Lowe’s Motor Speedway officials are more than ready to battle the wet track conditions when the rain finally starts to taper off, which is expected sometime this afternoon. The speedway has five jet dryers on hand to speed the drying efforts which will be at a premium considering Coca-Cola 600 qualifying was washed out on Thursday and had to be moved to 1:00pm/et today. Time trials for the Busch Series will held at the track today as well, followed by the ARCA race. The jet dryers run at a speed of one-and-a-half miles per hour, and it takes those five jet dryers one hour to make a complete lap around the 1-5-mile tri-oval. The track will take roughly two hours to dry. In addition to the five jet dryers, there is an additional vehicle to help the speedways efforts. The Trak Vak, first used at Texas Motor Speedway in March, will also bee on the track when the rain stops. Trak Vak utilizes the ability to remove water from damp surfaces. The Trak Vak was invented by Texas resident George Carter. The dually truck chassis features a 27-horsepower motor powering a large vacuum with 12 pickup points located behind the vehicles rear tires. The diesel-powered vehicle is designed to operate at 60 mph, allowing it to remove water at a faster rate. Our theory is to pick up as much water as possible, Carter said. Jet blowers attempts to evaporate the water from the surface. Our goal it to actually remove the water.( Independent Tribune )(5-23-2003)
