Daytona Truck Meet won't return to Volusia in 2022, organizers announce
DAYTONA BEACH — Daytona Truck Meet, an event infamous for its combination of bad behavior, gridlock and law enforcement issues, will not be returning to Daytona Beach in 2022, organizers announced Monday on social media.
“Due to circumstances out of our control #DaytonaTruckMeet will no longer be returning to Daytona,” organizers posted on the event’s Facebook page. The post went on to state that “the nighttime unruly activities has forced our hand to not disrupt the Daytona Beach community no longer,” adding that “we tried everything in our wheelhouse to keep the show local.”
In its eight years in Daytona Beach, the annual gathering of monster trucks and the people who love them had developed a reputation as an unwelcome annual event that turned city neighborhoods into war zones beset by roaring engines, ear-splitting train horns, smoke-belching exhaust systems and objectionable behavior by attendees that treated the city like an open-air toilet and trash can.
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Although official events were based at Daytona International Speedway, the monster truck invasion ultimately overtook area roads and neighborhoods, sparking traffic jams and noise complaints well into the early-morning hours.
The event is presented by Jordan Muhlbauer, owner of Ponte Vedra-based Truck Fever, LLC. He couldn't be reached by phone Monday.
The latest edition of the three-day event in June attracted some 5,000 monster trucks and 50,000 spectators. The ensuing mayhem resulted in 1,111 traffic stops, 940 citations, 13 crash reports and dozens of arrests including 10 felony charges and seven driving under the influence charges.
At a subsequent Daytona Beach City Commission meeting, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said that he wanted the event never to return. “I just want it gone," he told commissioners.
On Monday, Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry said that the Truck Meet’s announcement was “definitely good news.”
“It’s what the community wants,” Henry said. “We are a destination of choice and I think we’ve elevated ourselves above the need to take any and every event that comes down the pike. We’re in the process of re-branding our destination and this event was not conducive with the Daytona Beach we are re-envisioning.”
This is a developing story. Check back for additional updates.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Truck Meet won't return to Daytona Beach in 2022
