Daytona Beach, Fla. But 20 years ago, demanding immediate interest was a serious problem, and it was the first day of that.
Baynes, the chief director of the facility operation, is talking about the first race work in Rolex 24 at DAYTONA, the end -power race, one of the signature lace of Motorsports calendar. All he has at that time is comprehensive, and every time he hosts the event, including the 3.56 miles and 12 rounds, the DIS ‘Infrastructure is held.
On this day, due to the collision, Baynes supervised the project and needed a long repair. The damage was so wide that the race had to be completely suspended, and it did not generally occur in the endurance race. But this was an exception. A decision that fell on the shoulder of Baynes.
“I sat in this office, turned off the fire, turned on the headset, and got a call. “Porsche is sitting on the guard rail, and the guard rail is in the air (flapping) and Porsche burned.
“My first race was in charge of myself. Perhaps I was the most nervous. ”
Therefore, it is carried out when the track hosts all races, especially when hosting a race that requires almost perfect operation in more than 24 hours before tens of thousands of crowds. Accidents occur, things happen, incomprehensible things happen, and can happen at any time of the day.
In the entire Rolex 24, just completed by Daytona work out To ensure that the race of this range is turned off, I told several major individuals about everything behind the stage.
DIS is suitable for hosting big events, and with Rolex 24 for 63 years, there is no lack of experience and institutional knowledge. Preparation starts from the previous fall and then the calendar falls seriously when the calendar falls to the new year, and the countdown is effectively triggered to the race day. Each department manager has a detailed checklist of about 100 pages, which works. While certain projects must start in advance, other projects can wait for a week.
The idea is to the big (track, fencing and guard rails are safe and the on -site management center is equipped with staff and equipment appropriately). I have an idea. Nothing is overlooked, and it is a process of continuously checking and reaffirming.
“This is a lot of things. “The grandstands and food service spaces are idle for several months, so the situation is closed and the situation goes to the maximum power saving mode. And we don’t know what’s breaking or not because we appear again in January. ”
On the vendor’s phone, he can access the temperature of almost all the refrigerators and freezers of the property used by the hospitality staff. The convenience of technology is potentially intense considering the amount of food to be prepared, so you can see if something is wrong.
There are more than 100 large refrigerators, freezers and two “huge” refrigerators and freezers. The spells will be placed with Levi for several weeks and several days following the 24th week of Rolex, and 100 chefs of Bittner’s materials are equipped with a complete multi -course meal that will be served as a suite or catching food sold in the concessions to the concessions. You need to prepare.
And this is a 24 -hour race and coffee is essential. Many coffee. Bittner estimates that it will go through 2,000 gallons of coffee throughout the weekend. (40,000 people alcohol drinks are also ordered.)
Bittner said, “We have a paper complex (big) wall called who is what they get, and where they are. “We know that suite is now getting this. We adjust everything. … Everyone has their mission. We wake up in the morning and drink coffee and go beyond what we do. Here is our plan. let’s go.”
Although the challenge faced by the food is not necessarily unique compared to other large sports events, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, and BitTner with hospitality experiences at MLB ‘S explain differently. Los Angeles Dodgers.
Many Stick & Ball Sports will be surprised and withdrawn before hosting the “Big Game”. But for Rolex 24, Bittner did not have the opportunity to prepare for a famous event by holding an exhibition or regular season game. His employees must essentially run to the deep end of the pool.
Bittner said, “I hope you get it in both games in the first game when there are 20-40 games. “We have no luxury. We open with SUPER BOWL. We can get it correctly because we have one opportunity to get it properly. ”
The same is true of many employees, just as those competing on the track must sacrifice sleep. The most valuable product in Rolex 24 is an opportunity to take a break for hours.
Maintaining a work state is not applied to the general employee or emergency service staff. But it’s another story for many others. This is endurance competition for them. And it is not only a 24 -hour period, but also the time before and after, which can mean to wake up for more than 30 hours.
Among the operating employees, the radio chat is constant throughout Gyeongju, and everyone is awake and can be warned. Logistics crews are dispatched from various points to all fire trucks placed around the real estate to exchange batteries, bring coffee and check in.
Troy Willrick, the executive director of emergency and event services, said, “You need to be moisturized, they need to moisturize, feed them, and check the radio. “This race is basically 32 hours.”
The person in charge does not need to be awake as a whole, and admits that the constant trembling will be completely trembling and cannot be completely pulled and separated by the constant trembling. Jennifer Young, the chief executive director of DIS, shook his head and shook his head when he asked how much sleep she would take, including the duty of duty, such as adjusting the master schedule until the last moment.
Of course, she is essentially meaningless, but she wants to go home and rest. In general, she lies in bed and sees a race and monitors the phone.
Young said, “We have a storm of wind, and we have lost a lot of panic because we have lost many back stretch banners. “So this week was a bit stressed. I want to sleep at night, but I’m a bit nervous when I see the wind and see the big green jumbo banner. I want to sleep all night, but I’m constantly worried. ”
Frank Kelleher DIS, chairman, went one step further, acknowledging that he didn’t feel comfortable leaving the facility. During the weekly period leading to the race, through the Gyeongju weekend itself, he can move to the motor groove in the infield and constantly approach it.
Kelleher said, “We now have an espresso machine in the operation (building). “We have a soft sub ice cream machine. We have a popcorn machine. I just think that I just find a soft Pressel machine and rent it and bring it to the operation. This is not a weekend for calculating calories, carbohydrates or coffee intake. ”
The “zombie effect” is what the vendor says. It is the night time that the sleep shortage begins. He often meets fans who try to wake up for 24 hours. It is common to see Bender tries to sleep anywhere where you can find a place to wander and collide with the bean course for WEE time.
“People are just hanging and trying to hang, and are looking for a place where you can put your head down,” vendor said. “I’m just looking for two people around the branch. Otherwise, walk the bean course and look at it, and someone is waiting for the sun to come to the corner of the backpack. . ”
Concerns are pipes that extend beyond the same equipment as the elevator, or the escalator is broken or pipe leaks. (DIS has a whimsical weather of Daytona in case of a professional service team placed on the stay in the field for 24 hours in the atmosphere.
Willrick does not go for more than a few minutes without checking the latest weather report. His responsibility is to give a storm to bring lightning or worse, bringing an event to prevent Gyeongju, cleaning the crowd, and instructing everyone to find shelters.
Willrick said, “I keep checking all day. “All day.”
The 2025 edition of Rolex 24 was fiercely competitive and celebrated the second consecutive victory with Penske Porsche.
But celebrating Sunday afternoon is not a fence screed. The same was true of the operators who completed the longest race of the year.
“I am a person behind the scenes so that everyone can have a good time. “Make sure the escalator works. I got 47 escalators, 16 elevators and cargo elevators. There are many moving parts. (Daytona) is 9 miles, 104,000 seats from one end to the other. It is a big performance. So I have a lot of pride in it. ”
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(DAYTONA’s Rolex 24: James Gilbert / Getty Images The best photo of a car that races in fireworks on Saturdays on Saturday)