|
Daniel L. Baker founded Baker Concrete Construction in 1968 in Oxford, Ohio. Evolving from its modest beginning as a residential concrete finisher Baker has emerged as one of the Nations largest and most well respected concrete contractors.
In late February we began pouring on the new 125 acre Z-Max Dragway located in Concord, NC. The state of the art drag facility  features the only all concrete four lane drag strip in the United States; A pair of two lane strips will allow racing to continue in the event of an oil - down spill that requires extensive cleanup to one or both of the lanes.
The entire quarter mile-racing surface is concrete; a feature that only two other tracks share. Over 3,000 cubic yards of 650 Flex mix was poured to complete the four-lane quarter mile surface. A 50-man crew from Baker Concrete Construction worked eight 10-hour days or 4,000 man-hours to complete the racing surface. Concrete placement started for the racing surface in late June between the hours of 7:00 pm and 12:00  midnight to try and get relief from the brutal heat. Pours ranging in size from 250 yards to 350 yards had strict guidelines. The concrete temperatures were held between 85 – 90 degrees with no more than a 4” slump at point of placement. Baker Concrete Construction and Thomas Concrete achieved some of the best flatness numbers ever achieved on a pour this size. Thomas Concrete placed a grand total of 19,900 cubic yards in the project.
I want to thank everyone who had a part in making this one of the best projects I have ever been involved with. We had help from both Georgia and the Upstate in making this project work.
On September 11, 2008 the inaugural NHRA Nationals were held featuring competitors in all four professional categories: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Baker Concrete Contractors and Thomas Concrete got their biggest compliment when all the racers commented on how great the track surface was to race on.
Great job everyone!! |