Race fans never forget the first time they visit Daytona. The combination of sheer scale, the weight of history and the passion of NASCAR fans make this one of America's most significant sporting temples. Unless you're here for one of the race events, in which case you should start planning months in advance, take a tour of the track in all its glory and visit the Motorsports Hall of Fame afterwards.
The biggest race of the year is the Daytona 500, and it's this event that provides much of the Daytona lore and many of its legends. If you can't watch the race live in February, you'll get a taste of all the excitement on one of the tours that run most days. Highlights include getting up close with the maximum (and rather frightening) 31-degree gradient in some sections of the track – cars travel over 160mph through these turns, and they'll start to slide down the hill if they go less than 70mph! The main stand has 101,500 seats and the whole speedway can cater to 150,000 people; the seats are painted in such a way that the stand looks full on TV even when there's not a soul there.
All tours end with a visit to the Motorsports Hall of Fame, and you can pay $4 person more to get downloadable photos. Tours begin and end at the northern end of the complex, near the corner of W International Speedway Blvd and Bill France Blvd.
The 30-minute Speedway Tour (adult/child $19/13; 11:30am, 1pm, 2pm and 3:30pm) covers the basics, including a "tram" ride around part of the track and a visit to Gatorade Victory Lane. For the full experience, take the 90-minute All Access Tour (adult/child $26/20; hourly 9:30am to 2:30pm), which visits the media center, fan zone and gives you a birds-eye view from the stands. The three-hour VIP Tour ($55; 1pm Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) covers everything NASCAR from the comfort of an air-conditioned coach.
If that's all a bit sedate, treat yourself to the NASCAR Racing Experience, which allows you to either ride shotgun around the track or take a day to become a driver.
