NASCAR stages road course test at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Chicane added @ Charlotte.

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I don't mind being in the minority on this at all but I am looking forward to racing there under this configuration. Different is good in my opinion. I sure would love to see them race on an actual road course but I'll take this one in a heartbeat over the 1.5er configuration.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I don't mind being in the minority on this at all but I am looking forward to racing there under this configuration. Different is good in my opinion. I sure would love to see them race on an actual road course but I'll take this one in a heartbeat over the 1.5er configuration.
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Here is a thought, if the cars were changed so racing was better, we wouldn't be having this conversation about a road course at Charlotte. Once again instead of fixing something Nascar puts a band aid on it...same tune different day.
 
Aww I was looking forward to seeing how many people missed turn 1 becaise they couldn't slow down.
 
Given that they would've had to BEGIN BRAKING BEFORE THE START/FINISH line under the original configuration I'd say this is a good call. I get that we love to bitch and moan but do some research beforehand please. This is completely necessary for the road course to work.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
Given that they would've had to BEGIN BRAKING BEFORE THE START/FINISH line under the original configuration I'd say this is a good call. I get that we love to bitch and moan but do some research beforehand please. This is completely necessary for the road course to work.
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Yes, I saw the onboard. Adjust the timing loops and move the S/F back near where the oval restart box is.
 
I did the math on lap times when this was announced under the original configuration...

With lap times at a tick over the 1:30 mark this will be a very long race...more like an endurance battle. Watkins Glen lap time is 1:10 and the race is 90 laps. A good Sonoma lap time is 1:15 and that race is 110 laps. So with 1:30 lap times and a 130 lap race... it's a loooong one. The Charlotte oval is a 28 second lap. Let's say 30 seconds for easy math. 1.5 minute laps on the Roval multiplied by 130= 390 laps on the Charlotte oval (3:1) ratio. It's the Coke 600 of NASCAR road courses, the 4 Hours of Charlotte.
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So with that added chicane, which looks pretty severe, there's probably a 6-10 second laptime increase, as you're eliminating the fastest part of the track by making it the slowest. So the longest race of the season will get even longer!!!
 
I guess they had to take that thing Carl Edwards hit in the infield? I also assume a wall is going to go up there before someone wrecks into the pit?
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I don't mind being in the minority on this at all but I am looking forward to racing there under this configuration. Different is good in my opinion. I sure would love to see them race on an actual road course but I'll take this one in a heartbeat over the 1.5er configuration.
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I'll be there. I'm trying to find out when tickets go on sale. I assume it will be pretty quickly after this October's race.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
That's out of the blue. Did anyone see this coming?

By the time they get finished, they could have built a new course from scratch. :rolleyes:
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Someone posted a photo of some construction in that area a month or two ago on Reddit.

I don't know why they couldn't bring in some TECPRO barriers or something to separate incoming turn 1 traffic from outgoing turn 9 traffic if that's the main concern.
 
kkfan91 said:
I guess they had to take that thing Carl Edwards hit in the infield? I also assume a wall is going to go up there before someone wrecks into the pit?
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That's my new concern. They can't put up a permanent wall because of the Legends track. My assumption is they'll put up something temporary where the new concrete sidewalk-looking thing is that separates the new asphalt from pit road. While it looks like the track "aims" for pit road the racing line and cars will never be angled toward pit road.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I don't mind being in the minority on this at all but I am looking forward to racing there under this configuration. Different is good in my opinion. I sure would love to see them race on an actual road course but I'll take this one in a heartbeat over the 1.5er configuration.
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I don't mind the idea of a roval at all.... it's a roval with 457 turns that I have an issue with.
 
I hope this fails spectacularly, I have no problem with a road course in the Playoffs. I have a problem putting it on a roval when there are so many better options like Road America out there. The Charlotte Roval is just a half @ss attempt to create more drama, there was nothing wrong with the Charlotte fall race on the oval.
 
Snappy D said:
I hope this fails spectacularly, I have no problem with a road course in the Playoffs. I have a problem putting it on a roval when there are so many better options like Road America out there. The Charlotte Roval is just a half @ss attempt to create more drama, there was nothing wrong with the Charlotte fall race on the oval.
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Who owns Road America?
 
aunty dive said:
Who owns Road America?
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well according to their Wikipedia Page, its Road America Inc which would lead me to believe that they are owned and operated by themselves. I see where you're going with this they are not owned by SMI or ISC so it is close to impossible to get on the schedule but maybe for when the schedule/tracks are up for renegotiation with NASCAR in 2020 or so I believe?
 
