Daytona Int'l Speedway's "gleaming, newly renovated grandstand makes its full debut" for Sunday’s Daytona 500 with the goal of making it "similar to watching in a stadium," according to David Scott of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. The $400M Daytona Rising project now gives the track 40 escalators, 46,000 less seats and a $20M "projected annual revenue increase to ISC from the renovated track, mostly from the more than 60 luxury suites." Driver and fan safety "was included" in the renovations. In reaction to Austin Dillon’s crash along the frontstretch at the end of last year’s Coke Zero 400 that sent his car into the catch fence, the first row of seats "have been moved back and higher off the ground." The track has also "completed the installation of SAFER barriers along all of its walls" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/18). Meanwhile, ISC CEO Lesa France Kennedy said race fans have been "very upfront" about what they were looking for with Daytona Rising. Kennedy: "They wanted a more interactive experience, a better guest experience and that's what we tried to do." She added of the pressure associated with the project, "It comes with a lot of excitement, but I would be really not telling you the truth if I said that I wasn't nervous. ... This is the first impression that people are going to get, and it needs to be right" ("Fox Sports Live," FS1, 2/19).
CHECK US OUT: Toyota VP/Marketing, Performance & Guest Experience Ed Laukes said of the company's branded "injector" entrace at DIS, “We were one of the first founding partners, so we got a chance to build everything from the ground up and it was really all about the fan. Everything was all about the fan coming, having a great time, enjoying their time here before the race, during the race and then also learning something about Toyota and what we do in America” (“NASCAR RaceDay, FS1, 2/18).
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY: The AP's Mark Long noted 15 years after Dale Earnhardt's death at DIS, drivers are "still clamoring for safety improvements." Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and others "want pavement to replace the lush grass located near racing surfaces," while Dillon would "like to see more protection around his feet inside the car." NASCAR "certainly has taken significant strides in safety since Earnhardt's death on Feb. 18, 2001." Johnson said, "Grass doesn't slow you down like asphalt does. ... My opinion, grass belongs on golf courses. We need asphalt around here to slow the cars down, control the cars." Long noted the grass at DIS "is not only aesthetically pleasing but it helps drain the track during and after rain storms and also serves as home to other events throughout the year." DIS President Joie Chitwood III said, "Right now, that balancing act of providing the right kind of safety and fitting with everything we do, we just have to balance all those things" (AP, 2/18).
