NASCAR Tracks: Homestead-Miami Speedway

This is another post in a series on the NASCAR Sprint Cup tracks. I started this series when the 2008 season began, and planned to feature each track as it came up on the schedule. Due to a couple of unscheduled absences from the Internet, I still haven't quite finished the whole list two full seasons later. I'm planning to profile the few remaining tracks before the start of the 2010 season. Here's the list thus far.

Image via Wikipedia

Homestead-Miami Speedway is located in Homestead, Florida, southwest of Miami. Florida developer and promoter Ralph Sanchez proposed building the track to help the area recover from Hurricane Andrew.  With financial backing from H. Wayne Huizenga, groundbreaking began on August 24, 1993, exactly one year after the hurricane. The first race, the Jiffy Lube Miami 300, a Busch (Nationwide) Series race, was held on November 5, 1995, and was won by Dale Jarrett.

When the track first opened it was a four-turn, rectangular oval, a smaller 1.5-mile version of Indianapolis Motor Speedway with long 1760-ft. straightaways, flat turns and short chutes.  The racing was not good.  The flat, almost 90° turns made passing difficult, and the geometry of the track created severe crash angles.  In 1997, the track was reconfigured -- the turns were still a rather flat 6°, but the aprons were widened and the ends of the track were rounded off.  The track went from a rectangle to more of a traditional oval.

After a massive expansion that saw the seating capacity almost double, the NASCAR Winston (Sprint) Cup series made its debut at the track on November 14, 1999.  Tony Stewart won the inaugural Pennzoil 400.  2002 was the year of the first Ford Championship Weekend, with each of NASCAR's three national series all crowning their champions for the first time on the same weekend at the same track.

In 2003 Homestead-Miami Speedway was configured yet again.  The track's website describes this as "the most technologically advanced track-reconfiguration project in the history of motorsports: a $12 million re-banking project that transforms the track from a flat 6-degrees to a computer-designed 18-to-20-degree variable banking system in the turns."  Lights were added a short time later.  The racing is a lot better now.  There is much more side-by-side racing and you'll see drivers moving up and down the track to find the perfect line and the fastest way around.

The track is one of the most beautiful on the NASCAR schedule with soft pastels that evoke the art deco decor of Miami.  1005 palm trees line the track.  Four lakes were created in the construction of the banking.  Three of the lakes are on the speedway property, two are in the infield.  The largest lake covers 18 acres and is stocked with Peacock Bass.  HMS also has a 14-turn 2.2-mile infield road course that utilizes both oval straightaways.

Greg Biffle leads all drivers with three wins at HMS.  Jamie McMurray holds the Sprint Cup qualifying record, 181.111 mph, set in 2003.

In 2009, Homestead-Miami Speedway became the first track ever to host the championship races of six different racing series.  In addition to the season-enders for NASCAR's Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Truck Series on November 20-22, HMS also hosted the season-enders for the Indy Racing League, the Firestone Indy Light Series, and the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series on October 9-10.

  (diagram from NASCAR.com)

Homestead-Miami Cup winners
NASCAR tracks index

NASCAR Tracks: Kansas Speedway

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Kansas Speedway is one of the newest tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule, opening in May 2001 in Kansas City, Kansas.  It's one of several 1.5-mile, D-shaped "cookie cutter" tri-ovals.  You've seen the same design in various sizes at Las Vegas, California, Michigan, Atlanta, Texas, and other tracks.

Kansas Speedway is considered a sister track to Chicagoland Speedway, which was built around the same time and is also owned by the France family's International Speedway Corporation.  Kansas is very similar to Chicagoland except that Kansas is a little flatter with 15° of banking in the turns, 10.4° in the front stretch and 5° on the back straightaway. Chicagoland is also one continuous turn with a noticeable bend in the back stretch whereas Kansas has a straight 2207-feet back stretch.

Kansas Speedway was pretty boring when it first opened.  Drivers could only run in one groove, making passing almost impossible.  That has changed as the racing surface has aged.  Now it's a multi-groove track and it's a bit easier to pass there.

There have only been ten Sprint Cup races held at Kansas.  Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle are the only drivers to have won twice.  Gordon won in 2001 and 2002.  Stewart won in 2006 and 2009.  Biffle won in 2007 and 2010.  Matt Kenseth holds the track qualifying record, 29.858 secs. (180.856 mph) set in 2005.

There were plans to build a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino overlooking Turn Two.  Kansas Speedway was also planning to add a road course.  Those plans have been put on hold since the bottom dropped out of the economy.

Kansas Speedway hosts one race from each NASCAR national series per year.  The Sprint Cup race, the Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods, takes place in October.  It is the third race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.  The Nationwide Series runs at Kansas on the same weekend.  The Camping World Truck Series races have been held at various times ranging from April to June.

In 2010, NASCAR made several changes to their Sprint Cup schedule that take effect in 2011.  Atlanta and Fontana each lost one of their two races.  Kentucky Speedway was awarded a race.  Kansas Speedway will add a second race to be held in June.

NASCAR tracks index page
Sprint Cup race winners

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Loudon

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Bob and Gary Bahre purchased Bryar Motorsports Park, reconfigured the road course track and added a 1.058 mile oval, and opened New Hampshire International Speedway in 1990. It's located near Loudon, New Hampshire, about an hour's drive from Boston.

NASCAR made its debut at the track, a Busch Series race won by Tommy Ellis, in July 1990. For the next three years, NHIS hosted two Busch Series races per year. They were successful and the track was added to the Cup schedule in 1993. The inaugural Slick 50 300 was won by Rusty Wallace.

