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NASCAR Daytona Int'l Speedway Turn 4 tunnel area under repair after Hurricane Milton

DAYTONA BEACH — Turn 4 at Daytona International Speedway has provided plenty of theatrics — good and bad — in the 65 years since its 1959 opening.

That was on the asphalt, of course.

Today, all of the Turn 4 action is taking place outside the track on the grass bank.

Or what used to be a grass bank.

Double-digit rains, combined with winds approaching triple-digits, took no prisoners.

Few in the greater Daytona Beach area were spared from the wrath of Hurricane Milton, so it's no surprise the city’s most famous piece of property didn't escape without issues.

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The turf and earth around the famed Turn 4 tunnels at Daytona International Speedway weren't spared by Hurricane Milton's relentless rains.
The turf and earth around the famed Turn 4 tunnels at Daytona International Speedway weren't spared by Hurricane Milton's relentless rains.

Wind-related damages inside the track have necessitated some repairs, some of which are complete, but those issues lack the visibility and shocking scene of seeing the earth around the iconic Turn 4 tunnels — the original Speedway tunnels put in place during the 1958 track construction — eroded from the 31-degree banking.

Also, a smaller section of grass banking eroded outside Turn 3.

The repairs will reportedly take about two weeks but aren’t expected to affect this week’s motorcycle events — including cycle racing — during the Thursday-through-Sunday Fall Cycle Scene, which is part of the area’s annual Biketoberfest.

Dozens of out-of-town hurricane-repair crews are queued up behind Daytona International Speedway.
Dozens of out-of-town hurricane-repair crews are queued up behind Daytona International Speedway.

Also, the Speedway, as it has done several times in the past, is serving as a staging area for FPL crews and others in town to help with hurricane repairs. That’s evident for anyone traveling on Midway Avenue behind the Speedway’s backstretch, between the track and airport property.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Speedway Hurricane Milton damage: Are Turn 4 tunnels melting?