Miller Brothers Construction has begun the $1.6 million track reconstruction project at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

As part of the project, the staging lanes will be new asphalt and the head of the staging lanes through 100 feet past the finish line will be concrete from barrier wall to barrier wall, with new asphalt from that point through part of the sandtrap at the the end of the track.

“Today (Feb. 19), the asphalt was milled out all the way to the subbase in the Budweiser lane,” said Matt Welsh, Summit Motorsports Park project manager. “That process looks a lot like it does when you’re driving down the highway and you see big machines that are chewing up asphalt and have conveyors that are emptying it into a dumptruck.”

Next, chunks of saw-cut concrete will be removed by an excavator, and underdrainage and a new subbase will be installed in that lane.

“We should be finished with that part this week,” said Welsh. “Then, with a little luck, and weather depending, we’ll be able to pour new concrete soon, and once the new concrete is cured, we’ll move from the Budweiser lane to the Summit lane and repeat the process. Then, after all of the concrete is in, we’ll do asphalt work."

The project is scheduled to be completed in time for the 37th Annual Spring Warm-Up, April 28-29 at Summit Motorsports Park is at 1300 State Route 18, Norwalk, Ohio. For more information, visit www.summitmotorsportspark.com or call 419-668-5555.

- By Mary Lendzion

(Photos by Evan Bader)