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‘We open with the Super Bowl’: The work behind Daytona’s 24-hour endurance race

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‘We open with the Super Bowl’: The work behind Daytona’s 24-hour endurance race

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Nodding out his window in a small, nondescript building inside Daytona International Speedway’s infield, Chris Baynes can smile about it now. But two decades ago, it was a serious matter demanding immediate attention, and it just so happened to be his first day on the job.

Baynes, DIS’ senior director of facility operations, is talking about his first race working the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a twice-around-the-clock endurance race that is one of the signature races on the motorsports calendar. The position he was in then and still holds now is all-encompassing, responsible for ensuring DIS’ infrastructure is fully operational whenever hosting an event, including the fencing and guardrails that surround the 3.56-mile, 12-turn road course.

On this day, a crash had severely damaged a section of guardrail, necessitating lengthy repairs, with Baynes overseeing the project. The damage was so extensive the race needed to be stopped completely, something that doesn’t normally happen during an endurance race. But this was an exception; a decision that fell on Baynes’ shoulders.

“I was sitting in this office, lights out, headset on, and I got a call, and I looked out that window right here,” Baynes said. “There’s a Porsche sitting on top of a guardrail, guardrail is (flapping) in the air and the Porsche is on fire.

“That was my first race being by myself in charge. Probably the most nervous I’ve ever been.”

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So it goes when a track hosts any race, but particularly one that requires near-perfect operations for 24-plus hours before a crowd of tens of thousands. Accidents happen, things break, the unthinkable occurs — and it all can happen at any time of the day.

Throughout the just-completed Rolex 24 at Daytona, The Athletic spoke to several key individuals on everything that goes on behind the scenes to ensure a race of this scope goes off, navigating a stressful high-wire act in a coordinated effort while running on little sleep.


DIS is well-versed in hosting big events, and with the Rolex 24 now in its 63rd year, there is no shortage of experience and institutional knowledge. Preparations begin the previous fall, then commence in earnest once the calendar flips to the new year, effectively triggering the countdown to race day. Each department head has a detailed checklist, some over a hundred pages long, which they work through. Certain projects need to begin well in advance, while others can wait until the week of the event.

From the big (ensuring the track, fencing and guardrails are safe and the on-site care centers are properly staffed and equipped) to little facets (making sure every light bulb in every suite, restroom and public area are working efficiently), the idea is nothing is overlooked, a continual process of checking and rechecking.

“It’s a lot,” said Paul Bender, senior director of venue operations. “The grandstands and food service areas kind of sit idle for a few months, so things get shut down and things go to hibernation, so to speak. And we kind of gear things back up in January, so we don’t know what’s going to be broken and what’s not.”

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On Bender’s phone, he can access the temperature for nearly every refrigerator and freezer on property used by the hospitality staff. Tthe convenience of technology helps him to know whether something is awry because any breakdown is potentially cataclysmic considering the volume of food that must be prepared.

Stocking these 100-plus combined walk-in refrigerators and freezers plus two “giant” refrigerators and freezers is the responsibility of Ty Bittner, the regional operations manager for Levy, a hospitality company that services DIS. In the weeks and days leading into the Rolex 24 weekend, orders will be placed with Levy, and Bittner is tasked with delivering 25,000 pounds of chicken, 15,000 hot dogs, 5,000 pounds of brisket and 5,000 pounds of short ribs, plus a multitude of other ingredients his 100 chefs on staff require to prepare full, multi-course meals that will be served in suites or grab-and-go food sold at concession stands.


The sun sets over the grandstands at DIS during this weekend’s Rolex 24. The endurance race demands a lot out of race teams — and the track’s staff. (James Gilbert / Getty Images)

And being this is a 24-hour race, coffee is essential. Lots and lots of coffee. Bittner estimates they’ll go through 2,000 gallons of coffee over the entirety of the weekend. (Forty-thousand non-alcoholic beverages will also be ordered.)

“We have a (big) wall with just sheets of paper of who’s getting what, where, and it’s called ‘The Timeline,’” Bittner said. “We know the suite is getting this at this time — you know this person has a nut allergy or doesn’t want gluten but wants this. We coordinate all that. … Everybody has their task. We get up in the morning, have coffees and go over what we’re doing. Here’s our plan, let’s go to it.”

