K&N came out in force at Jeep Beach this year, with an 18-wheeler and several highly customized Jeeps on display. The truck was stocked with Jeep products and staffed by people that could answer any question Jeep Beach participants might have had. This was K&N’s first appearance at Jeep Beach, but definitely not the last. |
Thirteen years ago, a small group of Jeepers from the Mid-Florida Jeep Club gathered in Daytona Beach and held a small one-day event on Main Street that was essentially a car show exclusively for Jeeps with a few vendors on-hand. That first year, attendees had no way of knowing that they were witnessing the beginning of an event that would become the largest Jeep-exclusive event on the East Coast. This year’s Jeep Beach drew thousands of Jeeps and tens of thousands of people along with well over a hundred vendors. K&N was on-hand for this epic four-day happening that included poker runs, cruises on the beach, trail rides, an enormous man-made obstacle course on the infield of the Daytona International Speedway, and even a world record attempt for the world’s largest Jeep parade. If you’re a Jeep enthusiast, Jeep Beach needs to be on your bucket list.
It’s hard to picture the scale of Jeep Beach, but it fills the majority of the infield at the Daytona International Speedway, which is a 2.5-mile tri-oval. Jeep Beach may have started as a small event, but it’s explosive growth now draws vendors and participants from all over the country. |
Jeep Beach is unlike any other event in the country. Part car show, part trail-ride, and part vendor show, Jeep Beach caters to Jeep enthusiasts of all kinds. People travel from all over the country and beyond to be a part of the event, which is packed with activities over the course of four days. In fact, there are so many things to do, both official and unofficial, that it would be difficult to check out them all. This year things kicked off with a scavenger hunt that took participants all over town for a chance to win different prizes, followed by a free concert on the boardwalk. Thursday included more scavenger hunts and a day of trail rides at a nearby off-road park with a block party on Main Street in the evening, complete with fireworks and ample opportunities to wash down the dust after a long day on the trail. Friday and Saturday are the main events, where the Mid-Florida Jeep Club takes over the infield of the famous Daytona International Speedway. The club sets up a huge man-made obstacle course, and when Jeepers aren’t testing out their Jeep on the various courses, they can cruise the vendor areas for a chance to pick up great deals on anything and everything for their Jeeps.
K&N had a huge presence on the midway this year, bringing out their custom-built 18-wheeler that is essentially a showroom on wheels. The display covered all of K&N’s latest products: air filters, air intakes, oil filters, etc. There were also a variety of K&N-equipped Jeeps on display to highlight just how versatile K&N’s products can be. There were Jeep Wrangler JKs equipped with production cold air intake systems along with a few Jeeps that showcased how K&N products had been incorporated into custom builds, such as engine swaps. A variety of intake systems, air filters, and components were available for sale as well as simple drop-in filters for enthusiasts looking to upgrade their otherwise stock intake systems. The display was even staffed with knowledgeable people that answered any questions or concerns Jeep owners had concerning K&N products and also cold air intake systems in general.
The main attraction of Jeep Beach is the man-made obstacle course, where Jeepers can test out their nerves and the capabilities of their Jeeps over the various berms, logs, concrete blocks, and other obstacles. |
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Not surprisingly, Jeep itself was on-hand at Jeep Beach this year, displaying many of the concept vehicles that debuted in Moab this year. Aside from a Hellcat-powered JK, this one-off Kaiser JK-based pickup was a huge hit. |
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The extreme obstacle course included a big section of broken concrete blocks that took careful tire placement and often spotter assistance in order to traverse successfully. More than one Jeep needed to be winched off this section by helpful volunteers. |
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Aside from all of the activities and the nearby beach, the main attraction of Jeep Beach for many participants is the obstacle course. There aren’t many four-wheeling spots in Florida and most of the legal places to go involve mostly mud, so it’s rare for Floridians to be able to flex out their Jeeps on trail obstacles. Constructed just for Jeep Beach by club volunteers, the obstacle course is built right on the infield of the Daytona Speedway, so participants can strut their stuff in the same location as the Daytona 500. This year’s obstacle course had stock, modified, and extreme courses for participants to try out, and there were plenty of spotters on hand to assist people that got stuck or otherwise out of shape on the course berms, logs, and concrete blocks. There was no limit to the number of times participants could try out the course, so once they completed one lap, many simply got back in line to try out another one. In years past there have been broken driveshafts, axles, and even the rare rollover, but this year the carnage was kept to a minimum thanks to the many spotters on hand. It wasn’t uncommon to see the same Jeep on the obstacle course a dozen or more times; many participants simply couldn’t get enough of having their Jeep in 4-Lo and challenging their equipment and themselves over the varied terrain.
