Wallace, Hellmuth Tour DAYTONA Rising

DIS Pres. Joie Chitwood (L), Hellmuth and Wallace

NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace showed off a racing icon – Daytona International Speedway – to legendary poker champion Phil Hellmuth on Monday by giving the 13-time World Series of Poker champion a “hot lap” around the 2.5-mile tri-oval.  

Following the “hot lap,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III gave both Wallace, who now serves as an analyst for ESPN, and Hellmuth a tour of the DAYTONA Rising construction site. 

Wallace called the tour, “The best view in my life at any race track, ever. When you can sit up here and see the entire road course all around. You can’t do that at any road course in the country. I noticed when I was halfway (up), I could see all around the race track, every spot. Up here, it’s just amazing. You can see every bit of action on the race track; you can even see the beach almost. It’s a great view.”

DAYTONA Rising is a $400 million reimagining of the historic Daytona International Speedway. Five expanded and redesigned entrances, or “injectors,” will lead fans to a series of escalators and elevators, transporting them to three different concourse levels. Each level features spacious social areas, or “neighborhoods,” along the nearly mile-long frontstretch. At the conclusion of the redevelopment, Daytona International Speedway will have approximately 101,000 permanent, wider and more comfortable seats, twice as many restrooms and three times as many concession stands. In addition, the Speedway will feature over 60 luxury suites with track side views and a completely revamped hospitality experience for corporate guests. 

DAYTONA Rising is expected to create 6,300 jobs, $300 million in labor income and over $80 million in tax revenue, will be completed in time for the 2016 Rolex 24 At Daytona and DAYTONA 500. DAYTONA Rising was recently cited as a key source of expected job growth in Volusia County as part of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

Barton Malow is the design-builder for the project. In addition to DAYTONA Rising, Barton Malow has renovated the University of Michigan “Big House” and the Rose Bowl. ROSSETTI, an award-winning architectural design and planning firm for the past 40 years, which headed the design for Ford Field NFL Stadium, University of Notre Dame Compton Family Ice Arena and five Major League Soccer Stadiums, is leading the master planning of the DAYTONA Rising site. 

Race fans can follow the progress of the DAYTONA Rising project by visiting www.DAYTONARising.com.