A
Primer for NASCAR's Newbies
The Track's Tale
by Mitch Arnold
THE TRACKS
short track Tracks under one mile in total length.
super speedways Tracks over one mile in total length.
road courses Tracks which require both left and right turns, and
which include a number of turns and straightaways of varying lengths.
Each track requires a unique set-up for the car. For example, for Martinsville's
half-mile, low banked track, brakes are extremely important, and cars must be geared to
accelerate quickly coming down the short straightaways. On the other hand, NASCAR's
longest track, Talladega, requires restrictor plates, and cars maintain relatively stable
high speeds all the way around the high-banked track. Because the restrictor plate limits
power and acceleration at Daytona and Talladega, teams focus on aerodynamics and coming up
with the best suspension setting to ensure that the cars will be manageable at the high
speeds.
Road courses likewise impact suspension and other set-ups, because a driver on a road
course must be able to turn both left and right with equal precision.
The length, banking and shape of a track all impact the way that teams set up the car
and the way that the driver drives the car. Long straightaways allow drivers to build up
speed, and highly banked turns (because they help prevent the car from sliding while
turning) allow them to keep most of that speed while they turn. The shape of most tracks
is an oval variation with varied lengths of straightaway and varied degrees of banking in
the turns. How well drivers are able to execute the turns and keep their speed going into
them plays a large role in determining how well they finish.
THE TERMS
pit road Pit road is the area just inside the track's racing
surface, on either the frontstretch or backstretch, where cars stop ("pit") to
get gas and tires and make other adjustments. Each team has a designated area on pit road
where they can work. While the larger tracks have enough room to accommodate all of the
cars on the frontstretch, smaller tracks have pits on both the frontstretch and
backstretch. Cars receive pit assignments based on their qualifying position, with the
pole winner getting the first pit position, thus having no one in his way when he exits
the pits. Qualifying well on the short tracks is important, because pitting on the
backstretch costs teams valuable time.
apron The apron is the area of the track just inside or below the
racing surface.
banking Banking is the amount of slope on the track's turns. The
higher the banking (Daytona and others), the more aggressive a driver can be with his
approach speed.
turns On typical oval tracks, corners are labelled turns one, two,
etc., with turn one being the turn at the end of the frontstretch, turn two being the
subsequent turn, etc.
infield The infield is the area contained within the racing
surface. At the larger tracks, fans are allowed to watch the race from designated infield
areas.
tower seats These are elevated seats which usually give spectators
a better view of the entire track. |
