NASCAR fans going to Dover this summer will have an opportunity to enjoy the Delaware State Fair and the beaches.
With race weekend at Dover Motor Speedway in July this year during the Delaware State Fair and prime beach season, race fans can experience those other events too.
The speedway is partnering with the Delaware Tourism Office to provide two free shuttles per day from Thursday July 17 to Saturday July 19.
Delaware Tourism Office director Jessica Welch thinks this provides a great opportunity for the state.
"The race this year falls smack dab in the middle of the state fair week. I think it's really great because what we can do is we can shuttle those people to the state fair and to the beaches and really show them everything that Delaware has in the summertime,” said Welch. “So maybe in the future they'll come back outside of race weekend, and they'll come back and visit the state."
The shuttles leave the Monster Mile and go to the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand and the Delaware State Fair. They will return to Dover in time for Friday and Saturday’s races.
Dover Motor Speedway VP of marketing and communications Gary Camp says the shuttles are aimed at the 89% of racegoers who come in from out of state.
"For us, to be able to introduce these out-of-staters, tourists to everything that the fair has going on. I mean, the timing probably couldn't be better if you're a fan coming and traveling to the races here at Dover, Delaware, to be able to have something that you can do once you arrive. So many of our fans are here for a longer duration, right? This isn't like going to a Phillies game where you park, you tailgate, you go into the game and you go home," said Camp.
Using the shuttles will require some planning because online registration on the speedway’s website is necessary.
The race weekend schedule this year is the General Tire 150 ARCA Menards Series race at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 18.
The BetRivers 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 19.
The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, July 20 at 2 p.m.
