Case Study: Lucas Oil Raceway Drag Strip, US Nationals

The U.S. Nationals are events hosted by the National Hot Rod Association. Top fuel dragsters can hit 328 miles per hour on the ¼ mile racetrack. At these speeds, every slight bump is felt by the driver and could compromise their run or worse, their life. It is imperative that the course is uniform and flat for the slicks to rip down the track.

Typically for large events, the host will pay an event fee prior to the event to allow for improvement projects to the facility. One of the improvements for this U. S. National event was to repair the deteriorated expansion joints on the racetrack, making for a smoother and safer ride for the drivers. So once funding was approved the project could move forward. This funding delay put the project on a tight timeframe.
With no time to spare CRG removed the deteriorated joints, careful not to damage the racetrack. Lubricated dowel pins were installed in the perimeter of the new expansion joint and 7,000 psi concrete with a midrange water reducer was used. The concrete was cured with wet burlap and plastic.

Then overall flatness and levelness was tested. If the critical test revealed the patches were not even the area would need further attention. The perimeter concrete would need to be ground to achieve a successful flatness. Additional refining was not necessary. The test revealed the finishing crew successfully created a flat surface. The track was cleaned, fresh rubber was added, and the US Nationals went off as planned.