The now infamous Daytona 500 pothole. Bondo saved the Daytona 500. Now comes another quick fix -- concrete -- for Bike Week. And what next?
By Mike Mulhern
mikemulhern.net
FONTANA, Calif.
Shades of Bristol, and Dover.....NASCAR drivers will now be racing on reinforced concrete in the second turn at Daytona International Speedway, where that pothole marred Sunday's 500. Or at least that's the short term fix. What happens next, stay tuned.
Track boss Robin Braig said Thursday the new stuff is already going down: "Following a comprehensive review of Turn 2, by a team of engineers and asphalt specialists with North American Testing Corporation (NATC), it was decided to repair the damaged portion of the track as an immediate first step. NATC is conducting a thorough evaluation of the entire track and upon completion will implement all necessary solutions (including repaving if necessary) to ensure the long-term integrity of the track."
Braig said the engineers involved have "experience with concrete being used on an asphalt track, and it is a proven solution."
Braig said his men concluded "a combination of unusually cold and wet weather exacerbated by race cars bottoming out in that section of the track contributed to the breakdown of the pavement."
Why so fast? Bike Week is coming up.
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Daytona president Robin Braig (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
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It's strictly the fix until
It's strictly the fix until the track is repaved in 2011.
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