"Braking zones equal passing zones": Charlotte Motor Speedway’s president opens up on NASCAR's road circuit’s repavement

Charlotte Motor Speedway’s president Greg Walter opened up about NASCAR's decision to reconfigure the 17-turn Road Course. He also shared a different perspective about the two braking zones that have become even more challenging after the repavement job.

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course underwent restructuring during NASCAR’s summer break. A longer infield has been made between Turns 6 and 7, leading straight into a tight corner. An additional reshaping of the front chicane has been done to create a more challenging braking zone, posing a big threat to championship contenders.

On 13 October, the newly repaved 2.28-mile circuit will host its first NASCAR Cup Series, The Bank of America ROVAL 400, since the updated layout. Ahead of upcoming races, Charlotte Motor Speedway’s president was asked why the repavement was done.

Walter answered the question while sharing his view on the challenging braking zones. He said:

"We have this culture here of being constructively discontent. It's funny we've seen some drivers out here, come out here, take a 'walk,' but they are all down there at Turn 7, to see how that's gonna impact them. So, it's fun, right? At the end, it's about the fans. Our heart is to put on a good show for the fans," Walter said.

"And in the road courses, braking zones, equal passing zones, and hopefully what we've done is create two new passing zones," he added.

The Drive for the Cure 250 Xfinity race will mark Charlotte Road Course's maiden NASCAR battle since reconfiguration.

Denny Hamlin pokes fun at NASCAR amid Charlotte Motor Speedway's "chaos" repavement

Denny Hamlin took a sarcastic dig at NASCAR for wanting to “wipe out” drivers at Charlotte’s reconfigured turn. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver aimed at them for creating more chaos by working on the infield between Turns 6 and 7.

The previous layout of the 2.28-mile circuit featured Turns 6 and 7 heading into eight through a right-angle maneuver. However, in the updated version, Turn 6 has moved to the opposite side, drastically increasing the turning angle for the NextGen cars approaching the hairpin corner at high speeds.

The 54-time Cup Series race winner discussed the "tighter than the (LA) Coliseum" track. He joked that NASCAR approved the layout to "wipe out" drivers from the race. The JGR driver said, via Dirty Mo Media on X:

"The reconfigure was designed to create more chaos. You're going to have to convince me otherwise of that. They make corners sharper and tighter. It was tighter in Turn 7 anyway, but now they made it to a point. So instead of you driving the normal optimum line to make this corner that is really really tight, tighter than the (LA) Coliseum," Hamlin said.

"They made it a point so they want you to drive straight in the corner I believe, and wipe out whoever's in front of you and then it's gonna be a parking lot in Turn 7, and it's just going to be who can navigate and get through there," he added.

Denny Hamlin will enter the Round of 12 finale at Charlotte with a 30-point cushion over the playoff elimination line.