What Is the Slope of Nascar Tracks

Accupredict

Flat Tracks

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Martinsville Speedway
Nashville Superspeedway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Phoenix Raceway
Pocono Raceway
Richmond Raceway

The 'Flat' NASCAR tracks are Indianapolis, Martinsville, Nashville, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Pocono and Richmond. Indianapolis and Pocono were originally grouped as 'Shallow' Tracks. But, the pair provided little statistical data at only three races per year. Therefore, they were grouped into the 'Flat' Tracks category. As a result, the results for eight-race averages show improvement in all Flat Track correlations. Pocono in particular is better correlated with this grouping of Flat Tracks.

Accupredict 'Flat' Group

Accupredict

Large Oval Tracks

Atlanta Motor Speedway
Auto Club Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway
Kansas Speedway
Kentucky Speedway
Michigan International Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway

The 'Large Oval' NASCAR tracks are Atlanta, California, Charlotte, Chicago, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and Texas. This grouping of tracks show a fairly tight clustering of the curves and improved correlations for each of the member tracks with average finishes over other groupings these tracks get placed in.

Accupredict 'Large Oval' Group

Accupredict

Restrictor Plate Tracks

Daytona International Speedway
Talladega Superspeedway

The 'Tapered Spacer' (aka 'Restrictor Plate') NASCAR tracks are Daytona and Talladega. The restrictor plate is gone, but the combination of tapered spacer, larger spoiler, larger splitter and aero ducts give us the same close pack racing.

Accupredict 'Restrictor Plate' Group

Accupredict

Road Course Tracks

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Circuit of the Americas
Daytona Road Course
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Mid Ohio Sports Car Course
Road America
Sonoma Raceway
Watkins Glen International

The 'Road Course' NASCAR tracks are unique from all other tracks as well as each other. Still, we choose to group them together for statistical comparisons.

Accupredict 'Road Course' Group

Accupredict

Steep Tracks

Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt)
Darlington Raceway
Dover International Speedway
Homestead Miami Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway

The 'Steep' NASCAR tracks are Bristol, Bristol (Dirt), Darlington, Dover, Homestead-Miami and Las Vegas.

Accupredict 'Steep' Group

Granular

High Speed / Technical RC

Watkins Glen International

FRCS

Granular

High Speed RC

Mid Ohio Sports Car Course
Road America

FRCS

Granular

Non-Technical RC

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Daytona Road Course
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

FRCS

Granular

Technical RC

Circuit of the Americas
Sonoma Raceway

FRCS

Primary Similar Tracks

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Auto Club Speedway
Darlington Raceway
Homestead Miami Speedway

Track Type: 1.5 mile High Tire Wear Intermediate

Track Note: Atlanta is a D-shaped oval where tires wear out extremely quick.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Auto Club Speedway

Darlington Raceway
Homestead Miami Speedway
Michigan International Speedway

Track Type: 2.0 mile High Tire Wear Intermediate

Track Note: Auto Club is a two-mile oval like Michigan, but the track surface is very different. Tire-wear is a big factor at this venue.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Bristol Motor Speedway

No true similar track, study Bristol Motor Speedway as a unique track.

Track Type: Short

Track Note: Study Bristol as a unique track.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt)

No true similar track, study Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt) as a unique track.

Track Type: Short

Track Note: First dirt race by NASCAR's premiere series since 1970. View it as unique, and don't count on "Bristol Not-Dirt" to have a lot of correlation.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Kansas Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway

Track Type: 1.5 mile Intermediate

Track Note: Charlotte is a D-shaped oval like Atlanta and Texas. At Atlanta tire wear is extreme and at Texas it's minimal. Charlotte is in the middle of the tire wear spectrum.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

Daytona Road Course
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

Track Type: Road Course

Track Note: Among the road courses, focus on studying "Rovals" for fantasy preparation but don't neglect overall road course racing prowess.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Circuit of the Americas

Road America
Sonoma Raceway
Watkins Glen International

Track Type: Road Course

Track Note: Make sure you study drivers overall road course racing prowess.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Darlington Raceway

No true similar track, study Darlington Raceway as a unique track.

Track Type: Skill Intermediate

Track Note: Study Darlington as a unique track.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Daytona International Speedway

Talladega Superspeedway

Track Type: Plate

Track Note: Daytona and Talladega are plate tracks but they race differently. Daytona is much more narrow and Talladega is a lot wider.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Daytona Road Course

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

Track Type: Road Course

Track Note: For fantasy preparation for the Daytona Road Course I would focus on Rovals, but make sure you don't overlook overall road course racing prowess.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Dover International Speedway

No true similar track, study Dover International Speedway as a unique track.

Track Type: Skill Intermediate

Track Note: Study Dover as a unique track. If you want to make a stretch you can say it's similar to Darlington and Bristol.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Homestead Miami Speedway

Auto Club Speedway
Darlington Raceway

Track Type: 1.5 mile High Tire Wear Intermediate

Track Note: Homestead is the most symmetrical 1.5 mile track on the schedule. What makes it a primary similar track to Atlanta and other venues listed is that tire wear is extreme.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Pocono Raceway

Track Type: Big Flat

Track Note: Pocono and Indy are the two big flat tracks on the schedule. I include Auto Club and Michigan as secondary similar tracks because big horse power is key here, and it's also extremely important at those two venues.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Daytona Road Course

Track Type: Road Course

Track Note: I think Roval's in particular will likely have the highest level of correlation among the road courses.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Kansas Speedway

Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Michigan International Speedway

Track Type: 1.5 mile Intermediate

Track Note: I view Kansas as sort of a "mini-Michigan."

