As racetracks go, New Hampshire International Speedway is the closest thing NASCAR has to a U.S. Open golf course. Criticism of the course, or the way the U.S. Golf Assn. sets it up, often becomes as much a part of the story as the golf itself. And that’s how things have been at the New Hampshire track over the past few years.

The latest controversy, stemming from the New England 300 at the track in July, involved repaved portions of the track’s turns, especially Turns 3 and 4. The repaving was completed only a few weeks before the race, and several drivers complained after the event that the track’s surface was coming apart, creating unacceptable racing conditions.

Jeff Burton leads at the New Hampshire International Speedway on his way to his third victory of the 2000 season.

Track owner Bob Bahre denied the track’s surface was coming apart. Although he has said he will repave the turns following this weekend’s race in preparation for the 2003 events at his track, no changes have been made since July.

“I certainly hope that conditions will be greatly improved,” Rusty Wallace said, “but I don’t see how they could change too much since then.

“I know there are quite a few drivers and team members who’ll scream bloody murder that there hasn’t been anything done to the track. But we’ve got to step back and be realistic about this. What can you really expect to get changed in just a couple of months between races?”

The conditions in July continued the New Hampshire track’s dubious streak of races in which the track itself became a big part of the weekend’s story.

In 2000, Winston Cup driver Kenny Irwin’s death in a crash in Turn 3 during practice stirred further debate about the track’s shape long straightaways joined by sharp, tight turns at each end that started when Adam Petty was killed in a similar crash during the Grand National weekend that May.

That fall, NASCAR ordered cars to use restrictor plates in the track’s second race, the Dura Lube 300, which Jeff Burton won by leading every lap.

Last year’s second race was scheduled for Sept. 16, but was postponed because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and held the day after Thanksgiving on an unseasonably mild Friday afternoon. Several teams fought blistering on their tires during that race because the sealer was pulling away chunks of rubber.

Most drivers in Winston Cup go out of their way to praise the Bahres and the thousands of fans who turn out each year.

“It’s really a shame that New Hampshire has had this much trouble,” Burton said. “We just have to find a way to make it so the track doesn’t come up. That puts people at a disadvantage and it jeopardizes safety, and we need to work hard not to let that happen.

“But I have no problem with a track being a one-groove track or an eight-groove track. I don’t think it matters. We all race on the same track. We all have the option to run it or not run it. If you don’t like a track just don’t go.”

Wallace disagrees.

Despite saying he understands why nothing has been done since July, he believes this weekend’s race should be the last one at New Hampshire before major changes are made.

“They need to get started with the project as soon as they can after we run there on Sunday,” Wallace said. “They’re going to have to come in there and bulldoze the place. They’re going to have to rebuild the track … reconstruct the turns.

“They need to come in and put some banking in the turns and make it a permanent fix, not just the Band-Aid-type approach that’s been going on there for the last couple of seasons. They need to come in there and completely rebuild the track before we come back next season.”