It’s a big holiday weekend for NASCAR fans as the crowds pack into the Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400.
On Friday, the president of the speedway, Joie Chitwood III, gave a progress report on all of the construction and improvements.
He said not only are they on schedule, but they are staying on a $400 million budget. This weekend fans will be able to see the progress.
Coke Zero 400 News & Info
The Coke Zero 400 race isn't until Sunday, but the racetrack is already packed with tailgaters to take in the fan experience. And come race day, the first improvement to the speedway, will be felt right in their seats, all 52,000 of them.
"There are no old seats that exist in the Daytona International Speedway anymore," Chitwood said.
Besides wider and more comfortable seats, they're also safer.
"We installed Safer Barrier at the exit of pit road, we installed safer barrier at the exit of turn four, at pit entrance and we also installed it along the entire outside back stretch wall," Chitwood said.
Mostly concrete and steel, many walls had to be realigned and reinforced. They want to prevent another disaster like the one in 2013 at a nationwide series race before the Daytona 500 when debris from a crash flew into the stands injuring nearly three dozen people.
"Any opportunity to make this property more safe for our competitors is important to us, which is why we undertook the initiative," Chitwood said.
Now with just seven months to go until the DAYTONA Rising project is complete, there is still work to be done to bring all of the modern amenities to today's sports fans with expanded and redesigned entrances, 101,000 seats, twice as many restrooms and three times as many concession stands.
Officials said the real challenge in making all of this possible, was canceling track days and other events on the property so they could take on construction projects.
They said everything will be completed in time for the 2016 Rolex 24 in January.