Daytona International Speedway is located 7 km from the sea in Daytona Beach, Florida. After opening in 1959 it has become one of the most important circuits in the USA, hosting the prestigious Daytona 500 NASCAR race, the most important race on that series’ calendar.

The speedway was constructed to replace the road course at Daytona Beach, which was itself instrumental in the establishment of the North American NASCAR series.

In touring car terms, tin tops get their main outing as part of the annual endurance headline, with the event having been staged every year since 1966, except 1974.

Now known as the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the endurance event was upgraded from a 3-hour race to 2,000 km in 1964 before becoming a 24-hour event in 1966.

In 1984 a reprofiled chicane on the back straight was used in the endurance event for the first time. The chicane was modified for the 2003 event to create a shorter detour from the main oval.