Daytona 1st asphalt laid down on track

Another significant moment in the 2010 Daytona Repave took place on Thursday morning as the first layer of asphalt was put down on the 3,000-foot Superstretch.

The paving of the drainage layer on the Superstretch is the first of four layers of asphalt that will be put down on Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5-mile tri-oval, which is being repaved for only the second time in its history.

While new asphalt was being put down on the “World Center of Racing," the old asphalt in the daunting Turn 3 high banks has been excavated and removed.

Here are some other notable achievements in Week 3 of the Daytona Repave project:

• SAFER barrier and safety fence continues to be removed in the banking in Turns 1 and 2

• The milling and grading on the Frontstretch is complete and ready to be paved

• Jostens, which is handling the distribution of the pavement to race fans, has cut and removed pieces of asphalt from multiple locations around the track. For more information, fans can visit www.jostens.com/daytona

• The dirt from the skid pad excavation continues to be used to fill behind the walls on upper rim road in Turns 1 and 2

Lane Construction, which repaved other ISC race tracks including Talladega Superspeedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Richmond International Raceway and Darlington Raceway, will use an estimated 50,000 tons of asphalt to repave more than 1.4 million square feet of Daytona International Speedway and has a target completion date of Jan. 1, 2011.

Speedweeks 2011 will kick off with the 49th annual Rolex 24 At Daytona GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race on Jan. 29-30 and conclude with the 53rd annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 20, the prestigious season-opening event to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Race fans will be able to view the progression of the historic repaving project from a section of the Oldfield Grandstands, which will open free to the public. Track tours will also be available through attraction admission to Daytona 500 Experience.