On Feb. 14th it will be time for the Daytona 500 NASCAR races! That kind of slipped up on me as I don’t follow NASCAR that much. I’ve never gone and seen a NASCAR race, but I’ve driven by the Daytona 500 race track while the races were on. Trust me, traffic is a mess!
Those who love NASCAR, which includes my 78 yr. old mom, dream of being able to attend the Daytona 500 races. They have lots of shops that set up in front of the track, as well as all around the area for miles. You can find everything from NASCAR T shirts to full race car hoods painted with your favorite driver on it!
If you have an RV or camper there is a big field next to the track that fills up with thousands of all types of RV’s. They park bumper to bumper in long lines. I guess if you need to leave before everyone else your out of luck as they can’t go anywhere!
After the race they leave tons of trash behind. I’ve seen full couches, refrigerators and even cars left behind! I’m not trash talking the campers, I’m just saying that with so many there the amount of trash left is measured in tons.
If you try to park your car in any of the store parking lots around the track, don’t be surprised to find it towed once you get back! They are very strict about that and have years of experience dealing with people trying to park for free.
Many end up parking a few miles away and walking to the track, that’s how many cars there are. If you park on the north side of the main road, take the overhead walkway that goes over the road and to the track. Otherwise your going to end up hit trying to make it across those 8 lanes!
Daytona Beach is about 46 miles from Orlando. Most going from there will take I-4. There is ALWAYS a few car wrecks on I-4 during events like this. So if it was ME I’d take the bee line expressway (528) to highway 95, then go north up to Daytona.
Below is a Google Earth map of the track. Click on it to see the full size image. If your going have fun and start early so you can try to get a good place to park. Let’s see who wins the Daytona 500 NASCAR races 2010!
