Have you wondered what it would be like to dry camp at a major racing event like the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona International Speedway in Florida? I certainly have, even though I am not a hard core race fan. The idea of camping at Daytona International Speedway sounds very exciting to me. But getting there and getting the whole thing wired sounds pretty daunting to me.

Thankfully, when it comes to insider details about camping at Daytona International Speedway, our friend and correspondent Johann Schnell has got us all covered. Johann has been camping at Daytona since 2014 when he started tent camping there with a group of his close friends. Seven years later the group is still going but they ditched the tents and dry camp in style in their own (or rented) RVs.

According to Johann....

My group of close friends are car guys. One of them was getting married and instead of typical bachelor party, he asked for something different. We came up with camping at Rolex.

Started in 2014 and the original crew still remains strong. Each year we might have extra friends joining the core group.

We did it in tents for 3 years and when I got my camper, we changed to RV sites. My friends began renting RVs and one even bought an Ambulance and converted it to a camper for this one year.

To say that they love this annual tradition would be an incredible understatement. On the latest episode of The RV Atlas podcast Johann is sharing all of the ins and outs of camping at Daytona International Speedway.

To listen to Jeremy and Johann talk about how to get a site, the pros and cons of each area, and tips for dry camping at Daytona International Speedway, click on the media player above or subscribe to The RV Atlas podcast wherever you get your shows!

Or just take a quick glance at Johann's notes that he used for the show! Thanks to Johann for joining us for another great episode and sharing all of his best insider intel!

Daytona International Events With Camping

Main events: Rolex 24 hours (January), Daytona 500 (February), Coke Zero 400 (August)

Secondary events: Roar before the Rolex, Daytona 500 Qualifying

Non-racing events: Jeep Beach (National Jeep gathering), Welcome to Rockville (Concert Festival), Challenge Daytona (International Triathlon racing series)

All these events last multiple days, which means camping at the track is part of the fun and super convenient.

Tips for Getting a Site When Camping at Daytona International Speedway

Daytona generally offers a range of options that can be understood as follows:

Inside the track complex - Infield camping

Boardwalk and Park Place to the race

The closer to the track, the more expensive.

They sell them in zones/types, think of neighborhoods. The tent people will be together, the few with electric, the ones near a part of a track  (for example the Horseshoe turn), the ones near Lake Lloyd.

Outside of the track (still within the Daytona Complex) - Geico Park West

A long walk or a tram ride into the infield

Also has zones, for example the ones closer to the tram, or the area for tent camping only.

Daytona provides the right of first refusal to campers that stayed the year prior. This makes it challenging for the first timer, but it allows for groups to know they can book their annual trip. Tickets right now for the Rolex aren’t available, because we are in the renewal period for existing campers

They used to limit popups to actual RV sites and not in the tent area, but over the lat 2 years we see more popups among the tenters. Definitely no RVs allowed on the tent and car areas.

Camping is open to the ticket holder from Monday before the race ...