Here's to you, Daytona ...
Feb 26, 2012 05:05 AM
By Marty Smith
Note: My bosses on the television side charged me with capturing the essence of the annual pilgrimage to Daytona for a new season. The piece will air throughout Daytona 500 weekend. I wanted to share the script with you:
Only the rarest of pillars stand firmly on a foundation of sand
For, sand is fickle
Individual grains are loose and free in the ocean breeze
or are swept away with the tide
But packed hard by pressure
sand molds as solid as stone
confirming Big Bill France's vision that Daytona's Beach would provide the foundation on which he would create NASCAR
Daytona's legend evokes visions of Spring Break bikini beauties
and Harley-clad bikers.
And its racetrack wields a checkered flag so powerful
it propels he who captures it directly into immortality
Or in an instant, history becomes heartbreak
And therefore, Daytona's Beach is the ultimate destination point for NASCAR fans
Here the cadence of 43 handcrafted steel chariots marching is your pulse
the roar of 200,000 breathless brethren your heartbeat.
And so every February fans from the farthest reaches of this great NASCAR Nation load up their dreams and make the pilgrimage
Daytona marks a new beginning
an empty canvas with infinite possibility
None has dipped his brush
no one is ahead
no one behind.
All are equal in status and in opportunity
The same goes for us
the fans.
With the dawn of every season
the longest
coldest
most excruciatingly dormant months of our year are over
and we burst like spring's first bud with the boundless hope of excellence
So to that hope I raise my glass to you, Daytona
Cheers.
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