It didn’t take long for Daytona International Speedway to turn its attention from NASCAR to Supercross with the Speedway starting construction on the Ricky Carmichael-designed Supercross track almost immediately following the th eventual conclusion of the Daytona 500.
Three-time AMA Motocross Champion Mark Burnett is doing the dirty work, the owner of Bomber Built already working on the construction of the track that sits in front of the grandstands in the tri-oval at the famous race place – readying the track for the Daytona Supercross By Honda, which will be held on Saturday night, March 10.
Also returning for the fifth-straight year is course designer and five-time Daytona Supercross By Honda champion Carmichael. The Ricky Carmichael Signature Design course will draw some parallels to last year’s layout with the placement of the starting gate remaining on pit road and providing fans with a great view of the first turn. It will also feature slight changes in the course’s configuration, particularly in the corners.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to design the course for Daytona, where there is so much racing history involved,” said Carmichael, a 15-time AMA Champion and winner of 150 AMA Pro Racing races and the prestigious Motocross of Nations. “It’s fun to sit down at the drawing board and to think of a design that will be fun and challenging for the riders, as well as exciting for the fans and for the people watching on television.”
The first Daytona Supercross race was held in 1971, making this the 41st year of Supercross at Daytona. This year also marks the 21st year that Honda has sponsored the Daytona Supercross By Honda.
Here’s a look at some of the numbers behind the construction of this year’s Daytona Supercross By Honda course:
4 – Number of tractors working to spread the dirt (1 front loader, 1 crawler, 2 skid steer)
8 – Number of dump trucks used to transport loads of dirt
29 – Number of jumps on the track up three from last year
204 – Number of dump truck loads of dirt used to build the course on the tri-oval grass
128 – Number of man-hours needed to complete the construction of the course
420 – Number of 2×9 Styrofoam blocks which will be used for safety along the course
3,200 – Mileage (in feet) of the Supercross course from start to finish
4,500 – Yards of dirt needed to build the Supercross track
For more information and tickets for the Daytona Supercross By Honda, visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.