In 1997, NHIS added a second Cup race. Bob Bahre and Bruton Smith bought North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina and moved its two Cup races out of the aging facility -- one to New Hampshire and the other to Texas Motor Speedway. In 2007, the Bahres sold NHIS to Smith's Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and the name was changed to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

In 2000, a pair of accidents claimed the lives of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin Jr., two promising young drivers. Both involved stuck accelerator pedals and head-on crashes into the wall. Petty's accident occurred during practice for a Busch Series race, Irwin's during the first Cup race at the track that year. The track owners decided to use restrictor plates when the Cup Series returned in September. The race, which had no lead changes and was won by Jeff Burton, was so boring that the experiment was quickly dropped.

In 2002, to create more competitive racing at the track, progressive banking (four degrees in the bottom lanes to seven degrees at the top) was added to the turns. The following year, SAFER barriers were installed around the track.

One incident at the track changed NASCAR rules. In the September 2003 Sylvania 300 Dale Jarrett wrecked and was stuck in the middle of the track. He was in danger of being hit as cars raced back to the caution flag. NASCAR quickly changed the rules, banning racing back to the line and instituting the "Lucky Dog."

The track at Loudon has been described as "Martinsville on steroids." NHMS is a little over a mile compared to the half-mile at Martinsville, but the idea is the same -- drag race down the straightaway, fight through the almost flat turns, then drag race down the other straightaway. Most of the action usually takes place in the corners, especially as cars exit side-by-side and head down the 1500 feet straightaways.

Juan Montoya holds the qualifying record at Loudon -- 133.431 mph set in September 2009. Jeff Gordon is the top money winner at the track with over $3 million in earnings. He has fifteen Top 10s, twelve Top 5s and three wins in 26 starts. Denny Hamlin has the best average finish -- 6.5 in four starts -- while Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin have average finishes just over 10.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosts several regional racing series, including the NASCAR Camping World Series East and the NASCAR Whelan Modified Tour, amateur series events sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America, Loudon RoadRace Series, Vintage Racer Group, U.S. Classic Racing Association and the World Karting Association. NHMS also hosts the only Craftsman Truck Series, Nationwide Series, and Sprint Cup Series races held in the New England area. The Lenox Industrial Tools 300 is held at the end of June or the beginning of July and the Sylvania 300, the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, is held in September. Sprint Cup races are 300 laps or 317.4 miles.



(diagram from NASCAR.com)

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks Master List

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Sonoma

Infineon Raceway, known as Sears Point until 2002 when Infineon Technologies AG bought the naming rights to the track, is one of only two road courses on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. The other is Watkins Glen International in New York.

Sears Point Raceway opened in 1968 in the rolling hills of the Sonoma wine country of Northern California. It was originally a very bare-bones operation; porta-potties were just about the extent of the creature comforts. Currently the facility, including a drag strip, hosts on-track activity about 340 days a year, everything from Superbikes to NHRA drag races to SCCA races and rallies to driving schools.

NASCAR has held regional events at Infineon from the beginning, but the Sprint Cup didn't make an appearance there until 1989 when the track at Riverside closed and NASCAR needed another west coast road course event. Ricky Rudd won that inaugural race on the standard 12 turn, 2.52-mile road course. In 1998, the track was reconfigured for NASCAR events. The Chute, a high-speed straightaway, was added, bypassing Turns Five and Six and shortening the course to 1.949 miles. In 2001, in the midst of a massive $60 million modernization of the track's facilities, the NASCAR-only track was reconfigured again with the addition of "Turn 4a" at the entrance of The Chute which increased the course to 1.99 miles.

(diagram from Trackpedia.com)

Despite the name, Sears Point Raceway has nothing to do with Sears & Roebuck. It was named after a geographical feature of the area which was named after Franklin Sears, an early settler.

Of course, Juan Montoya has the best average finish at Infineon. He won the only Sprint Cup race he has run there, but Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart all have average finishes of 10.0 or better. Gordon is the all-time money winner at the track with eleven Top 10s, nine Top 5s, and five wins in 15 races. Mark Martin holds the record for most Top 10 finishes, 13.

Infineon Raceway hosts one Sprint Cup race per season, the Toyota/Save Mart 350 in June. The 350 refers to kilometers (352.21 to be exact). The race is 110 laps or 218.9 miles.

See "A Short History of Infineon Raceway: 40 Years on the Red Line" (YouTube)

(diagram from NASCAR.com)

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Master List

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Michigan

Charles Moneypenny put pen to paper and set his sights on designing a racetrack for the Irish Hills of southeastern Michigan. The designer of the Daytona International Speedway came up with a two-mile D-shaped oval. Racing legend Stirling Moss added interior and exterior roads that could be combined to form road courses, but they haven't been used in a race since 1984.

Ground was broken for Michigan International Speedway near Brooklyn in September of 1967 and 2.5 million yards of it was pushed around to form the track. The first race, a 250-mile Indy-style race, took place in October of 1968. NASCAR came to town the next year, holding their first race at MIS on June 15, 1969. Cale Yarborough and LeeRoy Yarbrough battled door-to-door over much of the final 150 laps, but LeeRoy spun out some 300 yards from the finish line, handing the victory to Cale.

