Recession hits Daytona 500, tickets cut to $55

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Some Daytona 500 Tickets Slashed To $55

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Daytona International Speedway has announced a price slash on select tickets for the Daytona 500 in February.

The sluggish economy is to blame for poor ticket sales and speedway officials decided to drop the prices on approximately 4,000 seats in the backstretch grandstand for the first race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

A Superstretch ticket that normally sells for $99 will be rolled back to the 1995 price of $55.

Officials hope those fans who never had the opportunity to see the Daytona 500 in person will take advantage of the savings.
 
MRM said:
Those are some pretty cruddy seats.
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I have a feeling those tickets will be going cheap on the street.

When Richmond didn't sell out, they were litterally handing out Busch tickets and I got Cup tickets for $55 normally $90.

I'd pay for frontstretch tickets at Daytona and Richmond but they make you buy the Nationwide tickets as well and I couldn't even give away my Nationwide tickets at Richmond.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
Yeah, I sat back there for the summer night race. Not much to see --- except the planes at the airport across the street.
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If I don't get press passes, I'll probably buy tickets off a scalper.

I've already got press passes for ARCA Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. I'm most interested in The Big Dance, but wouldn't mind going to see the Trucks or the Daytona Duels. :beerbang:
 
You could see the same thing if you set up a lawn chair beside Rt 95 as what you'll see on the backstrectch. IMHO of course.

That said what about the lodging costs? Rooms that normally go for less than $75 a night are in the $500+ range.

Fortunatly we stayed at the Maverick, a time share place right up the road in Ormond Beach. $210 a week last time and we squeezed 8-9 guys in. If you drink enough you don't care if you sleep on the floor.:eek:

I know 5 or 6 guys, diehards, who won't be going this year due to the costs, tickets are just a part of it.

I won't be going to daytona or my dream of Bristol this year for the mods. the state pulled back the college grants on my kids, I've got to come up with 6 grand by the 20th. Anybody wanna buy my truck?
 
A friend from California went last year and had those seats. Said he wouldn't go back. Worst seats in the country....$55 or not.
 
AndyMarquisLIVE said:
If I don't get press passes, I'll probably buy tickets off a scalper.

I've already got press passes for ARCA Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. I'm most interested in The Big Dance, but wouldn't mind going to see the Trucks or the Daytona Duels. :beerbang:
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I don't remember when you said you'd be picking me up on your trip down. Just remember to get 2 press passes or 2 from scalpers, old buddy old pal... :D
 
barelypure said:
I don't remember when you said you'd be picking me up on your trip down. Just remember to get 2 press passes or 2 from scalpers, old buddy old pal... :D
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Where you at? I'll come on by.
muahaha.gif
 
I sat on the super stretch one year. It was awful. We had to stand in line to get on the shuttle both ways and then we were toward turn 2 and the big screen TV was across lake Lloyd. No I would pay to sit on the front stretch if I were going.
 
The only time we went to Daytona, we sat in the Super Stretch and I will agree with everyone that these seats are not very good. But that year, 2001, was not just the year that the great Ironhead lost his life, but it was also the year of the big one right in front of us. We saw Tony Stewart showing his flying prowess, but he needed to work on his landing as it was on top of his teammate, Bobby Labonte that he landed. Daytona was an experience that I'm glad that we had, but both of us said that we'll never attend a race at that track again. Way too big for enjoy and the stands are called "stands" for a reason. :)
 
buckaroo said:
The only time we went to Daytona, we sat in the Super Stretch and I will agree with everyone that these seats are not very good. But that year, 2001, was not just the year that the great Ironhead lost his life, but it was also the year of the big one right in front of us. We saw Tony Stewart showing his flying prowess, but he needed to work on his landing as it was on top of his teammate, Bobby Labonte that he landed. Daytona was an experience that I'm glad that we had, but both of us said that we'll never attend a race at that track again. Way too big for enjoy and the stands are called "stands" for a reason. :)
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Geeeze Buck - that just gives me the chills reading it. :(
 
WNY24Fan said:
Geeeze Buck - that just gives me the chills reading it. :(
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Oh I would recommend the race just for the experience, but no matter where you sit, you can't see the entire track, but probably much more than anyone can see at Indianapolis. Where we sat, the Earnhardt wreck was about a mile away and at that time, we could just see the start/finish line and could see that Mikey Waltrip won the race, but with the wreck still in progress and wondering what happened was just part of the mess.
 
I understand what you're saying, but just thinking about that wreck and then Dale's, it's one race most people have never forgotten. I had friends who went every year. They left the track and were on the road before it was announced that Dale had died. They stopped at a diner and someone mentioned something about Dale. They figured he was OK since the wreck didn't look that bad and when they said, "We lost him," they thought he was talking about the race. Then when they made it clear that he had died, they just hung their heads in shock and didn't feel like eating much.

