Daytona 500: Racing fans descend upon Daytona Beach, but will the weather hold up?

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Fans are filling the Daytona International Speedway ahead of Sunday’s race.

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This is the ninth consecutive year the Daytona 500 has sold out.

There are some rain concerns heading into the weekend so contingency plans are in the works.

This includes moving the ARCA race up to Friday and preparing for possible changes to Sunday’s schedule as well.

Read: NASCAR changes race times due to inclement weather

In the meantime, the food, fans and fun are in full force.

Their time in town is essential to the area’s tourism industry.

Hard Rock Hotel General Manager Androse Bell said even those who stay at the track, play an important role for the area.

Read: Daytona 500: All eyes will be set on Daytona Beach on Sunday

“It shows we can still invite and host corporate events that bring mass media crowds and that we have the infrastructure to do so without slowing down the entire city,” said Bell.

Just like the race, rooms at the Hard Rock sold out months ago, as did other hotels. It’s a welcome development following a year of hurricanes and a year of post-storm repairs.

“A lot of our hotels had taken this time over the last couple of years to reinvest in their product and it is a great product and again for us to hold such a high level event, we need the product that’s gonna be excellent for those fans coming in to stay in the city,” said Bell.

Hendrick Motorsports looking to end Daytona 500 drought Hear from Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.

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