[NASCAR Gnome]

Here's the deal: you get to be Bruton Smith for a week (or month.) You're going to build a brand-new track from the ground up and you have money, resources and all the permissions from everyone to build this track anywhere you want...

What kind of track would you build and why? I'll get the party started...

I would build a 1.5 mile track... (Boo!!! Those are "cookie cutter" tracks, why would you want another one, I hear y'all saying... but wait!) A 1.5-mile track would do away with restrictor plates and allow for enough grandstands to accommodate a lot of people but not to the point where it takes you 4-5 hours to leave the racetrack!

A 1.5 mile track allows for the infield to have some "character" so it would be no smaller than 1.5 miles BUT... it would be shaped and banked like Indianapolis!!! Indy is a 2.5-mile "oval" track shaped more like an "O" with 9 degree turns and zero degree straightaways. I would build my 1.5-mile "Little Indy" this way because I want to challenge the drivers and allow for the fans to be able to get closer to the track than the current stock of 1.5-mile tracks allow!

I would design the infield to be a clone of the Las Vegas fan experience and offer food from all over the country including hotdogs from Martinsville, chili from Texas, gourmet food like the ones found in California and Vegas and whatever else the locals want to add. Being from Northern California and having been to the San Francisco Giants' Pac Bell Park many times, the ONE thing I would personally add to the menu would have to be GARLIC FRIES!!! I leave you to pick the rest of the food, but without garlic fries, it won't work for me!

A 1.5-mile track allows for good racing and without the severe banking, you could envision a track that is anything BUT cookie cutter! I thought about making another Darlington or Dover but a 1.5-mile track also allows for larger PIT STALLS for crew safety and the big caveat about small tracks is the lack of space! I want a "comfortable" track, but not one so large there are "micro climates" (e.g., Pocono) and so small that there are not enough pit stalls or room for haulers and/or fans! Know what? The only thing my track would lack is a ROOF so there will never be a rainout but who knows? Technology might just allow for a roof to be made for a 1.5-mile track eventually!

[Lefturn]

I think Homestead was that configuration originally.

I would build one that resembled the old Atlanta track.

[Racer Duck]

I prefer tracks that challenge the driver and crew. one that is not like any other track in the schedule .. an oddity.

for my track, it'd be similar in shape to the old Trenton Speedway, but with these changes:

• the front "straight" would be in the tri-oval configuration with the finish line placed in the 2nd half of the "straight" just prior to entering turn 1
• turn 1 would be high banked, though not as high as Daytona or Talladega, probably about 20-25 degrees, with progressive banking
• turn 2 would continue the high banking and dump onto a dog-leg back "straight"
• the dog-leg would be flat and approximately 2/3 down the "straight" from turn 2 and have a turn angle of approximately 165 degrees and continue flat to turn 3
• turn 3 (keeping with the "standard" numbering system) would be relatively flat (10 degrees) without progressive banking
• turn 4 would flatten out onto the front "straight"
• the total track length would be 1.75 miles

there would be grandstands from the exit of turn 4 to the entry to turn 2 and another smaller set in the infield surrounding the dog-leg (2 jumbotrons would be atop the dog-leg grandstand providing the main grandstand fans a view of the dog-leg from the dog-leg grandstand.) a tunnel in turn 2 (next to the main grandstands) would provide entrance to the infield.

pit road would be "rounded" with the entrance at turn 3, the last pit stall at the exit of turn 4, the first pit stall at the entrance to turn 1 and pit road exit at the exit to turn 2, approximately 45 in all.

the garage would be in the center of the infield and would have a single line of 60 stalls with hauler & team parking between the garage and the dog-leg grandstands with 3 "roadways" leading to pit road, one at each end and one in the center of the pit road. pit road as well as the pit road access roadways will be 6 feet lower than the infield. no pit cart will be allowed to exceed 12 feet in height (thus not blocking infield viewing of the race)

the remainder of the infield would be devoted to fan parking. RV's would have full hookups from turn 4 to the tunnel and occupy the first 2 rows of parking behind pit road. there would be a fan walkway approximately 30 feet wide that would be behind and approximately 10 feet above pit road and stretch the entire length of the pit stalls. the entire infield will have a slight dome to promote drainage as well as to provide those in the center of the infield a view of the track.

Victory Lane would "pop up" between pit road and the tri-oval for driver introductions and after the race would have space for the top three cars and their teams in a "podium" style arrangement.

I leave the concessions and trinkets to others to manage, but with this rule: the track is configured for maximum fan visibility so no structure will interfere with the fan's visibility of the track beyond that which I have identified.

[Bob Tanner]

Like Duck, I want to see something new, NOT another Bristol, Richmond, Daytona, Charlotte, etc., etc. I want a track which tests the driving abilities of both driver and crew. Plus I want a track where the fans there could see the track from every seat in the house, without having to use binoculars.

After giving it not a lot of thought, I would kind of like to see the following:

A 7/8-mile asphalt track in the shape roughly of a kidney bean. The front stretch would be a long, slight curve and the back stretch would have a dogleg. I would have one end with graduated banking going to a max of 34°. I'd have the other end bank at around 8°.

I would have a wide pit lane with pit stalls on BOTH sides of the pit road! This would cut congestion on pit road virtually in half.

I would put the grandstands twenty-five feet from the track edge and build the stand so that the first row would be at least fifteen feet above track level. In this way, people who are in the front rows can see the track, even if rude fans crowd the fence.

