At 57, Daytona International Speedway steps into the future

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Joie Chitwood stands in the last row of his new grandstands, the ones running into Turn 1 of Daytona International Speedway. He surveys the scene in front of him, with sight lines stretching not just across the entire 2.5-mile track, but all the way to the beach where racing started around here.

The president of International Speedway Corp. is standing 15 or so stories in the air and $400 million into a rehab of this one-of-a-kind venue, and it is, well, one damn fine perch to watch a race.

"This is the top of the world in motorsports," Chitwood said, and it's certainly in the argument.

Daytona has gotten a facelift, some of it – including 40,000 fresh grandstand seats, escalators and new, healthier concessions – will be ready for Sunday's Daytona 500. All the rest – including more luxury boxes, club level bars and a sleeker exterior – will be ready by next year.

One of the great bucket-list/road-trip destinations just got even more enticing.

It will welcome a six-figure crowd on Sunday from all 50 states and at least 43 countries, according to pre-race sales information.

Many are NASCAR diehards. Many others are just drawn to this patch of real estate – from the history, to the weather, to the colors, to the race-day concerts, to the near carnival of activity surrounding the place, to the parties that stretch through the weekend, to just the sheer magnitude of the event.

"When I describe it to people who may have never been, I always say there's just nothing like race day for the Daytona 500," said Jeff Gordon, who has been coming here since 1992 and won three times. "You just feel the energy … you feel you are a part of a very special event.

"There is just something unique about it," he continued. "It's hard to describe why, other than it's the 'Great American Race.' "

See photos of Daytona's makeover:

This track opened in 1959, when Bill France Sr. made the bold call to build a superspeedway six miles from the beach and hard by the local airport. It features some unique characteristics, including high-banked turns and a lake in the middle, but this is mostly about what's transpired here.

It is, along with Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one of the nation's two most significant tracks. Indy seats more, though, and is much more iconic, what with that front stretch that runs through a canyon of stands.

Daytona was just Daytona, approachable and loveable and a hell of a lot of fun, but across the last few years, almost hopelessly outdated.

That's what Chitwood, who used to run IMS, inherited when he took over Daytona in 2010. This is a special place to him. When he was born, his father was over here racing, leaving his mother Noreen to go through childbirth alone back in Tampa. So renovations were not taken lightly.

"We felt like we were walking in Bill France's footsteps," Chitwood said.

There were two basic goals. One was to change nothing about the track; the race is exactly the same. The second was to make just about everything else better. They toured venues across the world, not just racetracks, but NFL and NBA stadiums, soccer facilities in Asia and even concert halls.

The result was a massive reconstruction of the front stretch grandstands that will eventually hold 101,000 chairbacks that stretch higher and steeper into the sky. The views are perfect and the visual on television of cars roaring into this wall of fans should be memorable. It should be noisier, yet it's more comfortable, with better amenities and plenty of areas for socializing and relaxing behind the grandstands.

Chitwood calls it a "motor sports stadium" and it actually feels more like a new football palace than a nearly 60-year-old racetrack.

Daytona prides itself on the diversity of its fan base, particularly geographic and economic. The infield is famous, after all, for both the blue-collar camp grounds of Turn 3 and 4 where humble pup-tents and plywood bars are erected, and luxury, half-million dollar motor coaches lining Lake Lloyd.

"And yet you'll see them drinking beers together," Chitwood said. "NASCAR was the original social sport. It was always about more than the race."

So the renovation wasn't just about fulfilling corporate hosting interests or high-end fans, but also providing the ultimate view for the serious fan.

For all the talk of NASCAR stalling in popularity, this is a sign of reinvestment in its future. Chitwood believes the Daytona brand can become more popular, more welcoming and bigger than ever.

"We're pretty excited," he said.

Sunday is stage one, fans way up here in new seats, enjoying a new vantage point on the race. "In our world, the highest seat is the best seat," Chitwood said. Next year, they break out the full array.

An iconic American sports venue just went modern, and in the calm before the race, the view looks sweet.

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