‘We open with the Super Bowl’: The work behind Daytona’s 24-hour endurance race

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Nodding out his window in a small, nondescript building inside Daytona International Speedway’s infield, Chris Baynes can smile about it now. But two decades ago, it was a serious matter demanding immediate attention, and it just so happened to be his first day on the job.

Baynes, DIS’ senior director of facility operations, is talking about his first race working the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a twice-around-the-clock endurance race that is one of the signature races on the motorsports calendar. The position he was in then and still holds now is all-encompassing, responsible for ensuring DIS’ infrastructure is fully operational whenever hosting an event, including the fencing and guardrails that surround the 3.56-mile, 12-turn road course.

On this day, a crash had severely damaged a section of guardrail, necessitating lengthy repairs, with Baynes overseeing the project. The damage was so extensive the race needed to be stopped completely, something that doesn’t normally happen during an endurance race. But this was an exception; a decision that fell on Baynes’ shoulders.

“I was sitting in this office, lights out, headset on, and I got a call, and I looked out that window right here,” Baynes said. “There’s a Porsche sitting on top of a guardrail, guardrail is (flapping) in the air and the Porsche is on fire.

“That was my first race being by myself in charge. Probably the most nervous I’ve ever been.”

So it goes when a track hosts any race, but particularly one that requires near-perfect operations for 24-plus hours before a crowd of tens of thousands. Accidents happen, things break, the unthinkable occurs — and it all can happen at any time of the day.

Throughout the just-completed Rolex 24 at Daytona, The Athletic spoke to several key individuals on everything that goes on behind the scenes to ensure a race of this scope goes off, navigating a stressful high-wire act in a coordinated effort while running on little sleep.

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DIS is well-versed in hosting big events, and with the Rolex 24 now in its 63rd year, there is no shortage of experience and institutional knowledge. Preparations begin the previous fall, then commence in earnest once the calendar flips to the new year, effectively triggering the countdown to race day. Each department head has a detailed checklist, some over a hundred pages long, which they work through. Certain projects need to begin well in advance, while others can wait until the week of the event.

From the big (ensuring the track, fencing and guardrails are safe and the on-site care centers are properly staffed and equipped) to little facets (making sure every light bulb in every suite, restroom and public area are working efficiently), the idea is nothing is overlooked, a continual process of checking and rechecking.

“It’s a lot,” said Paul Bender, senior director of venue operations. “The grandstands and food service areas kind of sit idle for a few months, so things get shut down and things go to hibernation, so to speak. And we kind of gear things back up in January, so we don’t know what’s going to be broken and what’s not.”

On Bender’s phone, he can access the temperature for nearly every refrigerator and freezer on property used by the hospitality staff. Tthe convenience of technology helps him to know whether something is awry because any breakdown is potentially cataclysmic considering the volume of food that must be prepared.

Stocking these 100-plus combined walk-in refrigerators and freezers plus two “giant” refrigerators and freezers is the responsibility of Ty Bittner, the regional operations manager for Levy, a hospitality company that services DIS. In the weeks and days leading into the Rolex 24 weekend, orders will be placed with Levy, and Bittner is tasked with delivering 25,000 pounds of chicken, 15,000 hot dogs, 5,000 pounds of brisket and 5,000 pounds of short ribs, plus a multitude of other ingredients his 100 chefs on staff require to prepare full, multi-course meals that will be served in suites or grab-and-go food sold at concession stands.

And being this is a 24-hour race, coffee is essential. Lots and lots of coffee. Bittner estimates they’ll go through 2,000 gallons of coffee over the entirety of the weekend. (Forty-thousand non-alcoholic beverages will also be ordered.)

“We have a (big) wall with just sheets of paper of who’s getting what, where, and it’s called ‘The Timeline,’” Bittner said. “We know the suite is getting this at this time — you know this person has a nut allergy or doesn’t want gluten but wants this. We coordinate all that. … Everybody has their task. We get up in the morning, have coffees and go over what we’re doing. Here’s our plan, let’s go to it.”

While the challenges facing DIS on the food side aren’t necessarily unique compared to other large-scale sporting events, there is a difference, explains Bittner, who has extensive experience in hospitality working for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, and MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers.

Many stick-and-ball sports get to ramp up and iron out any kinks before hosting a “big game.” But for the Rolex 24, Bittner notes, DIS doesn’t get the chance to hold an exhibition or regular-season game to prepare for a high-profile event. His staff essentially has to jump into the deep end of the pool.

