DAYTONA BEACH – This was new ground, a place, for once, where he wasn’t the star attraction. And for the first time in years, Caeleb Dressel was so relaxed to be out of the spotlight.

Mixed among thousands of racing fans, wearing a large Cowboy hat, Dressel, an “Honorary Event Official,” was just another speed freak at last Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona International Speedway. No prodding microphones. No wide-eyed gawkers. No trailing photographers. He was there as a fan and to have fun. And he took advantage of the opportunity.

“I grew up in Green Cove (Springs), went to school UF and currently live in Micanopy, so I’ve been in Florida for 28 years of my life, and I have never stepped foot on this track,” the 2014 Clay High graduate said. “So, I am really, really excited to see some racing. I don’t know how it has passed me by this many years. I’m new here. Maybe somebody can show me around. Actually, don’t tell me anything. I want to be surprised with everything.”

Dressel returned from the Paris Olympics Games on Aug. 11. He won two gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle and mixed medley relays and a silver in the 400-meter medley relay. He failed to medal in the 100 butterfly and 50 free.

At Daytona, he wasn’t thinking about swimming.

“I was really looking forward to finally mowing grass,” he said. “That was a big  treat for me. I was really craving fried pickles and a proper burger. We got those taken away. (I) hadn’t seen my dog in a month or the cows. So, we got the cows back from our cowboy. Seeing my dog was special, and finally getting to see and spend time with my son. I had a six-month-old and was pretty much away from him for a month. He had two teeth come in. Then, he started talking, reaching for stuff, rolling over. I feel like I missed a lot. I’ve been glued to him in the past couple weeks.”

Dressel admitted getting ready for the Paris Games was difficult, especially since he took nearly a year off to reassess the emotional and physical demands of the stardom that comes with winning nine Olympic golds and a silver in the last three Summer Games.

And yet, he said he’s not ready to walk away from the pool yet. He used Daytona to announce his intention to attempt to “splash and dash” at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a full event lineup. I think maybe just a 50 free. Put a little bit more muscle on. Don’t have to be in as good a shape,” he said. “So maybe look forward to just doing a splash and dash.

“That might be a good time for me. I think that would be the coolest thing ever, competing on American soil and seeing only American flags in the stands.”

His focus that night, however, was men wearing fire suits in fast cars, not in speedos and swim caps.

“I’m really looking forward to hearing, I think, No. 1, and then just seeing what it looks like seeing the cars go by that quick,” he said. “So, I’m fired up. I like to go fast.”

He certainly was surrounded by like-minded people.