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Daytona considering ‘aesthetic’ enhancements for backstretch Le Mans Chicane at Rolex 24

Daytona International Speedway president Frank Kelleher said the track is evaluating adding visual cues to the Le Mans Chicane after grass was removed from the backstretch section for safety.

An action-packed sector traditionally known as “the Bus Stop,” the famous chicane was overhauled with raised curbing that now is bordered entirely by pavement. Sports car drivers noted the stark contrast during offseason testing and the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona practice sessions last weekend. Some said the changes made the sector harder to navigate (especially at night) because reference points were difficult in the vast expanse of new asphalt.

The Le Mans Chicane has been an overtaking opportunity for drivers willing to risk putting a wheel in the grass and kicking up dirt while making a pass.

Key information on the 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona, which will be held Jan. 25-26 at Daytona International Speedway.

“Watching the cars go through the chicane at the Roar, aesthetically, it didn’t look like Daytona,” Kelleher told NBC Sports. “Where’s the grass and where are the drivers cutting the corner and dropping the right rear getting in and then dropping the left rear getting out and the dirt flying? So change is hard from an aesthetic standpoint.”

Kelleher said it’s possible the famous chicane could have a new look after the 2025 Rolex 24, perhaps following the lead of other speedways that have tried to be inconspicuous when removing grass. Replacing its frontstretch grass in 2018, Charlotte Motor Speedway installed 88,000 square feet of synthetic turf.

Even adding a coat of green paint at Daytona might help drivers struggling to get comfortable with the radius of the turns.

“We will look at the area and from an aesthetic standpoint, if we have time and money on our side, we could look at what other racetracks have done to make it not look like a parking lot,” Kelleher said. “I’m confident that we will come up with something that is representative of the World Center of Racing.”

A traditionally action-packed section of the road course could race much differently after safety changes were made because of a NASCAR crash in 2023.

Kelleher stressed the apex and layout of the chicane were untouched (“it’s the same that it’s been for the last 62 years”) and pushed back on criticism that the new curbing was a hindrance.

After testing last November, drivers complained they could no longer make contact with the bigger curbs because heavy abuse negated the risks they previously could take (with manageable damage) while racing side by side or passing through the corner.

Once an accomplished go-kart racer himself on Daytona’s 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course, Kelleher respectfully disagreed the changes will hurt the racing in the Rolex 24 because “I think we’re all going to learn a little bit of how the drivers treat it and how they approach it when it comes time for that that last hour of this endurance race.

“How are they going to approach that corner? We might leave the event and have a different feeling of, ‘Wow I didn’t expect someone to make that bold of a move’ or it might be ‘Wow the level of respect getting into that corner went to a whole new level because of that curb and now we’re seeing more dynamic passing at another area of the racetrack.

Some of the famous names racing in the sports car classic, which attracts stars from around the world.

“If you are a wheelman, and your job is to muscle this car around the track the fastest that you can, you know how to manipulate that corner,” he said. “You know where to set the car up and where you can put the right side in the dirt off of the actual race course. Well, now with this new curbing, you can’t. It’s really gonna disrupt your car. So what it has done, even though the apex is the same, you’re actually exiting the first corner just in a different spot.

“So I think that’s the part that has been frustrating to the athlete is, ‘I can’t do what I want to do. I can’t manipulate this the way that I’ve been, and I’m upset about that.’ Well, timeout. You shouldn’t be driving off the course to begin with, and again, the chicane is exactly the same.

“I think as the Roar went on, and the drivers found the limit of where they could put the right side between the rumble strip and between the FIA curbing, they’ve now figured out the fastest way through there. So I think they’ve calmed down, but hey, when you’re an athlete and you’re being challenged to win and to get up front and it feels like the game has changed a little bit, it’s frustrating. I sleep well at night knowing that it’s the same chicane that we’ve provided for the last 62 years that we’re providing now.”

He also can rest easy with the reason for removing the grass. In a terrifying wreck at Daytona in the NASCAR Cup Series race Aug. 26, 2023, Ryan Preece was hospitalized overnight for observation after his No. 41 Ford skidded over the Le Mans Chicane curbing and went tumbling violently through the backstretch grass, rolling 10 times before coming to a stop.

Preece back behind the wheel after Daytona wreck
Ryan Preece is back in the race car one week after his scary wreck at Daytona, and he shares what this week has been like and praises his team for being "up to speed right away" ahead of a long race at Darlington.

NASCAR, which owns the Daytona track, conducted a safety review that resulted in the alterations to the previous curbing and concrete pads. After last year’s Daytona 500, the grass surrounding the chicane was paved.

“In the overarching spirit of everything that races at Daytona, from stock cars to sports cars, we had to make changes in the back in the name of keeping our athletes safe,” he said. “So that is what we did, and there will be no apology for that. The responsibility of being the president of the World Center of Racing, I don’t ever want to be dismissive to anyone’s opinions and feelings. Let’s start with the safety of our athletes, and from an aesthetic standpoint, we’ve got time on our side to get it right.”

After drawing at least 50,000 to Daytona in 2024, Kelleher said ticket sales are tracking toward the Rolex 24 setting and attendance record for the fourth consecutive year. With the debut of Lamborghini in the Grand Touring Prototype category this year and the expected arrival of Aston Martin in 2026, Kelleher said the event continues to build on its international appeal.

“Just all of those names being at Daytona never gets old, and it’s always special,” he said. “This event, the momentum of it, the interest of it and the importance of it in the motorsports community just continues to get more valuable and it’s something we don’t take lightly.”