NASCAR Tracks: Road Courses

Road courses offer yet another unique style of racing in the NASCAR racing series. There are only two road course races on the 36 race schedule. These tracks are often favored by many drivers who raced in previous circuits before entering their NASCAR careers. The courses are extremely unique and require that drivers pay extra attention to their car throughout the races.

Probably the most prominent issue at a road course is the fact that drivers are both riding their brakes extremely hard. Drivers have to be extremely conscious to this and balance both the speed at which they are racing and the amount of braking that speed requires into corners. It is extremely easy for a driver to drive their car to hard during a race and make both their tires and brakes overheat.

Another issue at road courses which often has great influence on determining the winner is how good of gas mileage the driver is getting. Drivers have to play a very strategic game on fuel mileage and when they decide to pit during a race to refuel. If a driver pits at the wrong time, he may find himself without fuel with only a few laps to go, even if he has the best car. Since road courses are so long, fuel mileage often plays a great role in the race. It is much harder to determine exactly how much gas a driver is using since he is constantly going different speeds as he is stopping and slowing down constantly.

Tires are often a concern at road courses as well. Since the car is turning in both directions the drivers are wearing out their tires differently then they are used to. This causes the car to drive differently then it does on an oval track. Often drivers get confused about how the car is handling and begin shifting into the wrong gears which sometimes causes them to throw out their transmission, ruining their day.

Road courses are an exciting and unique race during the NASCAR season. They are a wild card race and can always throw a radical change in the points. Some drivers have to work harder at other race tracks in case they finish badly, while others rely on road courses to boost their momentum. Either way, drivers are always driving aggressively and their lack of practice on road courses always makes the race interesting!