Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

OK, this weekend there are 4 classes pounding on Eldora's dirt, I expect to hear comments about the track being "beat up" or "worn down"

Track prep has always been somewhat of a mystery to me... I can tell if a track is rubber down, or dusty, or follow the leader, but don't understand the whole soil mechanics of it

So exactly what happens to a track after all that repeated pounding?...please be specific

Thanks in advance...

I just heard from someone in attendance, 50 days with no rain, or there abouts?

ouch....

Midget feature was damn good tonite!

I don't know about wore out but here are some things I believe happens.

After multiple seasons or racing a certain amount of rubber gers incorporated with the dirt which changes its behavior some. 

My belief is once a track locks rubber down during a season it is more likely to lock down more often thru the rest of the season. Example knoxville after the trucks raced, the track was garbage. I think it latched rubber several more times that season after they ran the trucks.

Biggest factor of all is drought. It's really difficult to keep any moisture in a track during severe drought years.

I would be curious on the soil depth most track surfaces are worked. My guess is only the top 6 to 8 inches is what they normally work. Do they ever pull core samples to see how deep the moisture is getting?

Ouch is right.  Dumping water on dry tracks, with sun and no humidity, just doesn't work on most surfaces.  They need natural rainy periods with clouds, humidity, and cool periods to soak that moisture in.  

After one of the most bizarre USAC B-Mains I'd ever seen at Eldora where the cars were tip-toeing around the track at half throttle or less, they worked the track with a harrow attachment with vertical tines on it. This kind of just grooved the track barely breaking the surface, then added water and worked it with push trucks. That surface seems cooked. Levi has his work cut out for him in that department. IMO. 

But I was just glad to be at a race. 

OK, please define "Cooked"

That was the whole point of my post...

Basically 50days with no rain and the rain that we have had is basically like spitting in a bucket. Several counties have actually been issued with burn bands, thought I would never hear of such a thing in Ohio, at least Franklin county that is. 

4 crown wise they, and really any track in the world for that matter, has always had trouble keeping the track through a 4 feature events. I think they said they had over 100 cars on saturday, maybe 120, couldn't quite hear the PA guy that well where we were sitting. But say 100cars, all of which went out for hot laps, almost all went out for qualifying, a majority ran heats. Thats a lot of laps by a lot of cars creating friction, and firming up the track. Both of which dry out the track and the firmer and dryer the track gets, the more the wheels start spinning, amd the more rubber starts building up.

The 4crown is not only a feat for any driver to make all 4 features, win any of them, win multiple of them but it is also a feat for a track to keep a racy surface for a 4 features. Throw in the weather conditions it was next to impossible but I would say they did as good a job as anyone could have with the deck stacked the way it was against them. 

The explanation I would give is that on a dirt track, a worn out track is one where all the moisture has been beat out of it by the cars. At that point, the track is usually pretty dusty and slick and passing is at a minimum. It's also generally too far gone to bring it back to life without spending a lot of hours on it.

For sure.  On the flip side, I thought Knoxville did a phenomenal job in August.  They bank on hot, sunny and dry because of the make up of the dirt.  Cool and cloudy always makes for a narrow track in August at the Nats.  Your last sentence says it all.  They did as good of a job as they could, and I thought Knoxville did everything they could do as well.  Sometimes, it just is what it is!

Wouldn't argue that no rain is good for a track but in California we rarely, if ever, see water from the skies during most of the race season.  The exception is the early season schedules in March, April and sometimes May when a bunch of stuff is cancelled .  We've gotten along without nature's help for decades and have several well prepped tracks.  Drought isn't a good excuse for a crappy track.

Thanks... but I thought they liked "dry slick"?

Do you mean so dry & slick that nobody can attain much speed?

Cause I know if its too moist & fast, front runner usually takes off & hides, right?

So maybe there's a "Perfect medium"?

Some racers excell on a dry slick track. It takes skill, coordination, and patience to use both pedals to make the car go faster than the next racer. It tends to seperate the racers from guys who only know peddle to the floor racing.

There's a difference between a worn out track and a dry slick track. A dry slick track is more like dusty pavement, hard and smooth. A worn out track tends to have more loose dirt, ruts, holes, and dust. A worn out track typically lead to follow the leader racing, usually around the bottom and no one can find any moisture or traction. A dry slick track will have racers just on the edge of spinning out, with some guys able to control their cars better. 

Thank you, good answer!

I once heard, and it makes all the sense in the world, that drivers/teams like dry slick better because there are less wrecks and wrecks cause damage.  A wet, tacky track will most assuredly give you some flips.  I think that theory makes sense.  JMO

Damage isn't as severe either if you're 20-30 mph slower..........................

If what I heard today is true - I will be smiling all the way through winter all the way through the end of spring!

Let's go Sprint Car Racing!

Knoxville - Best Track In the USA!
Eldora - 2nd Best Track in the USA!