DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona 500 this Sunday will be different from any other 500 before due to the pandemic. The president of the Daytona International Speedway says they are ready.

“Even though it is going to look a little bit different from last year’s, it is still the Daytona 500, it is still one of sport’s biggest days, so for us to be able to welcome race fans back on Sunday. It is going to be fantastic,” said Chip Wile, speedway president. 

Despite restricting ticket sales inside the 101,000 seat venue to less than a third, they’re still set to smash records.

“Listen, 30,000 people, it will be the largest sporting event that our country has seen since the pandemic," said Wile. 

However Wile shared that safety is still their top priority.

“Every seat here is a reserved seat, so we know exactly where everybody is supposed to sit and we use the math to adhere to the CDC guidelines," said Wile.  “Certainly we are going to social distance people, from the time that they get on property until the time they leave, both in their seating area but also in the concourse area. We will have cashless payment options for people as they buy food and drink.”

As race fans return, they'll be greeted by new white tents. 

“So when a fan walks up right here, obviously they’ll wait on the sticker that says 6 feet of distance,"said Patrick Barfield, the Director of Guest Services. "When the fan crew member asks them to move forward, they’ll actually, if you are wearing a hat, they are going to make you tip your hat up and take your temperature with a thermometer, and making sure that you are feeling well today. And once you pass that part of the screening, you’ll move forward to the next section which is the security check-in.” 

From there, they’ll move to a non-contact security check and present their digital ticket, all measures to reduce any contact with employees or other fans. To keep crowds from forming, they have new protocol to space arriving fans out as much as possible.

“There are staggered entry times for your seating locations and we ask that guests follow that when they arrive, and that will help us keep fans socially distanced and not pack in at one time,” said Barfield.

Barfield said they’ve hired 700 part-time workers for the 500, many of which will be responsible for monitoring safety compliance, remind fans to social distance, and wiping down any high touch surfaces.

In the races they’ve had leading up to the 500, he claimed fans have been very understanding about following the rules.

“They are obeying what we are asking them to do, a lot of happy folks here, a lot of thank yous that they are able to get out and come to events and have a great time,” said Barfield. 

Despite facing new challenges, Wile believes all the work will be worth it in the end.

“I’ll take all of that to know that we are going to have race fans here to watch the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 live,” said Wile. 

The Daytona 500 is set to take place this Sunday, February 14. Tickets are sold out for the event.