Despite the dismal weather this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR is bringing a high-tech weapon to the challenge of drying the longest oval track in the sport.
NASCAR’s new Air Titan drying system is being put to good use this weekend at the 2.66-mile Talladega track, which has seen torrential rains since late Friday afternoon. The hope is to use the Air Titan, along with conventional jet dryers, to get Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup race in as scheduled.
The Air Titan was the brainchild of NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, who wanted a way to dramatically shorten drying times at tracks, as well as leave a much smaller carbon footprint than with conventional jet dryers.
How does it work?
Using compressed air, the Air Titan pushes water off of the racing surface and onto the track apron, where vacuum trucks can remove the remainder of the moisture. Jet dryers will follow each Air Titan, drying any excess water that remains on the racing surface.
NASCAR’s ultimate goal is to reduce track-drying time — typically several hours at Talladega — by as much as 80 percent. Unfortunately, the cold temperatures on Saturday limit the speed of drying somewhat. The track dries much quicker at, say 75 degrees, than at 45 degrees, like it was at Talladega on Saturday.
And as good as the Air Titan unquestionably is, it will only work when the rains cease. And that could be as early as Sunday or even as later as Tuesday.
