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There will be a slightly different look to the frontstretch when NASCAR teams travel to Charlotte Motor Speedway in October for Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series events.
Track engineers and turf specialists began the process this week of installing a 6-foot wide “transition barrier” between the pavement and the grass area that separates the racing surface from pit road.
The border, which consists of a sand/soil mix with rye grass and will be the same level as the asphalt, is expected to decrease the likelihood of damage to a car should it travel off the racing surface and onto the infield grass.
“The goal is to create something similar to a fairway to rough transition you might see on a golf course,” Scott Cooper, Vice President of Communications for CMS, told NASCAR.com. “If a driver gets pinched down, he or she should have a good opportunity to get back on the track without suffering too much damage to the car.”
Current ride-height rules have Sprint Cup cars much lower than in previous years, and damage to splitters and other front-end pieces of the cars often occur after nothing more than a spin through the grass at some facilities.
Crews will put down approximately 140 tons of the sand/soil mix to complete the project.
Only the grass transition barrier will be lower – the infield grass beyond the 6-foot area where sponsor and track logos normally appear — will be unchanged.
“Hopefully, this will create another ‘Pass in the Grass’ opportunity,” Cooper said, referencing Dale Earnhardt’s brief run through the infield grass en route to winning the series’ 1997 All-Star Race.
Contact between Earnhardt and Bill Elliott as the two battled for the lead sent Earnhardt’s blue-and-yellow No. 3 briefly off-track; Earnhardt maintained control of his car and remained the leader as he shot back up onto the racing surface.
CMS will host the Bank of America Sprint Cup Series race Saturday, Oct. 10. It is the first race of the Contender Round in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.
The Drive for the Cure 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 9.