Here’s to my first event at the speedway!

Every year, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) hosts the Rolex 24 at the Daytona International Speedway. The race lasts for 24 hours, and you can hear the cars from Riddle. However, they also host another event the weekend before the Rolex 24, called “Roar Before the 24.” I ended up getting tickets to both of these events this year, and last weekend marked the start of race week.

Getting in was pretty easy, you just showed your tickets and parked. If you’d gotten there early enough, you had the opportunity to drive your car infield and park there, but my group got there a little too late for that. Instead, we parked by the stadium and walked under the speedway and into the infield, where most of the action was happening. It was a huge event inside!

My friends and I watched the start of the first race from the infield stands. I was surprised by how loud the cars were, and I was glad I brought earplugs. We picked a seat that was very close to the track and that had a straight segment so we could see the cars speed up.

After watching the race for a bit, our group decided to walk around. People had access to look at the garages without getting too close to the cars, which were fenced off. We got there just as the cars started rolling out, one by one. The security had everyone back up, but we were at the front of the crowd control. I was able to get a good view of all of the cars heading onto the track!

After that, we considered getting food but ended up going to check out the merchandise store instead. I didn’t end up getting anything, especially since they didn’t have a lot of stock left. We ended up walking around a bit more to check out some other viewing spots before heading back to the stands where we’d started.

We watched a bit more of the race before it was time to leave, and we headed out the way we came. I found it interesting that people were camping, selling food, and constantly entering and leaving. We ended up going up towards the fence to watch the cars zoom by on the inclined track, and managed to time a picture perfectly.

I definitely enjoyed my time at the speedway watching the race! I highly suggest going to at least one race before you graduate. Where else are you going to have a world-famous racetrack that’s almost in your backyard? Even if you don’t end up going to one, I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle!