Brainerd raceway to use taconite tailings

Asphalt will incorporate taconite tailings to increase track‚s durability and racers‚ speeds

BRAINERD, Minn. - Brainerd International Raceway today announced that it will tear up its drag strip this fall and reconstruct it, using innovative design components and a construction material not found in the surface of any other race tracks: taconite tailings. The end result is expected to produce a more durable surface and much faster speeds.

The $500,000-plus construction project will begin Sept. 29, immediately following BIR‚s final bracket drag race of the year, and is scheduled to be completed in early December. The new track will be unlike any other in the country because construction plans address some of the problems that plague most tracks, namely, surface flatness, the transition from concrete to asphalt and the dissimilarity between concrete and asphalt surfaces. The first 660 feet of the new track will be concrete and the last 660 feet will be asphalt.

To help solve some of these problems, plans call for using taconite tailings as an asphalt substrate instead of rock aggregate, which is commonly used. Taconite tailings are more durable and dense than rock aggregate, making the asphalt more similar to concrete, which provides for a better transition from concrete to asphalt. It will also provide greater tire traction and allow the surface to better withstand the punishing weather extremes that central Minnesota experiences.

The tailings will come from taconite mines in northeast Minnesota. Project Manager Ed Shaughnessy, who drag races in the Super Comp class and has 35 years of racing experience, said that taconite tailings have been used as an asphalt substrate for years but never, to his knowledge, at any race tracks. The tailings are inexpensive, about 95 cents per ton, because huge piles of tailings are prevalent throughout the Iron Range. But because of their density, tailings are expensive to transport, which makes them less appealing for most applications. Construction will involve 300 to 500 tons of taconite tailings.

BIR also plans to use more concrete on its track. Currently, concrete extends from the burnout box behind the starting line down the track 330 feet. The rest of the track is asphalt. Plans call for extending the concrete from the burnout box to half-track, 660 feet from the starting line. The remaining 660 feet will be asphalt.

Concrete provides better tire traction, but is only necessary for the first half of the drag strip, BIR General Manager Scott Quick said. „The most critical need for concrete is to provide maximum traction for the Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars when they‚re shifting, which takes place at the starting line and just before half-track. After that, asphalt provides ample traction.‰

Another problem that BIR will overcome is fluctuations in surface levelness. The general contractor, CR Meyer, of Coleraine, Minn., will use lasers to create an ultra flat surface, which is critical for high-speed dragsters. The middle of the track will only be about 2 inches higher than the outside edges, which is more in line with the design of most major drag strips. Currently, the middle of the track varies from 4-6 inches higher than the outside edges, requiring race crews to make special adjustments to the dragsters. Also, the track has settled in some places, creating slight waves, or a washboard effect, that drivers must overcome.

And finally, CR Meyer designed an „expansion joint‰ behind the starting line to allow the concrete to expand and contract. The joint will be used instead of saw cuts that are made perpendicular to the track, much like you find in sidewalks. Without the saw cuts, the concrete stretch will be much smoother for the drivers and won‚t put additional stress at the point where concrete meets the asphalt.

„We‚re very excited about this construction project,‰ Quick said. „Starting next season, we‚ll have a very fast track and we expect to set some national records here. Also, the new design features and the use of taconite tailings will make us a test case for other race tracks and industries throughout the country, which will be watching us very closely to see what the effects will be.‰

Now in its 34th season, BIR is one of North America‚s largest race tracks that features camping and lodging on site. Sitting on 800 acres about 120 miles north of the Twin Cities, BIR features a three-mile, 10-turn championship road course and a world-class drag strip that has hosted some of the biggest names in the sport. The annual NHRA Nationals in August draws about 100,000 people (the grandstand alone seats 30,000). Visit www.brainerdraceway.com.

For more information, contact PR Coordinator Geoff Gorvin at 218-821-9513.