The Charlotte/Triangle/Triad Construction News – February/March 2009 – PAGE 7
zMAX Dragway earns statewide recognition
from Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.
Choate Construction Company achieves Excellence in Construction as General Contractor of this prestigious project
Choate worked with Ai Design Group of
RON CHEPESIUK
PHOTOGRPAHY BY TIM BUCHMAN
– The Charlotte/Triangle/Triad Construction News
Charlotte on the project’s design. “We knew
Ai [Design Group] couldn’t design all of
the project’s design components at once or
The heart of NASCAR country is now as fast as we needed them,” explained Matt
the home of the largest dragstrip in the Hartig, Choate’s Project Manager. “So we
world – zMAX Dragway at Concord. The gave them a prioritized list of components
construction of this state-of-the-art racing that indicated what we needed and when.”
facility is earning it statewide recognition. The facility includes two separate com-
Choate Construction Company was the ponents: a 37,000 SF tilt-up concrete and
General Contractor of this ambitious pro- steel control tower and a 163,000 SF steel
ject, which Associated Builders & Contrac- and a 100-foot high aluminum grandstand
tors of the Carolinas (ABC) named 2008 featuring 40 plush luxury suites, premium
Excellence in Construction “Project of the flip down seating and 20-inch wide bench
Year”. This recognition was awarded to seats with backs. “Getting the labor and
only one construction project built last year
dragstrip in Las Vegas, and when Bruton project. materials to the location of the grandstand
in both North and South Carolina. The pro-
goes there, he likes to stay at the Bellagio, To maintain quality control, the Gaylor was not only difficult but dangerous,” Har-
ject also received two Excellence in Con-
probably one of the city’s finest hotels,” ex- project manager and supervisors of each rington revealed.
struction Eagle Awards, which honors the
plained Stephen Swift, Construction Man- project segment conducted daily walk Harrington and other project personnel
nation’s most outstanding construction pro-
ager for Speedway Motor Sports. “It’s through inspections, and internal quality said that in constructing the grandstand, the
jects and companies. Choate, as General
Bruton’s way of saying that zMAX is control punch lists were generated weekly. project schedule did receive a break.
Contractor, along with Gaylor, Inc of North
something special.” Electrical quality control checklist items in- Speedway Motor Sports had sold the race
Carolina, a Subcontractor, received this
Remarkably, it took just seven months cluded checking the wiring installations for track it owned at Rockingham, but still re-
honor out of the 57 companies that worked
from the end of January 2008 to complete continuity, the meggar checking of all trans- tained ownership of the track’s grandstand.
on the project.
the project’s design, permitting and con- formers, the torgue checking of all lug con- “That move really paid off for us,” ex-
zMAX Dragway features an all-con-
struction. Moreover, the project was com- nections and the point-to point verifications plained Stephen Swift, Construction Man-
crete, four-lane drag strip with a half-mile
pleted on time and within budget. of all control wiring input and output ter- ager for Speedway. “In building the zMAX
asphalt runoff followed by a 200-foot
“The project was a real screamer,” re- minations. Dragway, we were able to use the steel
gravel pit and two safety nets. The 30,000-
called Chris Harrington, Branch Manager “Getting the building dried in as early as from Rockingham. We would not have
seat venue includes two separate compo-
of Gaylor Inc., a nationwide electrical con- possible was absolutely critical, “Harring- been able to complete the project on time if
nents: a 37,000-SF, tilt-up control tower
tracting company based in Carmel, IN. ton said. “By getting power to the building we hadn’t done that.”
made of concrete and steel, and a 163,000-
“Bruton Smith scheduled the inaugural for early we were able to start and check out The perfection the project demanded
SF grandstand made of steel and aluminum
September, but we had to be open in Au- the systems as they were completed.” was one of the biggest challenges, Swift
and featuring 40 plush luxury suites, pre-
gust. It was tough because of the summer Even before the project design was com- added. “A drag strip has to build excep-
mium flip-down seating and 20-inch wide
time heat. We had to make sure the workers pleted Choate Construction Company had tionally well. It has to be as flat and smooth
bench seats with backs.
were kept supplied with water and a master schedule in place to manage the as possible for the drivers. The better you
Bruton Smith, Chairman and CEO of
Gatorade. Our company has a safety direc- daily and weekly scheduling of events and make the Dragway, the better the show is
Speedway Motor Sports Inc, which owns
tor who gave numerous talks to our crew the procurement of materials. The con- for the fans.”
the zMAX Dragway, has described the fa-
about worker safety. We had no problems.” struction of the facility required 636,000 “Choate’s winning the ABC 2008 Ex-
cility as “the Belaggio of Dragstrips”.
Gaylor performed all of the electrical man hours over a six-month period. An av- cellence in Construction Project of the Year
“Speedway (Motor Sports) owns a
work in the project. The company opened erage of 300 workers were on the site each award was a testament to the teamwork and
its Charlotte office in 2007 and was happy day with each person averaging 11.78 hour skill we had on the project,” Dudas re-
to be a part of the high profile project for work days. flected. “Everybody came through.”
the area. “We worked on zMAX with some “Having a couple of on site owner’s rep- Gaylor’s Harrington described winning
outstanding local companies,” Harrington resentatives from Speedway Motor Sports the award as a fantastic development for his
said. “It was a great project for us.” with construction experience was key,” ex- company, explaining, “Our company is new
Gaylor installed 67,000 feet of conduit, plained John Dudas, Vice President of to the Carolinas and winning the award dur-
298,000 feet of wire and cable, and 60 dif- Choate. “They answered questions quickly ing our first year here gave us local recog-
ferent types of fixtures that provided 1,465 and really helped to enhance coordination.” nition.”
lights. The company had 20 electricians
dedicated to this project. In all, a total of
1,876 workers representing 57 contractors,
subcontractors and suppliers worked on the
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