Daytona Rising project hits another milestone

"When we found out about that, we said, let's 'Daytona-ize' that, let's have some fun with it,'" Chitwood said. "So I reached out to the (France) family and they definitely wanted to participate so we created a really nice activity so the family can truly put their stamp on this construction.

"We've got a really nice plaque that will go on this piece of steel and have all the family members sign this piece of steel.

"Then when you lift it into place, everyone blows whistles during the lift and install.

"It also commemorates our halfway point so it's hard to believe we are halfway through our project and have only 15 more months to go. There's a lot of work to do but this is a great way to keep our momentum going as we cross the halfway point."

International Speedway Corporation Chairman of the Board Jim France, along with ISC CEO Lesa France Kennedy and her son, Camping World Truck Series driver Ben Kennedy are among those from the family who signed the plaque to commemorate the "topping out" occasion. The $400 million construction project represents the largest infrastructure investment in ISC history.

New seating is among the massive state-of-the-art improvement plan and Chitwood said 40,000 of the new seats will be in place for the 2015 Daytona 500 in February.

"I think it's really important to celebrate these milestones because it's such a significant project," Chitwood said. "As we kind of walk in the footsteps of Bill [France] Sr. and reimagine this icon, these are the times to celebrate what we've done so far. And it's impressive. The steel looks great, the structure is awesome, the concourses are exactly what we thought it would be and this is another way to stay excited for what 2015 will be."

The highest point steel beam will include signatures from the France family on a special plaque and it will fly a DIS flag and American flag as well as a tree, per tradition.

Chitwood said the construction is top speed right now with the rainy summer season in Florida finished. The Daytona 500 is still five months away and this is the longest stretch without being "race ready."

"To think a year and three months ago there was no structure above the ground or below the ground, no structure anywhere,'" Chitwood said. "We've done all this in a little more than a year and it's amazing how much work has happened.

"It also gives you a sense of how enormous this will be when it's done, the magnitude of it. All the designs look great, the creative, but to see it in reality and how big it is and how much steel it is, it really makes you understand we're involved in something very special."

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