Daytona starts fixing race track

UPDATE North American Testing Corporation, is the construction and design division of International Speedway Corporation, hence the France company has hired the same company (they own) to patch the track surface that came unraveled during the Daytona 500 that failed to recognize that it's time to repave the Daytona Speedway after 32 years. 32 years is way past the life expectancy of an asphalt overlay under such loads as 3200 pound race cars exhibit.

02/18/10 Daytona International Speedway has begun installing reinforced concrete in Turn 2, track president Robin Braig said Thursday, a temporary solution to repair the pothole that caused two stoppages totaling more than two hours in Sunday's Daytona 500. After a team of engineers and asphalt specialists from North American Testing Corporation conducted a thorough examination of the damage, track officials decided to repair the damaged portion of Turn 2 as an immediate first step. Tests are also being conducted on the entire track. "This is the correct course of action to repair the track," Braig said in a statement. "Our team of engineers and asphalt specialists with North American Testing Corporation has previous experience with concrete being used on an asphalt track and it is a proven solution." The damaged area is along the 31 degrees of banking in Turn 2, making the utilization of concrete the best solution. Repairs will take about two days to complete, followed by several days of cure time, according to Braig. The engineering team concluded that a combination of unusually cold and wet weather exacerbated by race cars bottoming out in that section of the track contributed to the breakdown of the pavement during Sunday's race. International Speedway Corporation tentatively has scheduled a $20 million project to repave the entire track in 2012. Spokesman Lenny Santiago said whether that time frame will be moved up depends on the recommendation from NATC. Daytona hasn't been repaved since 1977. It has been battered by numerous elements, including a flood last year after 17 inches of water were dumped on the area. ESPN/AP