A Detroit-area land developer, Lawrence H. LoPatin, was the visionary behind Michigan International Speedway. He spent an estimated $4-6 million to build the track. The location was chosen for its proximity to Detroit and several other cities in the upper Midwest. LoPatin went on to start American Raceways, Inc. and to buy or build other tracks around the country. While MIS has always been profitable, the other ARI tracks drained the company's budget, eventually forcing the company to file for bankruptcy protection in 1971. ARI went into receivership in 1972.

In 1973, in an auction on the Lenawee County courthouse steps, Roger Penske purchased the track for $2 million. He spent millions of dollars on one improvement after another, including increasing the grandstands from 25,000 to 125,000 seats, adding several modern buildings to the property, and adding two racing-related businesses, CompTire and Motorsports International to the speedway grounds. In 1997, Penske took his speedway and racing businesses public, forming Penske Motorsports, Inc. In July of 1999, Penske Motorsports, Inc. was purchased by Bill France's International Speedway Corp.

Michigan International Speedway is similar to a couple of other tracks. It is a "sister track" of Texas World Speedway and Fontana, California's Auto Club Speedway was based on the MIS design. Michigan has a little more banking all the way around -- 18° in the turns, 12° in the frontstretch and 5° in the backstretch compared to 14°, 11° and 3° at Fontana. Michigan also has a longer frontstretch, but Fontana has a longer backstretch.

High speeds are the norm at MIS. Ryan Newman holds the track qualifying record -- 194.232 mph set in June of 2005. Jeff Gordon is the all-time money winner with 19 Top 10's, 15 Top 5's and two wins in thirty starts. Bill Elliott is the active driver with the most wins at MIS with seven. The drivers that usually do well at Auto Club Speedway are also the top finishers at Michigan: Carl Edwards has an average finish of 7.29 and Matt Kenseth, 9.71.

Michigan International Speedway hosts two Sprint Cup races per year, the LifeLock 400 in June and the 3M Performance 400 in August.

(diagram from NASCAR.com)

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Master List

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Pocono

Though it's mostly oval racing, NASCAR has some pretty unique tracks: Darlington, Bristol, Daytona, and Talladega to name a few. Pocono, as you can probably tell from the diagram, belongs on the list too.

(diagram from NASCAR.com)

Pocono Raceway is an almost flat 2 1/2-mile tri-oval, but the turns are very tight, making the track more like a triangle and less like other tri-ovals like Daytona. Each turn is unique, making it hard to setup a car for the race. Teams must make compromises to get their cars to handle through all three turns and always struggle through at least one turn. The turns are more appropriate for a road course and are said to be modeled after turns at three different racetracks. Turn One, the most acute of the three (14 degree banking), is modeled on Trenton Speedway. The Tunnel Turn, Two, the most obtuse of the three (8 degree banking) is like turns at Indianapolis. Turn Three (6 degree banking) is like the Milwaukee Mile. Combine the sharp turns with the longest and widest straightaways in NASCAR and you've got the makings of a race.

Or not. Drivers and a lot of fans think the races are too boring and long and need to be shortened to 400 miles. The field gets strung out. The teams get frustrated trying to deal with the turns. Drivers are also grumbling about how outdated everything is at the track, including safety updates. Some would like Pocono to lose one of the two Sprint Cup races held annually at the track. Another complaint is that the two races are run too close together, in early June and early August.

Pocono Raceway is one of only three tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule that are not owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corp. The others are Indianapolis and Dover. Last month, Bruton Smith, CEO of SMI, announced the purchase of Kentucky Speedway and advanced the idea of buying another track and switching some dates around to get a Sprint Cup date at Kentucky as soon as 2009. NASCAR said, in effect, "That's too soon." Dr. Rose Mattioli, co-owner of Pocono Raceway with her husband Dr. Joseph, was quick to announce that their track "never was available; it never will be available."

The Mattiolis are close to the France family, and in the '70s, when the track was struggling financially and the Mattiolis were close to selling, Bill France Sr. urged them not to. A few years later, Bill France Sr. and Jr. awarded them a second annual Sprint Cup race, but the track is one of only two tracks (Indianapolis is the other) that does not host a Nationwide or Craftsman Truck Series race.

Pocono Raceway is located near Long Pond, a small community just off of I-80 in the scenic Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, about ninety miles from both Philadelphia and New York City. It opened in 1968 with races on the 3/4 mile track. The first IndyCar race on the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway, the Schaefer 500, came in 1971. Hurricane Agnes soon followed. NASCAR first raced there in 1974, with Richard Petty winning the inaugural Pocono 500. But, as the Mattioli's tell it, times were tough...

Due to many construction mistakes, the CART-USAC fight and a lot of inexperience, we suffered severe financial problems. We were almost bankrupt two or three times but were too dumb to realize it.

But, after the meeting with France Sr. and the addition of the second race, the situation greatly improved. In 1990, the Mattiolis began spending about $3 million per year for ten years to completely remake the track from the ground up with new crash walls, new paving, a new press box, a new garage area, and a new mobile home park for race participants. They tore out the old 3/4-mile track, but now have three separate infield tracks that each utilize a section of the tri-oval. Sports car and motorcycle clubs and driving schools keep the track busy most of the year now.

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Master List

NASCAR Tracks: Dover

Image by eric.schnell via Flickr

Dover International Speedway is exactly one-mile long, and is one of only two concrete tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule -- the other is Bristol.  And Dover is very similar to Bristol.  It is high-banked -- 24 degrees in the turns and nine degrees on the 1076-feet straightaways -- which translates into a lot of speed.  The turns are long and sweeping.  The close quarters lead to a lot of action; a single-car spin can turn into a multi-car accident in a heartbeat.  No wonder they call it "the Monster Mile."

