lol the complexity of nascar

[Ns1]

clicky

 

[Supermercado]

Erm... okay.

 

[JC]

It would have to be true to be funny

 

[NFS4]

Actually, Watkins Glen is a road course, not an oval.

 

[shiner]

Not the world's biggest NASCAR fan but to be fair they left the road courses off their little list.

 

[Evadman]

Go fast, turn left.

Except Watkin's Glen. Turn 1 is a b!tch. That wall's gotta hurt.

 

[polypterus]

Umm, the only track that is really shaped like that is Martinsville. Most of the others are tri-ovals or quad-ovals... and somebody needs to tell that idiot that Watkins Glen is a road course.

dc

 

[Pastore]

actually, the following tracks are not ovals...

Watkins Glen
Texas
Indianapolis
Dover
Miami
California
Michigan
Charlotte
Daytona
Dover
Richmond
Indianapolis
Talladega
Las Vegas
Phoenix
Atlanta
Pocono


Actually, the only ones that are true ovals are Martinsville, Bristol, and New Hampshire

 

[BCYL]

Originally posted by: Evadman
Go fast, turn left.

Except Watkin's Glen. Turn 1 is a b!tch. That wall's gotta hurt.

Actually it's more like:

Left, Left, Left, Bump that guy into the wall, Left, Left......

 

[JC]

Pocono is not an oval, either...it's a trioval

 

[Evadman]

Actually, the only ones that are true ovals are Martinsville, Bristol, and New Hampshire

Bristol should have a different name. something along the lines of a vertical oval. it is banked at what? 38 degrees?

 

[Pastore]

guess it is... what corner is considered to be two in one?

 

[Pastore]

close, its 36 degrees

 

[JC]

Originally posted by: Beast1284
its not a trioval...

daytona, talladega are triovals...

i have no idea what you call a three turn course, but its not a trioval

Really? Scroll down to "Pocono 500"....

 

[BDawg]

You're just jealous becuase the Brickyard 400 and Cocacola 600 beat the Indy 500 in ratings.

 

[trmiv]

There is a lot of variety in NASCAR tracks, you'd be surprised to find out how much different one oval can be from another. Also, even on tracks that look almost the same, they can be very different to setup for and drive.

The track that I race the most, Stockton 99 speedway, is a fast 1/4 mile with high banked turns, but turns 1 and 2 are completely different from 3 and 4. The track is so hard to setup for, and very difficult to get a grasp on driving. In one and two, you have to be on the bottom, and let the car drift up slightly in the middle, then down again coming off. The exit is a bit tight, and you've got to make sure to not let the car drift too much coming off, or you will brush the wall (something I found out the hard way).

In 3 and 4, you have to enter 3 in the middle, run up high towards the center of the turns, and then slightly diamond off the turn coming off 4. You can also diamond off the turn a lot, and come down low coming off 4, but it depends how the car is set up. And that's just the fast line. On an oval, there are always multiple grooves, and you will often run side-by-side with another driver lap after lap. When that happens, you suddenly have to make a car work on the top when it's setup for the bottom, or vice versa.

Before I started racing on ovals, I raced on road courses (in different cars), so that's what I was used to. So far, it's been an odd transistion, because of how different cars feel on ovals. On an oval you constantly have the centrifical force pushing you very hard in one direction, so it's a much different sensation than driving on on a road course where you are going either way, and have longer periods of no lateral G's. Also, I never raced a road course when even one corner as high banked as both corners on the oval I race at the most now.

The one big difference between the road courses I was used to, and the ovals now is, passing is much more difficult on the ovals. On a road course, you have many braking zones where you can out-brake another driver. Plus, there is often long straights leading to the braking areas, leaving you plenty of time to setup a pass. On a short oval, you have to work your ass off to pass. 90% of the time, you can get up next to someone, but since there is enough room to run the top, you will end up being side-by-side for a few laps to make the pass. You've got to be on your toes running side-by-side for that many laps, especially on the bottom where your turn exit is cut short.