Oval Track at DaimlerChrysler's Chelsea Proving Ground Undergoes Reconstruction
March 19 2007 - 2:49PM
PR Newswire (US)
- Landmark oval a part of the community for 54 years CHELSEA,
Mich., March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The 4.71-mile-long oval track at
DaimlerChrysler 's Chelsea (Mich.) Proving Grounds (CPG) will
undergo reconstruction during the upcoming spring and summer
seasons to replace its pavement surface. The existing surface,
which was laid in 1953, has deteriorated and the track no longer
provides a test surface acceptable for high-speed vehicle testing
requirements. Beginning today, work crews will begin the process of
removing and replacing the surface. The work is scheduled for
completion by early September. Chrysler Group utilizes the Chelsea
Proving Grounds for new vehicle design development and validation.
Several types of tests are performed at CPG, including vehicle
durability, emissions certification, crash worthiness, brake
development and certification, performance testing, wind and
pass-by noise testing, steering suspension tests, exposure to hot
and cold temperatures -- prior to vehicles being brought to the
marketplace. In addition to validating vehicles to prepare them for
on-the-road driving, Chelsea Proving Grounds has twice written
itself into the history books as the site of two world speed
records. The first was set July 20, 1969, by Buddy Baker in a
high-winged Dodge Charger Daytona stockcar. Running high- speed
tests prior to its NASCAR launch, the car went 203 mph, marking the
first time anyone had ever gone over 200 mph on a closed course.
Since the location was the Chelsea Proving Grounds it was never
officially published. On Feb. 2, 2004, Chelsea Proving Grounds and
the Dodge Ram SRT-10 made history, entering the Guinness Book of
World Records as "The World's Fastest Production Pickup Truck." The
Dodge Ram SRT-10 -- driven by NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series star
Brendan Gaughan posted a two-lap, both-directions average speed of
154.587 mph over a "flying kilometer" on the oval. Seen from the
air, the oval is a six-lane concrete road, and is in nearly
continuous use. The curves in the oval are designed to accommodate
vehicle speeds from 30 to 140 mph without producing any lateral
loading. Although the oval reconstruction will not directly affect
any roads outside of CPG, local drivers should expect to see an
increase in the amount of truck traffic into and out of the Grounds
during this period both on M-52 (Chelsea Manchester Road) and on
Sylvan Road to the West of the Grounds. The 3,850-acre Chelsea
Proving Grounds site in Sylvan Township is just south of the
Village of Chelsea covering an area approximately two by three
miles wide and contains approximately 95 lane-miles of test roads,
including the Oval, two straightaways 1-1/2 and 2-1/4 miles long, a
skid traction facility, a 14-acre paved vehicle dynamics area with
a three-mile oval, a handling and evaluation road and several
accelerated durability roads. In addition to the network of roads
there are a number of buildings on the site totaling approximately
750,000 sq. ft. The first building was opened in 1952. The Chelsea
Proving Grounds employs about 750 people. Approximately 900,000
gallons of various test fuels are used there each year. DATASOURCE:
DaimlerChrysler CONTACT: Curtrise Garner, +1-248-512-2712, , or
David Elshoff, +1-248-512-2690, , both of DaimlerChrysler Web site:
http://www.media.daimlerchrysler.com/
http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/
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