Is Norwalk a short track? Check this out.

[James]

I guess if i was outta control and on fire id rather land in a creek than a tree.. At least it'd put the fire out.

KCIR is 0.43 miles, then a curved turnoff. The problem here is the sandtrap is nearly non-existant, not much of a net, and there is a creek on the other side.

 

[JAG]

KCIR is 0.43 miles, then a curved turnoff. The problem here is the sandtrap is nearly non-existant, not much of a net, and there is a creek on the other side.

Don't forget the hay bales just before the creek. Still not much of a safety area down there but the shut off is ok but not at 300 mph at least in my opinion.

 

[Nitrohelper]

In the 1980's , when I was doing some race track design ,and did inquire about the requirements for a new track, NHRA would recommend that the minimum overall length should be 4000'. I don't recall a "standard" for a drag strip, but from the previous posts you can see that around a half mile of shutdown is very common.
I think that a containment system of several nets is the only practical solution to stop an out of control 250+ mph race car. Buying more real estate ,and getting permits to expand a race track can't happen in many existing locations. A net system also requires some repair after a major stop. Regrading a sand trap is easier for the track operator, plus they do work for most sportsmen cars.

 

[stanman]

Per Google Earth, it's .4 miles from the finish line to the front edge of the sand trap.

Problem with Pomona is that the entire track, starting line to sand trap, is downhill.

 

[stanman]

Gainesville is 3350 finish to sand
Houston is 2620
Dallas is 2760
Atlanta is 2250
Memphis is 2560
Pamona is 2023
Sonoma is 2558
vegas is 2500
Seatlle is 2780 (no apparent runoff)
Denver is 2174


All the energy i got right now, all of those are rough estimates from Googe earth

Hell I just noticed that the closest 1/4 mile track to me Gulfport Dragway has 3088 ft of shutdown..............and thats an outlaw track that hasn't seen an NHRA or IHRA race in many years

Chad,

I do believe that figure for Sonoma is to the turn out and not to the sand trap. The sand trap at Sonoma is about another 1000' past the turn out... plus it's all up hill.

 

[Triple Nickel II]

I guess if i was outta control and on fire id rather land in a creek than a tree.. At least it'd put the fire out.

Unfortunately, neither is a good option.

I seem to remember that an unconscious driver drowned at KCIR several years ago.

 

[jim]

Looks to me like Bandimere is 2330' from finish to first barrier. Also looks like they have another quarter mile of real estate beyond the barrier. It's not finished drag strip, but it beats a concrete wall.

 

[clwill]

Problem with Pomona is that the entire track, starting line to sand trap, is downhill.

Is that really true? I thought the last couple feet went up toward the road / golf course.



PS - Greg, check your PMs...

 

[Chad]

Chad,

I do believe that figure for Sonoma is to the turn out and not to the sand trap. The sand trap at Sonoma is about another 1000' past the turn out... plus it's all up hill.

not according to Google earth

 

[possum]

Google Earth doesn't take earthmoving into account. They seem to go by the original lay of the land. In a case where a flat track has been excavated out of hilly terrain they will still show the elevation changes. Tip the picture horizontal and it's like a roller coaster at some places.

KilKare Ohio is pretty short... about 1700 feet of shutdown so 330mph there would be a trip into or across the river.

 

[Jet]

At the old Mid America Race Track west of St Louis, you used to run the straightaway of the road track and the shutdown was wicked. It was very short and if you didn't make the turnoff it was down a hill, through the woods, around a hairpin and over a bridge. I way folding my chute there one day and a low 8 second Camaro came blowing by with the laundry hung up in the wheelie bars and he just disappeared down the hill. Saw him later in the lanes and it said it was a wild ride he wanted to avoid in the future.

 

[Chad]

Google Earth doesn't take earthmoving into account. They seem to go by the original lay of the land. In a case where a flat track has been excavated out of hilly terrain they will still show the elevation changes. Tip the picture horizontal and it's like a roller coaster at some places.

