DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Truck Meet organizers took to social media on Monday afternoon to say the event would not return to Daytona Beach.
They said due to situations out of their control they were looking for a new venue and city leaders are thankful.
The unsanctioned event made headlines again this year in June after leaders said it got out of hand. Most of the event was held at the Daytona International Speedway in years past but would trickle out into the city afterward.
[TRENDING: Downpours Monday, isolated strong storms Tuesday in Central Florida | Royal Caribbean cruise ship arrives in Florida after 48 people test positive for COVID | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
“We’re obviously joining the business and residential communities in the elation that the International Speedway corporation has recognized that this is not a good fit for our community,” Mayor Derrick Henry said.
Henry said the announcement comes after months of listening to residents and businesses worried about it coming back.
“We heard their ‘Our’ and ‘We’ and we communicated that to the speedway, and they listened to the message that the police chief and myself and others shared with them,” he said.
In June, it brought 40,000 visitors to the city, creating what leaders called an uncontrollable mess to the point they created a special task force to figure out how to handle it.
Police said just in Daytona Beach, about 940 citations were issued on top of 52 arrests and there was a road rage shooting. It also cost police $178,000 in overtime.
“Rowdiness. Just rowdiness and a general lack of decorum and respect for the way we do business and the way we like to operate here in Daytona Beach,” Henry said.