Wednesday night’s O’Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway will present a new challenge to drivers familiar with the 0.533-mile oval. A recently-completed resurfacing project has given the track a new concrete surface that will force teams to make adjustments to compete for the win.
The changes to the track include variable banking added in the corners to make the transitions to the straightaways smoother, and a three-foot widening of the track.
Teams tested their trucks on the new surface in July and drivers generally came away impressed. But the question remains, how will the new surface affect the racing?
“My initial reaction was, ‘Wow, that will be a project’, ” said Rick Gay Jr., crew chief for the No. 9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota driven by Ted Musgrave. “Now, after seeing the job they did with the track, it’s still Bristol, but with less bumps. They did a nice job. The track looks different, but it’s really the same Bristol – and that’s a good thing. ”
Gay was able to guide Musgrave to second on the time chart during the July test with a top lap of 119.321 mph. The duo trailed Travis Kvapil (No. 6 K&N Filters Ford) who ran a top lap of 119.626 mph.
“The team did a great job working through our test plan, ” Kvapil said. “They hit on some things towards the end of the day that found us some more speed. ”
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