KilKare Ohio is pretty short... about 1700 feet of shutdown so 330mph there would be a trip into or across the river.

so that would make a shutdown appear LONGER than it is correct?

 

[Toejam]

At the old Mid America Race Track west of St Louis, you used to run the straightaway of the road track and the shutdown was wicked. It was very short and if you didn't make the turnoff it was down a hill, through the woods, around a hairpin and over a bridge. I way folding my chute there one day and a low 8 second Camaro came blowing by with the laundry hung up in the wheelie bars and he just disappeared down the hill. Saw him later in the lanes and it said it was a wild ride he wanted to avoid in the future.

You just reminded me of a time at Bandimere speedway in like '97-'98? Steve Addleman was at the D-5 race and didn't have a chute and I thought he was going into the sand Hardcore! However he didn't hit the sand, he make the turnoff going what looked like 60-70 MPH! I was like "WHOAA"! I knew the racer (Lyle Greenberg) who ran the pair before him, he remembers taking off his firesuit and hearing this whine of a motor coming towards the shut down. This racer just took a chance and ended up driving it between two long rows of trailers getting it stopped! That could've been ugly REAL fast, but he ended up getting it stopped ok. I bet he checked his drawers after that one though!

 

[clwill]

Google Earth doesn't take earthmoving into account. They seem to go by the original lay of the land. In a case where a flat track has been excavated out of hilly terrain they will still show the elevation changes. Tip the picture horizontal and it's like a roller coaster at some places.

It's pretty simple, they overlay available satellite photos on top of available topographical data. These two sources can be out of date, out of synch, and/or years apart. Satellite data isn't refreshed once there is a good clear shot. The photo of my house shows a car in the driveway that I sold 6+ years ago. And topo data is very hard to get accurately (requires feet on the ground) and is rarely refreshed.

 

[stanman]

not according to Google earth

I guess the few hundred passes I've made there since they reconfigured the track don't account for any knowledge of the facility.

I don't have access to Google Earth but can tell you with the utmost certainty that the sand trap at Sears Point is a long ways past the turnout. If you've ever been there you'd know what I'm talking about. Running Top Dragster there at 180 mph I do not have to get on the brakes very hard to make the turnout.

 

[Ponyhntr]

Unfortunately, neither is a good option.

I seem to remember that an unconscious driver drowned at KCIR several years ago.

In the 5 years I have lived out here, only one car has gone into the creek, and it was back in 2004 when the NMRA was in town. The driver was OK, but the car was a total write-off.

Must have been long before that.

 

[sammi]

There you guys go giving up NHRA's and IHRA's dirty little secrets.

Mark

 

[DrRocket]

Nobody seems to have mentioned Brainerd yet. By Google Earth's measuring tool, the run out for Brainerd is about .47th of a mile long to the last left handed turnout. There are no sand traps, but there is the first turn to the road course, a reasonably long radius banked right hander. I seem to remember that I read somewhere Brainerd has one of the longest shutdown areas.

In the earlier days, the pros used to go all the way through turn one, then pull back to the pits using the road course.

In either 88 or 89, I remember sitting in my campsite on the SW side of the track, watching a couple of team members taking their Pontiac Bonneville rental through some "hot laps" on that side of the track. They just about put it into the ditch.

 

[Chad]

I guess the few hundred passes I've made there since they reconfigured the track don't account for any knowledge of the facility.

I don't have access to Google Earth but can tell you with the utmost certainty that the sand trap at Sears Point is a long ways past the turnout. If you've ever been there you'd know what I'm talking about. Running Top Dragster there at 180 mph I do not have to get on the brakes very hard to make the turnout.

I'm not arguing with you, just stating what info I have available to me from my computer 3000 miles away. I never said any of this was gospel. However i measured it on google earth from the finish line to the sand trap, I didn't measure to the last turn out. Download Google Earth and try it yourself.

 

[Rajunz]

Go to MSN.com, then Maps and use the Birdseye View. Unfortunately it's not available on all tracks.