Drivers Bid Farewell To Old Asphalt At Atlanta

Column By: REID SPENCER / NASCAR – HAMPTON, GA – If it were up to the world’s best stock car drivers, race tracks would never be resurfaced.

In fact, faced with the final race on old pavement at Atlanta Motor Speedway — Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. facetiously suggested on Twitter that he and his compatriots hold some sort of memorial for the soon-to-be-jackhammered old asphalt.

Reality and necessity, however, sometimes contravene the drivers’ wishes. In the case of Atlanta, the pavement is 20 years old, abrasive and bumpy enough to chew up tires within a few laps. Texas Motor Speedway also is getting a new surface because “weepers” in the asphalt have rendered track drying a near impossibility in humid conditions.

Though the drivers would rather slide around on pavement that’s aged, they understand.

“We get it,” said seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson, who will try to win his third straight Atlanta race on Sunday. “We understand, but it’s just going to take a long time for the track to get back to this condition. …

“We’ll enjoy it this weekend and maybe have that memorial service Dale Jr. is talking about and come back and go really fast next year.”

RYAN REED A ROLE MODEL AS SPOKESMAN FOR LILLY DIABETES
Roush Fenway Racing driver may not consider himself a role model, but his sponsor certainly does.

The winner of the season-opening NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Daytona for the second time in three years, Reed visited Atlanta media center on Friday to participate in the announcement of Lilly Diabetes as the “Official Diabetes Health Partner of NASCAR.”

Reed himself has overcome the limitations of Type I diabetes to establish a successful racing career.

“I see myself as someone who has the opportunity to use the racing platform to spread awareness, and so I hold very high standards for myself to do so,” Reed told the NASCAR Wire Service. “That means being in the gym, working hard to be the best race car driver I can be, and if I have the opportunity to inspire someone, I think that’s really cool.

“I try to stay humble and not think of myself as a role model, but I certainly have had a lot of people come up to me and tell me that I am to them, and that’s something I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to do in my life. At the end of the day, I’m just a kid who loves to drive race cars, and I’m very fortunate that I get to do so.”

Mike Mason, U.S. vice president of Lilly Diabetes was quick to add the company’s point of view.

“He definitely is a role model,” Mason said emphatically. “Obviously, we’re here to educate about diabetes and what you can do to better manage the disease, but one of the best parts of this is what we get to see with the social media interaction with Ryan.

“You see individuals—kids, adolescents—who have Type I diabetes, and the emotion they put in to see Ryan’s success and living with diabetes on daily basis actually brings tears to your eyes.”

SHORT STROKES
Chase Elliott led final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice for the Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, posting a lap at 188.015 mph on Saturday afternoon. Brad Keselowski was second fastest at 187.602 mph.

Pole winner Kevin Harvick was 27th on the speed chart in Happy Hour. Ryan Newman, who qualified second on Friday afternoon, recorded the fastest average speed over 10 consecutive laps at 181.429 mph.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will start 12th on Sunday, was second fastest in 10-lap average at 181.398 mph.