Charlotte Motor Speedway is reconfiguring the track’s infield Roval road course ahead of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race on October 13.
Track CEO Marcus Smith said that drivers had started to figure out the track too well, which was leading to fewer overtakes, so they decided to mix things up.
“One of the things that I learned is how important the heavy braking zones are for passing.”
The new layout was revealed the weekend of the Coca-Cola 600 in May and includes an extension of the straight between turns 5 and 6 and a sharper turn 7 hairpin that leads the cars back onto the oval section.
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The turn 16 entry to the chicane before the start finish is also getting a sharper curve, but the track will retain its overall 2.28-mile length.
The track announced today that the project had begun and released video of workers putting down the first pavement.
All told, it will use 600 tons of asphalt, 23,000 square feet of cement-stabilized base and 1,000 cubic yards of dirt, most of which will be dedicated to the stretch between Turns 6 and 7.
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This isn’t the first NASCAR track to get fresh pavement this season. The entire North Wilkesboro Speedway oval was repaved for the All-Star Race and Iowa Speedway got some fresh asphalt laid down in the turns.
The Roval has been featured on the Cup Series schedule since 2018 with Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and A.J. Allmendinger all winning on the layout along with Chase Elliott, who went back to back in 2019 and 2020.