Darlington to repave but without losing its character (cont'd)

During a recent tire test, track officials received permission from Hendrick Motorsports to tap into the telemetry from Jeff Gordon's vehicle. It provided real-time information on how the Car of Tomorrow performs at Darlington, which project coordinators will plug into their computer models. It's part of an effort to remove the guesswork from the process, and get the new asphalt to mimic the old asphalt as quickly as possible.

"The bottom line is, it's really tough to replicate the abrasiveness of the racetrack. That's just something that has to come with time," Browning said. "We're kicking around some ideas right now of talking to some driving schools and working sweetheart deals with them, so they can come out here and run as much as we can get them to run once the pavement is down right before our race, so we can get it rubbed down and try to speed that process up a little bit."

The capital improvement funds will also go toward upgrading some suite areas, expected to be done before this year's event, and the construction of a new tunnel capable of handling team haulers and recreational vehicles. Browning said he's still unsure whether the track's current tunnel will be expanded, or another one will be added. There's also money added to give Darlington a head start on the next step in its master plan -- the improvement of the infield, the cornerstone of which will be new garages.

It's all part of an ongoing improvement project at the track, which has received around $20 million in capital improvement funds from ISC since 2004. The facility added a lighting system in 2004, and a 3,000-seat grandstand last year. Once a struggling track on the verge of obsolescence, Darlington is on the brink of its third consecutive sellout and looking toward brighter days ahead.

"Realistically, if they wanted to take the cheap way out or if there was a question about the future, all we really needed to do was [repave] the racetrack," Browning said. "They didn't have to approve the tunnel. They didn't have to approve pit road. They didn't have to approve the apron. Those three components of this repaving are several million dollars. That tells me a lot."