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Kentucky Speedway getting ‘additional’ asphalt layer for ‘long-term viability’

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts

SPARTA, KY - JULY 09: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Chevrolet, and Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row Toyota, lead the field in a restart during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on July 9, 2016 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

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Kentucky Speedway announced Monday it will add a layer of asphalt to the track’s surface to ensure its “long-term viability.”

The move comes after an inspection showed that the repave project, which was completed in June to the 1.5-mile track, “did not meet the construction specifications,” track general manager Mark Simendinger said in a press release.

The repave project included increasing the banking in Turns 1 and 2 from 14 to 17 degrees, improvements to track’s drainage system and additional SAFER barrier.

“These deficiencies had no impact on this year’s racing and would affect only the long-term viability of the surface if left uncorrected,” Simendinger said. “In order to remedy these issues, an additional surface course of asphalt will be applied. The track will cure over the winter and be fully in use in the spring.”

In July, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on his podcast that the notorious bumps on the track’s frontstretch were still present and that the track was “not going to be happy about that.”

The asphalt addition will take place this month, but NASCAR doesn’t return to the track in Sparta, Kentucky, until the July 9 weekend next year.

Kentucky holds two NASCAR race weekends a year, including the Xfinity Series’ Chase opener in September.

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