The last time a NASCAR jet dryer got this much attention was when Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into one during the 2012 Daytona 500.
Under caution but trying to catch the field after a pit stop, Montoya spun his No. 42 Chevrolet into the pick-up truck at the entrance to Turn 3 of Daytona International Speedway. The contact ruptured the kerosene that created the track-drying heat, and the brief but intense fire could be seen for miles.
On Thursday, Pocono Raceway dispatched one of its NASCAR jet dryers to northeastern Philadelphia to help Department of Transportation workers repair and reopen a closed-down stretch of I-95. The kerosene-fueled turbine mounted on the back of a red Chevy Silverado was delivered to workers at the site of a June 11 truck fire that brought down part of an underpass.
In that incident, a northbound section of the elevated highway collapsed after a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline flipped and caught fire. The driver was killed and the resulting damage required demolition of the southbound lanes as well. A replacement bridge will eventually be constructed. The accident closed both lanes of the highway, one of the most heavily travelled along the East Coast.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told the Associated Press he hopes a temporary fix can be completed so traffic can continue as early as this weekend. But with continued rain in the forecast, Pocono sent its jet dryer to help by keeping the fresh asphalt dry enough for lines to be painted.
“We need patches of dry time in order to complete the paving, and really importantly, the striping process,” Shapiro said Thursday, describing NASCAR’s help as a “super cool solution. He added: “I said the other day it’s the ingenuity of Delco meets the grit of Philly. Let’s layer on top of that the ingenuity of Poconos Raceway, and the amazing guys at NASCAR up there helping us out.”
The idea for the jet dryer reportedly came from Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll, a former state legislator who once represented a district near the 2.5-mile speedway in Long Pond. He contacted speedway officials who quickly agreed to send the jet dryer the 100 or so miles down to the Philadelphia area.
Raceway president Ben May isn’t charging the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for use of the dryer. “It’s a very, very, very small contribution to the spectacular work that’s being done by a lot of people,” he said.
Paving began Wednesday and will continue as long as necessary. PennDOT press secretary Alexis Campbell said the NASCAR machine, which blows air at 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit, will be used to dry the fresh asphalt right before highway lines are painted on it.
Unemployed after three years as an Army officer and Vietnam vet, Al Pearce shamelessly lied his way onto a small newspaper’s sports staff in Virginia in 1969. He inherited motorsports, a strange and unfamiliar beat which quickly became an obsession.
In 53 years – 48 ongoing with Autoweek – there have been thousands of NASCAR, NHRA, IMSA, and APBA assignments on weekend tracks and major venues like Daytona Beach, Indianapolis, LeMans, and Watkins Glen. The job – and accompanying benefits – has taken him to all 50 states and more than a dozen countries.
He’s been fortunate enough to attract interest from several publishers, thus his 13 motorsports-related books. He can change a tire on his Hyundai, but that’s about it.