The track was opened in 1969 as Dover Downs International Speedway, and was a part of Dover Downs, a dual-purpose facility designed for horse racing and motorsports events.  The racing surface was originally asphalt.  NASCAR has been racing at Dover since the very beginning.  From 1972 to 1997, Cup races at Dover were 500 miles, but in 1997, NASCAR changed the rules, limiting 500-mile races to tracks longer than a mile.  Cup races at Dover have been 400 miles since.  In 1995 the speedway became NASCAR's first concrete track.

The Delaware legislature voted to allow slot machines at pari-mutuel horse racing facilities in 1994. Dover Downs took advantage, opening Dover Downs Slots in 1995 and a hotel, the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, in 2002. That same year the business split up with the hotel, slots operation and harness racing track retaining the Dover Downs name.  The motorsports track's name was changed to Dover International Speedway, and it became the corporate headquarters for Dover Motorsports, Inc., a publicly held ownership group that also includes Nashville Superspeedway, Gateway International Raceway, and Memphis Motorsports Park.

In 2004, the track added a new wrinkle, the Monster Bridge, "The Most Exciting Seat in Sports." It's a 56-seat, glass-enclosed bridge that extends over the track in Turn 3.  DIS recently completed a multiyear, multimillion dollar "Monster Makeover."  Phase One saw the construction of a new skybox complex, a new and improved media center and other capital improvements.  In Phase Two, Victory Plaza was added, complete with a 46-foot fiberglass sculpture of Miles the Monster, the track's iconic mascot, and over 200 granite plaques dedicated to legendary Dover Drivers.  A FanZone was also added.  Phase Three was mostly track improvements.  The steel inside retaining wall was replaced by a longer concrete wall with a SAFER barrier.  Pit road was widened and a 43rd pit stall was added.  Previously, there were only 42 stalls and the last two qualifiers had to share until a competitor dropped out of the race.

Jeremy Mayfield holds the Sprint Cup qualifying record at Dover, 161.522 mph, set in June 2004.  Richard Petty and Bobby Allison are tied with the most Cup wins at Dover, 7.  Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with five wins at DIS.

Dover International Speedway hosts a Sprint Cup race, the Best Buy 400 Benefiting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks, a Nationwide Series race and a Camping World Truck Series race in late May or early June.  In September, the track hosts a Sprint Cup race, the AAA 400, the second race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and a Nationwide Series race.

(diagram from NASCAR.com)

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Master List

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Charlotte

Image by FLC via Flickr

Charlotte Motor Speedway is not actually in Charlotte, but in the neighboring suburb of Concord, North Carolina. It's the home field track for most of NASCAR; about 90% of NASCAR teams are headquartered within 50 miles of the Charlotte/Concord area.

Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner partnered to open Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1960. The track had some financial difficulties and both men left or were forced out, but Smith bought up shares in the track, and by 1975 had become the majority stockholder. He hired H. A. "Humpy" Wheeler as general manager and the two worked tirelessly to turn CMS into one of the crown jewels of the NASCAR circuit. Smith Tower, the Speedway Club, luxury skyboxes, and other up-to-date amenities were added to the track. In 1984, the track became the first sports facility in America to offer year-round living accommodations; 40 condominiums were built overlooking Turn One. Twelve additional units were added in 1991. In 1992, a $1.7 million, 1200 fixture lighting system was added. It somehow uses mirrors so that lighting can be provided without glare, shadows, or obtrusive light poles.

In 1999 Charlotte Motor Speedway fell victim to the corporate naming rights frenzy that was just taking hold in the world of sports. Lowe's bought the rights and the track became Lowe's Motor Speedway.  The original agreement was for 10 years and expired at the end of 2008.  Lowe's extended the agreement for one year -- for the 2009 season, but declined to extend the agreement any further.  In January 2010, the track's name officially became Charlotte Motor Speedway again.

CMS is now a huge complex that includes the 1.5-mile quad-oval, a 2.25-mile road course that meanders around the infield, a 0.6 mile kart track, a quarter-mile asphalt oval, a one-fifth mile oval, and a 0.4 mile clay oval. In 2007 there was a big to-do over a proposed drag racing facility at LMS. After residents of a nearby subdivision protested about the noise and blocked Smith's plans, he threatened to close Lowe's down and build a new speedway elsewhere. City and county officials, fearing a huge loss of revenue, offered Smith the moon to get him to stay. Smith got his drag strip and it hosted its first NHRA event in September of 2008.

But all the NASCAR action takes place on the 1.5 mile quad-oval. A driver spends about two-thirds of every lap turning so downforce is important. The frontstretch is 1980 ft. long, the backstretch 1500. The turns have 24 degrees of banking, the straightaways five. Most passing is done around Turns Three and Four where there are two racing grooves, but the track narrows coming out of Four and you usually see a lot of incidents as the cars head back down the frontstretch toward the start/finish line. The track seats 167,000 and another 50,000 or so can be crammed into the infield.

Elliott Sadler holds the Sprint Cup qualifying record, 193.216 mph, set in October 2005.  Jimmie Johnson, Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip are tied with six wins each at the track.

There's something going on at Charlotte Motor Speedway about 300 days out of the year with 380 some-odd events scheduled, including the twice-yearly Food Lion Auto Fair, several driving schools, Dirt Late Models, Modifieds, Sprint Cars, Monster Trucks, Bandoleros, Legends Cars, Thunder Roadsters, and World Karting Association races.

