The hole truth: Daytona facing more track problems
Daytona International Speedway officials are doing everything possible to avoid another pesky pothole.
Engineers, asphalt specialists and track workers spent Friday repeatedly checking every inch of the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway. The heightened surveillance came hours after inspectors found another damaged section of track between turns 1 and 2 - a few feet from the spot that nearly shut down the Daytona 500 in February.
Workers used epoxy to repair a 1-foot-by-4 1/2-foot area as a ``precautionary measure'' late Thursday night, track president Robin Braig said.
``It's going to get tested, but we are confident that the precautions we're taking are going to make a great Coke Zero 400,'' Braig said.
NASCAR's most storied track hasn't been fully repaved since 1978, creating huge bumps through the high-banked turns and a slippery surface all around. The less-than-ideal conditions make for harrowing racing when cars are going 195 mph inches away from each other.
Some drivers love it. Others, such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., have been critical.
Everyone weighed in nearly five months ago, when a small hole between turns 1 and 2 took center stage at NASCAR's marquee event, marred an otherwise spectacular season-opening race and prompted officials to apologize for more than two hours of delays.
Days after the race, engineers decided a strip of pavement would be removed and reinforced with a concrete patch. The patch is about 6 feet wide and 18 feet long. Although officials believed it would hold up through Saturday night's 400-mile race, they also scheduled a $20 million repaving that begins Monday.
But more damage developed after several practice sessions Thursday. Nationwide and Sprint Cup series cars turned laps for several hours - the first real test since February's race.
``It is the only area on the track that we've seen any deterioration or any added pressure, stress to the pavement,'' Braig said. ``We've used every piece of technology available to scan the entire surface since the Daytona 500, but it's 32 years old. We did core samples and knew it was deteriorated enough that now's the time to repave.''
Until then, the focus will be on the repairs. How well will the patches hold up during a 250-mile Nationwide race and a 400-mile Cup race? There's also practices, qualifying runs and a Grand-Am Series race on the road course that also runs through turns 1 and 2.
And what would the fallout be if there are more delays in Saturday night's main event? The Daytona 500 took more than six hours to complete and had hundreds, maybe even thousands, of fans heading to the exits during the delays. The Coke Zero 400 is at night and rain is in the forecast.
``There's not really a reason to be concerned about it,'' two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart said. ``It's either going to work out fine or come apart. The big patch that they put down seems to be working pretty well. I don't have a big sense of concern about it. If it comes apart, they'll do what they need to do to fix it.''
Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray also didn't appear concerned. He even defended the track, saying there's little that could have been done to prevent more problems.
``You can beat up on the racetrack, but if they could have repaved this between the 500 and now, they would have,'' McMurray said. ``They've patched it and you hope that it's fixed. If there's a problem, they're going to have to address that, and it's out of our hands. ... They've had four or five months to fix it; I don't sense they're going to fix it in 24 hours if the first patch didn't work.''
Braig said inspections will take place after every on-track session, with workers focused on the recently repaired sections.
``That has our full attention,'' he said, adding that no pieces of track had come loose. ``That whole area has our full attention because of the dips that are there. We've got everything from cameras focused on it to all my staff, the safety crews, the teams (checking).
``Whenever there's a caution, whether it's for an incident or a delay because of weather, we'll be out there checking it and double-checking it.''
NASCAR chairman Brian France said he was hopeful the repairs would hold up.
``I've got a high degree of confidence that the track here at Daytona is very prepared for what might happen under virtually every scenario,'' France said. ``They had an issue. They were right on it. So I have a high degree of confidence. Anything can happen. But, you know, I think they're as prepared as you can be. I have confidence in that.''
