At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, asphalt mix was first placed on the main oval original brick surface in 1936 to fill in the rougher sections.  All four turns were completely paved with asphalt in 1937.  In 1938, the entire track was paved with asphalt except for the middle portion of the front straightaway, where the original brick was still left exposed.  The entire 2-1/2 mile track was completely paved in 1976, and then again in 1988 and 1995.  In 1999 the new Formula One track was built for the inaugural Grand Prix.  The most recent repaving project on the main oval occurred in 2004; utilizing mixes that were designed by Heritage Research Group, produced by Milestone Contractors and placed by Grady Brothers using a special paving machine.  Formulation to application challenges for any race track are discussed including precision rolling to achieve the necessary compaction, laying the mat as close to the retaining wall as possible, using a consistent feed of material and a steady pace to limit the number of transverse joints in the mat, with photographs telling much of the story.

Asphalt paving of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway � an engineer's perspective

246th National Meeting (2013)

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