[George Bieniaszek]

This has been my 11th Daytona 500 and it was tough on all the fans. We drove our truck to the race and getting there from The Villages is really not a problem traffic-wise. This has been an unusual race with race related delays etc.
We left Sunday morning around 8AM, got to the track around 10AM and parked in Lot 7 and took the Shuttle Bus to the track. In our seats for the 1PM start and under the bleachers seeking shelter from the rain at 1:30. Decided to wait out the rain in our truck, so back to Lot 7. We had the radio on for updates and when NASCAR called the race around 5PM, we were heading back home right then, infront of the thousands of people making their way to their cars. Home around 8PM.
Monday, we watched TV to see when NASCAR would officially start the race. 12 Noon start was not realistic with the rain in the area. When they finally announced 7PM as the start, we headed to Bonifey for lunch/dinner and were on the road again at 3:30. Got to the track around 6PM and watched some great racing until Lap 160 when the crash/fire Red Flagged the race for 2 hours. Race ended around 1:30AM, back in our truck around 2:30 and home around 4:30 AM.
Long day, but well worth it. Can't wait for the Coke Zero 400 in July!!