Photo for Headline Surfer / A large pothole caused delays during the 52nd annual running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday won by Jaime McMurray.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Daytona International Speedway has begun installing reinforced concrete in Turn 2 today, Track President Robin Braig announced Thursday.
Following a comprehensive review of Turn 2, by a team of engineers and asphalt specialists with North American Testing Corporation (NATC), it was decided to repair the damaged portion of the track as an immediate first step.
NATC is conducting a thorough evaluation of the entire track and upon completion will implement all necessary solutions (including repaving if necessary) to ensure the long-term integrity of the track.
"This is the correct course of action to repair the track," Braig said. "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 of the track is along the 31-degrees of banking in Turn 2, making the utilization of concrete the best solution.
The repairs will begin today and take about two days to complete followed by several days of cure time. 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.
Daytona International Speedway will next host a full schedule of motorcycle racing during Daytona 200 Week, Feb. 25 through March 8.