DARLINGTON, S.C. -- The last time Darlington Raceway was repaved, the effects were felt immediately. On a new coat of asphalt applied over the previous winter, Ward Burton zipped to a lap of 173.797 mph in qualifying for the 1996 TranSouth 500, setting a mark that still stands at the old track today.

Or at least until Friday, when the Sprint Cup drivers qualify for Saturday night's Dodge Challenger 500 on the gleaming new blacktop that adorns this revered, 58-year-old facility. After all, drivers hit 200 mph on parts of the egg-shaped racetrack during the first of two tire tests that Goodyear held at Darlington, and the fresh pavement smoothes over what had been the grittiest, most abrasive racing surface in NASCAR.

Everyone agrees -- it's going to be fast. But beyond that, no one quite knows what to expect.

“

That track is unreal right now. It's smooth, it's super-fast, but it's the same Darlington.

”

JEFF GORDON

"I know the track is going to be awesome," said two-time Darlington winner Jeff Burton. "It's just what tire do they have to bring to match the track. I know the first tire there was just incredibly fast, and I think their next tire they pulled a lot of speed out of it and I heard it takes a while to get going. Really, it's just the first couple laps getting a feel for the tires. That's how I look at it. I don't have any answers, I just feel like I have all questions."

He's not alone. Almost since its inception Darlington has been infamous for its abrasive texture, forcing drivers to duck onto pit road for tires every chance they had. On this track, there's been no such thing as staying out on old tires, because of the rate at which they're nibbled away. But with smooth, new asphalt, all that changes. Track officials and engineers were very careful to not change any of the raceway's racing characteristics in the resurfacing. But there was simply no way to put new asphalt down and have it be as immediately abrasive as the old asphalt was.

Now, on a fresh surface, pit strategy and tire management are altered dramatically.

"I just don't know what to expect with the new pavement," Carl Edwards said. "I think it's going to be a deal where we all unload for practice, and we'll probably come a lot like we did before here. We'll lean on our notes for testing a little bit, but the way that pavement looks, I'll be interested to see how much the tires drop off. I don't think they're going to drop off all that much, so I think you'll see some different strategies and things you haven't seen here before. We just have to make sure we don't fall into our old habits here, and make sure we pay attention to what's going on that weekend."

Teams are expecting longer tire runs, expecting to be able to stay out on old tires, something only the brave or foolhardy attempted at Darlington before. But as Jeff Gordon learned at the first tire test, that benefit comes with a downside.

"We all know when the speeds pick up through the corners like that, it takes away from the racing a little bit," he said. "The cool thing is, I had a blast. That track is unreal right now. It's smooth, it's super-fast, but it's the same Darlington. The track is just really black right now from the new pavement. But you run the same line, have the same characteristics, but you just don't have the bumps and you're going a lot faster. But the Darlington we all love is still there. Now with that said, because we're so fast there, it's going to be hard to pass, it's going to be hard to run side-by-side. I think the grip is certainly there, so if we can work in a couple of different grooves, that might able to change. But right now it's so quick, I think right now this first race is going to be a little tough."

And Ryan Newman, who also took part in the test, learned the new track can be even more unforgiving than the old one. "The abrasiveness and the bumpiness is gone," he said. "We're wearing out tires, don't get me wrong. But it's so sticky, and I literally never slipped the rear tire the whole time I was there. I didn't want to, because you get to a track like that when it's a repave, if you slip a rear tire, it's like an IndyCar spin, it's gone around and there's no saving it. We were conscious of that going into the test."

Teams will have a little more time to try and figure things out. Because speeds were so high during the tire test and so many competitors have questions about the new surface, NASCAR scheduled an additional Sprint Cup practice session for Thursday afternoon. There is no U.S. Auto Club event at Darlington this year, so the track had room on the schedule to accommodate the extra session. They'll need it, because right now all anyone can do is speculate as to what Saturday night will be like.

"It's a Saturday night race, so the cooler temperatures should help the track itself maintain and stay together," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. "They won't have any problems with the track coming apart. But how fast will the speeds get later in the evening? That should be interesting to see. How good will the racing be? Typically you don't have too much side-by-side, but you do have a lot of guys passing, because you have guys with tires falling off and what not. But will that be the case this weekend or that weekend for the race? I'm not sure with the new pavement. But it will be, you know, the same old Darlington in a lot of ways -- the way you drive the line and what not. I'm pretty interested and excited about it."

And if drivers aren't excited about the new Darlington, all they have to do is wait for the old one to return. Current NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter was president at Darlington when the facility was last repaved in 1995, and he said that smooth surface lasted all of about three races before the abrasiveness that Darlington is known for began to come back. The heat, wind and sandy soil of South Carolina's Pee Dee region quickly turned that deep black to gray.

"A fresh coat of makeup can't make that old lady look good for long," Hunter said.