CMS hosts four Sprint Cup races per year.  In May, on the weekend before Memorial Day,  CMS hosts the Sprint All-Star Race, a preliminary race -- the Sprint Showdown, and a Camping World Truck Series race.  Both Cup races are non-points exhibitions.  The All-Star Race is open to drivers who have won races in the current and previous season, past champions, and past winners of the event.  Drivers who aren't otherwise eligible to compete in the Sprint All-Star Race compete in the Sprint Showdown.  The winner, the second-place finisher, and a driver who wins a fan vote advance to race in the All-Star Race.

On Memorial Day weekend, CMS hosts the longest race on the NASCAR schedule, the Coca-Cola 600, and a Nationwide race.  In October, Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts the Bank of America 500, the fifth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and a second Nationwide race.

(diagram from NASCAR.com)

NASCAR Tracks index page
Charlotte race winners

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Darlington

Image via Wikipedia

"You never forget your first love, whether it's a high school sweetheart, a faithful old hunting dog, or a fickle race track in South Carolina with a contrary disposition. And, if you happen to be a race car driver there's no victory so sweet, so memorable, as whipping Darlington Raceway."
-- Dale Earnhardt

People call Darlington "the Lady in Black" and the track "Too Tough to Tame," but, while Harold Brasington was building it, they called it "Harold's Folly." Brasington's dream, a wild one indeed, was for tiny Darlington, South Carolina, located about 70 miles from anywhere, to have its very own world-class speedway, a track to compare to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He wanted to build a 1 1/4-mile oval, but had to alter his plans to work around a minnow pond on the property. He ended up with a track that was 1.366 miles and a little egg-shaped.

Darlington Raceway opened in 1950, back when NASCAR was still mostly run on dirt. The first race, co-sanctioned by NASCAR and the Central States Racing Association, had more than 80 entrants. Brasington set up a two-week qualifying process (similar to that of the Indy 500) to cut it down to 75 cars. Many of the drivers had never driven on an asphalt track. Californian Johnny Mantz started in the rear of the field, but won that initial Labor Day race with an unusual tire strategy: he used truck tires, which held together much longer than car tires of the day. Many drivers ran out of tires during the race and bought tires from spectators in the infield.

For many years, Darlington hosted two Cup races a year and the Labor Day race, the Southern 500, was one of the biggest events on the NASCAR calender. But time caught up to it. Attendance started slipping as textile mills in the area closed. Race fans began seeking "destination" sites where there was much more to do besides just watch a race. NASCAR wanted sleek, new facilities with luxury skyboxes and modern amenities. NASCAR moved the Labor Day weekend race to California Speedway, and moved the Southern 500 to November to be part of the Chase for the Cup. In 2005, NASCAR finally eliminated the Southern 500 all together and many feared that they would soon close Darlington like they had North Wilkesburg and Rockingham. Darlington now hosts one Cup race per season, a night race held on the evening before Mothers' Day.  The Southern 500 name returned to the race in 2009.

As a result of the Milwaukee Mile being unable to secure a promoter for the 2010 season and canceling the scheduled Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series races, NASCAR, in January 2010, announced that the Truck Series would be returning to Darlington on August 14.  It is scheduled to be a one-day affair with teams arriving, practicing, and qualifying before racing under the lights that night. 

Over the years, the track has been modified. The original frontstretch is now the backstretch and vice versa. The pits, which used to be split up along both straightaways are now all located along the frontstretch. Capitol projects in recent years have added lights and more seats, repaved the track, and added a larger access tunnel to allow modern car haulers and motorcoaches to get to the infield.

Most drivers will tell you that, at Darlington, you don't race against the other drivers, you race against the track. The high banked turns (25 degrees in Turns 1 and 2, 23 degrees in Turns 3 and 4) allow for high speed racing. Both straightaways are 1229 feet long. The closest finish in NASCAR history occurred at Darlington. On March 16, 2003, Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch by 0.002 seconds for the win.

Jamie McMurray holds the track Cup qualifying record.  He turned a lap of 27.264 seconds (180.370 mph) in May 2010.  David Pearson leads all drivers with ten wins at Darlington Raceway.  Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven wins.

See also: "The Track That Defied the Writing on the Wall" (NY Times) and "Beauty of old Darlington lies within its simplicity" (NASCAR.com)

(diagram from NASCAR.com)

(The master list of NASCAR tracks)
Darlington Cup winners

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks: Richmond

Richmond International Raceway is a D-shaped, 0.75-mile oval, a short track masterpiece that always sees exciting races with high speeds, side-by-side racing and close finishes. Downforce and camber are key here, but teams need to leave enough openings in the front end to allow air to get in to keep the brakes cooled down. Look for a lot of racing going into Turn One and out of Turn Two, one-groove corners. There are two and sometimes three lines side-by-side through Turns Three and Four.

There's a lot of racing history at the site of the RIR, going back to pre-NASCAR days. The track opened in 1946 as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds and held its first NASCAR race, a Grand National Division affair won by Lee Petty, in 1953. Back then, the track was a half-mile dirt track. Petty led the 100-mile race wire to wire, averaging 45.535 mph. Since then the track has undergone three name changes, four configuration changes and the switch from dirt to asphalt. Lights were added in 1991 and now RIR is the only track to hold all its major events at night.

