Daytona notes: Renovated track on full display for marquee event

Eddie Gossage usually doesn’t stick around for the Daytona 500. He is more concerned about Texas Motor Speedway, after all, and being present for the track’s watch party and other festivities during the season-opening race.

This year is different, however. Gossage, entering his 20th year as TMS president, wants to see how fans react to the $400 million renovations of Daytona International Speedway.

So far, all signs point toward one of the country’s signature speedways hitting a home run in become a modern-day sports facility. Fans are raving about the new amenities and upgrades throughout the track, from wider concourses to free wi-fi to social areas the size of football fields.

“This is obviously the way to go,” Gossage said. “Daytona Speedway has long-needed to be upgraded. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to people who were disappointed when they got here and the state that this racetrack was in. It didn’t have the pizzazz a Daytona Speedway should have, so it’s great to see them do this.

“This ought to be the showplace for our sport. If it’s truly the biggest event, then it ought to be presented this way. So this is fabulous. But I’ll be sitting in the stands Sunday because I really want to see it in operation.”

In past years, Daytona had been known for wooden bleachers and selling concessions out of trailers. It had somewhat a nostalgic feeling to it, but as Gossage said, it had to be addressed.

In today’s sports market, fans expect venues to provide top-notch amenities in addition to the actual event.

The renovation eliminated about 45,000 seats, reducing seating capacity to 101,000. But the benefits certainly outweigh that, considering attendance has dropped in recent years for NASCAR and the upgrades should broaden its appeal.

The concourses feature things such as a Chevrolet section where fans can see Corvette engines up close, as well as different Camaros throughout the years. Toyota also has an in-depth area featuring its full-line of vehicles and Kyle Busch’s championship car and trophy from last season.

The stands, meanwhile, have improved seats and are supposed to give fans a “stadium” experience as they would have at a football or baseball game.

DIS has taken the “stadium” tagline to an extreme, having everyone from ushers to tram drivers use the word. Gossage, never shy to share his opinion, just shakes his head at it.

“I don’t know about this whole ‘stadium’ thing,” Gossage said, smirking. “We’re all stadiums … but it’s a cute little tagline, so good for them.”

Either way, Gossage is glad to see racetracks such as Daytona try to keep up in today’s market. He understands the constant need for improvements, of course, which is why he pushed so hard a couple years ago to install the world’s largest HD video screen, “Big Hoss TV,” at TMS.

And he continues to try to get funds for additional upgrades and improvements, such as resurfacing much of the infield area and updating Victory Lane this off-season.

“All of us have different amenities and strong suits and things like that,” Gossage said. “But you never want to lose your uniqueness as a track. We’re not a football stadium, we’re a racetrack.

“To me, the most important thing is to offer the same kinds of amenities to every fan — from the guy that spends $20 for a ticket and parks for free and brings in a cooler to the guy who has, in our case, a $1 million condominium that he lives in and entertains in.”

Richardson update

Robert Richardson Jr., the hay farmer from Pilot Point who earned the final spot in the Daytona 500, had a successful final practice Saturday. He posted a top speed of 194.342 mph, ranking 15th of 25 drivers who ran. That’s better than Cup regulars such as Jimmie Johnson (193.719), Jamie McMurray (193.075) and Matt Kenseth (192.806).

Star power

The Daytona 500 is the Super Bowl of NASCAR, so it’s never a surprise to a see a star-studded lineup for pre-race festivities. This year is no different. Country band Florida Georgia Line is set to perform a pre-race concert, and actor Gerard Butler will deliver the “Gentlemen, start your engines!” command. Other celebrities include WWE’s John Cena as the honorary pace car driver, and baseball’s newly elected Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr., is serving as the honorary starter.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Daytona notes: Renovated track on full display for marquee event."