Texas Motor Speedway yesterday experienced yet another rain delay with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500, and it is "becoming more clear that the track must get repaved sooner than later after 15 years on the current surface," according to Drew Davison of the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. Rain delayed NASCAR's Duck Commander 500 in April at TMS and also postponed the IndyCar Firestone 600 at the track in June. Yesterday, rain fell during the National Anthem of the scheduled 1:00pm CT start and "lasted roughly 30 minutes." However, the "porous asphalt on the top layer does not dry or drain well, and track officials spent hours to get it into racing conditions." Drivers were eventually called to their cars at 6:00pm and went on the track at 6:19pm, but the race "didn’t officially start" until 6:55pm "under caution with jet dryers still on the track." The race "went full green on Lap 7" at 7:05pm (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 11/7). In Charlotte, David Scott notes the fact that it "took more than six hours to dry the track only underscores the need for a repave at Texas." TMS President Eddie Gossage on Saturday said that a repave is "coming; he just didn’t know when." A repave probably "won’t be popular with drivers, who like to race on an older surface that produces better opportunities to pass and maneuver" (CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.com, 11/7).
