Oklahoma Super Speedway

[raysox]

I haven't done one of these in a long time! I used to make formula 1 tracks, but this is one of the most in depth one I made.

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I went to Talladega for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. I've had an idea for a while that I've pitched to my friend, and he was on board but said "they'd never build one of these again". But from the start, I chose Oklahoma as the location for the fake track. Talladega is between Birmingham and Atlanta to draw fans from both cities. This one would be near the highway between Oklahoma City, and Tulsa.

Anyway, it's an infamous super speedway like Talladega and Daytona. Those two tracks are tri-oval shaped. This one would be different. It's an oval track, that hypothetically would provide the same super speedway racing that everyone loves. The front and back stretch are three quarters of a mile. Each turn would be a half mile, at 33 degrees of baking. So it'd be a 2.5 mile track. Basically, it would be a big turn leading to Talladega's backstretch twice a lap. Most big crashes happen coming out of turns, so I made sure to give a lot of space on the apron to spin. The backstretch is limited due to the pits and road course(which I'll get to later). Daytona and Talladega don't have much grass anymore due to them not wanting cars to hit a lip and flip. I tried to design the big track with safety in mind. There's one big grand stand with sights in mind. The track would be north-south, with the stands on the west to block the sun during late Sundays

The road course is so the track wont only host events one or two weekends a year. The road course was designed with IndyCar or sports car in mind. The big front stretch remains in play, before a chicane. The inner track on the turns are along the wall, not effecting the super speedway. The layout was designed to fit in the open area. I used the Indianapolis Motor Speedway course and the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi as inspirations with tight corners and rhythm sections.

The inner part has enough room to house 3 series worth of cars and trucks seen on a normal NASCAR weekend. There's a big entry/exit to help the evacuation of the track before and after a race. The only other thing I want to mention is the white designs between the tracks and road. If I had my way, the track would be totally Green. I put 6 big wind turbines to power the track, provide a backdrop to the shots of the backstretch.

But let me know what you guys think!

[TVIXX]

Looks good

[JamieRose]

Really cool looking and really well thought out. I wonder how the corners would handle at speed compared to Daytona or Talladega.

I actually wouldn't mind getting a crack at that road course in Gran Turismo or Forza.

[willmoen]

the road course reminds me a lot about catalunya. Was that part of your inspiration for the road course design?

[raysox]

Not really, but I did think about that track when it was done. I really wanted the track to run on the inside of the turns, and it was my number 1 priotrity. But then the rest was just to fill up the empty space. It just kinda ended up that way!

[willmoen]

well it looks amazing anyway and it would be really cool to see it in real life

[Edubdesign]

Which way would the road course be run, clockwise or anti-clockwise?

Either way, doesn't look like there's a whole lot of run-off room there.

[DolphinManatee]

I think the track goes anti-clockwise, like the oval.

I agree with you, there is not a lot of runoff, especially the turn after the backstretch.

And is it just me, or does the oval's turns have a small radius, requiring them to lift of the throttle?

Also, that is a nice logo.

[jc...]

You would have to be REAL careful about having the pit lane close to the racing surface with the speeds that would be produced here.

And, as a side point, and thank god it hasn't happened yet, but some day a car is going to roll over a pit wall like at Dover or Indianapolis and its not going to be pretty. They should really have catch fences.

Anywho, very nice work.

[crashcarson15]

I think the track goes anti-clockwise, like the oval.

I agree with you, there is not a lot of runoff, especially the turn after the backstretch.

And is it just me, or does the oval's turns have a small radius, requiring them to lift of the throttle?

Also, that is a nice logo.

I'd think the other way. Road courses are almost always ran clockwise — look at Indianapolis' road course for an example.

Pit entry really seems like it might be an issue but other than that, I really like this. I think it'd be good for NASCAR to have a non-tri-oval superspeedway and I really like that road course's look. Maybe another set of esses in the middle along the backstretch though? Thinking a bit of COTA, admittedly, but watching the cars go through that section of track there is absolutely beautiful.

[raysox]

Which way would the road course be run, clockwise or anti-clockwise?

