Imagine you are sitting at home and the doorbell rings. You answer the door and NASCAR Sprint Cup driver David Ragan is at your front door with sponsor UPS.

For three lucky fans, this was a reality on Tuesday afternoon.

Ragan delivered Daytona 500 tickets for the season’s opening race.  Three Florida residents and longtime Daytona ticket holders Mike Bruno Jr., Ben Allen and Jim Barron received their tickets on Tuesday, special delivery.

Ragan who arrived in a UPS car thought the delivery of the tickets was a great idea.

“This is something that we will think about as we’re driving around the race track on that pace lap,” Ragan said. “You see 150,000 people up there and you wonder how each one of them got their tickets. It’s a good thing that they are pumping this race up this early. A lot of people are talking about the [Daytona] 500. It’s our biggest race of the year. It’s the first one. It’s a tone setter for the rest of the season.”

The Daytona 500 is the most prestigious race of the year, teams prepare race cars specifically for this race, and fans too gear up for the weeklong festivities on Daytona Beach.

For these three lucky fans this delivery was one they will never forget. A lot like their first Daytona races they attended.

For Bruno, attending Daytona is a tradition with his father–in-law that started when Sterling Marlin won the Daytona 500. This week Marlin admitted that this Sunday’s race at Homestead will more than likely be his final race.

“We definitely look forward to it every year. My father-in-law and I have been going since Sterling Marlin won his second [Daytona] 500. It’s the highlight of the year for us – February and July.”

With tracks not selling out and a economy slowing toward recovery, tracks including Daytona International Speedway are trying to find ways to not only sell tickets but to market each of the races differently than in the past.

Race tracks have to start marketing for next seasons races now by finding unique ways to reach fans and sell tickets at the same time. When it comes to sponsors and selling tickets, NASCAR and the fans are in a win-win situation.

Tuesday that was no different as these fans received their tickets for Daytona.

“It’s November and they are getting excited about a race that’s in February. That shows what a big deal the Daytona 500 is. For UPS to partner and get the tickets to their rightful owners here in November, [the fans] should have something good to think about for a couple of months leading up to the 500.” Ragan said.

Tickets for the race start at $55 and you can order them online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

The 52nd annual Daytona 500 is February 14th, 2010 and will air live on FOX.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 1:28 pm and is filed under Most Recommended, News Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.