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I have been thinking a long time about building an oval track to replace my roadcourse. Since most of the cars I build seem to be oval track racers, it seems like a good idea. But I'm a bit nervous about giving up my 62 foot roadcourse for what would be a much shorter and faster oval. So my question is: what is it about an oval track that is so appealing? Is it the strategy of when to pass? Or does all the action stay pretty close together?

Best regards to all,
Kemtronracer

The types of cars are part of it. I grew up working on these types of cars, so I enjoy building and racing them in scale.

The action is simple and fun. We get good door to door action in the corners along with some "rubbin". Going 4 wide into the corner and trying to navigate through it without giving (or receiving) too much chrome horn is a ball.

I suppose you need to appreciate and enjoy the genre of oval racing and the cars that race on them. I wouldn't race GT or road course cars on it and have near the fun.

:twocents-mytwocents:

If you have others to race with great, if not keep your road course. How about building an oval you take down when you finish racing?

On HRW, PM Stingray Racing. Rocky has a huge oval, that he currently uses, but for years we enjoyed running on his small oval that folded down from the wall over his road course. It is a slick operation, and you may get some inspiration from him. Besides, he's a good guy and full of good advice.

Much of my road course & oval racing experience has been done on commercial tracks with 1/24 flexi cars. I found that when road racing, you get to relax & take a breath while on the straights. On an oval, lap times are so fast, you have your hands full all the time & you better be aware of what's happening all around the track. I enjoy both types of racing.

Oval racing slot cars is probably the most intense form of slot car racing you could ever participate in.

There is a place in Florida, The Raceway, that has a 56 foot per lap 8 lane commerical oval. It is called "The Phoenix" as it is shaped like Phoenix International Raceway. We have raced 1/24th scale cars on there for many years - FCR, Womp, Modifieds, 4 inch NASCAR, 4.5 inch NASCAR, you name it. It is always fun and lots of it.

I think the same concept applies here as it does at places like Martinsville. It is the 'Great Equalizer' when it comes to racing. Just about everybody is competitive. It all comes down to driving, being patient and picking your places to pass.

I am planning to put a small 1/43rd oval in my slot car room soon.

Lots of fun!

TRAILER RACING

And thats all I got to say about that
Lt Dan Lt Dan you got new legs Lt Dan

Thanks for all the responses so far; please keep them coming. For those suggesting I build the oval as a second track, I simply don't have the room for a second track; plus, I have a wife, so I must tread carefully in this endeavor.

Thanks again,
Kemtronracer

When you run slot cars on a road course, much of the racing is trying to run a faster lap than the other guy, you are racing the track as much as the other cars on the track. With an oval, the simple track lets you concentrate on racing the other cars on the track, it becomes much more about racing against the other car/driver and much less about "racing against the track and time". Also ovals are generally smaller than road tracks so the racing is closer physically since there is "less track" in proportion to each car, lapped traffic becomes much more a factor.

TOJ

Isn't it something to do with scale "atmosphere."

This is quite independent of the actual scale(1/24, 1/32,1/43 or whatever).

What I mean is that however beautiful the craftsmanship, you can't actually replicate the atmosphere of a road track or a Grand Prix track in model form.

Even if you wanted to only see the cars every 20 minutes or so, you'd need the space of an aeroplane hangar to build a truly scale model circuit.

You could build a truly scale 1/2 mile oval in a space 20feet long, but the beauty of an oval is that you don't need to, and you can have exciting racing on a track on an 8x4, even in 1/32.

I think it's because if you are a spectator at oval racing ,you can see all the action all the time, and this excitement translates directly even to an "underscale" model.

Also, an awful lot of oval racing cars are within the reach of ordinary guys,(and gals - to avoid giving offence!), rather than the mega-wealthy, and corporate plutocrats.



That's my two penn'orth of navel-gazing, anyway.

David.

I have both road and oval tracks. I wouldn't want to have to choose between one or the other. I kit bash slot cars a lot and oval cars suit that well. I am also partial Trans Am & Can Am racing and I couldn't do that without a road track. If your space is tight, I suggest building an oval with a road track in the middle. You can use the oval as part of the track similar to Daytona. That way you don't have to miss out on either kind of racing. I have built two tracks that way and they were great.

Hi
I like both . I prefer Ovals because that is the Cars I Love Muscle , Nascar , classic Nascar . I agree with previous statement if you dont have people to race against keep roadcourse. I also wanted to say that you can do a ROVAL where Oval on outside and take few pieces in or out will make into whichever you want ? a Thought . Butterbean

It is possible to have a oval and a roadcourse in the same space...

This track below is 16' long by 6' wide. Here it is shown in the oval configuration. Coming out of turn 4 (lower right), there is a 4' section that is removable and is replaced with another section that steers cars into the center section, giving a roadcourse feeling.

I have to agree with Nor Cal Mike I also have a roadcoarse and oval, there is absolutly now way I could pick between them. But if it came down to one track only I would have to go with the oval, a) this track sees more action because it's fun to race on b) it's wood (need I say more) c) it takes much less space but still provides a huge fun factor! On a side note it took a longe time thinking about building the oval because of the space in the room I had to work with. When I got rid of some stuff and moved some other stuff around I ended up with a small area for the oval. It's only 3.5 X 11 with 4 lanes for 1/32 cars, a tight little bullring. Yes it is small but I would put it up against a larger track any day of the week for the fun factor, what a hoot! In one night of running(about 2 to 3 hours) Conrad stayed to add a few laps on a couple of lanes just so we could say we ran 4000 laps that night, the most the track has ever seen at one time. All I can say is if it is possible do it I wish I had sooner than I did. :banana-rock: :banana-rock: :banana-rock: :banana-rock: :banana-rock: