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The ”Big One” is a phrase that describes a crash that includes at least five cars in ARCA, IndyCar racing as well as NASCAR. It is commonly referred to at Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway; however, it used in other tracks such as Watkins Glen International and Dover International Speedway.

The history of the ”Big one”

Before the 2000s, such a massive crush was described as terrific or major crashes. Media and competitors started taking notice of the severe car crash which wrecked a multiplicity of Cars at Talladega and Daytona by mid-1990s.

It was in 1997 that Dale Earnhardt uses the phrase “the Big Wreck” to describe the final lap at Pepsi 400. After this news started using the phrase “Big Wreck” for such crashes and it started having widespread use in 1999. Drivers were now openly admitting that they were concerned about its possibility.

The ”Big one” was also used on 11th October 1998 when the Winston 500 was hosted on ESPN. Bob Jenkins, a renowned commentator mentioned, “this is the big one we hoped we would not have.” The term, ”Big one” was published for the first time in 2000, in an ESPN.com article while mentioning the DieHard 500 crash. After this, fans started using this term informally on the message boards.

Later in 2001, Darrell Waltrip, a renowned Fox TV commentator of Daytona 500, mentioned “The Big One” on-air while describing the car wreckage that involved 18 Cars in lap 173. It was 2001, when fans, broadcast media, and competitors started using this term widely. In no time, it became a NASCAR vernacular. It is also a retronym for describing past events.

This massive crash was always the target of critics and many have complained that promoters and media were very happy the crash. In the year 2009, Talladega Superspeedway was sold using the notorious crashes. More so, one-third-pound of frankfurter was marketed at the ”Big one” track.

This term is also a part of a video game. A video game named NASCAR 14 includes an achievement named the Big One that can be won by getting crashed at Talladega Superspeedway

Some examples of The Big Daytona 500 Crash in History are as mentioned below:

Daytona 500 of 2001:

On lap 173, Robby Gordon, who was in fifth place, got behind Ward Burton. During this Tony Stewart and Ward Burton crashed. Stewart’s car banged the wall and landed on Gordon’s car. While tumbling on the track, his car was wrecked as a result of the collision with other cars. This caused a recurrent crashing routine and a whopping 18 cars were wrecked. The driver included were Labonte, Gordon, Steve Park, Mark Martin, Jason Leffler, John Andretti, Andy Houston, Kenny Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte, Jerry Nadeau, Dale Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, and Buckshot Jones.

However, this crash was overshadowed by the deadly wreckage which took occurred on the final lap.

Daytona 500 of 2002:

It all started when Kevin Harvick who was in second-place tried to block Jeff Gordon who was advancing on lap 149, causing a contact between the two and Harvick spun down. He collided with the wall, blocking 17 other cars. Some of the drives included in the crash are Ricky Rudd, John Andretti, Casey Atwood, Bobby Labonte, Joe Nemechek, Jimmie Johnson, Todd Bodine, Jerry Nadeau, Matt Kenseth, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, Johnny Benson Jnr., Jeremy Mayfield, Mike Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jnr, Bobby Hamilton, and Dave Blaney. The winner of the race, Ward Burton avoided the crash slightly.

Daytona 500 2017:

• On lap 143, Chase Elliott was in front of the field and Jamie McMurray turned around, which caused 11 cars to crash involving drivers Jeffrey Earnhardt, Daniel Suárez, Ty Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman, and Landon Cassill.

• On lap 129, Jimmie Johnson while trying to block Trevor Bayne, spun around and caused a 17-car crash including drivers like Clint Bowyer, Danica Patrick, Denny Hamlin, and Chris Buescher.

Daytona 500 of 2018:

This race witnessed 3 massive crashes.

• On lap 60, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., while entering the end stage one, was dashed by Ryan Blaney. Stenhouse had almost regained control when Erik Jones spun and crashed 9 cars. Drivers included were William Byron, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, Ty Dillon, Martin Truex Jr., and Daniel Suárez.

• On lap 103, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski made contact that caused Elliott to run into the wall, crashing 7 cars. Drivers included were Danica Patrick, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, and David Ragan.

• On lap 199, block Ryan Blaney was blocked by Kurt Busch, which caused his car to spin, crashing 10 additional cars. Drivers were Martin Truex Jr., Brendan Gaughan, Jeffrey Earnhardt, A.J. Allmendinger, Matt DiBenedetto, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman, Ryan Newman, Darrell Wallace Jr., and Joey Logano.

2019 Daytona 500

On lap 190, Matt DiBenedetto and Paul Menard contacted and tangled up, which resulted in a 21-car crash. Drivers included were Martin Truex, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott.

Formerly known as Daytona USA, The Daytona 500 Experience, is a motorsport museum and attraction located at Daytona International Speedway. This museum focuses on exhibits that are associated with NASCAR. It also includes exhibits associated with the 24 Hours of Daytona, Daytona 200 motorcycle race, and Daytona Beach & Road Course.

Daytona 500 Experience opened in 1996 and in 2005 it was one of the finalists that hosted the NASCAR Hall of Fame. However, in 2010 the International Speedway Corporation announced that it would be closed for the public due to high operating costs, low attendance, and losing the hall of fame bid. It was shut down for four years and in 2014 it was announced that it would relocate its site. The newly refurbished and expanded museum was open to the public in the year 2017.

About Daytona 500 Experience

It is one of the nosiest museums on earth. With a battalion of TV monitors, it continuously blasts either gushing music, howling engines, stock car drivers spouting, or howling engines. Screechings and rumblings from the IMAX ground, NASCAR-theme video arcade, and motion simulator rides fill the museums. The vast hall is lined with vaulted ceilings and a cement floor. The hall is kept dark, so TV display is easily visible.

Exhibits included in the Daytona 500 Experience

60,000 sq. ft include multiple exhibit areas, interactive displays, and stimulators. Some of the exhibits are:

• The Coca-cola IMAX theatre: This theatre is home to NASCAR 3D. It showcases a #D featured film “The IMAX experience”. This film was released in 2004. During special occasions, this theatre also showcases other movies, such as Dale (a movie about the life of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt).

• Dream Laps: It is a motion simulator of Iwerks where the fans have to abide by the events of a NASCAR race day.

• Acceleration Alley: It is a Full Motion Racing Simulator. You can sit in 80%-scale models of NASCAR stock cars where you can race against other fans and AI computer competitors.

• Goodyear Heritage Museum: This highlights people who raced at Daytona Beach, including the racers during the Speedway of Daytona International, land speed record holders, and stockcars racing at the Daytona Beach Road Course.

• Chevy Pit-stop challenge: Here you can test your skills as a member of the Pit crew. It is renowned as a 16-seconds challenge. You get a chance to compete with Daytona 500 Experience’s own Pit Crew.

• The Champion’s Walk of Fame: These concrete Hollywood-esque walk pays homage to winners of the Daytona 500 since it opened. There are displays of statues of NASCAR founder Bill France, NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his wife Anne. It also displays the Harley J. Earl Trophy and NASCAR championship trophy.

A few other attractions include:

• Richard Petty Driving Experience: It provides you with real-life racing thrills, allowing you to ride shotgun in a 2-seat NASCAR-style race car. There will be a professional instructor to help you with everything.

• The NASCAR car of tomorrow: It allows the inside experience of Daytona 500.

• Speedway tour: It showcases behind the scenes of the “World Center of Racing”. It happens on a tram which is open-air and which takes you through the Garage area of Daytona International Speedway, through the popular high banks of 31 degrees, and through pit road.

• 4th road grill: Here you can quench your thirst with Pepsi or treat yourself an Americrown’s on-site grill.

• The gift shop: This gift shop is loaded with all the Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR gear, and Daytona 500 Experience, one can ever want. Since 1997, the car winning the Daytona 500 gets displayed at the Daytona 500 Experience for twelve months. This highlight of the museum is controversial as well as a popular display.

Daytona 500 takes place in mid-February, every year. Unlike most of the sports that are played at the end of the year, NASCAR’s premier race is the first competition taking place every year. The competition is unrivaled and fierce on the NASCAR circuit, given the Daytona 500’s price and prestige.

If you are a sports fan, attending Daytona 500 might be one of the things on your bucket list. Given the importance of this race, finding a perfect seat is crucial. This can be a daunting task if you have never been to this race before. If you are also amongst them, this seating chart will be beneficial for you.

The Seating Chart

The permanent seats for fans are placed on the front stretch, which consists of five different zones, the name of which corresponds to the place where seats are present.

The five zones are:

• Turn 4: As the name suggests, these seats are closest to the track’s 4th turn. Seats included are 108/308/408 through 125/330/430.

• Pit in: These seats are placed at the beginning of pit road. Seats included are 126/331/431 through 139/339/439.

• Start/Finish: This is a no brainer that the seats are located on the start/finish lines, which is located in the center of the front stretch. Seats included are 140/340/440 through 152/362/462.

• Pit out: In contrast to pit in, these seats are placed at the end of the pit road. Seats 153/363/463 through 166/372/472 are included in this zone.

• Turn 1: It is closest to the track’s 1st turn. It includes seats from 167/373/473 through 184/395/495.

So, what are the best seats?

The best seats may be different for everyone. Seats 363-372 (upper section) or 126-139 (lower section), are less expensive and are value for money. To see the entire track, seats 340-362 are recommended as they are placed ahead of the pit area and are at a sufficient height to provide a perfect view of the entire track. These tickets also provide access to the Tri-Oval club where you can purchase drinks and foods.

Seating Levels

• Tower seating: They are the most desirable and the most sought section. Seats in this section is a must for anyone who will be entertaining clients. This section starts from rows 25 and includes the last 25 rows of the grandstand seats.

• Box seating: they generally stretch from the row 15 up to row 24-26 in various sections. This section is located beneath the tower section and is a good alternative if seats are not available in the tower section or are too expensive.

• Chair seating: This section is located beyond the boxes and includes the first 14 to 19 rows of various sections.

Daytona Club Seating

This section provides an ultimate race experience. It provides you with the best seats with luxurious surroundings. In this lounge, you can enjoy meals across various cuisine with a flat-screen and an open bar.

NASCAR just announced sweeping rules changes that will have a huge effect on 2020 races. This has been the biggest rules changes in years that will directly affect every single race except for the 2020 Daytona 500.

The total effect of the smaller spacer, larger spoilers, and splitters, plus aero ducts is expected to reduce horsepower and increase drag; this is extremely promising for NASCAR fans because NASCAR is attempting to make the races more competitive and have more opportunities for passes. NASCAR wanted to implement the rules changes for all of the Monster Energy Series races this upcoming 2020 season but it was too late to change the rules for the 2020 Daytona race.

“We wanted to keep the Daytona 500 as-is,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President, and Chief Racing Development Officer. “There was a lot of engine inventory already out there. Teams had already begun preparing for the 500, so we wanted to hold the line there for 2020. And then as we started the season again from a superspeedway standpoint at Talladega, going to that 550 (horsepower) tapered spacer, we think will produce exactly what we’ve seen in the past, the side-by-side racing that fans love. So certainly we’ll learn some things along the way, but believe you’ll see very similar styles of racing at those tracks.”

Generally, it takes teams months and months to prepare for new rules changes and make the appropriate adjustments for rules changes. It could take teams a while to adjust to the new rules and find their footing. It will be interesting to see how drivers will race now that there will likely be a lot more passing during races; the rules should shake up the competitive landscape and allow teams with less money a better chance to compete for big titles.

Taking the engines from 750 horsepower to 550 horsepower is going to be a big change that many of the teams and drivers will have to adjust to. But, the reaction from drivers has been very positive so far. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest names in racing to see what they had to say about the new rules package.

“It is gonna intensify things for a big way for these drivers,” said Jeff Gordon on SiriusXM’s NASCAR radio on Tuesday. NASCAR is trying to make the races more competitive and they want to make the racers the main focus of the races once again.

“Nascar announced some rule changes for next season. Quite optimistic that this will be very entertaining, but mainly because of the drivers we have on the track today. The talented stars and personalities will always carry and elevate the sport, no matter the vehicle.” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Twitter.

“We want to run fast, I think any racer wants to, but I do want what’s best for the sport and the fans. You’re going to get a lot of different opinions no matter what you do, but that’s why you have the leaders of the sport. They make it fair for everyone and then we go race. I just care about winning.” said Bubba Wallace who just finished up his rookie season.

Marcus Smith, president of Speedway Motosports Inc, had this to say about the new rules, “Racing is all about entertaining the fans. The 2020 rules package is designed to create more side-by-side racing than ever before. NASCAR, the race teams and the manufacturers deserve a big thank-you for all of the hard work they’ve put into this process.”

These rules changes are great if you are a fan and at the end of the day, that is who NASCAR needs to please. If they do not have any fans then there is no sport and no money. These are aggressive rules changes to attract younger and more fans to the sport and to try and make NASCAR even more entertaining. There will be some criticism but these changes needed to happen if NASCAR wants to continue to be one of the world’s premier racing sports.

You can check out a great infographic of the new rules below:

For the past three years, the organizers at the Daytona 500 have let fans pick from three different field designs that the grounds team have decided on. It is a great feature to let fans have the choice on what they want part of the track to look like. If you decide to vote you can win a pair of free tickets to the Daytona 500 by entering the contest that goes along with the voting. The grounds crew has to plant the seed for the design at the beginning of November so that is why Daytona International Speedway has the vote in the month of October. The voting ends on October 31st at 5 PM EST so make sure that your voice is heard before then!

The voting is already neck and neck according to the Daytona International Speedway Reddit account DISupdates, “Don’t be so sure. The voting is actually quite close.” Your vote could make the difference between your favorite design and one that you hate becoming reality on February 19th of next year. The voting adds an extra layer of customization to the event and lets fans interact with the track in a way they never could before.

The start of the extensive designs of the oval at the Daytona 500 began way back in 2000 when during the running of the Rolex 24, one of the cars spun off of the track and destroyed a big portion of the turf. This was the beginning of the year and the turf crew had to act fast so that they could repair the grass in time for the rest of the year’s events.

“Our groundskeeper at the time, Sam Newpher, had thrown down some seed that he still had in the barn and it came up and it was a different color,” Gurtis recalled. “If we had down annual rye, this was perennial rye, and with that we got two tones and knew at that point that we could do a two-tone pattern.” Andrew Gurtis is now the VP of operations at Daytona International Speedway.

Ever since that day, the crew realized that they could be a lot more creative with their designs and then it became a challenge to create the most innovative and eye-catching designs each and every year. The crew works incredibly hard throughout the year to make sure that they are prepared and ready for the big racing events that take place throughout the year at Daytona International Speedway.

The Daytona 500 takes great pride in their presentation of the Oval design and their crew works year-round to make sure that the grass is in prime condition come February. Daytona International Speedway partners with TruGreen to implement a lot of their field designs and they also work with Missouri Turf and Paint to implement many of the logos on the forefront of the grass.

There is a lot of timing and coordination that goes into making sure that the turf is in pristine condition when the racing season begins in January and they have their first big racing event. The team has to aerate the field usually in the second week of November and then fertilizer and fungicide treatment are applied typically two weeks after the field is aerated.

“There’s an enormous amount of effort that goes into executing the creativity, and that’s where Jason and the Ops team at Daytona really are the best in the business,” Gurtis says. “That shows up if you get down close on the ball field, you can see the care. That doesn’t just happen — not only the level of detail, but then the color behind it. The color enhances how it shows up on television, the color enhances how it shows up in still photography, and it’s an amazing job that they’ve done executing on the creativity. It doesn’t just happen.”

Next time you are watching any sporting event with a turf field, baseball, NASCAR, football, even horse racing, pay special attention to the incredible turf designs that are created by these hard working teams all across the United States and the world. Make your voice known this October so that you can see your favorite design come to life for the 2019 Daytona 500.