While the challenges facing DIS on the food side aren’t necessarily unique compared to other large-scale sporting events, there is a difference, explains Bittner, who has extensive experience in hospitality working for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, and MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Many stick-and-ball sports get to ramp up and iron out any kinks before hosting a “big game.” But for the Rolex 24, Bittner notes, DIS doesn’t get the chance to hold an exhibition or regular-season game to prepare for a high-profile event. His staff essentially has to jump into the deep end of the pool.

“When you’ve got 20 to 40 games, hopefully you’ve gotten it right by your first one or two games,” Bittner said. “We don’t have that luxury. We open with the Super Bowl. We have one chance to get it right, so we make sure we get it right.”


Just as those competing on the track must sacrifice sleep, so too do many of DIS’ staff. The most valuable commodity during the Rolex 24 is the chance to grab even a couple of hours of rest.

Having to remain on duty doesn’t apply to general staff or emergency service workers employees, as they’re rotated out in shifts. For many others, however, that’s another story. This is an endurance race for them, too. And it’s not just the 24-hour duration but the time before and afterward, which can mean staying awake for 30-plus hours.

Among the operations staff, radio chatter is constant throughout the race to ensure everyone stays awake and alert. A logistics crew is dispatched at various points to all the firetrucks stationed around the property to swap out batteries, bring coffee and check in.

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“You have to make sure they’re hydrated, make sure they’re fed, do radio checks and that kind of stuff,” said Troy Willrick, DIS’ managing director of emergency and event services. “With this race, it’s basically a 32-hour day.”

Those in charge aren’t required to stay awake throughout, it’s just that they admit they can’t entirely pull themselves away and detach due to the constant trepidation that something will happen that requires their immediate attention. Jennifer Young, DIS’ senior director of operations, whose duties include coordinating the master schedule down to the last second, laughs and shakes her head when asked how much sleep she gets.

Sure, she tries to go home and rest, though it’s essentially futile. Typically, she lays in bed, watches the race and monitors her phone.

“We had a windstorm come through (the weekend prior), and we lost a lot of our backstretch banners, so I had a panic moment for our partners,” Young said. “And so this week was a little stressful. I would love to sleep at night, but when you see the wind and you see those large green jumbo banners, I kind of get a little nervous. I’d love to sleep through the night, but I’m constantly worried.”

Rolex 24

A sign at DIS has some fun with the 24-hour nature of the race. Keeping fans entertained around the clock is part of the added challenge for organizers. (James Gilbert / Getty Images)

DIS president Frank Kelleher takes it a step further, having accepted that he doesn’t feel comfortable leaving the facility. For the duration of the week leading into the race and through the race weekend itself, he moves into a motorhome located in the infield so he’s constantly accessible.

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“We now have an espresso machine in our infield ops (building),” Kelleher said. “We have a soft serve ice cream machine. We’ve got a popcorn machine. I just found a soft pretzel machine that I think I’m going to borrow and bring it into infield ops. This is not a weekend where you’re counting calories, carbs or coffee intake.”

The “zombie effect” is what Bender refers to it as. It’s that time of night when sleep deprivation sets in, something he often encounters in fans trying to stay awake for all 24 hours. It’s common for Bender to wander the concourse during the wee hours and see someone trying to sleep wherever they can find a spot to crash.

“People are just trying to hang on, and they’re looking for any place where they could just somewhat lay their head down, something soft,” Bender said. “I’ll find a couple of those people wandering around just looking for a spot, or I’ll be walking down the concourse and look over and someone is tucked up in a corner with their backpack, just waiting for the sun to come up.”

Concerns extend beyond equipment like an elevator getting stuck, an escalator breaking down or a pipe springing a leak. (Just in case, DIS has a specialized service team stationed on-site on standby for all 24 hours.) There is also Daytona’s fickle weather to contend with that can vacillate between hot during the day to frigid cold at night, not to mention the persistent threat of rain.

Willrick doesn’t go more than a couple of minutes without checking the most up-to-date weather report. Should a storm roll in bringing lightning, or worse, it is his responsibility to put events in motion to stop the race, clear spectator areas and send out advisories instructing everyone to seek shelter.

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“I am constantly checking, all day long,” Willrick said. “All day.”

The 2025 edition of the Rolex 24 was highly competitive, culminating with Penske Porsche celebrating a second consecutive victory.

But it wasn’t just Penske celebrating Sunday afternoon. So too were operational folks whose work ensured the venue also successfully completed DIS’ longest race of the year.

