February 14, 2006
Braig: No need to pave speedway right now
By GODWIN KELLY
Daytona Beach News-Journal MOTORSPORTS EDITOR

DAYTONA BEACH -- While discussing the perils of bump drafting at
Daytona International Speedway on Sunday night following the
Budweiser Shootout, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took a verbal swipe at the
condition of the 2.5-mile tri-oval.
"I think the racetrack is in poor condition, in my opinion,"
Earnhardt said. "We run around the middle of the corner because the
bottom is so dang rough.
"There's a lot of bad bumps and it moves the cars around when you're
side by side. Three-wide and you've got cars running through bumps
and holes; you're going to have a hard time hanging on to them."

"We respect the opinions of the drivers," Speedway president Robin Braig
said in response. "On the competition side, we look to our
sanctioning bodies, in this case NASCAR, and to Goodyear Tires for
their recommendations about our track surface. They keep a close eye
on the condition of the track surface."

Earnhardt was 5 years old the last time the Speedway, owned by
International Speedway Corp., was paved in 1979.
ISC plans to pave Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway,
a track similar in size and shape, this year.

Braig said that "at this time, there are no plans to repave" Daytona.
"NASCAR and Goodyear have each told us we are in good shape
right now," Braig said. "We always listen to our drivers, but we
take our lead on the competition side from NASCAR and Goodyear."

godwin.kelly (AT) news-jrnl (DOT) com

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Crusader