NHIS officials coated the entire track with sealant. According to track owner Bob Bahre, the procedure is done every three years to help preserve the track and give drivers better handling in the corners. The coating comes following the deaths of NASCAR drivers Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin last season. Both drivers were killed in practice crashes when their cars slammed into the wall in the tracks third turn. Despite the deaths of the two drivers, Bahre said the procedure had nothing to do with the accidents. After the NASCAR test sessions in April, a few of the drivers said they thought there were a few bumps on the speedway. NHIS brought in an engineering firm from Kansas City experienced in racetrack profiling to check the speedway. They detected some insignificant bumps over the tunnel and in Turns 3 and 4. Although the bumps were slight, NHIS officials had them removed(Foster’s Online). No word or mention on the rumor that the walls were being confiured in some of the turns(see my Track News and Link page for past news)(5-9-2001)