Richard Petty competed in his first NASCAR race at Richmond in 1960 and won there a record 13 times. Brian Vickers holds the qualifying speed record, 129.983 mph, set in May 2004. Kyle Busch has the best average finish among active drivers, 6.17, with five Top 5s in six starts. Denny Hamlin is second with an average finish of 6.5. Jeff Gordon is the track's all-time money winner with 16 Top 10s, 12 Top 5s, and two wins in thirty starts.

Richmond International Raceway hosts two Sprint Cup races per season, the Crown Royal Presents "Your Name Here" 400 in May and the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 in September. The "naming rights" of the spring race are determined by a contest of Crown Royal's choosing. The fall race is the last race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship begins.

(diagram from NASCAR.com)

NASCAR Basics: The Tracks Master List

NASCAR: The Tracks: Talladega

Image via Wikipedia

Talladega! There's nothing quite like it, but Daytona comes close. They are both superspeedways, both tri-ovals, both restrictor plate tracks. Both have an intense party atmosphere, especially in the infields. But Talladega seems a little wilder and woolier to me, both on and off the track.  Talladega also seems, as NASCAR.com writer David Caraviello puts it, "semi-off -- so much so that in 2009 they brought in a Creek medicine man to perform "a prayer of protection, restoration, and balance to try and ease whatever cosmic instability surrounds the track."

Talladega Superspeedway, in Talladega, Alabama, is a little longer than Daytona -- 2.66 miles to 2.5 miles. The straightaways are a bit longer -- a 4300-foot frontstretch and a 4000-foot backstretch compared to Daytona's 3800-foot frontstretch and 3000-foot backstretch. The turns have a little more banking -- 33 degrees to Daytona's 31 degrees. Daytona has three degrees of banking in the straightaways. Talladega has two degrees of banking in the backstretch, but a whopping 16.5 degrees in the frontstretch.  One track anomaly:  the start/finish line is not in the middle of the tri-oval where it should be, but several hundred yards further along, past the exit of pit road.  Many races are won or lost in those extra yards.

The strategy at Talladega is pretty simple: eke out every last bit of horsepower and speed from your car, dial in enough downforce to get the thing to stay on the track, find a drafting partner and avoid the Big One, the wreck that takes out multiple cars.  The winner is usually the driver who navigates to the front of a line and gets a timely push from a teammate or another driver.

Talladega International Motor Speedway was built on soybean farmland next to two abandoned World War II-era airport runways in North Alabama.  Some claim that the land was once an Indian burial ground -- an explanation for some of the inexplicable things that happen there.  The name was changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.

The track opened in 1969 amidst a boatload of controversy. The speeds were so high that the tire companies could not come up with a compound that would hold together, or that might have just been an excuse.  Other issues, including salaries and driver amenities, were on the table.  The Professional Drivers Association, led by Richard Petty, declared the situation unsafe and walked out, but NASCAR went ahead as scheduled and ran the full 500 miles without a major incident, employing Grand American and ARCA drivers. Richard Brickhouse, the lone PDA driver to challenge the walkout, replaced Paul Goldsmith in one of the new winged Dodge Charger Daytonas and won the inaugural race, but runner-up Jim Vandiver is convinced that he was actually the winner, that Brickhouse was a lap down.  (See "Lives, Sport Were Changed Forever at 'Dega's First Race" and "Strike of '69 Dega's Defining Moment")

Bill Elliott established the stock car speed record at Talladega in 1987, posting a qualifying speed of 212.809 mph. Rusty Wallace set an unofficial record at Talladega in 2004. Driving a car without a restrictor plate, Wallace reached 228 mph in the backstretch and a one-lap average of 221 mph, an experience he later described as "out of control."  Mark Martin holds the all-time race speed record -- 188.354 mph. Incredibly, he set the record during a caution-free restrictor plate race in May of 1997.

In the 1987 Winston 500 at Talladega, Bobby Allison blew a tire entering the tri-oval. His Buick flew backwards into the catch fencing and several fans suffered minor injuries. Fearing a major incident in the not-too-distant future, NASCAR experimented with a couple of methods of slowing the cars down before finally settling on using the restrictor plate at Talladega and Daytona. The plates reduce engine horsepower from around 750 to around 430, affecting top speed and acceleration. An unintended consequence is that the cars tend to stay bunched close together to take advantage of the draft, going full speed three- or four-wide. One mistake or blown tire is usually enough to cause The Big One, a massive multi-car accident.

In April of 2009, Carl Edwards was leading with Brad Keselowski right on his bumper as they entered the tri-oval on the last lap.  Keselowski feinted a high move, then went low.  Edwards went high, then went low to block, but he wasn't clear.  Edwards slid across Keselowski's nose and spun.  His rear end lifted and he was slammed by Ryan Newman, who was running in third at the time.  Edwards's car went into the catch fencing and debris pelted fans in the grandstand, injuring several.  Again, NASCAR had to do something to prevent a more serious accident in the future.  They announced that they were mandating a smaller restrictor plate for races at Talladega and Daytona to slow the cars even more.  They also raised the catch fencing from 14-feet to 22-feet at the tracks.

Dale Earnhardt is the all-time winner at Talladega. He won ten races there during his career.  Jeff Gordon leads active drivers with six 'Dega wins.

Talladega Superspeedway hosts a Sprint Cup race, the Aarons 499, and a Nationwide race in April and a second Cup race, the Amp Energy 500, the sixth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and a Camping World Truck race in October.

