Daytona repaving a no-pothole guarantee
"I hate to use the word guarantee, but I'll guarantee there will be no potholes (for 2011 Speed Weeks)," Chitwood said. "This process we've gone through has been pretty substantial."
The $20 million project, started on July 5, should be finished by Jan. 1, 2011. Chitwood said he's feeling more pressure for completing this project than building Chicagoland Speedway in 2000.
"When you think about Daytona and how special that brand is for NASCAR and ISC, there's a little more pressure as it relates to this, and being ready for the Daytona 500," he said.
"If we were to have another incident or issues with asphalt, from a credibility standpoint, we would really suffer."
Lane Construction, based in Texas, is the primary contractor. Chitwood said Lane is using the most advanced materials "as it relates to asphalt" as it blacktops the iconic, tri-oval course.
"I feel really good that we've done all the due diligence, seen great results in Talladega, and we'll see great results in Daytona," he said. "We have no restrictions on making sure we get this job done right."
Chitwood expects January to be packed with test days, not only for NASCAR, but for Grand-Am Rolex Series and AMA road-racing motorcycles.
"If we stay on schedule, we won't have any trouble with the traffic in January," he said. "As a promoter, I like that a lot, because that will give fans a chance to know we will be ready for February." Daytona Beach News Journal