Fast Track for Fast Cars

By: Roads & Bridges

Talladega Superspeedway is touted as NASCAR’s most competitive track. For more than 30 years, fans and drivers have experienced heart-pounding thrills. To guarantee continued excitement and a safe, smooth ride, the track was thoroughly rehabilitated by Sunmount Corp.

Talladega is a 2.66-mile-long tri-oval. The maximum banking in turns 1 through 4 is 33?. The two greatest challenges of the project were paving on the 33? banking and achieving the desired smoothness. The surface mix was placed such that there would be only two transverse joints in the track, one each at the entrance of turns 1 and 3. This resulted in very smooth pavement—and long paving days.

On a racetrack, raveling is the most common failure mode. The tires used on race cars are made of a very sticky rubber, and the heat generated can raise temperatures on the pavement above 160°F. The combined forces can rip aggregates out of the pavement surface if the mix is not properly designed. To prevent this, mix designs were verified by the National Center for Asphalt Technology.