NASCAR News: All Track Activities Halt at Sonoma After Massive Chunks of New Repaved Surface Breaks Apart

First repave in 23 years for Sonoma Raceway, yet not done right! Back in early March, Bay Cities Paving & Grading out of Concord, California, nabbed the contract to give the old track a repaving. They started tearing up the old surface on December 28, with ABSL Construction of California chipping in to peel off 1.5 inches of the old asphalt and pit road. All in all, they ground up about 10,000 tons of the stuff, which Sonoma Raceway officials say was then reused to fix up the roads around the raceway.

But why is the new track surface already falling apart in spots? The hiccup forced the bigwigs to scrap Thursday’s planned run for SRO America at Sonoma Raceway. So, the folks running the show and the series heads decided to ax the second and last day of pre-season testing on the 12-turn, 2.520-mile track in California.

SRO Motorsports America has an updated schedule 

SRO America has announced a revised schedule thanks to some serious fixing and track repairs needed at Sonoma Raceway. It looks like the races, including the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, Pirelli GT4 America, and GT America powered by AWS, won’t hit the track until Saturday.

The official statement from SRO Motorsports America read, “SRO America is collaborating with Sonoma Raceway to address the situation promptly and efficiently. Repairs on the track surface have been ongoing and scheduled on-track activities for the remainder of the race weekend have been adjusted. Friday’s on-track activities have been impacted. We welcome fans to the circuit to get up close with GT machinery as they prepare for racing action on Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy the on-site facilities, with open paddock access and activations taking place behind the main grandstand.”

It turns out, parts of the 2.52-mile track started crumbling during the first day of what was supposed to be a two-day pre-season test on Wednesday. Playing it safe, SRO America and the track folks decided to call off the rest of Wednesday’s action and all of Thursday’s sessions, too. Turns 4, 7, 9, and 11 at the track are getting some serious TLC, with Turn 11 even getting a total makeover. But that is also not without interruptions. It looks like the weather’s been throwing a wrench in the works, with on-and-off rain messing with the re-paving plans on Thursday.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Cup North America’s the only show in town on Friday, and it’ll be a ghost town without any fans. They’re hitting the track for a quick 30-minute practice run at 4:00 PM PDT. As for the rest of the gang, they’re getting one shot on Saturday morning to do a combo-free practice and qualifying session for each series. As for NASCAR, they’ve already wrapped up their Good Year tire tests, so they’re all set on that front.

Goodyear’s tire test at the repaved Sonoma Raceway

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Sonoma Raceway just got a fresh coat of asphalt, and to put it through its paces, 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champ Martin Truex Jr, Ross Chastain, and Josh Berry took it for a spin with a Goodyear Tire Test. They were all about figuring out the best tire mix for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 happening this June.

The tire test was key because the folks at Speedway Motorsports whipped up a special asphalt blend they think will wear in nicely and quickly. The team from Bay Cities Paving & Grading, who laid down the track, brought in nearly 2,000 tons of this custom mix, while ABSL Construction handled the heavy lifting of milling the old surface away.

After tearing it up on the new track, Martin Truex Jr was like, “Tire wear was part of the magic we found and what I was comfortable with so this is a whole new ballgame with the new pavement. We’ll have to approach it a little differently but still the same track and same lines. We learned a bunch today and hopefully, we’ll pick out a good tire and get to work on making the car even faster. This would be a first 5-win track if we can get it done, so looking forward to that.”

Read More: Completed Sonoma Revamp Wins Over Racing Fans as Spring Highlights Ungodly ‘Lord of the Ring’s’ Shire Recreation

Ross Chastain noticed the new Sonoma surface was super sticky, putting them more than 2.5 seconds ahead of the track record. “Everything is faster; I’m not using the curbs as much as I used to; I’ve evolved throughout the day. We’re in different gears—we’re in second where we used to be in first, we’re in fifth where we used to be in fourth—everything is up a gear and everything is happening fast. “

Josh Berry chimed in, saying that the new surface is a hit—way grippier than last year. He believes it’ll only get better and faster by the time they are back. But with the new repairs done, will the asphalt still remain the same with the same grip?