Daytona International Speedway, Racing CircuitOval

Daytona International Speedway sits in Daytona Beach on Florida's Atlantic coast, roughly 50 miles north-east of Orlando. It opened in February 1959, conceived by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and engineered with designer Charles Moneypenny to replace the beach-and-road races that had made the area famous. The headline feature is the 2.5-mile tri-oval, whose corners are banked at a steep 31 degrees while the distinctive kinked start-finish straight is angled at 18 degrees to give spectators a better view. Excavation for the embankments created Lake Lloyd, a 29-acre infield lake that has become part of the circuit's identity. Each February the venue stages the Daytona 500, the season-opening showpiece of the NASCAR Cup Series, and it returns mid-season for the summer Cup race. An infield road course threads through the oval to form two sports car configurations: the 3.56-mile, 12-turn layout used for the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the wider IMSA WeatherTech endurance season, and a slightly longer 14-turn variant briefly run for NASCAR road races. A separate 12-turn motorcycle course hosts the Daytona 200. The road course winds through landmarks such as the International Horseshoe and the back-straight Bus Stop chicane before rejoining the banking. A major 2013-2016 redevelopment rebuilt the frontstretch grandstands into the towering modern structure seen today. Marketed as the "World Center of Racing," Daytona remains one of the most recognisable circuits in American motorsport.

Operated by: NASCAR / Speedway Motorsports LLC