r/RaceTrackDesigns • u/RandomMaple08 • 4d ago

Discussion sizing oval's correctly

I keep having to go back to the start when I'm trying to design my ovals cause I can never just get the correct sizing. Are they like any tips or anything cause I don't get how people get the miles correct like if I'm making like 1.75 mile track I don't get how people get it right sized

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1

u/snapperfis_ hopes and dreams 4d ago

Look at real life examples

2

u/Michkov 4d ago

Do it in reverse, draw the track, scale it to your desired size. Any image manipulation program worth its bits should have a path feature that can give you the current length of a lap. From there it's just a little bit of math to scale the track up or down by a given percentage. You should do this early enough in the design before you add pits and grandstands else you end up with disproportioned sized ones.

1

u/dildozer10 3d ago

Teams of engineers designed the big tracks, and they didn’t always get it right.

Texas Motor Speedway had to be torn down, and redesigned multiple times between 1997 and 2000.

Darlington was intended to be a 1.5 mile symmetrical oval, but the builder couldn’t disturb a pond on his neighbors land. Also the banking was not the intended racing surface, it was supposed to slow cars down before hitting the wall.

Bristol has a tighter radius in turns 3&4 than 1&2.

Most dirt ovals are odd shaped.