PHOENIX – Race fans will get to experience four days of on-track action and entertainment this November at Phoenix International Raceway when the Kobalt Tools 500 returns as the semi-final race in NASCAR’s playoffs – the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The fall event weekend at PIR, November 10-13, will be the first event held on the facility’s new, reconfigured racing surface.
In February, PIR President Bryan R. Sperber announced details related to the NASCAR facility’s first major track pavement project since 1990. Construction – including the removal and reuse of the facility’s old racing surface and subsequent installation of a new surface to go with a series of changes designed to promote side-by-side racing – began in March and will continue up to September.
“Our goal for the track pavement project was to not radically change a venue that’s celebrated by fans and drivers alike, but to utilize new technology to give us the best opportunity to create not just a new Phoenix International Raceway, but an improved PIR,” said Sperber. “We’re pleased with the progress made on the project thus far and are eager to present the new PIR during NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup in November.”
Aside from the installation of a new, four-layer asphalt and aggregate surface, PIR’s track pavement project includes the following adjustments:
- Widen the front stretch from 52 to 62 feet
- Reconfigure pit road with the installation of concrete pit stalls
- Push the dog-leg curve between Turn 2 and Turn 3 out 95 feet
- Tighten the turn radius of the dog-leg from 800 to 500 feet
- Implement variable banking to ensure the immediate use of two racing grooves, including 10-
11 degree banking between Turn 1 and Turn 2; 10-11 degree banking in the apex of the dog-leg; and 8-9 degree banking in Turn 4
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