Leisure … more than a word, it's a lifestyle

Rain is a worry for tonight’s Coke Zero 400 over at Daytona International Speedway so hopefully we won’t see the same sort of issues we had for the Daytona 500 when the track seemed to fall to pieces.

Tonight’s race is a 160 lap, 400 miles NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race will be the third year that Coca-Cola have been involved. The race was previously known at the Pepsi 400 but Coca-Cola became the sponsor in 2008.

For most of its history, the race normally started in the morning (10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. eastern) to avoid hot summer temperatures and the frequent mid-afternoon thunderstorms that we get in Florida.  During live ESPN  telecasts, the term “Breakfast at Daytona” was used, a gesture to NBC’s  popular “Breakfast at Wimbledon”,  taking place the same weekend.

In July 1997, Daytona International Speedway announced a massive lighting project to be done by MUSCO lighting and plans called for the 1998 Pepsi 400 to be held under the lights in primetime. At the time, it was the longest track with a night race and the first restrictor plate race held at night.

On July 4, 1998, however, the race had to be postponed. Wildfires in Florida consumed the surrounding areas, and the track was converted into a firefighters’ staging area. Track officials rescheduled the race for October that year.

In 2007, perhaps the greatest finish in the race’s history came in a ferocious scramble over the event’s final seven laps, the final laps run at Daytona before the debut of the Car of Tomorrow. Jeff Gordon had the lead on the restart; teammate Kyle Busch jumped from seventh spot with six to go but Jamie McMurray, rallying from a penalty for passing below the line earlier, jumped in front of him and stormed past Gordon at the stripe; Busch then jumped to the low side and tho two were locked in a ferocious side draft with the rest of the field stacked behind them; McMurray stormed into a clear lead with three to go but Busch caught back up and stormed ahead with two to go, but the two sidedrafted all the way to the stripe and McMurray squeezed ahead by inches, his first Winston Cup  win since 2002.

In last years event, on the final lap, going into the tri-oval, 2008 winner Kyle Busch pulled a blocking maneuver on Tony Stewart  that caused Busch to crash into the wall hard. Busch’s car was then hit by the car Kasey Kahne  at an estimated 180 mph, sending the rear of the car airborne. After crossing the start finish line, Busch suffered a third hit from teammate Joey Logono. Busch walked away from the car uninjured, but contends to this day that Stewart, the race winner and a former teammate of Busch, intentionally wrecked him.

In the battle of manufacturers,Ford has 15 wins, Chevrolet 14, Mercury 7 , Pontiac and Dodge 5, Buick 4 while Toyota has just one solitary win.

Titanic the Experience, the 20,000 square foot exhibit on International Drive is adding a dinner show every Friday and Saturday night to their traditional tour. The show will be called The Titanic Dinner Event and will include a minimum of 10 actors throughout each evening. The experience will incorporate Capt. E.J. Smith’s retirement party, which was hosted by George and Eleanor Widener of Philadelphia and will take the guests through Titanic’s final moments.

The Dinner Events start July 2, 2010 and continue on Friday and Saturday nights and may expand eventually to five nights per week. Seating will initially be for just 90 people but eventually will be set to 200.

The owner of Titanic The Experience, G. Michael Harris, has led expeditions to the Titanic wreck site and dove to the sunken remains in submersibles more than eight times.

“I am excited for the future of Titanic and work very hard to protect and share history for future generations,” said Harris. “This will bring an added value and increase our vision of an ever expanding experience. Although there are many Orlando dinner attractions, we are confident that we can deliver first class quality food within the back drop of our exhibit.”

The main course will consist of offerings such as roasted sirloin and chicken breast that are very similar to menu items from the Titanic. Beverages will include soda, iced tea and coffee after dinner. The show takes place throughout the entire exhibit and performers may be seated at your table for dinner.

“We hope to have the element of food throughout the day, with a lunch, an afternoon tea, and The Dinner Event”, said David Walker, vice president and acting general manager. “We will be patient in this new endeavor and as the world’s economy continues to improve we will be ready to make this a part of the attraction experience every day.

Tickets for The Titanic Dinner Event are $64.95 per adult, $39.95 for each child 6 to 11 years old. Visit titanicdinnerevent.com for more information. Regular tours will be held from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on non-dinner show days, and until 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.