“I’m the guy behind the scenes that makes sure that everybody has a good time,” Bender said. “I make sure that escalators are working; I got 47 escalators and 16 elevators and a freight elevator. There’s a lot of moving parts. (Daytona) is nine-tenths of a mile from one end to the other, and 104,000 seats. That’s a big gig. So I take a lot of pride in that.”

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GO DEEPER

‘It’s never-ending out there’: Behind the scenes at a 24-hour race with an F1 champ

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(Top photo of cars racing under fireworks on Saturday during the Rolex 24 at Daytona: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

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Tottenham are asking not to be called Tottenham

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Tottenham are asking not to be called Tottenham

Eagle-eyed viewers of Sky Sports’ coverage of Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 win against Manchester United last Sunday will have noticed a change.

When head coach Ange Postecoglou was interviewed before kick-off and asked about the lift of having players back from injury, he was described as “Tottenham Hotspur Head Coach”. When the Tottenham starting XI was displayed down the left-hand side of the screen, it said “Spurs” at the top. And when the graphics showed the team in their positions, starting with a cutout of Postecoglou, arms crossed, the word across his chest was “Spurs”.

Nothing too surprising about that, you might think. Tottenham Hotspur is the name of the club. Spurs is their common nickname.

But if you saw the Sky Sports coverage of Tottenham’s 3-2 defeat at Everton on January 19, it looked subtly different. During Postecoglou’s pre-match interview, he was described as “Tottenham Head Coach”. The team graphic just had the word “Tottenham” at the top. And the cutout image of arms-crossed Postecoglou again had “Tottenham” written across his chest. When Sky Sports showed the current Premier League table, it was “Tottenham”. And the form table, in which they were 18th out of 20, “Tottenham” again.


Sky Sports’ form guide graphic on January 19 (Sky Sports)

So what changed? What happened to the word ‘Tottenham’ over the last few weeks?

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The answer lies in an email that was circulated to Premier League broadcasters on February 10, that has been seen by The Athletic. Titled “Tottenham Hotspur Naming Update”, the email makes clear how the club wants to be referenced.

“Tottenham Hotspur have provided clarification regarding the club’s name. They have requested that the club are primarily known as Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs being the preferred short version. The club have requested that they are not referred to as Tottenham.”

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GO DEEPER

What is Arsenal? Why are teams United? Uh, Hotspur? Clubs’ names explained

This guidance has gone out to Premier League broadcasters all around the world. The changes that Sky Sports made to their graphics have also been made by other networks that show Tottenham matches. The Premier League website is in line too. It is always “Tottenham Hotspur” or “Spurs” there, never “Tottenham”.

The club’s explanation for this is simple: Tottenham is the name of the area, but not the name of the club. It is long-standing club policy not to refer to themselves as ‘Tottenham’. There is nothing new about this, it has been the club’s position going back to 2011.

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Sky Sports’ league table graphic on February 16 (Sky Sports)

What specifically changed is that in November last year, the club unveiled a “remastered brand identity”, which was “rolled out across all the Club’s physical and digital touchpoints”. This came with a “Brand Playbook”, which explains in comprehensive detail what the new brand identity means. Towards the end of a section titled “Tone of voice” (“Defiant, Authentic, Rallying, Energetic”), there is a paragraph that makes very clear how the club wants to be described.

“In a world full of Uniteds, Citys and Rovers, there is only one Hotspur, Tottenham Hotspur. When referring to the team or the brand, please use ‘Tottenham Hotspur’, ‘Tottenham Hotspur Football Club’ or ‘THFC’. Never refer to our Club as ‘Tottenham’, ‘Tottenham Hotspur FC’ or ‘TH’.”

This month’s fresh guidance to broadcasters is an apparent attempt to underline this, and to make sure that ‘Spurs’ rather than ‘Tottenham’ becomes the common shorthand when ‘Tottenham Hotspur’ does not fit.

On the one hand, there certainly is an argument to be made that ‘Tottenham’ is just the name of the local area, and not the name of the club itself. There are plenty of Premier League clubs for whom no one would just use the first geographical part of the name.

You would get some strange looks turning up at Villa Park saying you were looking forward to watching ‘Aston’ play. Very few would refer to the side who play at Molineux simply as ‘Wolverhampton’, or at the City Ground as ‘Nottingham’. And that is before we confront the thorny issue of places, including Manchester or Sheffield or Bristol, where two clubs share the same regional descriptor.

