Bristol Motor Speedway will receive its first facelift since 1992, when the original concrete was poured.  Baker Concrete of Monroe, Ohio will be involved with the project. Credit: Autostock

Bristol putting down new surface after March race

Plans will replace concrete, apron, pit road and 80 percent of walls

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- NASCAR's most popular track, known for its rousing thrill-a-second action, will be getting a new look this summer that should make for even more exciting racing as the .533-mile oval at Bristol Motor Speedway receives a new concrete surface after the March 25 running of the Food City 500.

And just like the one-of-a-kind racing fans get at Bristol Motor Speedway, officials commissioned a one-of-a-kind machine to do the job.

Baker Concrete Construction Inc. of Monroe, Ohio, developed the Gomaco Slope Paver, an all-new machine to handle the specifications of Bristol's high-banked oval. A pair of unrelated Baker Construction companies (Baker Construction Services of Bluff City, Tenn., is the other) head the project that should be completed by mid-July.

SMI's development team hopes the new surface promotes even closer racing and a much smoother ride for the drivers.

Bristol's 36-degree banking in the corners will remain the same.

Crews plan to begin demolition of the entire racing surface, track apron, pit road, inside retaining walls and 80 percent of the outside walls on March 26, the day after the Food City 500.

This project marks the first time since 1992 that the entire track will undergo a complete resurfacing. In the summer of that year, then-track owner Larry Carrier created NASCAR's first all-concrete racing surface.

Project specifications call for more than 14,520 square yards of concrete to be used for the track surface alone.

Bristol's resurfacing project will employ a crew of 130 and cover in excess of 30,000 worker hours.