Construction Begins on Ricky Carmichael Signature Design Course for Daytona Supercross By Honda
2012 Marks Fifth Year for Bomber Built Construction and Carmichael Design Collaboration
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Immediately following the 54th annual Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, construction began to transform the famous Daytona International Speedway tri-oval into a challenging Supercross course for the Daytona Supercross By Honda, which will be held on Saturday night, March 10.
Mark Barnett, a three-time national champion and owner of Bomber Built, is building the course for the fifth-straight year. Bomber Built is one of the leading track builders in the country, specializing in custom Motocross and Supercross track design.
Also returning for the fifth-straight year is course designer and five-time Daytona Supercross By Honda champion Ricky Carmichael. The Ricky Carmichael Signature Design course will draw some parallels to last year’s layout with the placement of the starting gate remaining on pit road and providing fans with a great view of the first turn. It will also feature slight changes in the course’s configuration, particularly in the corners.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to design the course for Daytona, where there is so much racing history involved,” said Carmichael, a 15-time AMA champion and winner of 150 AMA Pro Racing races and the prestigious Motocross of Nations. “It’s fun to sit down at the drawing board and to think of a design that will be fun and challenging for the riders, as well as exciting for the fans and for the people watching on television.”
This year’s Daytona Supercross By Honda will host the best Supercross riders in America with top names expected to compete such as two-time Daytona Supercross By Honda defending champion Ryan Villopoto, James Stewart, Ryan Dungey and Kevin Windham.
Riders will battle on one of the toughest and most challenging layouts of the season in an attempt to put their name alongside greats such as Bob Hannah, Jeff Stanton, Jeremy McGrath and Carmichael as winners of the Daytona Supercross By Honda.
The first Daytona Supercross race was held in 1971, making this the 41st year of Supercross at Daytona. This year also marks the 21st year that Honda has sponsored the Daytona Supercross By Honda.
Here’s a look at some of the numbers behind the construction of this year’s Daytona Supercross By Honda course:
4 – Number of tractors working to spread the dirt (1 front loader, 1 crawler, 2 skid steer)
8 – Number of dump trucks used to transport loads of dirt
29 – Number of jumps on the track up three from last year
204 – Number of dump truck loads of dirt used to build the course on the tri-oval grass
128 – Number of man-hours needed to complete the construction of the course
420 – Number of 2×9 Styrofoam blocks which will be used for safety along the course
3,200 – Mileage (in feet) of the Supercross course from start to finish
4,500 – Yards of dirt needed to build the Supercross track
The paddock for Supercross teams will again be staged in the blue garages, which are located adjacent to the Sprint FANZONE and provide easy accessibility for the fans.
For more information and tickets for the Daytona Supercross By Honda, visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP .
Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter (www.twitter.com/disupdates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway).