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Tottenham fans have long referred to their team as… Tottenham (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

But on the other hand, there are clubs where the first part of the name does the job. Everyone knows who Newcastle or Leeds or Leicester are. And for many Spurs fans, the name ‘Tottenham’ is perfectly serviceable in telling the world who they support. It has always been commonplace in the Spurs community in a way that ‘Aston’ never has been at Villa Park.

It does lead you to question why ‘Spurs’ might be preferable to ‘Tottenham’ as the shortened name of the club. ‘Spurs’ certainly is distinct “in a world full of Uniteds, Citys and Rovers”, although maybe less so in the global marketplace, given San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. Still, it is memorable and punchy and looks good emblazoned on merchandise.

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‘Hotspur’ is certainly unique and indispensable heritage. The name comes from when a new football club was established in the area in 1882, and two brothers, Hamilton and Lindsay Casey, were searching for a brand identity of their own. They named their club after Henry Percy, the box-office medieval knight who tried to overthrow Henry IV and was killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. His nickname was ‘Hotspur’, hence the name of the club, and hence the club’s logo too. This is history worth clinging to.

But Tottenham is inseparable from Tottenham Hotspur too. It was on Tottenham Marshes where the Casey brothers started playing 143 years ago, Tottenham where the old White Hart Lane ground was opened in 1899, closing in 2017, and then Tottenham where the futuristic new stadium was opened in 2019. Other than their brief spell at Wembley while the new stadium was built, Tottenham Hotspur have always played in this very specific corner of north-east London. This is the club’s home, and their community, for whom they do so much good work.

For many fans, there is no distinction between the club and the area itself. They are synonymous. And they will continue to be ‘Tottenham’ regardless of what the guidance says.

(Top photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

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Michigan State takes control of Big Ten with 75-62 win over Michigan

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Michigan State takes control of Big Ten with 75-62 win over Michigan

Jase Richardson scored 21 points and Tre Holloman had 18, leading No. 14 Michigan State to a 75-62 win over No. 12 Michigan on Friday night to take sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

The Spartans (22-5, 13-3) have surged atop the highly competitive conference with their third straight win. The Wolverines (20-6, 12-3) fell out of first place with their first loss in seven games.

Michigan’s Vladislav Goldin scored 21 points, Danny Wolf had 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Nimari Burnett added 12 points. The Wolverines led 38-34 at halftime and the Spartans went ahead for good on Carson Cooper’s dunk early in the second half. 

Michigan State’s Richardson earned his first start of the season on Feb. 8 against Oregon. He scored a season-high 29 points that night and has scored in double-digits in every game since then, including Friday.

Michigan State's Jase Richardson spins and finishes a layup to extend the lead against Michigan

Jaden Akins had 11 points, Jeremy Fears scored 10 and Michigan State was 9 of 22 on 3-pointers.

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Takeaways

Michigan State: Tom Izzo’s team has put itself in a position to win a Big Ten title that wasn’t expected to be in reach when the season began. The Spartans have games remaining against conference contenders: No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 20 Maryland and Michigan at home on March 9 in the regular-season finale.

Michigan: The school agreed to a multiyear contract extension for coach Dusty May, announcing the move two hours before tip off. May, a Bob Knight protege, made it clear he is happy and had no interest in being the next coach at Indiana.

[Related: Michigan basketball, Dusty May agree to multi-year extension]

Key moment

Holloman made three 3-pointers in a 1:27 stretch midway through the second half, helping the Spartans take control.

Key stat

Michigan State’s depth was a difference, with its bench outscoring Michigan’s 31-13.

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No. 14 Michigan State Spartans vs. No. 12 Michigan Wolverines Highlights | FOX College Hoops

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Michigan is at Nebraska on Monday night. Michigan State plays at Maryland on Wednesday night.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Darcy Kuemper's stellar L.A. comeback doesn't surprise Kings

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Darcy Kuemper's stellar L.A. comeback doesn't surprise Kings

The first time Darcy Kuemper played for the Kings, he played well. He just didn’t play often.

As the backup to Jonathan Quick, who became the winningest American-born goalie in NHL history, Kuemper saw less ice time than the Zamboni driver in the half-season he spent in L.A. Yet he lost just once in regulation in 15 starts and had a better save percentage and goals-against average than Quick.