The only benefit is unblocked site lines. I hate going to road courses and seeing 5 seconds of action, followed by a minute of silence. Typically I'll watch the first couple laps, walk the grounds, and maybe find a place near the finish line during the final ten laps. Otherwise your just watching tv outside.
 
joe h said:
The only benefit is unblocked site lines. I hate going to road courses and seeing 5 seconds of action, followed by a minute of silence. Typically I'll watch the first couple laps, walk the grounds, and maybe find a place near the finish line during the final ten laps. Otherwise your just watching tv outside.
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I actually had fun doing that when I went to the Rolex 24 this past year, was able to see many areas of the track and facility itself. Took the monotony out of the event a little bit.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:


Could a road course race be in Charlotte Motor Speedway’s future?


Last Friday, AJ Allmendinger tested on what was roughly a 2.3-mile circuit similar to Daytona International Speedway that incorporates both the infield in Turns 1 and 2 and the regular 1.5-mile oval according to multiple sources.


The test was a collaboration between Charlotte Motor Speedway and NASCAR.


Two years ago, Two years ago, Motorsport.com floated the possibility of incorporating a road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway. SMI CEO Marcus Smith told Motorsport.com at the time that an announcement was expected in October (2015) but nothing materialized. He added that CMS’s plan included three different lengths of road course and the possibility could be “awesome.”


The road course itself is nothing new to Charlotte Motor Speedway which has hosted Sport Car Club of America events and other races in the past. However, since Joe Lee Johnson won the first race in 1960, the track has only used the 1.5-mile oval for NASCAR.


Sources said Charlotte could incorporate the road course as early as the All-Star Race, which is scheduled for May 20. It’s more likely the road course would be used for the fall Chase race on Oct. 7. Fans have been clamoring for a road course in NASCAR’s playoffs and Charlotte could offer the perfect solution.


The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup schedule currently features two road courses — Sonoma Raceway, which hosts the tour in June, and the August Watkins Glen race.


The NASCAR Xfinity Series competes on three road courses: Watkins Glen, Road America and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. NXS is scheduled to compete at Charlotte on Oct. 6.


Certainly, if the Charlotte plan comes to fruition, transitioning to a road course could be an option at other facilities. Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway, for instance, already feature road courses as part of their landscape.



http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cu...urse-test-at-charlotte-motor-speedway-866949/

http://www.catchfence.com/253895/ch...r_tweet&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter
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Nice to see they're using iRacing maps. :D
 
Snappy D said:
I hope this fails spectacularly, I have no problem with a road course in the Playoffs. I have a problem putting it on a roval when there are so many better options like Road America out there. The Charlotte Roval is just a half @ss attempt to create more drama, there was nothing wrong with the Charlotte fall race on the oval.
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I think we've repeatedly hashed out the contractual reasons why that won't happen. But rant away; I do the same for plate races.
 
I'd be interested in hearing about how it the layout works.

I'm thinking a major chicane with different radius corners into the infield on the back stretch might work better than a road course. Food for thought to try on another track.
 
The whole concept is as dumb as can be. The ONLY ROVAL that is not a complete joke is Daytona, and it is a great EVENT, not a great track. The rest of the rovals were never really built with top tier competition in mind, they were more for track days and minor league events. I think there are a couple of tracks where you COULD build a nice roval, Pocono and Michigan come to mind, but you can't us 75% of a mile and a half oval and have much of anything worth a darn. People keep talking about the road course at Indy, but that course stinks on ice for actual racing. It was built for F1 cars that have blinding acceleration, turning and braking, and had to be modified several times to be even mediocre for sports cars. I was at every sports car race there, plus three vintage car races, and it's NOT good, even with those cars. Cup cars simply stop, change directions and accelerate too slowly for most of these courses.
 
Yeah, rovals suck...they're for those minor events like these guys over in Europe called "Formula 1"...

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Speedbowl14 said:
Yeah, rovals suck...they're for those minor events like these guys over in Europe called "Formula 1"...

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Well, that wasn't really a roval, was despised by most F1 drivers, and didn't last very long. I DO think you can build a roval using SOME of the oval and have it be decent, but not as much as all currently in existence do. During the track building craze of the 90's, I was a strong advocate for what I called a stadium road course, where it was a REAL natural terrain road course, but built into a tight enough package so that at least 75 of the race could be seem from any one spot in the grandstands. Pocono could (and maybe SHOULD) do this. Michigan could too, but I would use at MOST, one end of the track and little or none of the straights. It would be a 90% rebuild.
 
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