DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —The infield of the Daytona International Speedway track is so exceptionally massive that it features it’s own body of water: Lake Lloyd, a 29-acre man-made lake that has existed since the 2.5-mile track opened in 1959. It’s hosted everything from fishing tournaments to triathlons.
The lake was originally created and used as a retention pond during the track’s construction in the late ’50s, and the dug-up “muck, sand and limestone” then helped create the 31-degree banking in the track’s turns, said Herb Branham, the director of ISC Archives & Research Center. International Speedway Corporation owns the iconic Daytona track, along with several others on the NASCAR circuit.
“It’s a part of speedway lore as much as anything else from pretty functional and humble beginnings,” Branham said. “There’s a lot of things that are iconic around here, but in its own unique way, it is iconic.”
When construction finished, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. named it Lake Lloyd after his friend and Daytona local J. Saxton Lloyd, a car dealership owner who gave France his first job as a mechanic when he moved to to the area in the mid-1930s.
France also added a crucial but “bizarre touch” to the lake upon the track’s completion, Branham said.
“My favorite story is he literally brought the game commission in, and they stocked it with bass,” Branham said. “I thought that was wild. Talk about the attention to detail.”
Going for an accidental swim
Lake Lloyd used to be larger. It was once 44 acres and stretched much closer to the edge of the race track in some parts compared with now.
“A few times people would spin out and end up in the lake,” Branham said.
While NASCAR teams nowadays try to shed even the tiniest amount of dead weight from their race cars, one driver added some extraneous equipment to his because of how close to the track Lake Lloyd was.
“Tiger” Tom Pistone was paranoid about driving into Lake Lloyd. His fear was so intense that when he’d race at Daytona back when the track was still in its infancy, he’d keep scuba gear in his car just in case, Branham said.
Fishing to triathlons: What happens on Lake Lloyd?
The lake has been used for a variety of activities over the years, from boat races and water skiing to hosting the swimming leg of a triathlon in December.
Decades later, Lake Lloyd is smaller, but people are still fishing bass (and sometimes a catfish or two) out of it, especially in the days leading up to the Daytona 500, which is Sunday.
Fans camping out in the infield for the biggest NASCAR race of the season can fish off the boardwalk any time they want. Friday, and for the 16th time, there was a charity fishing tournament with NASCAR drivers and fans jumping in fishing boats and casting their lines out in the middle of the lake.
Martin Truex Jr., last year’s winner Clint Bowyer (and his 4-year-old son Cash), Ryan Newman and Jeffrey Earnhardt were among the active drivers fishing in the tournament, while retired drivers and brothers Bobby and Donnie Allison joined in too.
“It’s cool to have a lake in a race track,” said Truex, the 2017 Cup Series champion who’s starting his first season in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He said he’d find a way to the water even if he wasn’t sponsored by Bass Pro Shops.
“Most tracks aren’t big enough to have a lake inside of them, but I think it’s neat. It’s a cool story, but also I just love to fish.”
Twelve teams of four ventured out onto the lake for about 90 minutes in search of the biggest fish possible. And because the lake is huge — for being enclosed by a race track — the teams’ boats had room to bounce around, looking for the biggest biters.
Always competitive, Newman jokingly flipped off Donnie Allison as he found a secret spot to drop his line.
With a couple giant fish, Truex came out on top with the largest bass weighing in at 4.54 pounds. He barely edged out Bowyer, who’s largest catch was 4.53 pounds.
“That wasn’t luck; that was skill,” Truex said after being declared the winner. He also fishes when NASCAR returns to Daytona for the mid-summer race each year if it’s not too hot.
“It’s my day,” he said Friday about catching three fish totaling 10.42 pounds. “Too bad we don’t race today.”
