by FOX Sports

Updated: February 14, 2008, 7:57 PM EST 468 comments

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Imagine that your ultimate wish is to stand trackside at the world's most famous superspeedway, inches away as the best drivers anywhere whiz by at a breathless 185 miles per hour during the nation's most prestigious auto race. That's the view Gopher Cam provides at the 50th Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 17 (2 p.m. ET) and beyond.

Gopher Cam is a small, stationary high-definition point-of-view camera buried underneath the asphalt track surface, inches below the yellow line at Daytona International Speedway. There are four Gopher Cams in-place for the 50th Daytona 500, one in each of the track's four turns. This is the first instance where a camera has been installed below the surface of a superspeedway, and this is the first time that a sub-track surface camera is HD caliber. The cameras have also been paired with high quality condenser microphones, another first, for an unbelievably realistic audio/video experience.

"Television's never-ending goal is to bring the viewer as close to the action as possible," said FOX Sports Chairman David Hill. "We've had great past success with Catcher-Cam and Diamond-Cam in our MLB coverage and Grass Cam and Wall-Cam in NASCAR on FOX broadcasts. However, Gopher Cam, and forgive us for having some fun with the name, is different. These are HD cameras developed specifically for this use. The pictures are phenomenal, and the audio that the mikes provide is mean and loud. It's a tremendous complement to our Emmy-caliber NASCAR broadcasts."

The camera hardware and electronics have been installed six inches below the asphalt, and is housed in a cylindrical stainless steel fixture. The lens is less than a half-inch in diameter, and camera is angled slightly to see oncoming traffic. The assembly is covered by a protective dome that is four-inches in diameter and rises less than one-quarter inch above the track surface. Cars rolling over them will have no idea of their presence. The cameras are connected to FOX's mobile production units outside DIS via copper wiring that was trenched in below the track and grass and run to where it meets up with the network's advanced fiber optic wiring system.

Installation of Gopher Cam, with the cooperation of Daytona International Speedway and NASCAR's Competition and Media Group department's, was conducted over a three day period last week and tested during the Budweiser Shootout Saturday night. The wiring and stainless steel housing for Gopher Cams remain behind in-place after the race, but the actual cameras travels with FOX to be used at the next race location. A plate replaces the dome that is used on raceday.

Gopher Cams are currently being installed in all NASCAR in FOX Sprint Cup race locations, including California Speedway in Fontana (Feb. 24) and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (March 2). While most tracks will have as many as four Gopher Cams, similar to DIS, the number at any individual track may vary.

Gopher Cam was commissioned by FOX Sports, and engineered by Jeff Silverman/Inertia Unlimited.