Ever wondered what all goes into prepping a dirt track?

[Returning to Dirt]

http://insidedirtracing.com/david-bryant-describes-the-process-of-preparing-smoky-mountains-track-surface/

There's a lot of work that goes into prepping a dirt track. Here, David Bryant goes through the process day by day.

Also, see which World of Outlaws star has recently tested at Smoky Mountain.

[GEAR_HEAD]

That is the lazy way to do track prep. The proper way is to disk it every week to get the water into the surface. He should ask Helfrich or Sargent for track prep advice.

[powerslide]

Some places will get holes if you disk it up. All dirt is not created equal.

[Clayton_Wetter]

That is the lazy way to do track prep. The proper way is to disk it every week to get the water into the surface. He should ask Helfrich or Sargent for track prep advice.

Bingo!!!...

[Hoosier_Dirt]

How many tracks have you guys actually prepared?

[GEAR_HEAD]

How many tracks have you guys actually prepared?

Helfrich and Sargent have prepared many.

[25drtrkr]

No disrespect meant for David, but his numbers don't add up. Coming from an agriculture background, I have witnessed 20 plus years of poor track prep, mostly from the wrong amount of water used. A track that size has roughly 3 acres of racing surface. To put just 1" of water would require approx. 80,000 gallons. "One load" (probly 5-8000 gals) would be like pissin in a 5 gal bucket. That would barely cover the dust to keep it down. From my experience, the amount of water used is the biggest mistake track preppers make......JMO

[Hoosier_Dirt]

Helfrich and Sargent have prepared many.

I meant the people on this thread.

[t3r3e3]

That is the lazy way to do track prep. The proper way is to disk it every week to get the water into the surface. He should ask Helfrich or Sargent for track prep advice.

Helfrich and Sargent are among the best. That being said, Smokey Mountain is typically a very racy joint. What those guys are doing seems to work for that track.

[Returning to Dirt]

The track is almost always smooth and fast. Obviously, unexpected weather can upset the balance but what they're doing seems to work.

[Scott Boesel]

Someone told me that the week prior to the Knoxville sprint natls they start there track prep and farm the track 24/7 thats crazy but cool i also heard Boone does the same thing with the imca super nationals

[Late_Model_Mark]

Gearhead, your post is a real classic example of not knowing geography when it comes to dirt. The red dirt here in the South is way different than your stuff up in the Keystone State. Southern red clay is way more difficult, fickle, and way harder to prepare than your dirt up there. You just can't water it to bring it back or tear it up during a break in racing. It comes up it giant clumps. As one who works at Talladega and other tracks, knows the track prep people at dozens of Southern tracks, it is a different animal. Sun is such a huge evil for dirt down here, that is why we don't start at 5 or 6 like you folks up there.

When the dirt is right, like Talladega was Saturday night, it is incredible. To call David's track prep lazy is a exercise in being dirt uninformed on regional dirt prep.




Late Model Mark
Talladega Short Track Announcer

[hygty]

watch the video from tri city last week and tell me what you think

[plunks7]

Headaches galore!! D A M N E D if you do D A M N E D if you don't. When dealing with more than 1 you get bit in the A S S by the others. It's a thankless job for sure!!!!!!

[GEAR_HEAD]

Gearhead, your post is a real classic example of not knowing geography when it comes to dirt. The red dirt here in the South is way different than your stuff up in the Keystone State. Southern red clay is way more difficult, fickle, and way harder to prepare than your dirt up there. You just can't water it to bring it back or tear it up during a break in racing. It comes up it giant clumps. As one who works at Talladega and other tracks, knows the track prep people at dozens of Southern tracks, it is a different animal. Sun is such a huge evil for dirt down here, that is why we don't start at 5 or 6 like you folks up there.

When the dirt is right, like Talladega was Saturday night, it is incredible. To call David's track prep lazy is a exercise in being dirt uninformed on regional dirt prep.




Late Model Mark
Talladega Short Track Announcer

I've been to Smoky Mountain before, one race was below average and the other was decent. You could tell though that they try to keep the grader parked as long as possible. That is the absolute easiest way to prep a dirt track. Pack it into asphalt, then try to water a rock. The problem is you can't water a rock and mother nature is your only hope to get the track to hold moisture. My point was if you want to see how good track prep is done go to #FALS, Macon, Jacksonville's summernats race, Tri-State, Boone, or Knoxville. Those tracks never miss the mark. Lets give a little bit of credit to the true track prep masters.