Race track renovations are a common occurrence during the NASCAR off-season. The most recent track repavement in the works is for the Sonoma Raceway. The beautiful road course located in the foothills of the southern Sonoma Mountains announced the plans for a track revamp on Tuesday. The thought of a renovated Sonoma Raceway has also excited seven-time Cup Series champion Richard ‘ The King’ Petty, who has raced on it countless times.

Joined by Speedway Motorsports Inc. President Marcus Smith and track executive vice-president Brian Flynn, Petty said that the project would add more traction to the races and, in turn, improve the quality of racing. He also highlighted that more drivers can go deeper into Sonoma’s tricky corners with a new surface.

Richard Petty wishes to experience a rejuvenated Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma Raceway last had a track repavement 23 years back. For the upcoming repavement, the contract has been handed to Bay Cities Paving & Grading, which intends to renovate the two road course layouts and the infield drag strip. An official announcement from the track’s executives on Tuesday revealed that the track repave will happen before the Toyota/Save Mart 350 in June 2024.

SMI President Marcus Smith is very attentive to the development of the racetrack and felt that it was high time a repavement took place. After driving on the track personally and researching the deficiencies that needed to be addressed, he decided to add a new surface to the track.

An IG post from the raceway’s official handle shows Richard Petty, Brian Flynn, and Smith conversing about the exciting project. When asked about his thoughts on the initiative, Petty said, “When I was around out here, I wish we had it paved where I could stay on the racetrack.”

“So, that’ll stick better. It should make the racing a little bit more interesting. Because really, there’s really no rough places; there are just some tricky places that they’re not gonna change the race track at all, but they’ll stay exactly the same.”

Smith continued to elaborate on the details of the project and the aspects of the facility that he was aiming to improve within the weekend NASCAR arrives there. Explaining the target areas, he revealed,

“The changes were really about taking off that old layer and putting on a new, fresh layer. We’re gonna enhance some of the boundaries of the track and some of the rumble areas. But the curbing will be enhanced. The track’s final top coat will be brand new and kind of the latest technology in paving. But we are going to just put some laps out there and see who’s fastest. Maybe we’ll break a track record.“

The track has been an inconsistent host to NASCAR races since its inauguration in 1968. It has hosted 34 Cup Series races, a single Xfinity race, 5 Truck Series races and 44 ARCA West races. Following its repavement, the new surface will be tried out on June 7-9, 2024.

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Petty believes Goodyear will need to test the new surface

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NASCAR’s official tire partner Goodyear has been continuously trying to search for innovation. The recently concluded test at Phoenix Raceway is one of the better examples of Goodyear trying out its new tire compounds with the input of drivers. Richard Petty feels something similar will be needed for the new surface at Sonoma Raceway.

“I guess Goodyear has to come and do a little bit of testing also. That’s right,” claimed Petty. “So that makes it interesting because each road course is a little bit different. Being this is supposed to be on a long time. It’s gonna make it really interesting.”

Shedding light on what the new surface will add to a race and how it affects a driver’s approach to the race, Petty expressed that drivers can get closer to each other on the track to pass their opponents and use brakes more often due to the increased traction.

“I think they’ll see a little bit different race in the sense of the situation. I think with the pave and stuff, the guys will be able to use more brake and fire. They’ll probably go in the corners a little bit deeper. I don’t know if they’ll come out or not. They’ll go in a little bit deeper because cars are gonna stick better.”

“So when the cars stick better, then they’re able to race each other that much better.”

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NASCAR fans will hope that Richard Petty’s vision about the Sonoma Raceway repavement comes true. The 2023 Cup race at Sonoma was another masterful and dominant display from Martin Truex Jr. With that in mind, the repave might decrease his dominance on the track and ensure a closer battle.