MONROE — After a long wait, Evergreen Speedway has finally gotten a makeover.
For the first time in what the racetrack described as “several decades,” Evergreen Speedway has undergone an upgrade to its racing surface as the repaving of the three-eighths mile track was completed earlier this week.
“To say we are excited to have it completed is an understatement,” track president Doug Hobbs said in a press release. “We know the teams are going to love the new surface, and that the fans are going to see some of the best wheel-to-wheel racing in the country.
“Since we took over the track in March of 2011, we’ve had a series of one-year, three-year and five-year projects,” Hobbs added. “The three-eighths track has been on that list from the beginning. To accomplish a complete restoration project of the entire track has taken a lot of time, money and effort to do a top-notch job.”
The repavement improves the quality of the racing surface on the three-eighths track, which is the inner oval of the two primary ovals at Evergreen Speedway. In addition to repaving, the track was also given progressive banking, with the middle of the turns increased from 10-degree to 12-degree grades.
The repave included the front stretch, which is also used by the five-eighths mile track and drag strip.
“The track used to sit under two-to-three feet of water many months of the year in various spots,” Hobbs said. “It has taken a considerable amount of subterranean repair and new drainage construction to channel the water properly over the past seven years to be able to repave this week.”
Drivers will get their first taste of the new surface this weekend. Evergreen Drift is holding an open event on Saturday, and there will also be a Super Late Model tire and test session Saturday night. Evergreen Autocross will test out the new surface on Sunday.
Hobbs said more upgrades at the track are in store for the coming years, including repairs to the five-eighths track, new box suites across the top of the grandstands, a new front-stretch catch fence, restroom upgrades and additional paved parking areas in the pits. Improvements to the five-eighths track are necessary for the NASCAR Truck Series, which raced at Evergreen Speedway from 1995-2000, to return.
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