Either way, doesn't look like there's a whole lot of run-off room there.

Counter clockwise, like the oval. The goal was to have the cars come out of the lastturn and gas it down the front stretch. But the run offs were one of my concerns. Do you have any suggestions? Just shorten the boot section near turn 4?

I agree with you, there is not a lot of runoff, especially the turn after the backstretch.

And is it just me, or does the oval's turns have a small radius, requiring them to lift of the throttle?

Are you talking about coming off turn 4? But I actually did some measurements when I was laying out the big track, the turn radius would be a half mile, which is as big as talladega.

You would have to be REAL careful about having the pit lane close to the racing surface with the speeds that would be produced here.

And, as a side point, and thank god it hasn't happened yet, but some day a car is going to roll over a pit wall like at Dover or Indianapolis and its not going to be pretty. They should really have catch fences.

That was my #1 priority. I extended the pit wall farther than the pits so hopefully the wall catches any car heading that way, or atleast gives them room to stop if they do make it in that gap.

[spoz851]

Jeez a race there could either be extremely exciting or extremely boring. We'd just have to see one to tell... I go to the pocono races every year and was honestly very disappointed when they made it shorter. I didn't think that they wete taking to long. They took just as long as any other race. Approx 50 sec laps during a green flag run, which is comparable to Daytona and talladega. Anyways, great concept!

And is the diameter half a mile? Or the radius. Because if it's the radius then the track should be moved inwards because it is disproportional

[jc...]

You would have to be REAL careful about having the pit lane close to the racing surface with the speeds that would be produced here.

And, as a side point, and thank god it hasn't happened yet, but some day a car is going to roll over a pit wall like at Dover or Indianapolis and its not going to be pretty. They should really have catch fences.

That was my #1 priority. I extended the pit wall farther than the pits so hopefully the wall catches any car heading that way, or atleast gives them room to stop if they do make it in that gap.

I meant not so much spinning out, but flying through the air.

[mbannon92]

This is really cool to see, raysox! I used to design tracks all the time when I was younger.

I like the idea of an oval superspeedway. I'm having a hard time picturing it--all I can see right now is Martinsville--but I'm sure the racing would be fine.

I agree with the others that the road course seems to be fit in there really snug, but it may just be that I'm picturing the track smaller than it would be.

[jc...]

It reminds me of the Coca-Cola Speedway on Nascar Racing 2003.

[Buster]

Love the state shape used as a checkered flag.

Those are some long backstretches, it would be an exciting race...basically all-out drag racing for about a mile, twice every lap. When I saw the track I thought it was a short track because of the shape, then read 2.5 miles and was pleasantly surpsied.

Very well done concept;

[TheFallenHaveRisen]

I like it, reminds me of Coca Cola Speedway from NASCAR Racing 2003 Season

[jc...]

It reminds me of the Coca-Cola Speedway on Nascar Racing 2003.

I like it, reminds me of Coca Cola Speedway from NASCAR Racing 2003 Season

[BrandMooreArt]

really cool stuff. very detailed and well thought out. it reminds me of old Atlanta Motor Speedway, before they added a dog-leg front stretch. i think you could look up some pics from those days and take some cues from them on issues about pit road distance from the track and turn radius which i would also be worried about because of how thin it makes the infield area. but this could also be solved, like old Atlanta, by not using the entire infield as a road course. theres some different options there.

i love the idea of making it a "green" track, and this might be a stupid question, but do turbines produce any kind of wind turbulence? if so, you wouldnt want them turning during a race and blowing across the track. not being so close anyway.

mentioning Talledega reminded me of why the finish line there is at the last portion of the tri-oval; because it was easy to sell tickets that overlooked pit road, but towards turn 1, people were not as interested, so the finish line was moved that direction to add value to those seats. i could see the same thing happening here.

Willmoan, good call on the Catalunya comparison. it has a very similar rhythm. could totally see the road course working on its own, but like i said i wouldnt let that get in the way of the oval's safety.

[raysox]

Thanks for the comments still. I want to go back to fix it, and I'm starting to think that the width of both tracks are too much, because the infield should be big enough for the inner track by a lot.