(diagram from NASCAR.com)

Talladega Cup winners

NASCAR tracks index page

NASCAR Tracks: Phoenix

Phoenix International Raceway (located in Avondale, Arizona, a Phoenix suburb) was constructed in 1964 and was originally designed for open-wheeled cars.  The NASCAR Cup Series didn't begin racing there until 1988. Al Unser, A. J. Foyt, Tom Sneva, Richard Petty (racing in the NASCAR Winston West Series), Ken Schrader (racing in the National Midget Series), and Steve McQueen have all been winners at PIR. This was the site of the first "Polish Victory Lap" when Alan Kulwicki recorded his first Cup victory at the track's first Cup Series race on November 6, 1988.  A second Sprint Cup race was added to the schedule in 2004.

The track, shaped around the rugged terrain of the Estrella Mountains foothills (hence the little dogleg in the back straightaway), features a one-mile tri-oval, a 2.5-mile road course, and a drag strip.  After the construction of nearby Firebird International Speedway, use of the drag strip declined dramatically.  PIR used to have an external road course before the infield course was built and replaced it.  In 2002-03, a tunnel was constructed under Turn Four for infield access.

NASCAR prefers to use the oval. The banking is not very steep -- just eleven degrees in turns 1 and 2, nine degrees in turns 3 and four and the backstretch, and an almost flat three degrees in the frontstretch. The biggest issue with the track is that the two ends of the track are so different. If a car is dialed in to handle turns 1 and 2 well, it probably won't handle well in turns 3 and 4, and vice versa. Weather is almost never a factor. Only one Cup Series race, in 1998, was shortened by rain. The track seats 76,800.

Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with four Phoenix wins.  Ryan Newman holds the Sprint Cup qualifying record, 26.499 seconds (135.854 mph), set in 2004.

In October 2009, NASCAR and their television partners announced new uniform start times for all NASCAR Sprint Cup races with all night races starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.  To ensure that the Phoenix night race in April (which would begin at 4:30 p.m. local time) actually finishes under the lights, NASCAR decided in January 2010 to increase the race by 63 miles -- from 312 laps (500 kilometers) to 375 laps (600 kilometers).  Yes, PIR is one of the few tracks where the races are measured not in miles or laps, but in kilometers.  The Subway Fit Fresh 500 would become the Subway Fit Fresh 600.  PIR also hosts a Nationwide Series race in April.

The fall weekend in November is one of the biggest events in the state with the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, the Camping World Truck Series and the Featherlight Southwest Series all holding races.  The Sprint Cup race, the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil, is the ninth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

(diagram from NASCAR.com)

Phoenix Sprint Cup winners

NASCAR tracks index

NASCAR Tracks: Texas

Image via Wikipedia

Texas Motor Speedway is a newer version of Atlanta Motor Speedway. Atlanta is a bit longer -- 1.54-miles vs. Texas's 1.50-mile. Both speedways are quad-ovals. The banking is identical at both tracks -- 24 degrees in the turns, 5 degrees in the straightaways. The straightaways are a little longer at Atlanta. Texas can hold around 35,000 more fans, around 160,000.

Bruton Smith spent $250,000 to construct Texas Motor Speedway ("The Great American Speedway") in the northwestern corner of the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area, between Ft. Worth and Denton. The facility also includes a road course and legends layout in the infield of the 1.5-mile oval. There's also a smaller oval, the 1/5-mile Lil Texas Motor Speedway, and a 2/5-mile dirt track. Legendary racing promoter Eddie Gossage has been the president of the track since it opened.

The big oval was completed in 1996 and Mark Martin won the first NASCAR event at the track, a Busch (now Nationwide) Series race in April 1997. Jeff Burton won the first Cup race at TMS, the Interstate Batteries 500, the next day.

Texas competes with Atlanta in pure speed. They are both big ovals with long straightaways and high-banked turns, and most importantly, no restrictor plates. Texas was a little faster when it was new, Atlanta is a little faster now that both have aged racing surfaces. Brian Vicker set the Cup qualifying record in the fall of 2006, 196.235 mph. Actual race speeds don't fall off too much from that; speeds of over 200 mph before you reach the corners in Turns 1 and 3. Carl Edwards holds the record for Cup wins at Texas, 3 -- he won in the fall of 2005 and swept both races in 2008.

Two racetracks, North Wilkesboro Speedway and North Carolina Speedway (Rockingham), were bought by Bruton Smith and closed so that Texas Motor Speedway could have two Cup races. The track hosts the Samsung 500 along with a Nationwide Series Race in April, and a Camping World Truck Series race in June. In November, the track hosts all three national series, including the Sprint Cup race, the Dickies 500, the eighth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

(graphic from NASCAR.com)


Cup race winners

NASCAR tracks index

NASCAR Tracks: Martinsville

“When a man plunks down his money, he deserves the best. You try to make him comfortable, give him a great show and make sure he gets his money’s worth. And we’ve always tried to do just  that.  Your customers are your greatest assets and that will never change. You actually sell the customer a memory as much as a race. If their memories are good, they’ll keep coming back.”
-- H. Clay Earles, founder of Martinsville Speedway

At 0.526 miles, Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, is the shortest track on the NASCAR circuit, but it packs a lot of excitement in a small package. It's a drag race down one 800-foot straightaway, then a sharp left around a tight turn with just eleven degrees of banking, then a drag race down the other straightaway followed by another sharp left turn. Repeat for 500 laps. It's an endurance race for man and machine, especially brakes.

