Originally, the race at Daytona took place on the beach. With hard sand, the edge of the ocean was perfect for high speeds. In fact, several speed records were recorded there. Today, it's still possible to drive on the beach, for a few dollars.

The shape of the track itself is not necessarily interesting, consisting of a triangular oval. But the overall location is impressive, looking more like a Roman coliseum than a racing track, with 167,785 spectator seats. The 31 degrees of banking allow cars to reach very high speeds, and offers fans a great view of the action because they can see 90% of the track from any spot in the stands.

Since 1998, fans have enjoyed the racing even more since lights were added. Nonetheless, the 24 hour race is still run with the lights at low power in order to force competitors to rely on their own headlights. And rely on them they must, since the race takes place in January when nights are long, which is not the case for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, held in the middle of the year (June 14-15, 2014 Ticket information).

The 24 Hours of Daytona, opening round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, formed from the merger between the American Le Mans Series and Grand Am, will take place January 23-26, 2014.

Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translated by Rainier Ehrhardt / ACO