For the steep slopes of its speedway, Daytona turns to Spider for help

Daytona International Speedway, the home of the Daytona 500, is using a Spider ILD02 remote-controlled slope mower on the steep-sided banks.

The Spider mower, built by the Dvorak Co. in the Czech Republic and distributed by Orlando, Fla.-based Slope Care, is just one of the tools the Speedway has employed over the years to keep the grass in place and growing on the steep surface outside the turns at Daytona. The high banks are one of the bigger challenges for the grounds maintenance team that spends all year keeping the Speedway turf groomed and green. Other issues include drought, disease and water restrictions that govern how much water they can use to keep the grass looking good.

“The Spider ILD02 has an integrated winch which allows it to be operated on banks up to 60 degrees and ground anchor,” said Jason Griffith, head of the facility grounds team. “One of my team, Emory Renfroe, manufactured a special frame attachment for a tractor, which acts as a mobile ground anchor, allowing the machine to track across the slopes with the operator maneuvering it with his remote-control unit.”

The Spider ILD02 weighs 809 pounds, is powered by a 24-hp Kawasaki gas engine and is also equipped with a skid-steering system to allow the mower to turn around its vertical axis. This simplifies handling, especially when loading or unloading on transport vehicles or trailers, according to Spider.

The ILD02 has a top speed of 5 mph and is capable of mowing, on average, 1.73 acres an hour with a fuel consumption of 0.95 gallons per hour. The Spider ILD02 can replace up to 14 operators with brush cutters over a season while maintaining a consistency of cut, according to the company. The standard cutting height range is 3.5 to 5.5 inches with an optional lower height of a cut of 2.8 to 4.7 inches, all controllable from the operator’s remote-control unit. A 55-inch wide snow blade can now be easily attached to the front of the machine for use in the winter months.