I would have restroom facilities accommodating one for every 1000 males and one for every 600 females.

The entire back stretch would be landscaped and terraced for campers. The people who could afford it could watch the entire weekend from their lounge chairs on their camp site.

I have other ideas, but these just came to me...

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

I would have a wide pit lane with pit stalls on BOTH sides of the pit road! This would cut congestion on pit road virtually in half.

This seems like a great concept but ..... Could you define that plan a little more. Will it be just one undivided pit road with a lane wide enough for two or more cars to get back onto the track ? How will it be determined who pits where ? It seems like there is a built in disadvantage right away to those who use the right side of this new and improved pit lane. If pit spots are chosen in the same manner as today, will the car be modified for fuel delivery ??

Thoughts Bob ???

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

This seems like a great concept but ..... Could you define that plan a little more. Will it be just one undivided pit road with a lane wide enough for two or more cars to get back onto the track ? How will it be determined who pits where ? It seems like there is a built in disadvantage right away to those who use the right side of this new and improved pit lane. If pit spots are chosen in the same manner as today, will the car be modified for fuel delivery ??

Thoughts Bob ???

Sure...

Imagine a one-way street with parking on both sides. That's the basis of my concept.

Have the garages set back toward the tracks middle (no spectators allowed in the infield, just as Martinsville is today) and widen the pit lane by... let's say twelve feet. The pits would have 22 pit stalls on each side. The pits closest to the stands would be "on an island," but they had this type of set up for years at Sears Point and it worked well.

I would build two tunnels under pit road so that crew members "on the island" could go to their haulers and bring back parts, tool, and could go get their gas cans filled safely (A concept they do not have at Sears Point).

By having only 22 stalls on a side, the stall itself could be half again as long as the current pit stalls are, allowing much easier and safer entrance and egress.

The pit could be entered much safer and as far as exit goes... yeah, they'd be double file sometimes but how is that different from how they exit today?

As far as one side having a benefit over another, I don't see it, but if it did, slightly, then the faster qualifiers would get to chose the pits on the beneficial side.

Modifying the gas ports on the car? I never thought of that, but they currently move the filler from the left to the right for road races so I'm sure the technology is there and these crews can do some industrial-strength magic in a matter of an hour or so...?

But then again, maybe it wouldn't work at all. If it could actually work and better the racing for both drivers and fans, why I'm absolutely sure that the brain trust as NASCAR HQ would have already come up with this, right? It's just a silly thought, anyway.

[LSC9901]

I still think there would be a distinct disadvantage for the teams on the right side. It isn't uncommon to take tires on just one side ... actually it may benefit the right side pits if right side tires are what gets changed. So I guess if right sides get changed the left side pits lose out. Not real sure the car could be modified for fuel delivery in such a short time ????

[simple simon]

i would build a road course ..... though mine would have some twists

first i would have different road surfaces throughout the course .. asphalt, concrete, dirt and gravel ....... it would be a true test of driver skill

i would have track-cams all around the track with Jumbo-Trons infront of each stands area so all fans can keep track of the entire track

[Quality88]

I like Bob's idea... but, there is a certain alure to Simon's

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by simple simon

i would build a road course ..... though mine would have some twists

first i would have different road surfaces throughout the course .. asphalt, concrete, dirt and gravel ....... it would be a true test of driver skill

i would have track-cams all around the track with Jumbo-Trons infront of each stands area so all fans can keep track of the entire track

It would most certainly be a test of driver skill. For all the different surfaces they now have , they require different set-ups. It would be interesting to see how they work them all into just one car

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Quality88

I like Bob's idea... but, there is a certain alure to Simon's

Believe it or not, Dustin, there was a track shaped like a kidney bean. Believe me, it was not an original idea; I just don't have that talent.

Trenton Speedway in New Jersey. You can look the history of the track up in Wikipedia. Here is a brief description of the track:

The first race at the Fairgrounds was held on September 24, 1900 but racing wouldn't return until 1907. Regular racing began in 1912 and continued until 1941. A new 1 mile dirt oval was opened in 1946. In 1957 the track was paved. It operated in that configuration until 1968 when the track was expanded to 1.5 miles (2.41 km) and a "kidney bean" shape with a 20° dogleg on the back stretch and a wider turn 3 & 4 complex than turns 1 & 2. The track closed in 1980 and the Fairgrounds itself closed 3 years later. The former site of the speedway is now the Grounds for Sculpture

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

Believe it or not, Dustin, there was a track shaped like a kidney bean. Believe me, it was not an original idea; I just don't have that talent.

Trenton Speedway in New Jersey. You can look the history of the track up in Wikipedia. Here is a brief description of the track:

The first race at the Fairgrounds was held on September 24, 1900 but racing wouldn't return until 1907. Regular racing began in 1912 and continued until 1941. A new 1 mile dirt oval was opened in 1946. In 1957 the track was paved. It operated in that configuration until 1968 when the track was expanded to 1.5 miles (2.41 km) and a "kidney bean" shape with a 20° dogleg on the back stretch and a wider turn 3 & 4 complex than turns 1 & 2. The track closed in 1980 and the Fairgrounds itself closed 3 years later. The former site of the speedway is now the Grounds for Sculpture

Original or not, it's still a great idea.... that would end cookie cutter tracks.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Quality88

Original or not, it's still a great idea.... that would end cookie cutter tracks.

It would be a great alternative to the Charlotte clones and the Michigan clones, wouldn't it?