Oval track auto racing may have originated in the United States around the turn of the twentieth century. Distance endurance trials on oval tracks were making news as early as 1905, documenting a 52-second mile. A 1911 news report from Grand Rapids, Michigan warned spectators of the dangers of uncontrolled wrecks.
Oval tracks are classified based on size, surface, banking, and shape. Track size can range from a few hundred feet to over two and a half miles.
A short track is an oval track less than one mile long, with the majority being 0.5 miles or shorter. Drivers often begin their careers on short tracks before moving to series on larger tracks. These tracks are nicknamed "bullrings" due to their short length and fast action. Professional-level NASCAR races on short tracks usually use a 500-lap or 400-lap distance. Short tracks often have lights installed and routinely host night races, and still form the backbone of NASCAR’s feeder series. Six race tracks of this type are also represented in the top-level NASCAR Cup Series: Bowman Gray Stadium, Bristol, Iowa, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro and Richmond.
A 1-mile oval is a common length for oval track racing, though exact measurements can vary by as much as a tenth of a mile. Many 1-mile dirt ovals were used by stock cars or champ cars before dirt surfaces were removed from the racing calendar in the early 1970s, and often were nicknamed “Fairgrounds” tracks. The oldest oval race track, the Milwaukee Mile, was originally a horse racing track.
In NASCAR, 1-mile ovals are among the intermediate tracks, while IndyCar rates them as short ovals, generally not running on ovals shorter than 1 mile, with exceptions like Sanair, Richmond and Iowa. Many 1-mile ovals have lost importance for oval racing, with tracks like Chicago Motor Speedway and Walt Disney World Speedway being built during the 1990s construction boom but used for only four years. Nazareth Speedway was abandoned after the 2004 season. While many still exist, such as Rockingham Speedway and Pikes Peak International Raceway, they haven’t been used for nationally important motorsports events in years. Currently, only three 1-mile tracks remain on the NASCAR calendar: Phoenix, Loudon, and Dover. IndyCar returned to 1-mile oval racing with the addition of the Milwaukee Mile in 2024 after 9 years.
Also referred to as "speedways", these courses are 1 to 2 miles in length, but the term is particularly reserved for 1.5-mile tracks. Until 1990, there were only five intermediate tracks. Two, Marchbanks Speedway and Trenton Speedway, were demolished in the 1970s and 1980s, while Charlotte Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway have survived. Intermediate tracks built after 1994 were often labeled "cookie cutter" tracks due to their perceived minimal differences.
Charlotte became the first intermediate track to install lights for night racing in 1992, and it is now commonplace. These tracks usually have moderate to steep banking. Almost all modern race tracks used in NASCAR and IndyCar today are of this type. Their size allows them to compromise high speeds with sightlines, making tri- and quad-ovals of 1.5-mile length commonplace.
While designed primarily for stock cars, intermediate tracks were also thought to be suited to Indy cars. The IRL-type cars proved competitive, but the faster CART Champ Cars were considered too fast for this type of circuit, as demonstrated at the 2001 Firestone Firehawk 600 where drivers experienced vertigo-like symptoms and the race was cancelled. These tracks began to be removed from the Indy car schedule in the late-2000s and early-2010s due to low crowds and serious crashes, including the fatal accident involving Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas in 2011. As of 2025, the IndyCar Series abandoned all intermediates with the exception of Nashville Superspeedway for the season finale.
Originally, a superspeedway was an oval race track with a length of one mile or more. Now, a superspeedway is an oval race course of 2 miles or longer. Five active superspeedways exist in the United States, the most famous being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway, both 2.5 miles long. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built as a facility for the automotive industry to conduct research and development, while Daytona International Speedway replaced the Daytona Beach Road Course. Daytona hosts the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s most prestigious race, and Indianapolis hosts the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400.
Talladega Superspeedway, at 2.66 miles, holds the record for fastest speed in a stock car: lapping at 216.309 mph and reaching 228 mph. Texas World Speedway held Mario Andretti’s closed-course record of 214.158 mph. California Speedway saw Gil de Ferran’s qualifying lap of 241.428 mph.
Other superspeedways used by NASCAR include Michigan International Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Ontario Motor Speedway. Michigan Speedway, Texas World Speedway and the now-closed California Speedway are often considered intermediate tracks, while Indianapolis, Pocono and Ontario are classified separately. IndyCar no longer uses superspeedways outside of Indianapolis due to low spectator numbers or driver safety concerns. They remain essential to the NASCAR calendar.
Texas World Speedway and Ontario Motor Speedway were abolished by NASCAR and IndyCar in the 1980s, and California Speedway was closed and demolished in the 2020s. All other superspeedways are still open and used for racing.
A typical oval track consists of two parallel straights connected by two 180° turns. While many ovals generally have only two radii curves, they are usually labeled as four 90° turns. Asymmetrical tracks are not uncommon. Tri-ovals, common from the 1960s and 1990s construction booms, were conceived by Bill France Sr. during the planning for Daytona, offering fans a better view of the cars. Some tracks feature concentric oval tracks of different sizes, such as Ascot Speedway and Irwindale Speedway. Dover Speedway-Dover Downs features a one-mile oval encompassing a 0.625-mile harness racing track inside.
Oval tracks usually have slope in both straights and curves, but the slope on the straights is less. Low-slope tracks are usually old or small, while high banking is more common in new circuits. Milwaukee Mile and Indianapolis Motor Speedway have 9° banking, considered low, while Talladega has up to 33° and Daytona up to 32°, considered high. Atlanta has the highest banking of any intermediate track at 28°. Winchester has the highest banking of any active oval track with 37°.
Track surfaces can be dirt, concrete, or asphalt. Some tracks in the early twentieth century had wood surfaces. Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s track surface used to be made entirely of bricks, with 3 feet of original bricks remaining exposed at the start-finish line.
A combined road course links the oval track to a road course in the infield or outfield. This allows the facility to be used for both oval and road racing. A typical combined road course uses the oval’s start/finish line and pit area, with a diversion to a winding road circuit in the infield. Some tracks feature a chicane on long backstraights. The 24 Hours of Daytona has been continuously held on a combined road course since 1962. Since 2018, NASCAR has held the Bank of America Roval 400 on a combined course at Charlotte.
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