Joey Logano, William Byron and Ty Gibbs got a look at the brand new asphalt on North Wilkesboro Speedway Wednesday March 13, as they participated in a Goodyear Tire Test leading into the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 19.
Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford, Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Gibbs’ No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota shook down the 0.625-mile track and tried different tire compounds to test tire wear and grip around Wilkesboro's fresh, new surface.
Completed last November, the resurfacing process included milling approximately two inches of the old track, repairing failing spots, sealing and adding a specially designed asphalt mixture in the same configuration as the original track, including the 13 degrees of banking in the corners. Similar to the process used for the most recent Atlanta Motor Speedway repave, Speedway Motorsports used a special mix that is expected to age faster than traditional asphalt, creating a more “worn-in” surface more quickly. Carl Rose & Sons Asphalt, the original paving contractor for North Wilkesboro Speedway, supplied nearly 2,000 tons of specialty asphalt for the project, while North Carolina-based Delta Contracting managed the milling process. Summers Taylor, a contractor from nearby Johnson City, Tennessee, used a process called echelon paving to lay a seamless surface across the roughly 50-foot-wide track.