Bring It On!

Daytona is another word for SPEED.........

In 1936, the precursor to today’s Daytona 500 was born on a course that went down 1.5 miles of highway, then turned and came the same distance back up the beach.    Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, but daring men have tested the limits of man and machine in Daytona Beach, Fla., for more than a century.     William H.G. France, a mechanic and racer who’d moved south from Washington, D.C., eventually took over the job of running the beach races on the second of two courses used for those events. In 1947, he presided over a meeting at Daytona’s Streamline Hotel where NASCAR was born.

When drivers gathered for the first Daytona 500, it was an eye-popping experience. Drivers were more accustomed to half-mile dirt tracks and saw the 1.366-mile paved track at Darlington as vast.    A trip around Daytona International Speedway was 2.5 miles. From Turn 1, Turn 3 looked like it was in a different county.

Daytona International Speedway renovated its infield before the 2005 Daytona 500 to add a "Fan Zone" that allows fans to buy tickets giving them one of the best up-close views of a NASCAR garage and other special amenities.

In 1998, in his 20th try, seven-time Cup series champion Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500.    But three years later, on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Earnhardt died in a Turn 4 crash in a moment that changed the sport forever.

During the Pepsi 400 Weekend, race fans will get a sneak preview for the 50th running of the Daytona 500. Former Daytona 500 champions including 2007 winner Kevin Harvick, 1980 winner Buddy Baker, 1960 winner Junior Johnson, 1990 winner Derrike Cope and 1970 winner Pete Hamilton will participate in a special ceremony at the Daytona 500 Experience Friday, July 6 at 11 a.m. Harvick will have his hands, right foot and signature immortalized in cement for the Daytona 500 Champion's Walk of Fame while former Daytona 500 champions Baker, Johnson, Cope and Hamilton will have their right foot immortalized in cement for the Goodyear Heritage of Daytona exhibit.

On Saturday, July 7 in the NEXTEL FANZONE, Daytona 500 champions, including seven-time winner Richard Petty, three-time winner Bobby Allison, 1989 winner Darrell Waltrip, 1991 winner Ernie Irvan, Johnson and Hamilton, will participate in question-and-answer sessions with race fans.

Now the Pepsi 400 Weekend is finally upon us....Besides the exciting thrill of racing that will come with the tripleheader of races - Thursday's Brumos Porsche 250, Friday's Winn-Dixie 250 presented by PepsiCo and Saturday's Pepsi 400, there are several key storylines and activities that race fans should keep their eye on.    What a weekend schedule for feeling the need for SPEED!    

I don't know about you but people "I Feel the need, the need for SPEED"    So..... "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines"

"Daytona International Speedway Racing Fans in the Stands"....Do you feel the need...the need for SPEED?

Will you be at the Pepsi 400 weekend of racing?

BOOP-BOOP-A-DOOP