Daytona 500 Experience

This trip was my present to Warren for his 50th birthday, which was last January.  He is a Nascar fan, so we spent the day Monday at the Daytona 500 Experience.  Located at the Daytona International Speedway, the Experience is part museum, taking you from the very beginnings of Nascar to present day.  There are also lots of hands-on fun activities.  We had seen the Daytona 500 IMAX movie a few years ago in Branson, but it was worth seeing it again in 3D.

One of our favorite things there was the Acceleration Alley where you were strapped into a race car and drove a simulated race, complete with the rough motion of bumps and bangs.  Warren finished the race a lap ahead of me, in 5th place even though he hit the apron of the track and wrecked.  (I knew he must have wrecked as it was very loud with scraping metal sounds and much rattling next to me.)  His computer on the simulator reset, and he finished well in spite of his little misadventure. 

The simulator car Warren drove.

These simulators were a bit tamer!

Another favorite of the day was the 16 Second Pit Stop Challenge, which is a pit crew tire changing challenge. A good speed of removing the tire, putting on a new one is about 16 seconds for a team of two.  I urged Warren to give it a try.  Here he goes!

We boarded a tram for a tour of the Speedway track, pits, victory lane, grandstands, etc.  Daytona Speedway is one mile from end to end, and has a steep curve of 31 degrees.  Its amazingly steep when you see it in person.

inside the Experience building - a view of the 31 degree grade.  Its harder to see in a picture of the track.

view from the end of the track.  In addition to the oval, there is also a road race track.

the start/finish line and grand stands.

the pits, across from the above picture.  The fans have a great view!

Here's a view from the grandstands.  You can get an idea of the curve of the track from here too.  We were really surprised with the seats!  They were simply metal folding chair seats and backs screwed to wooden planks.  Doesn't look too comfortable to sit in for hours.

Once back inside, Warren had to try the pit crew challenge again.  This time, it was different.  During the first time, he was racing against another team, one of who was a guy named Brandon.  He and his wife were on their honeymoon.  You know how sometimes you meet up with the same people over and over?  That's how it was with them.  After the first challenge, we chatted a bit, then went our separate ways.  For the track tour, we sat together in the same row of seats on the tram.  We saw them again inside, and the guys decided to try the challenge again.  They were allowed to practice a time or two before the actual challenge started.  They did very well!  See the next post for a video!  The average time is about 16 seconds, thus the name of the challenge.  They blew that out of the water with a time of 6.83 seconds!  Woohoo!  Congratulations, guys!