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Dream track?
- Thread starter CJDeeds
- Start date
Treeshaker
Nitro Member
Just take a trip to Charlotte, Bristol, Las Vegas or Chicago and you will see just about everything that you could want at a drag strip except for a fully enclosed facility that is climate and air quality controlled.
FABMAN
Nitro Member
I think it would be possible to go to far, building cost and maintaining could exceed affordability for consumers. I would make sure you had the best amenities like bath rooms, concessions, seating and availability to access track easily. Of course you would need an optimal surface for contestants. I would follow the way the Bader family has run and entertained the Racers and Fans they do a first class job.
That's pretty much what I was going to say. Although I'd make parking and walking to the pits a little better than the trek it takes at Chicago.
Dome it, maybe retractable, although some sound issues would need to be worked out.
More, larger or better TV screens, the NHRA vision trucks are nice but often at odd spots to see or the sun makes them impossible to view. Go huge stadium style scoreboard.
Put in near Detroit (yes the Motor City not having an NHRA race or NHRA level track stinks) and I would hire the Baders to run it
my friends call me Zappy
Nitro Member
Cover the track somehow, not enclose, just cover it A) rain protection, B) shade. No trackside walls for better viewing, and safety. no trackside photogs either.
first thing I would do is put the large tower on one side of the strip instead of behind the starting line and build about 25-30 thousand seats on the other side of the strip. The view from a tower on the side would make for better viewing angles for vip's or potential sponsors, who would have a better appreciation of the speed and head to head racing and could house some indoor seating,
mick
Nitro Member
- sportsman friendly.....your bread and butter....hold as many events as you can all year
- build close to regional airport and outside of noise ordinance
- full track lighting for sat. nite eliminations
- some covered bleachers
- as many trees as possible
- sewer and water infrastructure, as few porta-potties on property as possible
- full hookup water/electric for some racers and some campers (if available), and for fee
- well placed tunnel or bridge to access both sides
- all concrete surface, no transition point
- long runout so no need for sand / nets / etc.
- build close to regional airport and outside of noise ordinance
- full track lighting for sat. nite eliminations
- some covered bleachers
- as many trees as possible
- sewer and water infrastructure, as few porta-potties on property as possible
- full hookup water/electric for some racers and some campers (if available), and for fee
- well placed tunnel or bridge to access both sides
- all concrete surface, no transition point
- long runout so no need for sand / nets / etc.
stitcherbob
Nitro Member
just 2 things......a full quarter mile with ample shut down area, and the ability to use the track anytime I wanted (RE: my house would be there!)
hey you kids! GET OFF MY LAWN!!!
Wes
Nitro Member
Having been involved in more than one track conceptual design project I've got more than a few ideas. Most new facility builds are confined by two major factors: budget and lay of the land. Last time I put figures to a spread sheet the raw cost of a 1/4-mile racing surface with walls, timing system, national-event spec shut-down, catch nets/pits, return roads, and staging lanes was just over $1 million. Start there, and work your way out.
Having spent more time over the last decade at non-racing indoor and outdoor sporting events I've developed a new sense of appreciation for aesthetic designs that also provide for excellent function. I like the feel of a classic baseball stadium with exposed support beams, covered seating, seamlessly integrated suites and VIP viewing areas, unobstructed sight lines, and an intimate proximity to the action for all attendees. We have a great example in the Houston area for the basis for my ideal drag racing facility design in Constellation Field located in Sugarland, TX. This stadium is home to a AA baseball team (Sugarland Skeeters). Seating, suites, general admission, and restaurant capacity is just shy of 15,000. The individual seating for the bulk of the ticket holders is the lower concourse while suite and restaurant level seating is the upper concourse. The outfield seating is a combination of inclined grass (like the new Dragway 42 and Perth/Sydney in Oz) that has a kids playground and splash pad area in dead-center field. I would start with a design like this for the stadium portion of my dream track. Maybe even split the general seating area into two concourses and place the suites on the third level to give the facility a "canyon" appearance from the track. This would also raise the "shadow" area for the track to help temps in the latter part of the day.
All seating and viewing areas would be a minimum of 8' above the highest level of the retaining walls. Nothing worse than grabbing some up-close seats and only being able to see the roof of a door car or the wing of a dragster. Dig the track down into the ground and/or raise the base of the seating areas...like Dragway 42 is doing.
Bose sound system throughout the facility.
Integrate a nostalgic tower section into the stadium structure. I'm partial to the round towers of Tulsa and OCIR.
All entry to the facility comes from the top-end area of the track while all exits are out both sides for all attendees (racers, fans, employees, etc.). Nothing but foot traffic and race car/support vehicle movement near or around the starting line/staging lanes area.
All sounds, lighting, visual, and multimedia elements controlled from a central location.
Large, clean bathrooms, shower facilities, RV hook-ups at every pit space, wooded camping area, and lot's of non-racing activities for kids (play ground, splash pad, etc.).
Secondary 1/8-mile junior dragster/no-prep/street car track (like E-Town has).
Permanent Jumbotrons placed throughout the stadium, smaller units in other high-traffic areas of the facility. Electronic billboards, as well.
Elevated premium RV parking similar to the set-up Bristol offers.
North/South direction of track travel with temperature control.
