What tracks are these?

[Civic]

Took a recent flight from San Diego to Milwaukee and back and I saw these from 38,000 feet up. This one was taken from the port side of the plane going west.

[Civic]

This was taken from the starboard side of the plane heading east.

[Chamoo]

The larger one might be the US Military test track. Looks to big to be a normal race course.

[nigelred5]

Any Idea of an approximate location on either? Time of flight, anything that might narrow it down a bit? I've flown over quite a few tracks on commercial flights, but don't recognize eihter

[cts1691]

#1 would be the Chrysler (Ex-Ford) Arizona Proving Ground (Yucca, Arizona),
Location: 34°52′29″N 114°7′31″W

[garyshell]

#1 would be the Chrysler (Ex-Ford) Arizona Proving Ground (Yucca, Arizona),
Location: 34°52′29″N 114°7′31″W

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=34%C2%B052%E2%80%B229%E2%80%B3N+114%C2%B07%E2%80 %B231%E2%80%B3W&sll=39.171281,-84.436275&sspn=0.007885,0.019205&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=14

Gary

[garyshell]

#1 would be the Chrysler (Ex-Ford) Arizona Proving Ground (Yucca, Arizona),
Location: 34°52′29″N 114°7′31″W


http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=34%C2%B052%E2%80%B229%E2%80%B3N+114%C2%B07%E2%80 %B231%E2%80%B3W&sll=39.171281,-84.436275&sspn=0.007885,0.019205&ie=UTF8&ll=34.874665,-114.12529&spn=0.066754,0.153637&t=h&z=13

Gary

[Civic]

The second picture was taken at 852am according to my digital camera. At 10am I took a pic of my GPS (before the flight attendant scolded me!) and I was over Iowa somewhere between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. The location on the GPS said N 40 57.099', W 92 58.854.

[Civic]

Found it! Pikes Peak Raceway! The way I found it was this:

According to my GPS, the plane was traveling anywhere from 442mph to 565mph. The picture of PPIR was taken an hour and 8 minutes before the picture of my GPS coordinates. I estimated about 600 miles from those coordinates was the track, which would've put it in Kansas but I looked up tracks in Kansas and they didn't match my picture.

I then looked at the time of a video I took on the plane of my GPS. It was taken about 20 minutes before my PPIR pic and on the GPS it showed us just west of La Planta, CO. At 565mph for 20 minutes we would've still be somewhere in Colorado. I looked up tracks in Colorado and saw that Pikes Peak International Raceway looks pretty much like my picture, except my picture shows less grandstands than before.

Also, ONE lap of that Arizona Proving Ground is 5 MILES! Would be interesting to see what a Champ Car and/or IndyCar would do in superspeedway configuration at that track.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Found it! Pikes Peak Raceway! The way I found it was this:

According to my GPS, the plane was traveling anywhere from 442mph to 565mph. The picture of PPIR was taken an hour and 8 minutes before the picture of my GPS coordinates. I estimated about 600 miles from those coordinates was the track, which would've put it in Kansas but I looked up tracks in Kansas and they didn't match my picture.

I then looked at the time of a video I took on the plane of my GPS. It was taken about 20 minutes before my PPIR pic and on the GPS it showed us just west of La Planta, CO. At 565mph for 20 minutes we would've still be somewhere in Colorado. I looked up tracks in Colorado and saw that Pikes Peak International Raceway looks pretty much like my picture, except my picture shows less grandstands than before.

Also, ONE lap of that Arizona Proving Ground is 5 MILES! Would be interesting to see what a Champ Car and/or IndyCar would do in superspeedway configuration at that track.

That track in Arizona I think is the one where AJ Foyt did a test with the Olds streamliner with a Turbocharged Quad 4 and went 250 plus for a closed course record back in the 80's or something.....

I love trying to identify things from the plane....it gives me something to do then watch bad movies......

[nigelred5]

I do the same, and well, I get yelled at all the time for having my maps and GPS active on my cell.

I thought AJ set that record at Texas World Speedway, but I seem to recall he set several records in those cars.

I see it was Ft Stockton Texas, Not TWS.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I do the same, and well, I get yelled at all the time for having my maps and GPS active on my cell.

I thought AJ set that record at Texas World Speedway, but I seem to recall he set several records in those cars.

I see it was Ft Stockton Texas, Not TWS.

Fort Stockton? That does ring a bell....but it was a test track like this one....one of those monster ovals...

[nigelred5]

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=fort+stockton+texas&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Fort+Stockton,+Pecos,+Texas&gl=us&ei=yRSpTNC0FIH7lwfgnvStDg&ved=0CCMQ8gEwAA&ll=30.930206,-103.09124&spn=0.07392,0.168743&t=h&z=13