The Daytona Turkey Run has been on the bucket list for years. The 50th anniversary was a perfect round number to cross it off the list, finally. It was everything we thought it would be and more. If you have it on your list, we highly suggest getting down there soon!
For those who may not know, the Turkey Run began in 1974 and has grown into the largest combined car show, swap meet, and car corral in the United States. It takes place at one of the most storied racetracks in the nation — the Daytona International Raceway. The Turkey Run is held twice a year on the fourth weekend of March and again over the Thanksgiving weekend in November.
People come from all over the U.S. and the globe to enjoy more than 7,000 vintage classics, muscle cars, trucks, and just about any other thing with wheels displayed for show and sale. The swap meet is beyond huge, with 2,500 spaces. Since its inception, the Turkey Run has raised more than $19 million to fund charitable organizations, local programs, projects, and recreational facilities.
Turkey Run History
The history of the Turkey Run is actually a terrific story. Stu Sarjeant and his five-year-old son Jim tried to enter the Ormond Beach AACA Gaslight Parade sponsored by the local Jaycees with Stu’s 1923 Ford T-Bucket but were denied entry because it was a hot rod. Through tearful eyes, Jim asked his dad if they could have their own parade next Thanksgiving. And so the first Turkey Run was started the following year. In 1975, the Daytona Beach Street Rods was started by Sarjeant, Rick Finzer, and Olin Hopes.
The first Turkey Run hosted 45 cars at the Howard Johnson Hotel near Belair Plaza. In 1982, it outgrew the facility and moved to the Seabreeze High School with the addition of a swap meet. By 1987, the show had grown to 900 cars, facilitating another move to Daytona Beach airport. It didn’t take long for the Turkey Run to outgrow the airport.
Just two years later, the Daytona Beach Street Rods partnered with the Daytona Beach Racing and Recreational Facilities District to find a permanent home at the speedway. 1,500 show cars and 250 swap meet vendors attended the first show at Daytona International Speedway. Now, the Turkey Run has become a Thanksgiving tradition for thousands of participants and spectators, with over 5,000 show cars, 1,200 car corral cars, and 2,500 swap meet spaces, making it the largest combined car show and swap meet in the U.S.
As mentioned, 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the Turkey Run. EG Nation made the 12-hour-long trek from the Edelbrock Group HQ in Olive Branch, Mississippi, to see why the Turkey Run is a must-do on so many people’s bucket lists. We saw firsthand what an amazing event the Turkey Run has become. Was it worth it? Absolutely!
The Swap Meet
The show opened at 8:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. As any good swap-meet-goer knows, you’ve got to go there first to find those hidden gems before anyone else! The swap meet mostly takes place in the grass near Turn 1. With rain in the forecast for Friday, we figured it might be a little swampy the next day. Whether you were building a car or outfitting your man cave, there were parts and collectibles everywhere. We were looking for a gas pump project and just missed out on an outstanding deal on one for $225. Oh well, maybe next year.
We walked our shoes off, going up and down the aisles of vendors. By the time we completed a lap of the swap meet, it was late afternoon. The show car field was thinning as participants headed home for Thanksgiving dinner with family. For those who didn’t have family obligations, the party continued in front of the speedway for Turkey Run Nites at the FPL Solar Pavilion from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The Car Corral
With on-and-off rain on Friday, show car participation was a little lighter than on Thursday. We started the day by taking plenty of time walking the car corral, which is a car show in and of itself. The car corral at the Turkey Run takes up a huge section of the infield. Cars are parked one behind the other in multiple rows. Anything from full-on projects to 100-point concourse restorations to high-dollar modified builds could be negotiated for a spot in your garage. Luckily, we didn’t have any expendable money in our pocket!
Honestly, it was a little hard to differentiate between the car corral and show cars. Not that it really mattered, as there are no classes/awards for the car show — it is essentially a “cruise-in” — but we could see where it could be frustrating for someone looking to buy. We’re not sure if registering a car in the corral was cheaper than the show, but we saw many cars parked there that appeared not to be for sale. It would be nice to see a requirement for cars to have a “for sale” sign with information about the car, an asking price, and, at the very least, a phone number to call.
Saturday at Turkey Run
As Saturday dawned, it was apparent it would be a big day. Much like any other car show, Saturday is the big day at Turkey Run. We watched the sunrise over the Atlantic and got to the track bright and early. Everyone had the same idea, evidently. The line to get in was stretched back to International Speedway Boulevard. Luckily, we were given a support car pass for the Pro Street Alley from Rick Diaz with Fat Tires and Blowers, so we could enter the speedway through Gate 50 on the backstretch. It put us there before all the Pro Street cars, who were lining up at the mall across from the speedway to parade in together.
People started streaming in as soon as the gates opened at 8:00 a.m. At the same time, the Pro Street cars were lining up on the backstretch to drive into their designated parking section next to Lake Lloyd. You could hear them fire up across the lake with the characteristic whomp, whomp, whomp of blower surge. With well over 125 Pro Street cars, the rumble on the backstretch sounded like NASCAR arrived early.
There’s nothing quite like hearing that kind of horsepower idling around Turn 3, echoing off the outer wall. The crowds started parting on the main infield road as they arrived. Traffic was gridlocked on the other side as people stopped to get photos. It was quite a spectacle. As everyone converged on Pro Street Alley to watch the car park, we left the chaos of that area for the “regular” show field.
Car Show
The Turkey Run car show is open to all “show quality” vehicles 30 years and older (some exceptions are made for newer collector cars also). Show car parking takes up half of the infield, with some specialty parking areas for Pro Street Alley, car clubs, low riders, and nostalgia racing cars parked in the NASCAR garages. The grassy area in Turns 3 and 4 features everyone else as well as some pretty impressive restored tractors and old farm machinery like hit-and-miss engines. Not only is it expansive, but it is also packed with vehicles from edge to edge. No blade of grass was left unturned.
The layout makes it tough to ensure you see everything, as a good part of the “road” is the road course track, so cars aren’t lined up in rows as you may be accustomed to at a normal car show. The Turkey Run is a myriad mix of vehicles. We saw many models come out of the woodwork that we hadn’t seen in years. Interestingly, we saw more AMCs than we had ever seen at a show. As expected, muscle cars were the largest contingent. However, there was everything on display, from Brass Era cars to modern muscle.
As mid-morning approached, throngs of people were streaming through the gates. The Daytona infield started to feel like we were in the Bristol infield! Trying to get a clear picture of a particular car became a chore, especially in the specialty areas. We’ve attended thousands of car shows and swap meets, but the Turkey Run on Saturday was the tightest concentration of spectators we’ve seen at any of them. By mid-day, food vendors were churning out burgers, corn dogs, and funnel cakes by the thousands.
If you’ve ever thought about heading down to sunny Florida for a vacation, we’d suggest thinking about putting the Daytona Turkey Run on your short list of times to go. Sure, the Fall event is over Thanksgiving weekend, but it is also the offseason at the beach, so hotel prices are considerably lower, and traffic is much lighter than during peak season. The temperatures are mild in November — you can get away with wearing shorts during the day and a light jacket at night.
The Turkey Run turned out to be everything we thought it would be and more. While we checked it off our bucket list, we will definitely be adding more check marks in that box for years to come. The Spring Daytona Turkey Run is set for March 22-23, 2024. Mark that on your calendar!
