiere event in his fledgling series in 1953. On August 16 1954 he signed a contract with city officials to create this new track that would become famous as the Daytona International Speedway. Ground was broken on November 25 1957. The speedway opened on February 22 1959 to a crowd of 41,000 people.
The NASCAR Championship's most important race, the Daytona 500, is held annually at Daytona International Speedway. It is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) stock car race. The list of Daytona 500 winners is very long dating back to the inaugural race in 1959, and includes "The King" Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt.
NASCAR, the premier stock car organization in the United States, holds some of its most important races on this track. These include competitions in its Craftsman Truck Series (where pickup trucks are raced), Busch Series (the stock car junior league), and Nextel Cup series. The Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona is also held at Daytona.
The racing season begins at Daytona starting with the testing sessions. The year's racing begins with the 24 Hours of Daytona race in the Grand American Sports Car series. Then the racing begins for the Nextel Cup with the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duel. The Craftsman Truck Series begins with the GM Flex Fuel 250. The Busch Series begins with the Hershey's Kissables 300, and then it is back to the Nextel Cup in "The Great American Race," the Daytona 500. The Nextel Cup also features the Pepsi 400 in July at Daytona.
It also contains an attraction called Daytona USA, where the winning car is placed for a whole year.
See also: List of NASCAR race tracks
Deaths at the speedway
In the history of the Daytona International Speedway (as of 2005), many people have been killed at the speedway. Marshall Teague became track's first fatality, in a practice crash in 1959. Slick Johnson died from injuries in an ARCA race in 1990. Bruce Jacobi, Ricky Knotts, Friday Hassler and Talmadge Prince were killed in qualifying races. Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr were killed in practice sessions for the 1994 Daytona 500; and Dale Earnhardt — the first person ever to be killed in the Daytona 500 — was killed on the final lap in 2001. Ray Paprota struck and killed track worker Roy Weaver in 2004 during the IPOWER Dash Series 150.
Current races
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - Budweiser Shootout
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - Gatorade Duel
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - Daytona 500
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - Pepsi 400
- NASCAR Busch Series - Hershey's Kissables 300
- NASCAR Busch Series - Winn-Dixie 250 presented by PepsiCo
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - GM Flex Fuel 250
- Daytona 200 Superbike racing (motorcycles)
- Daytona Supercross (motocross racing) (motorcycles)
- Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona
- Grand-American Sports Car Series - Paul Revere 250 by Brumos
- ARCA Re-Max Series Advance Discount Auto Parts 200
- IROC Round 1 (2.5 mile oval) & 3 (New in 2006, to be run on the infield road course)
Records
- NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying: Bill Elliott, 42.783 sec. (210.364 mph, 338.548 km/h), February 9, 1987 before restrictor plates.
- NASCAR Nextel Cup Race: Buddy Baker, 285.823 km/h (177.602 mph), February 17, 1980 before restrictor plates.
- NASCAR Busch Series Qualifying: Tommy Houston, 46.299 sec. (194.389 mph), 1987 before restrictor plates.
- NASCAR Busch Series Race: Geoffrey Bodine, 157.137 mph, February 16, 1985 before restrictor plates.
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: Joe Ruttman, 47.984 sec. (187.63 mph) 2000
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race: Mark Martin, 146.622 mph, February 17, 2006
External links
- Daytona International Speedway Official Site
- Daytona International Speedway Page on NASCAR.com
- Jayski's Daytona International Speedway Page - Current and Past Daytona International Speedway News
- Early track history