Homestead damaged by Wilma - Lucky Dog Racing Community Forum

Members Login

Post Info

TOPIC: Homestead damaged by Wilma

President Lou Demian

Lou Demian - President

Status: Offline

Posts: 8032

Date: Oct 25 8:47 AM, 2005

Homestead damaged by Wilma	Permalink

Homestead damaged by Hurricane but should be ready: Homestead-Miami Speedway suffered ``significant damage'' to light poles, the grandstands, catch fencing and the garage suites during Hurricane Wilma. But the necessary repairs are expected to be completed in time for the speedway's biggest event, NASCAR's Ford Championship Weekend that runs Nov. 18-20, speedway president Curtis Gray said Monday. ``Yes, we'll definitely be ready - no doubt about it,'' said Gray, who rode out the storm at the speedway. ``The track itself is fine.'' The major damage was caused by the quarter-mile long garage suites structure, which Gray said literally seemed to be lifted into the air around 6:30 a.m. The flying structure took out 12 of the custom-built light poles along pit road that are part of a new $8.5 million lighting project for night racing. Parts of the structure landed in the catch fencing that is in place primarily to prevent airborne cars and flying debris from leaving the racetrack and hitting fans in the grandstands. One part of the garage suites structure flew over the grandstand and took out another custom-built light pole. As soon as the high winds subsided, assessment of the damage began. No immediate dollar amount was available. Repairs will begin today. On Monday morning he talked with Bill France Jr., NASCAR's former CEO and current board member of International Speedway Corp., which operates the 1.5-mile speedway. Operation teams from ISC sister tracks Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway are being sent to help with repairs that will be both permanent and temporary in order to be done in time for the three championship races of NASCAR's national series: Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Trucks. Iowa-based MUSCO, the lighting contractor, is working on those repairs. Grandstand seating will be shipped from Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania, which recently went out of business, to replace the damaged 20 rows. In addition to lighting, ISC also invested another $14.5 million into the construction of a Turn 1 Tower that features a luxury club and 16 corporate suites. Gray said there appeared to be no damage to the outside of the new tower, which was still under construction. But he had yet to be able to check inside. Several Nextel Cup teams had been scheduled to test this week, but cleanup will prevent that from happening. They might be able to test next week, but the damaged 50 feet of catch fencing must be repaired. With less than a month before the race, Gray said some temporary repairs might have to suffice, ``but it will be things fans won't really notice.''(Miami Herald)(10-24-2005) Seeing a Nextel Cup garage fly through the air must've been quite a sight.... __________________ 2013 Cup Series Champion 2005, 2009, 2011, 2016 Xfinity Series Champion 2008 & 2010 Truck Series Champion 2007, 2012 & 2013 Streak to the Finish Champion

Page 1 of 1 sorted by

Tweet this page

Post to Digg

Post to Del.icio.us

Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse