{"id":3486,"date":"2025-08-28T13:38:44","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T13:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/?p=3486"},"modified":"2025-08-28T13:38:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T13:38:44","slug":"the-real-cost-of-track-prep-inside-the-world-of-brandon-mass-mass-traction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/?p=3486","title":{"rendered":"The Real Cost of Track Prep: Inside the World of Brandon Mass “Mass Traction”"},"content":{"rendered":"

When most racers think of track prep, they picture a tractor dragging a tire rotator down the lanes, maybe a splash of glue, and it\u2019s \u201cgo time.\u201d But for Brandon Mass of Mass Traction<\/strong>, that idea couldn\u2019t be further from reality. For him, track prep isn\u2019t a quick chore\u2014it\u2019s a grind measured in 16-hour days, endless travel, and thousands of dollars spent DAYS before the first burnout hits the water box.<\/p>\n

Brandon has made it his mission to educate the racing world on what true<\/em> track prep means. Brandon has spent the last decade consulting with track owners, operators, and employees across the U.S. and around the globe. From the Caribbean to Malta, Brandon has dedicated his life to making tracks not just fast, but safe and consistent.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019ll be the first to tell you: anything less than perfection is unacceptable.<\/strong>\"\"<\/p>\n

Prep Starts in the Pits<\/h3>\n

When Brandon arrives at a facility, his evaluation begins before he ever sets foot on the racing surface.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell a lot about a track just by looking at the pits,\u201d Brandon says. \u201cIf the pits are grass or gravel and not clean, then I already know I\u2019m going to have more work to do. Whatever\u2019s in the pits ends up on the track.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Mass Traction starts with cleaning\u2014pits first, then staging lanes, then the water box. Only then do they move on to the surface itself.<\/p>\n

From there, it\u2019s into the heavy lifting. For larger events, Brandon and the facilities crew scrape the track down to bare concrete as he teaches the track crew his craft. Starting fresh, layering rubber and glue like an artist painting on a blank canvas. Ideally, that process starts three to four days before the first time slip is ever printed. With himself and the tracks crew, they put in over 100 hours of labor before the first car makes a pass<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrack prep doesn\u2019t start the morning of a race,\u201d he emphasizes. \u201cIt starts days before, and it starts in the pits.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Costs Nobody Sees<\/h3>\n

Labor alone is only part of the equation. Glue is another monster entirely. Mass Traction could go through up to two drums of glue per day at a large 1\/4 mile event<\/strong>, and with each drum costing about $1,300\u2014plus rising shipping costs\u2014that\u2019s thousands of dollars.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI have been working closely with Rocket Track Glue over the past 7 years to make a superior and more consistent product from drum to drum,\u201d Brandon explains. \u201cIf I\u2019m putting my name on a track, I need to know exactly what I\u2019m working with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the equipment carries hidden costs. Brandon refuses to use worn-out tires on his tire rotator. Instead, he buys brand-new Hoosiers strictly for prepping tracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want racers to know I don\u2019t cut corners,\u201d he says. \u201cEven down to the rotator tires\u2014I buy new Hoosiers just to prep a track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s safety. An ambulance alone runs about $1,500 a day<\/strong>, not including personnel. Fire crews, insurance, utilities, and overhead stack on top of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople forget an event isn\u2019t just glue and tractors,\u201d Brandon says. \u201cThat ambulance sitting there\u2014it costs money. The fire crew\u2014it costs money. Racers want the best, but everything they see comes with a bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then come the million-dollar expenses. Grinding and milling a track? Around $150,000<\/strong>. Laying down a new surface? Another $50,000<\/strong>. Materials? About $15,000<\/strong>. And every 20\u201325 years, tracks face the reality of tearing out and replacing concrete altogether.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you get ROI on that?\u201d Brandon asks. \u201cHow do you spend a million dollars and expect racers to even notice? They don\u2019t see it, but without it, there\u2019s no surface to race on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Montgomery International Dragway and the Grind of Long Seasons<\/h3>\n

Brandon points to his work with Brad Wheeler<\/a> at Montgomery International Dragway<\/strong> as a perfect example of the grind. Brad hosts one of the longest consecutive same-track bracket series in the country, with events running back-to-back for weeks. Such as the Mike Smith race followed by the Great American Bracket Race.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrad has one of the best bracket series going,\u201d Brandon says. \u201cWe will do two solid weeks of racing there. I will be at the track for three weeks total, scraping the surface every single day. While racers are loading up and heading back to the hotel, The track crew and Brandon are still out there working on the track for the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Track as a Living, Breathing Animal<\/h3>\n

Brandon often describes the racing surface in organic terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cRubber is like a living, breathing animal,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you don\u2019t clean it and take care of it, it dies. It thickens, peels, and then racers complain about traction. But it starts with maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n

That maintenance doesn\u2019t just happen on race weekends. Tracks must be soaped, scrubbed, and blown off during the week. Pollen, dirt, and oils must be removed to give glue and rubber a proper foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t scrub the track during the week, the glue won\u2019t stick right, and then the rubber peels,\u201d Brandon explains. \u201cThat\u2019s why I say prep starts in the pits\u2014it\u2019s a full process, not just throwing glue down.\u201d<\/p>\n

For routine maintenance, Brandon insists the first 150 feet of track be scraped weekly<\/strong>, with the first 330 feet scraped a minimum of three times a year. For multi-week events, scraping often happens daily.<\/p>\n

The Joy and the Burden<\/h3>\n

Despite the backbreaking labor, Brandon says the joy comes when racers acknowledge the surface.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen someone shakes my hand and says, \u2018This is the best track I\u2019ve ever been down,\u2019 that\u2019s the payoff,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s when I know it was worth all the hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s also a burden. Brandon has assisted in saving two lives at the racetrack, and he never misses a chance to remind racers about safety. Brandon emphasizes the need of wearing proper safety equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel guilty sometimes,\u201d he admits. \u201cWe have made tracks so fast that the safety infrastructure can\u2019t keep up. The guardrails, the shutdown, the safety crews\u2014it\u2019s not where it needs to be at every facility. That\u2019s something that weighs on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, his passion keeps him going. From the U.S. to the Caribbean to Europe, Brandon continues to travel the world\u2014working before sunrise, grinding after dark, and teaching staff so tracks are better long after he leaves.<\/p>\n

A Call to Racers<\/h3>\n

For racers, the message is clear: you get what you pay for.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want cheap entry fees, you\u2019ll get minimal prep,\u201d Brandon says. \u201cIf you want world-class prep, consistency, and safety, you\u2019ve got to understand the cost. It isn\u2019t free. It isn\u2019t easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

At an event with 400 cars, about $30 per entry<\/strong> covers track prep and safety crews for the weekend. That\u2019s not including electricity, water, insurance, or long-term facility maintenance. That is lunch with your friends these days to guarantee world class track prep.<\/p>\n

So the next time you roll into the staging lanes, pause for a second. Look at the surface under your tires. Think about the glue, the man-hours, the rotator tires, the ambulance staged in the pits, the fire crew waiting, the utilities, the million-dollar surfaces, and the staff keeping it all together.<\/p>\n

Because great track prep isn\u2019t magic. It\u2019s money, sweat, sacrifice\u2014and passion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And if you\u2019ve ever raced on a Mass Traction surface, you already know: it\u2019s worth every penny.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When most racers think of track prep, they picture a tractor dragging a tire rotator down the lanes, maybe a splash of glue, and it\u2019s \u201cgo time.\u201d But for Brandon Mass of Mass Traction, that idea couldn\u2019t be further from reality. For him, track prep isn\u2019t a quick chore\u2014it\u2019s a grind measured in 16-hour days, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[55],"class_list":["post-3486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/MT2-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/MT2-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Kline Whitley","author_link":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/author\/klinewhitley"},"authors":[{"term_id":55,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"klinewhitley","display_name":"Kline Whitley","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Me.png","url2x":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Me.png"},"first_name":"Kline","last_name":"Whitley","user_url":"http:\/\/www.DragCoverage.com","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3486"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/DragCoverage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fppma_author&post=3486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}