NASCAR's iconic places (stupid question)

[Mihai]

I was wondering what are NASCAR's famous spots, such as iconic corners or landscapes outside the track (like Eau Rouge corner in F1 or Corkscrew for Champ Car, Indianapolis pagoda for the Indy500, etc.). Could you name a few ?

[Lee Roy]

The minnow pond at Darlington. It caused the turns of one end of the track to be narrower than the other end. The reason that Darlington is egg shaped.

[wedge]

It's quite rare that you such a corner or turn on an oval. I think the best corner that fits that description of legendary status is probably T2 (or T4 if you're oldschool!) at Darlington. Because of the corner transition, the banking, the narrowness of the track, the car carry so much speed coming off the turn that its so easy to smack the wall.

The other iconic turn on an oval I can think of is the Tunnel Turn at Pocono. There's only one line there, near flat out, and it's not the best place to pass.

The ovals are usually more iconic themselves because of their shape, banking, length.

Riverside (RIP) and Infineon Raceway were/are picturesque venues. Lots of elevation changes and both had/have challenging twisting 'Esses'.

NASCAR still thankfully runs at Watkins Glen - which used to be a challenging F1 circuit. They now run half the GP circuit which still uses the infamous left-right Esses, with Armco running on the outer edge.

[dont_be_jack]

I think that 'Dega's frontstretch is one that could be on a list. Think about how the placement of the checkers affects the outcome of the races. It allows for some great racing to the finish because it allows so much distance for the driver to get back into it and out of the corner.

[Gasman]

For me it has to be T4 at Daytona.

There's nothing quite like seeing them come off that 31 degree banking three wide (narrower and bumpier than Talledega if I'm correct) and as an Earnhardt fan who attended his first 500 at Daytona in 2001, the place will always be special...

[dont_be_jack]

For me it has to be T4 at Daytona.

There's nothing quite like seeing them come off that 31 degree banking three wide (narrower and bumpier than Talledega if I'm correct) and as an Earnhardt fan who attended his first 500 at Daytona in 2001, the place will always be special...

Yes, narrower and bumpier than 'Dega but you don't slide around as much coming down into the tri-oval from there as at 'Dega. Both tracks have their great characteristics.

[Hoss Ghoul]

As far as areas outside of tracks, I think the statue of Dale Earnhardt outside of Daytona is a pretty big deal.

Also, you have the Daytona museum as well, and you can check out the beach and general area they used to race on before the speedway was built.

[BobbyC]

Ironically, the children and grandchildren of the man whose pond created Darlington's legendary shape now sponsor the Busch race there.

That's why drivers lament Ferko.

Kyle Petty once compared Darlington to golf's U. S. Open where golfers are trying to break par when usually they are shooting mid-60's (-4, -5, -6, -7) week in and week out on regular PGA Tour FedEx Cup tournaments. Kyle could also add The Masters this year, when few broke par during rounds, and the winner was +1.

I drove Darlington during a Hurricane Relief benefit at the track and it indeed is tricky, especially at pace car speed on the banking.

The Watkins Glen layout includes much of the original 1961 track which survived the reconstruction, and was actually used for the 1971 Six Hours sportscar classic when the new section was not finished in time for the race. A new start-finish line last year allows for more drafting to the line and allows a car which charges Turn 11 better to make the winning pass.

It's quite rare that you such a corner or turn on an oval. I think the best corner that fits that description of legendary status is probably T2 (or T4 if you're oldschool!) at Darlington. Because of the corner transition, the banking, the narrowness of the track, the car carry so much speed coming off the turn that its so easy to smack the wall.

The other iconic turn on an oval I can think of is the Tunnel Turn at Pocono. There's only one line there, near flat out, and it's not the best place to pass.

The ovals are usually more iconic themselves because of their shape, banking, length.

Riverside (RIP) and Infineon Raceway were/are picturesque venues. Lots of elevation changes and both had/have challenging twisting 'Esses'.

NASCAR still thankfully runs at Watkins Glen - which used to be a challenging F1 circuit. They now run half the GP circuit which still uses the infamous left-right Esses, with Armco running on the outer edge.

[slorydn1]

I loved Rockingham because of the major difference in the way you raced turns 1 and 2 vs turns 3 and 4...In 1-2 there was only one fast line- high around rimriding, which gave you a chance at an early exit where you could fly down the back stretch. In 3-4, there were times when the would go in 3 wide, but someone HAD to give because to come off 4 3 wide would have been disastrous....

My first race there was February 2001, the week after we lost Sr.
Jeff Gordon had an awesome car that day, and at times would put up substantial leads. But then Steve Parks car would come back to him after about 15-20 laps into a run, and he would get such an early exit off of 2 that he would visably make up distance on the track on Jeffro....

[tstran17_88]

I think that 'Dega's frontstretch is one that could be on a list. Think about how the placement of the checkers affects the outcome of the races. It allows for some great racing to the finish because it allows so much distance for the driver to get back into it and out of the corner.

Outside of the track and race itself, Talladega's infield is legendary.