One thing I've often toyed with and presented on an early project (a certain track relocation in the DFW area that did not come to fruition) was the idea of separated functional pit areas and spectator walking/viewing areas. This would have required some pit area set-up changes on behalf of the touring professional teams but in the end it would have resulted in lower event insurance fees and improved movement for both the teams and fans. It would, in simple terms, close off one end of the pit spaces and restrict it to pedestrian foot-traffic only while the other end is reserved for vehicle movement. The insurance company loved the idea for obvious reasons (mitigation of risk by removing fans from the traffic areas of the teams and cars). The initial idea was for there to be three very, very long rows of pit spaces with spectator viewing through the front of the pit spaces and team access through the back. Each space would be wider than normal to provide for better sight lines into the pit (no more parking rigs so close to one another). We had the architecture firm do a few layouts and it looked to be feasible for our project (and the budget we had). Never got to try it.
Food at my dream track would be better than anything you could get outside the facility but would also be priced competitively. Variety of food themes, perhaps even an active restaurant with public access seven days a week with track views. Depending on local blue-laws I'd want to have a bar/lounge on-site. Blue Bell Ice Cream is a must.
Displays for vehicle performance would be placed in the typical finish line location along with other spots. Displays would be screens rather than individual number panels and would be able to show graphics or any other animation.
Having spent more time over the last decade at non-racing indoor and outdoor sporting events I've developed a new sense of appreciation for aesthetic designs that also provide for excellent function. I like the feel of a classic baseball stadium with exposed support beams, covered seating, seamlessly integrated suites and VIP viewing areas, unobstructed sight lines, and an intimate proximity to the action for all attendees. We have a great example in the Houston area for the basis for my ideal drag racing facility design in Constellation Field located in Sugarland, TX. This stadium is home to a AA baseball team (Sugarland Skeeters). Seating, suites, general admission, and restaurant capacity is just shy of 15,000. The individual seating for the bulk of the ticket holders is the lower concourse while suite and restaurant level seating is the upper concourse. The outfield seating is a combination of inclined grass (like the new Dragway 42 and Perth/Sydney in Oz) that has a kids playground and splash pad area in dead-center field. I would start with a design like this for the stadium portion of my dream track. Maybe even split the general seating area into two concourses and place the suites on the third level to give the facility a "canyon" appearance from the track. This would also raise the "shadow" area for the track to help temps in the latter part of the day.
All seating and viewing areas would be a minimum of 8' above the highest level of the retaining walls. Nothing worse than grabbing some up-close seats and only being able to see the roof of a door car or the wing of a dragster. Dig the track down into the ground and/or raise the base of the seating areas...like Dragway 42 is doing.
Bose sound system throughout the facility.
Integrate a nostalgic tower section into the stadium structure. I'm partial to the round towers of Tulsa and OCIR.
All entry to the facility comes from the top-end area of the track while all exits are out both sides for all attendees (racers, fans, employees, etc.). Nothing but foot traffic and race car/support vehicle movement near or around the starting line/staging lanes area.
All sounds, lighting, visual, and multimedia elements controlled from a central location.
Large, clean bathrooms, shower facilities, RV hook-ups at every pit space, wooded camping area, and lot's of non-racing activities for kids (play ground, splash pad, etc.).
Secondary 1/8-mile junior dragster/no-prep/street car track (like E-Town has).
Permanent Jumbotrons placed throughout the stadium, smaller units in other high-traffic areas of the facility. Electronic billboards, as well.
Elevated premium RV parking similar to the set-up Bristol offers.
North/South direction of track travel with temperature control.
One thing I've often toyed with and presented on an early project (a certain track relocation in the DFW area that did not come to fruition) was the idea of separated functional pit areas and spectator walking/viewing areas. This would have required some pit area set-up changes on behalf of the touring professional teams but in the end it would have resulted in lower event insurance fees and improved movement for both the teams and fans. It would, in simple terms, close off one end of the pit spaces and restrict it to pedestrian foot-traffic only while the other end is reserved for vehicle movement. The insurance company loved the idea for obvious reasons (mitigation of risk by removing fans from the traffic areas of the teams and cars). The initial idea was for there to be three very, very long rows of pit spaces with spectator viewing through the front of the pit spaces and team access through the back. Each space would be wider than normal to provide for better sight lines into the pit (no more parking rigs so close to one another). We had the architecture firm do a few layouts and it looked to be feasible for our project (and the budget we had). Never got to try it.
Food at my dream track would be better than anything you could get outside the facility but would also be priced competitively. Variety of food themes, perhaps even an active restaurant with public access seven days a week with track views. Depending on local blue-laws I'd want to have a bar/lounge on-site. Blue Bell Ice Cream is a must.
Displays for vehicle performance would be placed in the typical finish line location along with other spots. Displays would be screens rather than individual number panels and would be able to show graphics or any other animation.
CJDeeds
Nitro Member
Wes, seriously great ideas. Gotta disagree with you on the Blue Bell Ice Cream, if I was going to stock ice cream it is Blue Bunny all the way. Afterall, they used to be part of the drag racing family.
Loving all of the ideas in here, hoping that I'll get the chance to incorporate quite a few of them into a future project (fingers crossed).
Loving all of the ideas in here, hoping that I'll get the chance to incorporate quite a few of them into a future project (fingers crossed).
my friends call me Zappy
Nitro Member
WES , some great ideas there, but please explain the "track temperature control". in detail.
TooTall999
Nitro Member
Denver has under track water cooling. Basically it's like an underground radiant heating system, except it's for cooling.
FABMAN
Nitro Member
Sorry Jay, you won't get insurance to take, but I like it.
my friends call me Zappy
Nitro Member
Yes but, Denver only has it for the starting line. I was wondering if Wes would do the full track (1320) ft
Wes
Nitro Member
Love the Wells Family. Miss them and think about them every time I see Blue Bunny in the stores. Let's compromise...Blue Bell on one side, Wells on the other!
