What happens at the Speedway these next few months is what made Daytona a worldwide brand.
DAYTONA BEACH — Friday brought a couple of reminders.
There was the reminder of why Big Bill France didn’t simply want a Daytona Speedway, but a Daytona International Speedway. The various accents and cuts of designer jeans throughout the paddock were testament to the worldwide appeal of Daytona’s annual 24-hour sports-car race.
The first day of this weekend’s three-day Rolex 24 test (the “Roar Before the 24”) also, yet again, signaled the onrushing start of a new season, which gets the green flag with the 24-hour race on Jan. 27-28. Though just three months removed from the previous sports-car season, the participants seem hell-bent for acceleration.
“It’s starting, no question,” said one of this year’s biggest stars, Helio Castroneves, who’s transitioning from Indy-style cars to the sleek prototypes of NASCAR’s sports-car arm, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).
And to hear them tell it, there’s no better place to get it cranked than the track that made “Daytona” a household word well beyond the confines of our North American footprint.
“Only two days here, but you feel, you smell the motor racing here. That’s a good feeling for any driver.”
Who said that? Only Fernando Alonso, a two-time champ in Formula One, the world’s most prestigious auto-racing series. The Spanish ace fulfilled one moonlighting goal when he ran last year’s Indianapolis 500, and tackles another this month with his first entry in the Rolex 24.
Alonso is a “world” champ in a rather literal sense, given F1’s worldwide schedule. But even he went wide-eyed upon popping out of the tunnel and giving the Speedway a once-over.
“Just amazing,” he said. “The size of everything is just huge.”
The Brazilian Castroneves, a three-time Indy 500 winner, isn’t here as a first-timer. He competed in a couple of Rolex 24s in the previous decade, and also once ran an IROC Series race here. But even at 42, entering the property to begin a brand new race season brought out the familiar smile and resurrected the giddy anticipation of youth.
“Oh my God, every time,” said Castroneves, who lives a few hours down the road in Fort Lauderdale. “It’s awesome to already have the fans here cheering. It certainly helps the atmosphere.”
There wasn’t a blast of that new-season smell for all. For those who run the place, it was just another day at an office with little down time.
“It really hasn’t been quiet here since Dec. 1,” said Speedway President Chip Wile, who’s fresh off hosting duties for the annual World Karting Association visit in late December. “This is kind of the kickoff to 2018, but we’ve been preparing for this weekend for 2½ months. And we’ve been working on the Daytona 500 since the checkered flag of last year’s Daytona 500.”
What happens here over the next few months — sports cars in January, stock cars in February, motorcycles in March — didn’t necessarily put Daytona Beach on the map, but over the years it surely put Daytona Beach in bolder type.
During these coming weeks, you will hear the growls, whirs and whines from across the way at the big Speedway. It’s no bird’s chirp or rhythmic rain, but around here, it’s a time-honored sound of the season.