Richard Petty joins track president Joie Chitwood III to discuss enhancements
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HOMESTEAD, Fla. — With an assist from a Daytona International Speedway legend, Richard Petty, and the most recent Daytona winner, the Coke Zero 400‘s victor Floridian Aric Almirola, the track unveiled the new seats being installed in time for the Feb. 22 Daytona 500.
Taking part in an announcement at its sister track, Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Petty fittingly tried out the No. 43, one of the older seats that has hosted fans at Daytona for six decades. The King jokingly wondered what the seats looked like for the very first 500 in 1959 won by his dad, Lee.
Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood then suggested Petty try out one of the new 40,000 wider, more comfortable seats — complete with cupholders — that will be in place for the 2015 version of Budweiser Speedweeks.
The demonstration is just one of the many changes fans will see as part of the $400 million DAYTONA Rising redevelopment project at the storied facility.
In the last two months, construction crews held a “topping off ceremony” erecting the highest piece of steel. Approximately 90 percent of the steel has been installed, representing 31 million pounds.
During Saturday’s announcement, Chitwood showed a time lapse of the construction, which involves 868 workers on site every day.
“You’ve got to remember no one’s ever done this before, so we’re documenting history of building a motorsports stadium, and people are catching on that this is a mammoth project,” Chitwood said.
Among the construction updates Chitwood gave, he said the famed Suite Tower overlooking the start/finish line will be demolished in March. The special 500-ton crane will require 30 trucks of supplies just to build it for the job of “surgically dismantling” the existing tower for construction of a new one. For next July’s Coke Zero 400, Chitwood said NBC will broadcast its first races in its return to NASCAR from the backstretch. Spotters may also be relocated to the backstretch.
The track also announced that the Florida Department of Transportation will be title sponsor for the XFINITY Series (formerly Nationwide Series) race on Feb. 21. It will be called the Alert Today Florida 300.
The Florida Department of Transportation will sponsor the first NASCAR XFINITY Series race of 2015 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 21
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