Jeep Beach invades Daytona International Speedway with 'Main Event'

DAYTONA BEACH — Despite threatening clouds and the lingering chance of rain, a procession of thousands of Jeeps still rolled on Friday morning at the opening day of the annual Jeep Beach “Main Event” on the infield at Daytona International Speedway.

The Speedway gathering, one of the popular fixtures of the weeklong Jeep Beach, showcased a midway packed with vendors hawking every imaginable brand-specific part or accessory, items that ranged from custom wheels to conversion kits to transform vehicles into rolling homes-away-from-home.

The two-day “Main Event” will continue on Saturday at the Speedway with a new wrinkle: a closing concert by pop singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat, followed by a fireworks display.

 

More Jeep Beach fun: Jeep Beach party returns to Daytona's Hard Rock Hotel

On Sunday, the weeklong Jeep Beach officially concludes with an early-morning Jeep Beach parade on Daytona Beach that includes a “Jeep Beach Sweep” to clean litter off the sand. Staging for that that event will start at 5:45 a.m. at all open beach ramps between International Speedway Boulevard and Dunlawton Avenue.

The parade is slated to start at sunrise, at 6:43 a.m. A beach pass is not required for the parade.

At 'Main Event,' obstacle course tests Jeeps and their drivers

At the Speedway on Friday, meanwhile, the main attraction was watching Jeeps of all shapes and sizes tackle the event’s formidable obstacle course.

Jeepers kicked up dirt and debris as they pushed their off-road vehicles against the course littered with cracked remains of massive concrete water pipes, highway barriers and other objects that most drivers would avoid. In the nearby grandstand, onlookers marveled at the power of engines and suspensions that snarked and groaned against the rough terrain.

 

“This is awesome,” said Eddie Walters, 50, who traveled from Silver Springs with his wife, Heidi, for the couple’s first Jeep Beach. They traveled by Jeep, of course, the fifth one that they have owned.

“We’re not taking it on the obstacle course,” he said.

Jeep Beach means big opportunity for brand-specific vendors

For vendors, Jeep Beach is an opportunity to showcase products and services for a gathering that is now in its 20^th year and attracted more than 225,000 visitors and 25,000 Jeeps to Daytona Beach in 2022.

“We’ve been coming since the beginning,” said Ricky Artes, owner of Orlando-based JeepersDen, a company that has sold a wide array of Jeep accessories since 1997.

 

The company travels to roughly 17 Jeep events annually in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, “but this is the largest event we do,” Artes said. “Coming to Daytona, to the Speedway, people just love it. It’s a very, very busy show and it gets busier every year.”    

This year, the event expects to top those totals in pursuit of a goal of raising $1 million for an array of more than 70 area charities in Volusia and Flagler counties, according to organizers.

For first-time attendee Eddie Walters, it’s the camaraderie of Jeep Beach that he has most enjoyed.

“We’ve been to all the events,” he said. “It’s kind of like a big family.”