I wasn't even that great of Nascar fan then and even I knew who Dale was and his importance. I felt terrible when I heard about it and then watched the repeats on the TV. It always feels like my stomach is in my throat whenever there's a bad wreck until I see the drivers get out and see they're OK.

I've considered going down, but it's really a pain. You have to fly into Orlando and then rent a car unless you have the time to drive down and back. Then add in the cost of staying there, and it's just too much. It sure would be a nice break from winter up here and being able to say you went to THE Daytona 500. It's just too darn expensive.
 
Yorkie, when that race was over, while heading back to the bus, we still had our scanner on. My wife was a big Stewart fan at that time and so she was worried about him. We thought we might hear something over the scanner, but what we heard was something else. We were able to hear what the guiys in the booth were saying and it was clear that DW was pretty much in tears. They were going back and forth wondering how Dale was and all that. Finally the TV director told them that they had to get it together and to close out the program.

We were staying in Jacksonville for this trip and like everyone, we didn't hear about Dale's passing until much later. We did finally hear just before we arrived at Jacksonville, but there was a guy on the bus who knew someone at the hospital where Dale was and he told everyone of the news. The wife being an RN said that we couldn't rely on that because of the various laws and the person who told our bus rider probably only passed on a rumor. Still, the entire ride back to Jacksonville was very somber to say the least.

I have lots of memories of that trip, both of the Busch race and of course the Cup race. I'll never forget one of the last things that Earnhardt said over the radio before his wreck was "Someone tell the SOB Waltrip that I'm back here blocking". Why he said that I'm not sure but it wasn't maliciously. He was wanting either Michael of Jr. to win very much since he knew that he wasn't going to win.
 
buckaroo said:
The only time we went to Daytona, we sat in the Super Stretch and I will agree with everyone that these seats are not very good. But that year, 2001, was not just the year that the great Ironhead lost his life, but it was also the year of the big one right in front of us. We saw Tony Stewart showing his flying prowess, but he needed to work on his landing as it was on top of his teammate, Bobby Labonte that he landed. Daytona was an experience that I'm glad that we had, but both of us said that we'll never attend a race at that track again. Way too big for enjoy and the stands are called "stands" for a reason. :)
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Golly Buck, you said it best.
I attended my first Daytona race in 1962 and my last Daytona race in 1992. None in between but the race in '62 was more enjoyable because it had an aura of excitement and because it was the Daytona 500. The second Daytona 500 was more of an event and as you so aptly explained, the track is too big to enjoy.
 
WNY24Fan said:
I understand what you're saying, but just thinking about that wreck and then Dale's, it's one race most people have never forgotten. I had friends who went every year. They left the track and were on the road before it was announced that Dale had died. They stopped at a diner and someone mentioned something about Dale. They figured he was OK since the wreck didn't look that bad and when they said, "We lost him," they thought he was talking about the race. Then when they made it clear that he had died, they just hung their heads in shock and didn't feel like eating much.

I wasn't even that great of Nascar fan then and even I knew who Dale was and his importance. I felt terrible when I heard about it and then watched the repeats on the TV. It always feels like my stomach is in my throat whenever there's a bad wreck until I see the drivers get out and see they're OK.

I've considered going down, but it's really a pain. You have to fly into Orlando and then rent a car unless you have the time to drive down and back. Then add in the cost of staying there, and it's just too much. It sure would be a nice break from winter up here and being able to say you went to THE Daytona 500. It's just too darn expensive.
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I'm driving down and staying with a friend in Orlando.

Of course Maryland is much closer than upstate New York. I hope DIS/ISC gives us press passes for the 500 but I'll go either way at this point for the astonishing experience of walking in to the gates when the speedway opens at 8am more than anything.

I have no problem with big speedways after attending a road course event. It's more for the experience than anything.
 
Regardless of cost I think every fan should experience the 500 at least once. But the costs are insane.
I still remember my exact words as I walked out and saw the track the first time, Holy Chit!
 
SST55 said:
Regardless of cost I think every fan should experience the 500 at least once. But the costs are insane.
I still remember my exact words as I walked out and saw the track the first time, Holy Chit!
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Me, too, SST. Every race fan needs to go, at least once. It is totally unlike any race --- all the hair on your body stands at attention when they come to the green.

I had the opportunity to sit in the Earnhardt Stands, just to the 4th turn side of start/finish. Outstanding seats --- expensive as hell, but worth it.
 
My seats were in the handicapped section, yes I'm totally, legally handicapped. the first upper tier, front row, I could easily throw a tennis ball in the flag stand. Right in the middle of pit road and the jumbotron is directly in front of me.
Great seats but not worth the price I pay the other 364 days a year.:(
 
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