I will be quite blunt on this issue.
Pave it!
Here’s why…
The track is aged, which a lot of drivers like because of the extra challenge it offers with less grip and having to manage your tire wear. However, there are massive cracks all the way around the track which allow for water to seep in when it rains, causing it to take forever for the track to dry when you’re waiting for a race to start.
Paving would be more beneficial in the long run, providing more grip all the way around and perhaps a second line that drivers can actually use to race with in the younger years of the new pavement’s life. The way it is now, if you start or restart on the outside line of cars, you can’t go anywhere!
It doesn’t take very long for these race tracks to age. By paving it, NASCAR won’t have to deal with Atlanta Motor Speedway falling completely apart. Also at some point in time, a future generation of racers will know what it’s like to race once again on the old pavement at Atlanta. Think if it not as losing a tradition, but rather doing what it takes so you can one day race again on a similar surface. They would only have to wait a little while.