Atlanta Motor Speedway delays its repave for at least a year

Originally, the track planned to begin the process this spring – following its NASCAR race weekend last month – but after several drivers asked Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO Marcus Smith to delay the project, Smith said he would reconsider.

“We appreciate all of the input we have received from key individuals in the NASCAR industry, as well as our customers,” said Ed Clark, the speedway’s president, said in a statement.

“The overwhelming majority have urged us to hold off on paving so that we can enjoy at least one more weekend of high-speed slipping and sliding in 2018 before the new surface is installed.”

The aged, abrasive surface, last paved in 1997 when the track was reconfigured into its current quad-oval layout, is well-known for producing challenging racing conditions and causes some of the fastest tire fall-off of any track on the circuit.

A track spokesman said the facility will undergo its annual maintenance program this fall with special attention placed on certain areas of the track – for example, the area that had to be patched following the doubleheader races on Saturday prior to the Sunday Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this season.

Patchwork on the current asphalt will be completed where necessary. The track will be re-evaluated following next year’s NASCAR race weekend, the spokesman said.