In the Press

UPDATED: TONY SCHUMACHER BETTERS EARLIER RUN WITH 3.753, 322.88

Written by Bobby Bennett, Photos by Roger Richards    Wednesday, 13 January 2010 15:32  

UPDATED: 3:32 PM, EST - As predicted earlier, the elapsed times keep falling during Wednesday testing at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Tony Schumacher, fresh off of a 3.759 elapsed time earlier, lowered the unofficial quickest run in 1,000-foot Top Fuel history with a 3.753 with a whopping speed of 322.88. Cory McClenathan followed with a 3.77.

“It’s great," Schumacher said of the conditions at PBIR. "It’s way better than what we normally get. Generally speaking when we show up at Phoenix we’ve got to run side by side with other cars and we only get to run when they want us to run, and we’re testing, that’s not how we want to do it. We come down to a place like this, it’s an amazing facility. It’s just as nice as any of the other tracks that we race on and we get to fast."

DSR Funny Car driver Matt Hagan jumped to the front of the Funny Cars with a 4.099, 307.86.
Driver Ron Capps believes this annual preseason test at PBIR sets the stage for his team and possibly others.

“Last year when we left here I was pretty confident," Capps said. "We went to Pomona and we won, went to Phoenix and we won, and I feel the same way right now. (Crew chief) Ed McCulloch is the best. He’s got his game face on already and we just got here. He’s relaxed and he’s excited about pushing the limits on our car and the NAPA guys have two brand new cars ready to run."

1:25 PM - Three days into testing and nitro racing's leaders are bringing out the big guns and with phenomenal conditions, it's apparent they will be firing them all

Earlier in the day, Larry Dixon and Al-Anabi Racing bettered their Tuesday run by .003, also quicker than the national record. This battle is not over by any stretch of the imagination.

Defending Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher blasted out the quickest run of the new year, and in the 1,000-foot era, with a 3.759 at 318.77 miles per hour. Earlier in the day, Al-Anabi Racing driver Larry Dixon bettered his Tuesday run with a 3.763. Both runs are quicker than the current national record.

Ron Capps is the quickest of the Funny Cars with a 4.10, 289. The early shut off progressives added up to a 4.02 or 4.03 lap. Matt Hagan is right there with a 4.11, 306.

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PBG Construction Builds Palm Beach International Raceway - Building Florida - The Voice of Commercial Construction March/April 2009

PBG Construction

Steve May began PBG Construction after a long tenure with other well known construction companies throughout southern Florida. The construction knowledge and experience, as well as dedication to long time clients in the Palm Beach County area enabled PBG Construction to facilitate projects with true hands on approach in every aspect of construction. PBG Construction's proficiency in maintaining project, budgeting, scheduling, completion goals and most of all safety has proven to be the highest sense of urgency through professionalism, reputation and security while delivering the ultimate quality. Their mission statement of "never getting caught between what you promise and what you deliver" assures their clients a level of security unsurpassed in the industry.

Beach Gardens Construction became involved with the project due to Mr. May's long time track record with other projects, (apartment buildings and shopping centers), which Mr. May built for many of the Palm Beach International Raceway investors around the country. Mr. May requested Lebolo Construction management to become involved for additional expertise in project oversight and fast track construction. Together they brought a foundation of experience and sense of urgency to the project that had short deadlines and no acceptance for failure. This fast track project was completed and opened for the Citrus Nationals in 151 days.

The uniqueness of this project is due to its history. Palm Beach International Raceway as it was known in the 1960s was purchased by Dick Moroso from David Rupp in the 1980s and renamed Moroso Motorsports Park. Located on over 200 acres of wooded property in northwest Palm Beach County, the motorsports park is known for catering to the motorsports enthusiasts hosting more than 850 events annually. Auto racing being the number one spectator sport in the country, events at the park draw an estimated one million people per year, with media coverage impacting several million or more. As a result, the park previously created an economic impact on Palm Beach County and surrounding areas in excess of $25 million. Now the new Palm Beach International Raceway is projected to double that figure.

To have the opportunity as local General Contractors and subcontractors to give back to the track, their spectators and the surrounding community is a privilege. The enhancement and needed refurbishment of the facility only broaden the scope of activities and bring a needed growth of tourism and employment to the area.

The construction of a project such as a race track is very intricate. The stringent specifications that are mandated concerning the design, safety, maintenance and upkeep have to be met and can be challenging. To meet the IRL sanctions specifications, the group effort lead by Lebolo Construction and PBG Construction involved the layout of the track by Boyle Engineering of Okeechobee, asphalt mix specifications designed by Advanced Materials Services in Auburn Alabama, asphalt supplier was East Coast Paving, a division of Hubbard Corp. of West Palm Beach and placement by John Carlo, Inc. of Michigan. Additionally, the construction of the 3,000 LF of Concrete SLip Formed Safety Barriers with Government Grade mixed design and a concrete pit road and garage road was completed.

A cross section of the construction of the road course is as follows:

Initially the drag strip specifications were to be a combination of ½ mile of concrete and the remainder in asphalt. However, Lebolo Construction and PBG Construction recommended modifying the specifications to a total concrete design that would achieve a higher quality and lower maintenance product.

Following is a cross section of how the strip was constructed:

The original track design was a 10 turn, 2.25 mile, 23' wide road course connected to the drag strip as part of the straight away. The new track configuration is 11 turn, 2.034 mile, 40'-60' wide road course with the drag strip being a separate entity. The original layout had canals on the perimeter road that were used to store excess water pumped from the track. During construction of the new track, an enormous uplift of ground water was discovered and an increase in track elevation was implemented. This also led to the installation of storm water management collection ponds, extensive under drains to relieve the pressure and send the waters to new storm collection areas. The water elevation was and is monitored daily in order to start the large overflow pumps installed to help keep the groundwater below a designed elevation and to insure the safety of the track.

Additionally, the quality of the project has received exceptional reviews from the racing community and has generated three (3) new world speed records in the last month. The race teams are proclaiming the racing surface and facility as phenomenal.

Phase two consisting of 100,000 square feet of industrial, pit garages, new bathroom facilities and concession stands will be added this year as soon as the economic forecast changes. These projects are in design at this time.

 

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