Judging by the Jeeps in attendance, the current JK Wrangler and Unlimited is the current Jeep of choice. We’re guessing more than 70% of participants arrived in 2007 or newer Jeeps. |
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One of the Jeeps on display in the K&N booth was this highly customized four-door JK. Aside from a lift, body armor, and a host of other upgrades, the Jeep benefitted from a K&N cold air intake system. |
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A closer look at the system installed on one of the customized JKs in the K&N booth. |
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In many ways, Jeep Beach is the perfect way to kick off the summer. Held towards the latter part of April in sunny Florida, it’s the perfect opportunity to join fellow Jeep enthusiasts for a few days of sun, surf, and Jeep adventures. The weather is typically very mild in Daytona during April, so it’s warm and sunny but the full summer heat has not yet arrived. Though Jeep Beach has been plagued with some rain in years past, this year the rain stayed away for the majority of the festivities and only came in Friday night after the event had shut down for the day. It was gone by Saturday morning, so the brief shower helped keep the dust down and brought with it a break in the typical Florida humidity, making for a picture-perfect Saturday.
Newer JKs with the 3.6L PentaStar engine sport quite a bit more power than the previous 3.8L V6, but stock is never enough. This JK is equipped with a Ripp Supercharger that breathes through a universal K&N performance cone filter. |
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Though the majority of the attendees drove JKs, nearly all Jeep models were represented. The owner of this well-restored WWII-era flatfender couldn’t resist trying out the obstacle course, complete with trailer in tow. |
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Though the man-made hills and berms may have seemed a little tame to veteran off-roaders, they gave novice drivers a unique chance to try out the capabilities of their Jeeps in a controlled environment with plenty of help on hand when needed. |
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Make no mistake, Jeep Beach is a big event, and taking over the entire infield of the Daytona Speedway is no small feat. The national anthem was accompanied by a flyover each day, and there was even an internet radio station that devoted all of its programming to the event for the week. Jeep Beach culminated Saturday afternoon with a parade around the speedway, which was an attempt to break the world record for the largest Jeep parade. Unfortunately, the attempt fell a little short of the record with 2008 Jeeps (the record is 2,420), but there is no doubt there were more than enough Jeeps in town to easily smash the existing record. With a little better organization, there’s no reason to think that the Mid-Florida Jeep Club won’t lay claim to the record in 2017. Then there was the raffle with tens of thousands of dollars in Jeep accessories up for grabs to lucky participants. And best of all, the proceeds from the event all went to a variety of local and national charities.
There was a lot of aftermarket support present at this year’s event. BFGoodrich hosted a unique opportunity that enabled people to experience the traction available from their products by piloting BFG-equipped vehicles around a dedicated obstacle course. |
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Jeeps from all over the country and beyond were on hand at this year’s show. But there were plenty of local Jeeps present for the festivities. |
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Even though the beach was not a part of any official activities this year, many participants took advantage of Daytona’s unique opportunity to legally drive up and down the beach, and of course, pose for photos at the water’s edge. |
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For more information about Jeep Beach, visit jeepbeach.com or visit the event’s Facebook page, at facebook.com/jeepbeachofficial. For more information about K&N products for Jeep vehicles, visit our Jeep air intakes page. For more information about K&N products for a specific Jeep model, such as the JK Wrangler, TJ Wrangler, YJ Wrangler, XJ Cherokee, or WJ, ZJ, and WK Grand Cherokee, simply use our Product Search Tool and to locate a K&N dealer near you, use our Dealer Search Tool. |
