Construction work at Kentucky Speedway has prompted a two-day IndyCar test to be canceled and pushed back a NASCAR tire test to be pushed back. The IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights had an open test planned for May 9-10 at the track. Teams were notified about the cancellation Wednesday and told IndyCar is looking into scheduling a one-day test at a similar oval. Goodyear invited seven NASCAR Sprint Cup teams to a May 17 test at Kentucky Speedway to confirm the tire setup for the inaugural Quaker State 400 on July 9. That tire test now will take place June 1. The date change could affect the driver lineup. As of last week it included #16-Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway Racing, Ford), #29-Kevin Harvick (Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet), #2-Brad Keselowski (Penske Racing, Dodge), #38-Travis Kvapil (Front Row Motorsports, Ford), #20-Joey Logano (Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota), #5-Mark Martin (Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet) and #00-David Reutimann (Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota).
The culprit isn’t the racing surface but construction going on around it. The rescheduling comes after crews recently removed the inside retaining wall from the exit of pit road, through Turns 1 and 2, and down much of the backstretch. “We’re doing some grading there and also putting in a new wall with the SAFER barrier,” Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman Bruton Smith said. “This is just to make it better and safer. That’s what it’s all about.” Workers framed the pit stalls earlier this week and poured concrete Thursday. While The pit stalls will be concrete, but pit road itself will be asphalt. The changes are part of a massive effort to get the track ready for its Sprint Cup debut, and to handle the more than 100,000 fans expected to attend the July 9 race. “I think we’ve made some great strides,” Smith said. “We’ve improved parking tremendously and the road system a great deal. Adding 12 more elevators and the extra camping and concessions and souvenirs, all the things we’re doing there to accommodate the crowd, that’s what we’re about.”(Cincinnati Enquirer)(4-22-2011)
