Reported By Jason Wheeler
DAYTONA BEACH -- You'll find more construction crews than pit crews at Daytona International Speedway these days.
Those crews are in a rush to get ready for the next NASCAR Sprint Cup season, even as the current season winds down.
Pretty soon, racing at the speedway won't be just inside the massive grandstand complex.
Work is wrapping up on a quarter-mile dirt track just beyond the famed tri-oval.
"It's expected to be completed in the next week or two and we'll be using it for go-karts in late December," said Andrew Booth, a spokesman for the speedway.
It's just one of three projects going on at the racing complex at the same time, and is the most extensive changes since 2004 when the infield was completely redone.
Perhaps the project that has the most people talking is going on along the Superstretch.
They are taking away approximately 12,000 seats. They’re replacing them with an interactive family fun zone, complete with a ferris wheel and go-cart track.
Although they are constantly tweaking things at the speedway, these projects are major undertakings, and projects race fans are demanding these days.
"Certainly with the challenges of the economy, we take a look at the size of our facility and it's about us making it a more intimate experience for the fans,” Booth said. “And a lot of sporting facilities around the country have gone to smaller, more intimate experience."
The track is obviously the first thing visitors to Daytona Beach area see. Looking at future plans, you can see how the track's parent company wants that view to be even grander.
These are not the first changes at the track, nor will they be the last.
Track officials also point out they are not passing the cost of these projects on to the fans.
In fact, they have expanded the popular $55 seating area.
The projects are expected to be finished in time for Speedweeks 2010 in February.
Comment On This Story