DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona International Speedway is looking to make some new hires ahead of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race, slated for August 27 and 28. It is the first race the speedway will hold at full capacity since the start of the pandemic.

On Thursday, the speedway held the first of several hiring events, where they are looking to bring on about 200 employees for jobs in everything from hospitality to security. 

“This would be a pretty cool job for me to have,” said Dennis Mulberger, explaining that he is an avid Nascar fan. 

Dan Pearson, who works at the speedway, shared they need to fill positions across the board as ticket sales for this event are on par with pre-pandemic numbers.

“We are planning on bringing this event back with no restrictions, kind of bringing back full capacity as we did before the pandemic came on, and we are just looking forward to bringing on as many people as possible,” said Pearson, the guest services manager. 

Given the recent surge of COVID-19 in Volusia County, with hospitalizations rising and the positivity rate reaching over 20%, it's something Mulberger said he thought about when applying.

“I am vaccinated and I feel safe so I am not really worried about full capacity, it is OK with me,” said Mulberger. 

Pearson said that despite moving forward with the race as planned, they are keeping an eye on the surge.

“Our human resource team is currently working on a plan, if necessary, to have something for the staff that will be working the event, and we will kind of figure else going forward as things progress," said Pearson. 

According to Pearson, masks and social distancing will be encouraged especially among employees, but it will be voluntary.

While they are partnered with the Volusia County Health Department, administrator Patricia Boswell said they’ve haven’t had conversations about scaling anything back.

 “Hopefully people will think about being vaccinated, being in a large crowd even though it it outdoor event, so maybe people will take the extra level of protection into consideration before they decide to put themselves at risk,” said Bosewell. 

Pearson is hopeful that with enough employees, the event will go off without a hitch for race fans.

“Hopefully just have them be able to take, you know, a day off what is going on in the outside world and just enjoy the time here at the track," said Pearson.

For those interested in working at the speedway for this race, there are several more hiring events scheduled.

• Thursday, July. 29, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Saturday, July 31, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
• Thursday, Aug. 5, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 7, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
• Monday, Aug. 9, 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

The interviews take place on site. No resume required. You can also apply online here. ​