Which is to say he played well enough to start. But he wasn’t going to do that with the Kings.

“Goalie’s a tough position,” Kuemper said. “Only one guy gets to play.”

So rather than let Kuemper, then 27, languish on the end of the bench, Rob Blake, the Kings’ first-year general manager, traded him to Arizona with 22 games left in the 2017-18 season. It was the move that redefined a career that has come full circle, with Kuemper returning to the Kings last summer to put together one of the best seasons in the NHL.

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A backup in parts of six seasons in Minnesota and L.A., Kuemper became the No. 1 goalie for the Coyotes, trading the one-year, $650,000 contract he had with the Kings for a two-year, $3.7-million extension in Arizona, where he finished fifth in voting for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top goaltender.

“Basically what happened was an opportunity,” Kuemper said. “Blake met with me and I was like ‘I don’t want to leave but I want to play more. I want to be a No. 1 in this league.’ So the trade happened.”

It wasn’t a totally altruistic move on the Kings’ part. Kuemper’s contract would have ended when the season did, so by trading him, Blake assured the team it would get something in return.

Still, it’s the thought that counts, Kuemper said.

“I’m forever grateful for him providing me with that opportunity,” he said. “He definitely didn’t have to.”

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Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper is shining in his stint in Los Angeles.

(Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)

“He knew our system, the way we like to play. He’s familiar with the organization. It made for a little bit more seamless transition.”

— Bill Ranford, Kings goaltending coach, on Darcy Kuemper

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Now 35, he’s repaying that gratitude. After reuniting with the Kings in a trade primarily remembered for ridding the team of underperforming and overpaid center Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kuemper has a .919 save percentage that ranks third in the NHL among goalies with at least 30 starts while his GAA of 2.19 is second.

Plus he’s been getting better as the season has worn on. Since returning from a lower-body injury on Dec. 7, Kuemper had gone 12-4-3 heading into Saturday’s game with Utah, the Kings’ first after the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“He’s probably been our backbone,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “He’s just been very, very consistent. That’s really what you want in a goaltender: just to be pretty consistent.

“Stop the ones that we think he should stop, make a couple of great saves every once in a while and we’ll be good with that.”

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Kuemper, a rangy 6-foot-5, butterfly-style goalie with good puck-handling skills, has done more than that. He’s turned a position that was a question mark, if not a liability, at the end of last season into a strength for a team with a defense-first mindset. None of that surprises Bill Ranford, the Kings’ director of goaltending, who had a say in the decision to bring Kuemper back.

“The numbers that he had the first time around were very good,” Ranford said of Kuemper, who was an All-Star in Arizona and won a Stanley Cup in Colorado before suffering through two injury-plagued seasons in Washington, where he lost more games than he won and registered the lowest save percentage and highest GAA of his 13-year career.

“He knew our system, the way we like to play. He’s familiar with the organization. It made for a little bit more seamless transition. And then, obviously, from my first time around with him, I felt I had an understanding of what he’s trying to do to get his game back on track.”

Kuemper, who learned of the trade when his wife, Sydney, knocked on the bathroom door with the news while he was showering, said the fact the Kings had the confidence to bring him back after two poor seasons meant a lot. So did the phone call from goalie coach Mike Buckley, who reached out to Kuemper immediately after the trade to offer some suggestions.

“There wasn’t any pushback,” Buckley said. “That was really a relief, that the changes that I thought would help him, he was totally in agreement.

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“Credit to him for being open-minded.”

Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper skates back to the net during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 1.

Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper skates back to the net during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 1.

(Karl B DeBlaker / Associated Press)

Neither Kuemper nor Buckley would go into detail about those changes, but both said the goalie has been encouraged to use his instincts and play more freely.

“A big part of it too is just getting back to having fun,” Buckley said. “Taking that pressure off and enjoying what you do. Being present in the moment.”

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Being present again in Southern California, a place Kuemper said he never wanted to leave, also has helped.

“You know there’s been a lot of good goalies stuck in a backup role. It’s hard to get that opportunity, to get the chance to be a No, 1 guy,” said Kuemper, who this month welcomed his and Sydney’s second child, a boy named Barrett.

“A lot of time it takes a trade or something. I’m very fortunate that I was able to get that chance.”

He and the Kings are making the most of it.

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