TAMPA, Fla. — The NASCAR season will kick off with the 68th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15.
“The history that goes along with NASCAR and the Daytona 500, there is just nothing like it,” Frank Kelleher, president of the Daytona International Speedway said.
A race that is considered to be the Super Bowl of motorsports is an annual tradition.
“If you’re an American, at some point in your life, you got to go to The Great American Race,” Kelleher added.
At some point, every driver wants to win The Great American Race.
Richard Petty holds the record with seven victories at Daytona. Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 34 Ford Mustang, is hoping to hoist the Harley J. Earl Trophy for the first time.
“I think every year you feel more and more comfortable with the week, the season coming ahead,” Gilliland said. “I’m really excited about it and would love to take this trophy home.”
Kelleher and Gilliland stopped by the Tampa Bay 28 set to speak about the unpredictable nature of the Daytona race with sports reporter Kyle Burger.
One wrong move at Daytona can trigger massive multi-car wrecks.
“Then the reality of close to 40 cars, nose-to-tail, pushing each other, three-wide, sometimes four-wide, flirting with speeds up to 200 miles per hour,” Kelleher said.
“Love and hate racing with super speedway racing, you feel like you’re in a good spot, in position to put yourself in victory lane, but racing in a big group, like at Daytona, things are out of your control,” Gilliland added.
The 25-year-old Gilliland is a second-generation driver. His father David Gilliland’s last NASCAR race was the 2018 Daytona 500.
“I went to a lot of races as a kid, the Daytona 500 was so big because of that,” Gilliland said. “As a kid, you’re going through all winter-time, it’s the offseason, it’s cold, you’re ready to get down to Florida and see how cool this race really is.”
Share Your Story with Kyle Burger
For Tampa Bay 28 Sports Anchor Kyle Burger, pride in our local teams goes beyond college and the pros. Sports connect us as communities and families. You can connect with Kyle to share your passion for your local athletes below.
.
FWC releases report detailing deadly alligator attack at Lake Kissimmee State Park
The couple involved launched an 11-foot canoe and traveled along Tiger Creek and then toward Lake Kissimmee prior to the incident.
