With the 56th annual Daytona 500 NASCAR race now in the history books, workers immediately began constructing the course for Daytona Supercross by Honda, which is scheduled for March 8 at Daytona International Speedway (DIS).
The circuit was designed once again by five-time Daytona SX winner Ricky Carmichael. The iconic Supercross rider, a 15-time AMA Champion who is serving as the Daytona SX circuit designer for the seventh-straight year, was at DIS Thursday, observing the construction efforts.
“It’s really special to be able to be associated with Daytona International Speedway,” Carmichael, who has 150 wins, said. “I love this place, I really do. Five-time winner and my heart is here. I’m a Florida native. It’s an honor to be affiliated with Daytona, and to have the chance to design this track is special. I take it seriously and I’m thankful for the opportunity.”
Daytona International Speedway reports that this year’s track is similar to last season’s, but with some tweaks.
The starting gate will remain on pit road providing fans with a great view of the first turn and riders will have to conquer 40 jumps and two whoop sections over the 3,290 foot course.
“I think that what makes this track cool as opposed to other Supercross tracks is that it is somewhat of an outdoor track,” Carmichael, who retired in 2007, said. “It has a lot of those kinds of obstacles. (It’s) real sandy and not as congested, but way rougher than a traditional Supercross track. This is really where you see who is tough and who isn’t. That’s what’s so cool. There’s a lot of history behind this Supercross race and it’s just very prestigious because of those factors of it being rougher and really the toughest track on the circuit.”
Daytona Supercross by Honda Course Construction – by the Numbers:
- 264 – Number of truck loads of dirt
- 5,000 – Number in tons of dirt
- 8 – Number of trucks used to transport the dirt into the Speedway
- 2 – Number of days to bring all of the dirt into the track
- 40 – Number of jumps on the Supercross course
- 2 – Number of whoop sections
- 450 –Number of tuff blocks with Honda covers for safety
- 3,280 – Mileage in feet of the Supercross course
- 500 – Number of man-hours (approximate) to set up the Daytona Supercross By Honda course
- In addition, one crawler, one front loader and two skid steers are used to move the dirt during construction
History of Supercross at Daytona
Daytona International Speedway has been home to the original Supercross since 1971 – the longest continuous Supercross event in America – and this marks the 23rd year that Honda has sponsored the event.
Among the Supercross greats that have captured the Daytona Supercross By Honda include Bob Hannah, Jeff Stanton, Jeremy McGrath, Carmichael and Ryan Villopoto, who has won the event three out of the past four years.
For more information and tickets for the Daytona Supercross By Honda, visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.
