The Pocono Raceway’s jet dryer is typically used to blast water from lanes so drivers can zoom to the finish line.

On Thursday, it made its way to Interstate 95 in Philadelphia to help speed up a project to get motorists back to their daily commutes after a June 11 road collapse.

“We’re heading down to I-95 in Philadelphia with our Jet Dryer,” the raceway tweeted Thursday. “We’ll be on standby if needed to dry the road in order for line painting to not be delayed. Thank you to all the men & women working around the clock to get I-95 reopened this weekend.”

Ben May, president of Pocono Raceway, said it came about - in a way - because both Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll and Gov. Josh Shapiro are NASCAR fans. Carroll represented a portion of Monroe and Luzerne counties in the state House of Representatives for years, and both men have spent considerable time at the track in Long Pond.

“So we’ve known Mike for a long time and he’s a self-proclaimed NASCAR fan as is Gov. Shapiro,” May said. “When the governor was the Attorney General, we did a lot of community work with him and his team” including opioid take-back events on race days.

May said Carroll reached out to Pocono Raceway on Wednesday.

“He said, ‘I know you have this specialized piece of equipment, this jet dryer. I think we are going to have a need for it. Would you mind bringing it down tomorrow,’?” May said of the call.

The raceway didn’t hesitate.

“I said, ‘Of course we would do it.’ We’ve been in this community for over 50 years - we are celebrating our 50th season on the NASCAR circuit this July,” May said. “Being a part of this community is a big deal to us and when anybody needs our help, whether local, regional or statewide, if we can provide it, we are more than happy to do so.”

May believes it’s the first time the raceway’s jet dryer has been used for a road construction project. But he can understand why it was requested. It blows at temperatures of about 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit. Its turbines turn at 16,000 RPM and it delivers with 3,000 pounds of thrust.

“So it will dry asphalt very quickly in the right climate,” he said.

May said the chance of precipitation near the project site was slim Thursday evening.

“Once they finish coating and paving the road, they’ll wash the asphalt. Our jet will dry the road as quickly as possible,” May said. “And then they will paint it. That is the ultimate goal to get the road dried and painted so they can open it.”

Shapiro said the stretch of I-95 would be reopened today, ahead of the originally projected 2-week timeline.

“We have worked around the clock to get this done, and we’ve completed each phase safely and ahead of schedule,” Shapiro said. “That’s all due to the incredible coordination with our local, state, and federal partners - and thanks to the hard-working men and women of the Philadelphia Building Trades who are making this happen.”

The collapse happened when a tanker truck carrying gasoline crashed and caught fire on an exit ramp under I-95a. Extreme heat brought down the northbound lanes and damaged southbound lanes.

May said the raceway was “beyond thrilled” to help, even though he said providing the jet dryer was “very, very tiny part.”

“The work PennDOT has done in a short amount of time to get 95 reopened this fast has been amazing to see,” he said.

And he also joked that he never really wants to see the jet dryer in use at the raceway.

“It’s funny because when we use it, it’s not for good news,” he laughed. “It means it is raining at the racetrack - and race cars don’t race in the rain.”