Behind the Bricks: Turn 2 Repave, Part 4

DOUG: So, it’s about six o’clock in the evening. A lot of these folks have been here since 4:30 or so this morning, when we first started. What’s happening right now is that the first lift of asphalt is going down. So they’re putting asphalt down between the ground and up to the level of the bricks. That’s going to cure for a couple of hours. And then, actually, what they’ll do is they’ll come in with another lift that will actually cover the bricks about two inches, that’ll cure for a couple of hours. And then they’ll come in for the third and final which will actually bring the asphalt up to just a little bit above where the racing surfaces. That’ll sit until October 6, and then October 6 we’ll come out here for the next round. We’re going to mill this off and put the final layer down on before we do some diamond grinding and tire dragging so we can get ready for testing.

So, in our street car, we’d be fine with the racetrack the way it is right now, but when they put this asphalt in, they actually put it up a little higher than the racing surface. So what’s going to happen is we’re going to come in and diamond-grind this hundred-foot patch of asphalt so it matches the asphalt the teams race on.

And then once that diamond grinding is done, it should be perfectly smooth, not just for us, but for the race cars. After that, we’ll get out of here, and we’re going to get some blocks over it and some tires over to knock off some of the edges, and we’ll be ready to go.

Well, race fans, last time we were here, we were diamond grinding. We were doing the tire dragging. Now we’re doing what we love so much. We actually have race cars on track here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time, testing the new asphalt in turn 2.

You hear one of those drivers going behind me right now, Takuma Sato, four cars out here for the Firestone test. We’re trying to make sure everything is ready to go. So we are going to enjoy the day, the sunshine, and racing Indy cars at the speedway. Now we’re going to talk to some drivers and get their first impressions.

TAKUMA: I was honored to actually be called and come back to the IMS. It’s always a lovely place to drive the car fast. But today we are evaluating in turn 2, which was almost unfeelable. You know, it’s a fantastic job they’ve done, and the grip level is exactly identical, if anything, it’s even smoother on exit. So they did really, really good job.

ALEX: We tested repave turn two. It’s a little bit smoother, which I think is going to be a huge gain for the race, especially when we’re following cars. It’s great. Yeah, I can’t wait to go racing

DOUG: History and tradition. It’s what makes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway so special. Two and a half mile oval, 3.2 million bricks, and a crushed limestone and tar surface that was put down in 1909. Who knew that in 2025 as we were repairing the racetrack, we’d see so much history, and I’m so glad that you got to go along with us on this journey all the way back to the beginning of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — all the way through the testing that’s allowed us to know we’re ready for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by GAINBRIDGE in May of 2026.

Until next time, we’re Behind The Bricks.