A survey of roughly 1,000 fans at the July 6 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Int'l Speedway found that 44% "gave very high marks for their overall 'seating' experience," down from 57% last year, according to Ken Willis of the Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL. For overall restroom reviews, 39% "gave very high scores," down from 51% last year. DIS President Joie Chitwood III said, "I find this interesting. We didn’t change the seat areas, we didn’t change the restrooms." He concluded that the only viable answer is a "testament to the effects marketing has on consumer satisfaction." DIS in June announced its plans for the Daytona Rising project, a "modernization of the 54-year-old venue that, among other features, will include vast improvements in two areas that directly affect the fan experience: Seats and restrooms." Chitwood: "We physically did not change the seats, so it’s interesting that we get called out this time. I believe it’s all the messaging I’ve been doing about ‘hey, we’re going to make it so much better,’ which reinforces that it’s not that good right now." Willis notes the fan survey "offered few eyebrow-raising shifts in customer opinion" aside from the view on seating and restrooms. Results showed that 54% of respondents "were returning customers" from the previous year's race, while 30% were "first-timers at Daytona’s July NASCAR event," and 17% returned after an unspecified absence (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 10/16).
