SMI rethinking Atlanta Motor Speedway repave?

RELATED: Atlanta announces repave plan HAMPTON, Ga. -- Drivers have made their feelings known about Atlanta Motor Speedway's scheduled repave, lobbying nearly in unison for the project to be delayed. Marcus Smith, president and CEO of track owner Speedway Motorsports, Inc., says he's listening. Smith addressed the topic and the possibility of a second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event at SMI's facility in Las Vegas in a meeting with reporters approximately an hour before the green flag of Sunday's Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Atlanta. The 500-miler is scheduled to be the last on the Georgia track's 20-year-old pavement, which has drawn rave reviews from drivers. The gritty surface places a premium on tire wear and car control, leading to multi-groove racing and slipping and sliding throughout the field. Smith said he's heard the pleas from drivers over the tripleheader weekend to keep things the way they are, to at least temporarily stall the renovation. "I can't really say the status has changed, but it's caused us to think about what we're doing," Smith said. "We've looked at the track a lot, of course, over the years, and we feel like we've gotten about three more years out of the life of the track right now. So the challenges are still there on keeping the track raceable and making it something we can have a race on today and have a quality race. "But definitely (we) have heard from the drivers saying that they like this gritty surface and so we will look at it after the race today and be able to make a better determination of what we'll have to do going forward."

RELATED: Bell wins Truck Series race at Atlanta Drivers have been nearly unified in their praise of the old surface, taking to their Twitter accounts to campaign for a paving reprieve at the 1.54-mile track. Matt Crafton joined the chorus in his post-race remarks after finishing second in Saturday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event.

 

"It's so much fun," Crafton said. "I think we need to start a drivers' council. If anybody from Atlanta Motor Speedway wants to come in here and wants to talk about repaving this place, then we need to get all the drivers together and talk about it because that was some of the greatest racing I've seen in a long time. … Everyone was all over that race track, and that's what it's all about."

 

If and when the Atlanta repave occurs, Smith said his team of engineers and paving experts will likely take cues from Texas Motor Speedway, which has completed a resurfacing project ahead of NASCAR's visit next month to the Lone Star State. The use of different asphalt compounds and artificial aging processes should help to accelerate Texas' breaking-in period, with Smith indicating that he hopes its new surface will emulate Atlanta's current state.

PHOTOS: See the Texas repave underway

It's yet another item on a long to-do list for SMI, which owns eight speedways that host 12 dates on the 36-race schedule for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. A pressing concern out of the Atlanta weekend is a planned Wednesday meeting for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors to discuss the possibility of adding a second Monster Energy Series race at SMI's Las Vegas Motor Speedway as early as 2018.

 

"We love the support that we get out of Las Vegas," Smith said. "I think the fans love it, so it's a great track for us. I think when we see that the community is supportive of racing there, it's definitely encouraging to us."

RELATED: Report says Vegas closing in on second premier series date

NASCAR entered into a five-year sanctioning agreement with the 23 tracks that host Monster Energy Cup Series events in October 2015. NASCAR officials have long maintained that they have no intention of expanding the schedule beyond its current 36-race limit.

 

Adding a second event in Vegas would likely need to occur at the expense of an existing track on the schedule, fueling speculation about whether SMI would shift a race away from its remaining seven tracks -- Atlanta, Bristol, Charlotte, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Sonoma or Texas -- or whether another venue would surrender a date.

 

 

"You know, I'm not big on speculating. I'd rather just tell you when I know, but it's fun to speculate," Smith said with a grin. "So we'll see."