By Jerry Jordan, Editor
HAMPTON, Ga. – Last year, drivers successfully pleaded with NASCAR and Atlanta Motor Speedway officials not to repave the badly worn surface of the 1.5-mile racetrack saying the gritty nature of the track made for great racing and added character.
A little-known fact though, following last year’s Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series doubleheader, race officials went out and patched the surface to get it ready for the Cup Series race on Sunday. It was a temporary fix.
“All the cracks that we had, we identified 12 to 15 areas that needed some immediate attention, that has all been done this past fall and it looks great,” the track’s president, Ed Clark, told Kickin’ the Tires.
Clark said some of the patches were rather large but the track is ready for action this weekend. However, once the race is over, officials, from parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. and NASCAR, will be checking to see if now is the time for a complete resurfacing.
“As far as the future of repaving, the strategy is that we will go through race weekend, we will review things after that and see how it goes,” Clark said. “We will make a determination then whether it is time to repave this year or put it off another year. It really depends on how the race weekend goes.
“Right now, everything that was an issue in the past has been taken care of. The track surface is worn but ready for action.”