Keller had no problem identifying changes made during the track’s recent resurfacing.
“It’s definitely different, ” Keller said. ”There is not as much transition down in the corners, which makes the car more comfortable getting in and should lead itself to side-by-side racing. ” Auto Racing Daily
July 24
Thirty-one drivers from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series came to Byrd’s popular half-mile track to test the completely new concrete surface.
By 5 p.m., the reviews were nearly unanimous along pit road. The BMS concrete is fast, smooth and conducive to multi-groove racing.
Veteran driver Todd Bodine was the first driver to participate in the high-stakes dress rehearsal at 11 a.m. ALLEN GREGORY, BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
In 1992, Bristol Motor Speedway officials paved the track with concrete. Unlike asphalt, concrete doesn’t change much with the weather. Early on, some drivers complained they could not pass because there was only one groove around the bottom.
When I worked with Davey Allison in 1992, we tested after the concrete was put down. After he went out for a run, there was an inch-thick layer of concrete dust on the floor of his car. It took several years for the drivers to get comfortable with the surface, and this week, the Busch and Truck teams, along with some Cup teams for a tire test, will test on Bristol’s new concrete. Larry McReynolds, CREWCHIEFCLUB.COM
July 23
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “This is the way a track should be built. I will not be surprised at all to see three-wide racing here.”
Bodine, a former winner in the NASCAR Busch Series at Bristol Motor Speedway, says there’s absolutely no comparison to the old surface.
‘You can’t compare it at all,” he said. “The old Bristol was classic and everybody either loved it or hated it. Now, I can’t see how everybody can’t love it. It’s going to be so much fun to run on and you’re definitely going to be able to pass. Tricities.com
| 
|