H. Clay Earles built a dirt track just south of Martinsville, Virginia, just north of the border with North Carolina, in 1947, a year before NASCAR was formed.  The track opened on July 4, 1948, and NASCAR ran there for the first time in 1949.  That race was the sixth race in what would eventually become the Cup Series. There were 750 seats, but a crowd of 6000 showed up to watch Red Byron win that inaugural event.

In 1955 Martinsville Speedway became NASCAR's first paved short track, but retained its original paperclip-shaped configuration.  The first 500-lap race was run there the following year.  In 1976 the turns were repaved with concrete, giving the track the unusual combination of asphalt straightaways and concrete turns.  Over the years they added grandstands and skyboxes to bring the seating up to 65,000.

In 2004, the speedway was sold to the France family for $192 million, and became a part of their International Speedway Corporation.

Richard Petty has a phenomenal record at Martinsville.  In 1960, he became the youngest Martinville winner at 22 years, 283 days.  He leads all drivers with fifteen wins, 30 Top Fives, and 37 Top Tens.  Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven wins.  Harry Gant became the oldest Cup winner ever when he won at Martinsville at 51 years, 255 days in September 1991.  Tony Stewart holds the Cup qualifying record, 19.306 sec. (98.084 mph), set in 2005.

The Nationwide Series does not run at Martinsville. The track was dropped from the schedule in 2007 and replaced by an event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Martinsville Speedway currently hosts a Sprint Cup race, the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500, and a Camping World Truck Series race in March. In October, the track hosts a second Cup race, the Tums Fast Relief 500, the sixth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and a second Truck Series race.


diagram from NASCAR.com

Martinsville Sprint Cup winners

NASCAR Tracks index

NASCAR Tracks: Bristol

Image by Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway via Flickr

Larry Carrier and Carl Moore attended a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1960 and decided they wanted something similar in east Tennessee, but a little smaller and more intimate. Out in the middle of nowhere, down a two-lane country highway, a little south of the bucolic town of Bristol, which sits astride the TN/VA line, they built Bristol International Speedway on the site of a dairy farm. BIS opened in 1961 and was half-mile long with 60-feet wide straightaways and 75-feet wide, 22 degree banked turns. It could seat 18,000 spectators.

NASCAR ran their first race at Bristol on July 30, 1961. Jack Smith was the winner of the first race, but Johnny Allen took the checkered flag driving in relief of Smith.

In 1969 they decided to make it a bit more intense. The track was reshaped and reconfigured. It increased in length to 0.533-mile, which made it slightly egg-shaped, and the banking was steeped even higher, now 36 degrees. Daytona and Talladega style banking on a little short track.

Over the years, more and more seats have been erected around the little bowl. By 1996, seating had increased to 86,000. That was also the year the name was changed to Bristol Motor Speedway (slogan: "racin' the way it ought'a be!"). Now 160,000 seats surround the tiny bowl.

Immediately after the 2007 spring race, repaving work began at BMS. Progressive banking was added -- this means that the banking changes, getting steeper as you go higher up the track. It's now 24 to 30 degrees in the corners and 6 to 10 degrees in the straightaways. Darrell Waltrip, a three-time Cup champion and a Fox broadcaster, did a ceremonial groundbreaking (trackbreaking?) during the postrace programming. Work began in earnest the next morning and was completed in time for the fall races. That 2007 spring race also saw the debut of the Car of Tomorrow. Kyle Busch won the race and promptly proceed to trash the COT in Victory Lane interviews.

The progressive banking has improved the racing, but dampened the action that Bristol is known for.  Before the change, there was really only one line around the track and the only way to pass someone was to knock them out of your way.  With the progressive banking the drivers can run in two grooves all around the track -- a lot more side-by-side racing, a bit fewer wrecks.

Before the 2010 season, Bristol Motor Speedway extended the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barriers 84 feet coming out of Turns Two and Four.  The net effect is to make the track a little tighter.  That seems to have been the goal, much more than anything to do with safety...

"What we're hearing from folks who aren't renewing their tickets, from the majority of them is, it's economically related, and there's not a lot we can do about that," said Kevin Triplett, Bristol's vice president for public affairs. "But we are hearing from a lot of folks who say, Bristol has been known to be tight, and you guys have given them so much room.

"There's an element out there that loves three- and four-wide racing, and there's an element out there that would love it to be a little bit tighter. So we looked at how we could do it keeping the element of safety in mind. We decided, well, we could extend the SAFER barriers. And adding SAFER barriers, we think, is always a good thing."

Many NASCAR drivers have a short-track background and do well at Bristol, but it's easy to get caught up in someone else's wreck with 43 cars crammed into a half-mile at speeds over 100 mph. Darrell Waltrip leads all drivers with 12 wins at Bristol, including seven in a row.  Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch lead all active drivers with five wins, but Busch hasn't won there since 2006 and Gordon since 2002.  Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have combined to win five of the last six Bristol races.  Ryan Newman set the Sprint Cup qualifying record, a lap of 14.908 seconds (128.709 mph), in 2003.

Bristol Motor Speedway hosts a Sprint Cup race, the Food City 500, and a Nationwide race in March.  In August, Bristol hosts a second Cup race, the Irwin Tools Night Race, and a Camping World Truck race. The big number after the race names refers to laps, not miles. The Sprint Cup races are 266.5 miles long.

(diagram from NASCAR.com)

Bristol Cup race winners

NASCAR tracks index