Daytona Paving officially complete

Lane Construction has officially finished all of its asphalt paving assignments at Daytona International Speedway. The work was delayed because of persistent showers Friday, but the pavers finished the apron areas of Turns 1 and 2 and Turns 3 and 4 before the sun set over the 2.5-mile tri-oval.

"We are incredibly thrilled to have come to the conclusion of this project and we are excited to get race cars on the track next week," Speedway spokesman Lenny Santiago said.

Daytona will host Goodyear's two-day tire test beginning Wednesday at 9 a.m. Spectators are welcome in the Oldfield grandstand area in Turn 4.

The tentative list shows 18 teams will be here testing various tire combinations for Goodyear, which must decide on a compound, then build more than 6,000 tires for Speed Weeks in February.

"We look forward to driver comments and fans coming out to watch testing and all the excitement on getting ready for 2011 Speed Weeks," Santiago said.

Lane Construction, the primary contractor for the $20 million renovation of the racing surface, started this assignment July 5, two days after the Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400 at DIS.

International Speedway Corp. decided to pave the track after this February's Daytona 500, which delayed twice for a total of 2 1/2 hours to repair a pothole that developed in Turns 1 and 2.

The track was built in 1958 and had a new layer of asphalt applied in 1978, but this project marks the first time the track surface has been ripped out and replaced with all new material.