DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Buying a ticket is usually the lead up to the big event.
But if you've been to the Daytona 500, it's the chance to see an old friend.
Just a few minutes spent in the company of Juanita "Lightnin" Epton and it's easy to see why she's been a fixture at the Great American Race since the late 1950s.
"I get calls at home. I get calls here. But I'm never too busy to talk to whoever calls. It doesn't make any difference what I'm doing at home. If it's got to do with the Speedway I stop and listen," Epton said.
The Mississippi native has worked in the Daytona 500 ticket office since the race was held on Daytona Beach in the late 1950s.
"We would swim in the lake. Have barbecues out by the lake. And make it home. And everybody enjoyed the Daytona International Speedway from day one," Epton said.
"Lightnin" has greeted fans over the years with a warm smile and love that has come back tenfold.
"We have one little lady that makes us apple dumplings...brings 'em to us. And so little things like that, you know, that shows their appreciation for us," Epton said.
This past August, the Daytona 500 renamed its' ticket office to the Lightnin Epton Ticket Office.
It was the shock of a lifetime to "Lightnin," but she says it's not about her.
"The people along the way that have helped are as much responsible as I am because it's the love of the sport that has brought Daytona Beach to what it is," Epton said.
"Lightnin" looks forward to seeing familiar faces at this year's race, and also making new friends. Because when you enter the Lightnin Epton Ticket Office you're not just a customer. You're family.
