Catchfence

NASCAR drivers will get their first chance to try out the new pavement at Daytona International Speedway with a Goodyear tire test scheduled for late January.

Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood would not reveal a specific date — although it’s believed to be the weekend of Jan. 21– but track spokesman Andrew Booth said the speedway hopes to have a formal announcement as early as next week.

Chitwood said he has been in talks with NASCAR to lobby for a January date — the first preseason open test at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in four years — a necessity to try out the $20 million pavement project that is supposed to be completed by January 1.

“That would certainly get the vibe going that we’re back at it,” said Chitwood, who also said he’s seriously considering christening the track by driving a car on it on two wheels, a stunt made famous in his family’s legendary “Joie Chitwood Thrill Show” — and one that he personally performed hundreds of times as a third-generation member of the show.

“It will be a different way to start off the season. We’ll have a ribbon cutting, maybe I do something crazy like that, we’ll put all the elements together and it will feel special,” Chitwood said.

“With what happened last February, we need to build up the same trust again with the fans and make sure when they show up at Daytona International Speedway, they get the first class racing experience they’re expecting.”

“We’ll have a ribbon cutting (and) maybe I’ll do something like that” (driving a car on two wheels like he did in his family’s thrill show).”

– Joie Chitwood Track officials formally announced the repaving project in April after a pothole formed in the middle of this year’s Feb. 14 season-opening Daytona 500, causing the race to be red-flagged twice for almost two and half hours while patchwork repairs were made to the hole between Turns 1 and 2. A more permanent patch was installed for the July 3 Coke Zero 400 and there were no problems.

- FanHouse