Florida
2009 - Day 2
Daytona
500 Experience
Day
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5 | Day 5 - Part 2
Saturday
11/14/200 Day 2: Daytona 500 Experience
On
Saturday we traveled up Interstate 95 to Daytona to tour Daytona
International Speedway and the museum. When we arrived we were
able to hop onto a tour tram and get onto a tour of the infield.
I was surprised that the speedway actually seemed smaller than
I thought it was. Seemed like if you were watching a race that
you would easily be able to see all the action around the track.
It is a large track, don't get me wrong, but I was pleasantly
surprised at the sight lines.
The
tour took us into the infield through one of the tunnels under
turn 4. The tour guide told us that the Italian Auto Club currently
had track time, and we were treated to a steady stream of ferraris,
mustangs, and other sports cars zooming around the track. Pretty
much EVERYONE on the tour was more excited to see the cars racing
by than look at the row of garages or grandstands and safety fences.
The
banking of the track is REALLY steep, at 30 degrees in the corners.
The tour stopped near the new winners circle for us all to get
photos there, and view the VIP suites high above the speedway.
Still, most people were trying to get views of the sports cars
on the track.
After
touring the speedway we went into the museum. There were multiple
interactive racing simulators (some cost money), lots of cars
on display, and lots of Richard Petty memorabilia. Matt Kenseth's
2009 Daytona 500 winning car was on display right out of the winners
circle. There were lots of bugs and gunk on it, and the fenders,
front and back, were bashed in from the bump drafting. Really
cool.
We
watched an IMAX movie in 3D which was pretty good, and then went
out to the track to watch some more auto club racing from the
turn 4 grandstands. The cars were fast, and you could tell the
grandstands were huge.
Overall
it was a really nice day, and we spent about 4 1/2 hours at the
museum before heading back to Coca Beach.
As
always, larger pictures of our full trip to Florida are available
from my Flickr
photo gallery. Day 3 includes our trip to see the gardens
at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne and the beach.
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