Why Ovals?

[dw5555]

Just out of curiosity why do you have an oval track vs a road track? Is it the type of cars you run?
Dave

[btaylor]

I cant speak for all dw, but Most have both. it's not really a vs. kinda thing. I have a large oval for those cars, and a pretty good size road course for all the rest. (and a hill climb). Its really just a matter of the space available to you, and your main interests.

Bob

[HomeRacingWorld]

Ditto.

I grew up racing on ovals. The cars, the people, it's what I knew.

So I built my oval first, but also a road course right next to it.

[pastor bubba]

I grew up going to the dirt tracks in Iowa. I love all the circle track cars with my favorite being the old coupes and late models. I had slot cars as a kid and had more of a road course set up, but I currently have a 1/32 oval track that I still need to find time to finish. I also have a 1/24 track that will make an oval out of as well as an oval ho track. Last month, I sold most of my non circle track cars off so that I can buy some parts to build more stock cars. Now I just need to find the time to get all of this done.

[strangebrew]

Here in the Midwest we have an abundance or dirt ovals & my dad started taking me there since I was
7 or 8...........I built and raced them for 28 yrs ............... It's what I know
There isn't a road course within hundreds of miles that I know of............
Besides I prefer wings & beer to wine & cheese any day :D :D

[bill from nh]

It has been my experience, mostly 1/24 scale, not only are the cars & their setups different, but your driving style changes when you go from road courses to ovals (& triovals) or vice versa. You need to drive ahead of your car on both styles of track. Most road courses I've run on have some number of straights & short chutes. When you develop a rhythm to drive these tracks, you quickly learn where on the track you can take a quick breath. On ovals, things happen so quickly that you need to be constantly aware of situations happening around the entire track. If you don't, you're apt to be mixed up in them in no time. I enjoy running on both styles of track layouts.

[Nor Cal Mike]

I agree with everything said thus far. I will add two more reasons.

1) Cool Cars! Oval racing has some outstanding looking cars from classic midgets & jalopies, sportsman and modern nascars, to modifieds of various forms. These are all highly accessible to the skills of the average modeler making scratch building a BIG part of the oval racing hobby.

2) Space. It takes a lot of space to house a road track but you can have a first class oval in a relatively small amount of space. Dinky road tracks do not look real but a small bullring looks as natural as apple pie. Ovals can easily be made portable, leaned against the wall or otherwise moved out of the way when not in use.

[strangebrew]

Oval racing is not as easy as assumed.......Especially when that guy is just a car length in front & you
think you need to outbrake him in the corner.
As said above, you have to really keep your head in the game,
distractions are all around you & you race the track more than the other guys........FUN :dance:

[nhdungeonracer]

Many good reasons already given. I went with the oval cuz it was sitting in my basement for a year and a half... :laughing-rolling:

I like all forms of racing, oval, roadcourse, drags, pulling, etc.. If it has 4 wheels and a motor and it raced, I'm interested (having said that, I despise street racing).
But if I have to pick a favorite, it would be oval racing type cars. More the local Saturday night short track variety rather than the big Nascar show.

I'll admit when racing by yourself, the roadcourse offers more of a challenge. But when you get 4 or more guys together on an oval, the action is pretty much non stop. There's more hootin and hollerin and laughing going on. Because an oval is typically smaller. you're always having to deal with the other drivers on the track. Because of that, the oval can be more exciting than a roadcourse.

:auto-checkeredflag:

[dw5555]

Thanks for the input guys. I definitely have more of an insight. I never saw the draw for running in circles but I've never driven one either. Doesn't matter how you race just have fun doing it.. :music-rockout:

Dave

[indybob007]

I am really wanting a Oval or Tri Oval 'which i think would be even better. But allmost all my cars are F1 or G1 G2 and prototype Lemans road cars. You think it would be stupid looking running these on a large oval. Indybob

[Nor Cal Mike]

Indybob, What you play with in the comfort of your own house isn't anybody else's business so it doesn't matter if I or someone else thinks it looks stupid. What you like is the only thing that matters. And hey, with a little imaginization, an F1 car can look alot like Indy car when it is rolling around the track.

One of my fastest oval cars that is a Snaptite Camaro model kit body on a Fly LeMans Prototype chassis with CB Design F1 wheels and Paul Gage tires. Another favorite of mine for ovals is the Artin chassis. Just last week, I bought three complete Artin cars on ebay for $12.50 plus about $7 bucks shipping. Grab yourself a chassis, find a body and start building.

[mrstumpyHO]

Okay, I'm "late to the game" here on Home Racing World, and trolling all the posts as I have time. I wish I'd been here earlier because I'm a confirmed oval guy!

My grandfather raced Big Cars (now called Sprint Cars) during the Great Depression. Mom liked auto racing but was scared when he drove. Well, it was a reasonably deadly sport then. She decreed that "My sons will never be part of automobile racing!" Grandpa and Dad took me to my first auto race (Midgets and Jalopies on a 1/4 mile dirt track) at age four. I loved it. Mom was NOT amused.

By my teen years, Mom had decreed "no son of mine will drive race cars." So of course I started racing Stock Cars under several assumed names at age 17. I drove mostly Stock Cars (dirt and asphalt) but also drove in two road course events and several "off road" races. I got pretty well "moneyed out" of racing my own car at age 23, and switched to building hot rods and show cars. In the meantime I stayed in racing as an official and then announcer for 39 years. During that time I worked local tracks and worked with a vintage dirt track racing association for 32 years. Over all this time, I've met a few of the "names" in oval racing and made a lot of good friends.

Of course we have winter here in Eastern Ohio, and I returned to slot cars and model building hobbies during the bad weather months.

I can definitely agree with the statement that racing on ovals isn't the easy thing many people think, and that includes in all scales, including 1/1th! I always felt that I was better on dirt than pavement, but had more success on asphalt for some reason. Even though both are oval tracks, they require a very different style. We used to say that; "Dirt is a game of feet, while pavement is a game of inches." Guys with a lot of dirt experience seem to be better on both, because dirt changes continuously and they have to adapt to different driving styles to remain quick. One of the best slot car racers I've run with still drives dirt track Sprint Cars at age fifty five, so that experience seems to carry over to slot car racing too!

God fast, turn left! :auto-checkeredflag:

Stumpy in Ahia :character-oldtimer:

[RazorJon]

I have both and when I am in the mood for some fast laps I always go to the oval :music-rockout:

[indybob007]

Yes I agree racing any type cars on ovals is fine. I do have many stock cars' will post pics later of my progress. Indybob