Daytona International Speedway

Speed Weeks at Daytona in February, culminating in the Daytona 500, may be the most exciting season-opening event in major league sports.

Opened in 1959, Daytona International Speedway is the home of NASCAR's most important race, the Daytona 500. The 2.5-mile Superspeedway also serves a dual function as the headquarters of NASCAR. Located at 1801 West International Speedway Boulevard (Highway 92), approximately a half-mile east of I-95 in Daytona Beach, the tri-oval shaped track is banked 31 degrees in the four turns and 18 degrees on the tri-oval section.

In addition to the Daytona 500, which lakes place at the end of Speed Weeks each February, the Daytona International Speedway also hosts the Pepsi 400 over the July 4 weekend. The February line-up also includes the Bud Shootout, a non-points race for pole winners from the previous season.

Because of the enormity of the speedway and the length of the straights (3,800 feet for the frontstretch, 3,400 for the backstretch), aerodynamics are critically important to racing at Daytona. Because "drafting" is such an essential element at NASCAR's largest tracks, cars at Daytona tend to run in a large pack at speeds approaching 200 mph. Nevertheless, set-up and handling through the corners are equally important to a driver hoping to win the 500, given that a perfectly prepared car can go full-throttle around the entire speedway.

Back in the 1980s, in fact, cars were circling Daytona International Speedway at speeds that were considered too fast to be safe, both for the drivers and the fans in the stands. After Bobby Allison's horrendous crash at Talladega in 1987, NASCAR began requiring carburetor restrictor plates, designed to reduce horsepower, on all cars racing at the circuit's two largest speedways. Consequently, Bill Elliott's 1987 Daytona qualifying record of 210.364 mph still stands.

The Daytona 500 in 1979 was the first event that CBS Sports committed to cover flag-to-flag on television, and ratings swelled as the race progressed to a close and dramatic finale.

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