The newly repaved surface of the Daytona International Speedway was put through its paces this week, as several NASCAR teams flocked to the scene for the first tire test prior to the 2011 season.
Having entered repairs soon after the season opener race of the 2010 season, when a pothole made it clear that the track is in real need of some new tarmac, 50,000 tons of asphalt have been poured into the new running surface.
All that effort seems to have paid off, as pretty much all the 18 teams present at the track on this week saying the new surface will make each race be a real looker for those in the stands. For the drivers, however, the new surface is more challenging.
"There are a couple of places they had to come back and patch that I'm sure they're disappointed with, but I've never known this place when it wasn't rough - but it's not now," driver Mark Martin said. "I think they've done a nice job with it - it's really smooth. So I'd give them a high grade."
Daytona spokesperson Lenny Santiago confirmed the findings of Mark Martin, but added that respective areas hadn't initially pass the smoothness test and had to be repaved once more.
"There were a couple spots - one in particular between Turns 3 and 4 that was ground a little more than the other area - and because it became a different color than the surrounding asphalt, we coated it with a surface coating to match the colors. It visually does look different but it's all within the same tolerances for smoothness," he added.
Having entered repairs soon after the season opener race of the 2010 season, when a pothole made it clear that the track is in real need of some new tarmac, 50,000 tons of asphalt have been poured into the new running surface.
All that effort seems to have paid off, as pretty much all the 18 teams present at the track on this week saying the new surface will make each race be a real looker for those in the stands. For the drivers, however, the new surface is more challenging.
"There are a couple of places they had to come back and patch that I'm sure they're disappointed with, but I've never known this place when it wasn't rough - but it's not now," driver Mark Martin said. "I think they've done a nice job with it - it's really smooth. So I'd give them a high grade."
Daytona spokesperson Lenny Santiago confirmed the findings of Mark Martin, but added that respective areas hadn't initially pass the smoothness test and had to be repaved once more.
"There were a couple spots - one in particular between Turns 3 and 4 that was ground a little more than the other area - and because it became a different color than the surrounding asphalt, we coated it with a surface coating to match the colors. It visually does look different but it's all within the same tolerances for smoothness," he added.