Time Trials at Daytona International Speedway

Posted on by Thor

Wendy Wallenberg gave me a tip about sketching time trials at Daytona International Speedway. it is a long scenic drive to the speedway down the Beach Line Expressway. Wendy met me at the entrance and guided me to the bleachers being used to watch the race. This wasn’t a crowded day at the track. The few people in the bleachers were mostly friends and family of the drivers. Car 0158A crashed before I got to the track. The driver was female and she was unhurt but clearly the car is going to need lots of love and care. Since the crews catch phrase is “No Mo Money”  it might be some time before that front end gets repaired. No Mo Money Race Engineering is a full service race shop. Now offering Race car rentals, Track day rentals, Enduro Racing, Chump car Racing, Track side service, and Coaching. Specializing in Mazda Miata’s.

Track side, I sat in the top row of the bleachers to  get a view over the fencing. cars would scream by so fast that they were just blurs. Being an  off day at the track, it was possible to park anywhere to see the race from any angle. I contented myself with these bleachers.

I never know who is in the lead of who is trailing. I suppose with time you can learn to follow the leaders. From my perspective it was a constant loud assault on the senses. The same effect might be achieved with a large crowd of competitors running with leaf blowers.

After the race, there was a small gathering with food and drink near the starting line. It offered a chance to mix and mingle with the racers.

Sunstroke Melt Race at the Daytona International Speedway

Posted on by Thor

Wendy Wallenberg invited me to the Sunstroke Melt Race at the Daytona International Speedway. She is friends with one of the drivers,  Jim Kneeland, so she had full access to the inner field of the raceway as well as access to the pit area and garages. This was a sketch opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. This sketch is at the starting line to the race. Two rows of cars lined up facing one another and at the start they rolled onto the race track in order of their standings. So I was sketching in an area where I might get run over if a driver jumped the line. It was nerve wracking and I had to work fast.

Jim’s car, a Mazda Miata,  was number 37 and he had body damage from an accident from the day before.  It had been raining all day and many cars spun out on one particular curve that day. This was Jim’s first race and he had a lot invested in being sure he stayed on the field. He wasn’t expecting to win, he just needed to place. Jim has worked in the pit crew for other drivers and this was his chance to get on the track himself.

The official on the starting line stood near me and she made sure to give me time to get behind the line before the start. She had never seen an artist sketch the race, so she was glad to help keep me out of harm’s way. Race cars don’t have air conditioning so drivers get incredibly hot as they wait. Their driving outfits actually have coils with cool water that keep them from over heating. Some assistants also had fans to blow cool air into the cars.

There was no dramatic squealing of tires at the start. All of the cars rumbled to life and filed onto the track at a relaxing 25 miles per hour. They then followed a pace car to get up to speed. Wendy drove the golf cart to the curve where the cars were spinning out the day before. From those infield stands it was possible to see Jim’s Mazda as he made his way around the track. The front runners went so fast that they caught up to and passed the cars at the back of the pack. Then it became confusing to figure out who was in front of who.

Watching the Daytona International Speedway Pit Crews from the Turn 1 Infield Bleachers

Posted on by Thor

On May 4th, I had time for one more sketch when a second race began at the Daytona International Speedway. The races were not very long, so there wasn’t much action to sketch among the pit crews. I decided instead to watch the race from covered bleachers that overlooked the pit crews. I needed to get in some shade before I became a red neck. The cars racing on the track were a blur of motion and intense sound. Here we saw the cars as they came off the first turn and headed down the straight away. There weren’t many people in the bleachers, only a few family and friends of the drivers. The large bleachers on the outer rim of the track were empty. The Speedway is undergoing major renovations which made it hard for me to find the entrance to the infield when I first arrived.

Driver Jim Kneeland didn’t win the race but since it was his first race, he was happy to finish. He went to the officials office and recovered his license. In a few weeks, he would be on the track again.  Daytona left his car with some body damage that would need repair on the front driver’s side bumper. Some drivers had huge air Conditioned trailers with state of the art amenities, while others scape by with only the bare essentials. Having all those bells and whistles doesn’t guarantee a win. Watch for number 37 to start moving up the ranks.

Before the Race

Posted on by Thor

Between races, the cars returned to the garage on the Daytona International Speedway infield for repairs and maintenance. You get to the infield by driving under the track through a tunnel. Here all the trailers that transport the race cars are parked. Wendy Wallenberg leaned against Jim Kneeland‘s number 37 Mazda Miada. Before the race, the drivers have to give their driving license to race officials. Only after the race can the drivers get their license back. This is to keep drivers from being overly agressive or breaking rules of conduct.

Tires literally melt as the cars scream down the Daytona Speedway track.  They often jet stream behind another car. The cars don’t only tailgate, they touch bumpers. The back car pushes the front car and both cars go faster. lt is very easy to cause a spin out but no accidents happened while I watched the race. This was my first time watching a race from up close, and it was a unique thrill. I believe the red car, number 25 was the car that won the next race.