Attending Daytona 500
Discussion
Hi Everyone,
I'm over in the states early next year for a friends wedding, which by luck means that a few of us will be able to go to the Daytona 500 the weekend before.
We have a rough plan in mind, but does anyone here have any experience of doing this please? I have done some reading online but its going to be a new and exciting trip so want to try and get it right!
Cheers, Chris.
I'm over in the states early next year for a friends wedding, which by luck means that a few of us will be able to go to the Daytona 500 the weekend before.
We have a rough plan in mind, but does anyone here have any experience of doing this please? I have done some reading online but its going to be a new and exciting trip so want to try and get it right!
Cheers, Chris.
Hi Matt thanks for your reply.
Well, we are planning to hire and RV in Miami and drive up there to arrive at the track on Saturday and stay through to Monday. Maybe you can advise on; which campsite to go for? Where to sit in the grandstands?
Are there any guides or websites I could visit, like beermountain or club arnage equivelants?
Cheers
Well, we are planning to hire and RV in Miami and drive up there to arrive at the track on Saturday and stay through to Monday. Maybe you can advise on; which campsite to go for? Where to sit in the grandstands?
Are there any guides or websites I could visit, like beermountain or club arnage equivelants?
Cheers
NASCAR and the Daytona 500 are nothing like Le Mans, so get that picture out of your mind.
A lot (and by that I mean many, many thousands) camp in the speedway infield - and mainly in RV's - however, if you are not scheduled to arrive until the day before the race, you won't get an RV anywhere near the place, so I'd be inclined to ditch that plan, rent a car and stay in an Orlando (not Daytona Beach) hotel on the Saturday night and get up early on Sunday and head out to the speedway. Remember, this is pretty much a one day event for you, as you'll have arrived way too late to park a large vehicle inside the facility and the supporting race program is pretty much done by Saturday. So, you can either park in one of the designated lots and get bussed into the track, or pay $40-50 and park in one of the retail business parking lots along International Speedway Blvd and walk in.
As for tickets - depends on your budget - first time I went, we just got general infield admission and experienced the whole event the 'red-neck' way - and it was great, but with limited views of the track - however it is very steeply banked in the turns and through the tri-oval, so you can still see quite a lot from the infield.
Latterly I have either had Tower Terrace (very spendy, but the best seats in the house), or Superstretch (back straightaway, between turn 2 and 3).
In recent years the 500 has not been the historical sell-out and I expect that to continue in 2013, so getting hold of tickets is not likely to be much of an issue, unless you want the very best ($200+ each).
The whole event more or less empties out on Sunday evening - there is seriously zero point in spending Sunday night at the speedway - in fact I'm not even certain that they allow it.
NASCAR is not everyone's cup of tea, but this is definitely one of those 'must experience - even if only once' events, for anyone who considers themselves to be a motor-head.
A lot (and by that I mean many, many thousands) camp in the speedway infield - and mainly in RV's - however, if you are not scheduled to arrive until the day before the race, you won't get an RV anywhere near the place, so I'd be inclined to ditch that plan, rent a car and stay in an Orlando (not Daytona Beach) hotel on the Saturday night and get up early on Sunday and head out to the speedway. Remember, this is pretty much a one day event for you, as you'll have arrived way too late to park a large vehicle inside the facility and the supporting race program is pretty much done by Saturday. So, you can either park in one of the designated lots and get bussed into the track, or pay $40-50 and park in one of the retail business parking lots along International Speedway Blvd and walk in.
As for tickets - depends on your budget - first time I went, we just got general infield admission and experienced the whole event the 'red-neck' way - and it was great, but with limited views of the track - however it is very steeply banked in the turns and through the tri-oval, so you can still see quite a lot from the infield.
Latterly I have either had Tower Terrace (very spendy, but the best seats in the house), or Superstretch (back straightaway, between turn 2 and 3).
In recent years the 500 has not been the historical sell-out and I expect that to continue in 2013, so getting hold of tickets is not likely to be much of an issue, unless you want the very best ($200+ each).
The whole event more or less empties out on Sunday evening - there is seriously zero point in spending Sunday night at the speedway - in fact I'm not even certain that they allow it.
NASCAR is not everyone's cup of tea, but this is definitely one of those 'must experience - even if only once' events, for anyone who considers themselves to be a motor-head.
Edited by Matt Harper on Wednesday 19th December 15:42
You seem pretty stuck on the idea of an RV - are we talking "Cruise America" style van conversion or a big class A?
Seriously, unless you are planning on going elswhere after the race, an RV will be more hinderence than help. A rental car and budget hotel will be a 3rd of the cost and give you much more flexibility.
If the RV is non-negotiable, yes you can park it in the designated lots, adjacent to I-95 to the north of the speedway - but you won't be able to leave it there overnight - they clear the place out immediately after the race. What you could do is park it in the Walmart Supercenter parking lot, which is at Bellville Road, south east of the speedway, on the south side of the airport. Walmart don't discourage RV parking and it is just about walkable to the speedway.
Getting a hotel room in Daytona Beach during the race weekend will be a stretch, but Orlando is close and has massive choice and budgets to accommodate everyone.
The drive back to O'town on I-4 after the race is slow, due to race traffic and the State Troopers have total zero tolerence regarding drink-driving, so you need to have someone willing to stay sober.
Seriously, unless you are planning on going elswhere after the race, an RV will be more hinderence than help. A rental car and budget hotel will be a 3rd of the cost and give you much more flexibility.
If the RV is non-negotiable, yes you can park it in the designated lots, adjacent to I-95 to the north of the speedway - but you won't be able to leave it there overnight - they clear the place out immediately after the race. What you could do is park it in the Walmart Supercenter parking lot, which is at Bellville Road, south east of the speedway, on the south side of the airport. Walmart don't discourage RV parking and it is just about walkable to the speedway.
Getting a hotel room in Daytona Beach during the race weekend will be a stretch, but Orlando is close and has massive choice and budgets to accommodate everyone.
The drive back to O'town on I-4 after the race is slow, due to race traffic and the State Troopers have total zero tolerence regarding drink-driving, so you need to have someone willing to stay sober.
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