“When you’ve got 20 to 40 games, hopefully you’ve gotten it right by your first one or two games,” Bittner said. “We don’t have that luxury. We open with the Super Bowl. We have one chance to get it right, so we make sure we get it right.”

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Just as those competing on the track must sacrifice sleep, so too do many of DIS’ staff. The most valuable commodity during the Rolex 24 is the chance to grab even a couple of hours of rest.

Having to remain on duty doesn’t apply to general staff or emergency service workers employees, as they’re rotated out in shifts. For many others, however, that’s another story. This is an endurance race for them, too. And it’s not just the 24-hour duration but the time before and afterward, which can mean staying awake for 30-plus hours.

Among the operations staff, radio chatter is constant throughout the race to ensure everyone stays awake and alert. A logistics crew is dispatched at various points to all the firetrucks stationed around the property to swap out batteries, bring coffee and check in.

“You have to make sure they’re hydrated, make sure they’re fed, do radio checks and that kind of stuff,” said Troy Willrick, DIS’ managing director of emergency and event services. “With this race, it’s basically a 32-hour day.”

Those in charge aren’t required to stay awake throughout, it’s just that they admit they can’t entirely pull themselves away and detach due to the constant trepidation that something will happen that requires their immediate attention. Jennifer Young, DIS’ senior director of operations, whose duties include coordinating the master schedule down to the last second, laughs and shakes her head when asked how much sleep she gets.

Sure, she tries to go home and rest, though it’s essentially futile. Typically, she lays in bed, watches the race and monitors her phone.

“We had a windstorm come through (the weekend prior), and we lost a lot of our backstretch banners, so I had a panic moment for our partners,” Young said. “And so this week was a little stressful. I would love to sleep at night, but when you see the wind and you see those large green jumbo banners, I kind of get a little nervous. I’d love to sleep through the night, but I’m constantly worried.”

DIS president Frank Kelleher takes it a step further, having accepted that he doesn’t feel comfortable leaving the facility. For the duration of the week leading into the race and through the race weekend itself, he moves into a motorhome located in the infield so he’s constantly accessible.

“We now have an espresso machine in our infield ops (building),” Kelleher said. “We have a soft serve ice cream machine. We’ve got a popcorn machine. I just found a soft pretzel machine that I think I’m going to borrow and bring it into infield ops. This is not a weekend where you’re counting calories, carbs or coffee intake.”

The “zombie effect” is what Bender refers to it as. It’s that time of night when sleep deprivation sets in, something he often encounters in fans trying to stay awake for all 24 hours. It’s common for Bender to wander the concourse during the wee hours and see someone trying to sleep wherever they can find a spot to crash.

“People are just trying to hang on, and they’re looking for any place where they could just somewhat lay their head down, something soft,” Bender said. “I’ll find a couple of those people wandering around just looking for a spot, or I’ll be walking down the concourse and look over and someone is tucked up in a corner with their backpack, just waiting for the sun to come up.”

Concerns extend beyond equipment like an elevator getting stuck, an escalator breaking down or a pipe springing a leak. (Just in case, DIS has a specialized service team stationed on-site on standby for all 24 hours.) There is also Daytona’s fickle weather to contend with that can vacillate between hot during the day to frigid cold at night, not to mention the persistent threat of rain.

Willrick doesn’t go more than a couple of minutes without checking the most up-to-date weather report. Should a storm roll in bringing lightning, or worse, it is his responsibility to put events in motion to stop the race, clear spectator areas and send out advisories instructing everyone to seek shelter.

“I am constantly checking, all day long,” Willrick said. “All day.”

The 2025 edition of the Rolex 24 was highly competitive, culminating with Penske Porsche celebrating a second consecutive victory.

But it wasn’t just Penske celebrating Sunday afternoon. So too were operational folks whose work ensured the venue also successfully completed DIS’ longest race of the year.

“I’m the guy behind the scenes that makes sure that everybody has a good time,” Bender said. “I make sure that escalators are working; I got 47 escalators and 16 elevators and a freight elevator. There’s a lot of moving parts. (Daytona) is nine-tenths of a mile from one end to the other, and 104,000 seats. That’s a big gig. So I take a lot of pride in that.”

(Top photo of cars racing under fireworks on Saturday during the Rolex 24 at Daytona: James Gilbert / Getty Images)