NASCAR will debut new track drying procedure

NASCAR will debut new track drying procedure: NASCAR will roll out a new track drying system this season that will dramatically speed up the process to get racing surfaces back to green-flag conditions following a rain shower. After NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France set a goal to improve drying times by 80 percent, the team at the Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., went to work on developing the new machine. "Our group in the R&D center went right to work on that," France said Tuesday night on "NASCAR Live." "We engaged third-party help and we'll have it for Daytona. We won't be at 80 percent, but we're going to be dramatically better with a whole new system on how to dry the track as much as 60 percent (faster) and we will get to the 80 percent goal." The ultimate goal is to see a superspeedway like Daytona International Speedway race-ready in 30 minutes rather than two hours and a short track like Martinsville Speedway completed in 15 minutes. France said the new air-powered machine that is followed by a vacuum system will not only be faster but better for the environment, eventually eliminating the current process of using jet dryers powered by kerosene jet fuel that's been in place since 1976. "We're patenting some technology that (uses) air pressure," France said. "Think of it as giant tanks, scuba tanks, that drive air out and blow water - or anything else - off the surface in a dramatically better way. It's a big solution. We're not (all the way) there yet, but it's ready now."(Motor Racing Network)(1-10-2013)