It was one of the craziest stories out of Volusia County last year: the Daytona Truck Meet which threw Daytona Beach and Daytona Beach Shores into disarray will not be happening again in 2022. In addition to numerous physical altercations between patrons both drunken and sober, and a number of vehicle accidents along Daytona’s streets, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young told the City Commission that the event in total cost his department $170,000 in overtime pay. The Meet took place from June 11th to 13th of 2021.
The organizers of Daytona Truck Meet posted the following message to their Instagram page:
“Due to circumstances out of our control #DaytonaTruckMeet will no longer be returning to Daytona we are in final talks to new show venues currently we will have an update for those once we have them. After years of working well with the speedway and zero issues within show grounds the nighttime unruly activities has forced our hand to not disrupt the Daytona beach community no longer we feel very sorry for the local business’s and hoteliers who depend on our crowd to make a living we tried everything in a our wheelhouse to keep the show local. We thank everyone for helping us along the way it was a good 8 years in Daytona we look forward to the future and realize when one door closes multiple doors open update coming soon!”
Daytona Beach’s Mayor, Derrick Henry, was supportive of the efforts to get rid of the Truck Meet. “I applaud ISC for recognizing that the truck event is not a good fit for our community,” he said in an official statement. “They are responding, and showing leadership in helping us build the Daytona Beach brand.”
Chief Young spoke at a City Commission meeting on June 16th in which he explained the magnitude of the ordeal for his department. “I told them if this event continues you run the risk of ruining your relationship with this police department,” he said following his comments. Around 300 police officers were brought in between the DBPD’s forces and other local agencies, but the amount that law enforcement could do to curtail the effects of a 50,000-person party was limited.
As reported by News Daytona Beach, one ‘highlight’ of the event was a video of a man urinating in the open as cars passed him by. It’s not hard to see how the event might not have matched the city’s desired public image. Mayor Henry called the clip painful to watch.
In years past, the Truck Meet was held at Daytona International Speedway. The implication of yesterday’s announcement is that D.I.S. is no longer supporting the event, which led to mass gridlock and road closures throughout Daytona Beach.
TR
December 22, 2021 at 3:10 pm
This is what happens when you get a bunch of young kids to a large party and they drink, they act stupid and ruin it for the others. This is just the beginning of the end for all large gatherings in the Daytona Beach area. One small group ruin it for the entire bunch.
michael
December 23, 2021 at 9:25 am
I hope your right
TR
December 23, 2021 at 2:28 pm
I don’t. If all events will be cancelled in Daytona, you’ll see a lot of businesses shut down and a lot of people out of work. I don’t wish that on anyone, especially the people trying to support a family.
Joey Callo
December 23, 2021 at 12:07 pm
It’s a giant case of truck derangement syndrome. Similar to Harley derangement syndrome,about immature people who never grew up and left the sandbox. Frequently ex military. They need to make tons of unnecessary noise, the more the better. Volusia is ground zero.
TR
December 23, 2021 at 2:36 pm
I can not agree with you. I’m a motorcycle enthusiast for 40 year+ and the difference from a truck/car making a lot of noise and a motorcycle is others can not always see a motorcycle, so the loud exhaust tell people in cars that they are there and makes them aware. The loud trucks/cars can be seen being they are bigger objects on the road.
Not to mention, most Harley riders are older and don’t cause as many problems as spring break, black college reunion, and truck meet combined. Not to mention there is a lot more revenue brought in during Bike Week for Volucia county then any other event, which helps keep the taxes down for the residence. Get rid of everything and you’ll probably complain about the taxes going up. I