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Primary Similar Tracks

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Kansas Speedway

Track Type: 1.5 mile Intermediate

Track Note: Las Vegas is an intermediate track where historically tire-wear hasn't proven to be a huge issue. Track position is very important here.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Martinsville Speedway

No true similar track, study Martinsville Speedway as a unique track.

Track Type: Short

Track Note: Study Martinsville as a unique track. It's not comparable to any other track on the schedule.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Michigan International Speedway

Auto Club Speedway
Kansas Speedway

Track Type: 2.0 mile Intermediate

Track Note: To prepare for Michigan study Kansas. It can be viewed as a "Mini-Michigan."

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Primary Similar Tracks

Nashville Superspeedway

No true similar track, study Nashville Superspeedway as a unique track.

Track Type: 1.33 mile Concrete Flat Intermediate

Track Note: Treat it as a 1.5 mile track, but take note it's concrete which in theory means track conditions will have a bigger swing in the race then other 1.5's.

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Primary Similar Tracks

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Phoenix Raceway
Richmond Raceway

Track Type: Shorter Flat

Track Note: For fantasy preparation for New Hampshire, make sure you study how drivers performed at Richmond and Phoenix.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Phoenix Raceway

New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Richmond Raceway

Track Type: Shorter Flat

Track Note: New Hampshire and Richmond are two shorter-flat tracks where the level of correlation should be high. I view Phoenix as sort of a reverse Richmond.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Pocono Raceway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Track Type: Big Flat

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Primary Similar Tracks

Richmond Raceway

New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Phoenix Raceway

Track Type: Shorter Flat / Short

Track Note: New Hampshire and Phoenix are the two shorter-flat tracks where the level of correlation should be high. I view Richmond as sort of a reverse Phoenix.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Road America

Circuit of the Americas
Sonoma Raceway
Watkins Glen International

Track Type: Road Course

Track Note: I would focus on studying non-rovals, but don't neglect overall road course racing prowess.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Sonoma Raceway

Circuit of the Americas
Road America

Track Type: Road Course

Track Note: Sonoma is a very technical road course. Don't neglect studying overall road course racing prowess.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Talladega Superspeedway

Daytona International Speedway

Track Type: Plate

Track Note: Daytona and Talladega are plate tracks but they race differently. Daytona is much more narrow and Talladega is a lot wider.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Texas Motor Speedway

Charlotte Motor Speedway
Kansas Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Track Type: 1.5 mile Intermediate

Track Note: Texas was newly repaved for 2017. Prior races should no longer be considered relevant.

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Primary Similar Tracks

Watkins Glen International

Circuit of the Americas
Road America
Sonoma Raceway

Track Type: Road Course

Track Note: Watkins Glen is largely a unique track. Study overall road course racing prowess.

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Length

Dirt Track

Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt)

DriverAverages

Length

Road Course Track

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Circuit of the Americas
Daytona Road Course
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Mid Ohio Sports Car Course
Road America
Sonoma Raceway
Watkins Glen International

DriverAverages

Length

Short Track

Bristol Motor Speedway
Martinsville Speedway
Richmond Raceway

DriverAverages

Length

Superspeedway Track

Daytona International Speedway
Talladega Superspeedway

DriverAverages

Common Type

Road Course Track

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Circuit of the Americas
Daytona Road Course
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Mid Ohio Sports Car Course
Road America
Sonoma Raceway
Watkins Glen International

Road course tracks are not typical ovals. In fact, they aren't ovals at all. Road courses add right turns into the mix, with longer courses that often wind through the surrounding scenery. Circuit of The Americas, Road America, Watkins Glen and Sonoma are the road courses the Cup Series currently visits. The Charlotte Roval and Indianapolis Road Course are a combination road course/oval track.

NASCAR Grouping by Track Size

Common Type

Short Track

Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt)
Darlington Raceway
Dover International Speedway
Martinsville Speedway
Nashville Superspeedway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Phoenix Raceway
Richmond Raceway

Short tracks are less than 1 mile in length – count Martinsville Speedway (.526 miles), Bristol Motor Speedway (.533 miles) and Richmond Raceway (.75 miles) in that category for the Cup Series.

NASCAR Grouping by Track Size

Common Type

Speedway Track

Atlanta Motor Speedway
Auto Club Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway
Homestead Miami Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Kansas Speedway
Kentucky Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Michigan International Speedway
Pocono Raceway
Texas Motor Speedway

Speedway or Intermediate tracks make up the bulk of the NASCAR schedule. Those are defined by any track greater than one mile in length, with the exception of both Daytona and Talladega.

NASCAR Grouping by Track Size

Common Type

Superspeedway Track

Daytona International Speedway
Talladega Superspeedway

Daytona International Speedway (2.5 miles) and Talladega Superspeedway (2.66 miles) are the only two tracks NASCAR defines as "superspeedways." Both are humungous ovals, and both have used restrictor plates in the past (and currently tapered spacers) to keep the speed of the car in check.

NASCAR Grouping by Track Size

Common Shape

D-shaped oval Track

Auto Club Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway
Kansas Speedway
Kentucky Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Michigan International Speedway
Richmond Raceway

A variation of tri-oval is the "D-shaped oval". Similar to a tri-oval, a D-shaped oval has a straight backstretch, but a long, sweeping frontstretch, giving the circuit a layout resembling the letter D