Down Hill Tracks
 

There was some discussion about tracks that are down hill in the tech section. Cecil County was mentioned and it is obviously down hill. Someone posted saying that they used Google Earth and it was 16 ft down. The other obvious one that comes to mind is Charlotte. Anyone got a figure on that one ?

What other tracks ? Down or up hill

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Byron, Il and Bandimere (Denver) "look" downhill, probably an Illusion, I heard old Green Valley in Texas was downhill AND short. Tri-State in Earlville, IA was constructed with NHRA allowable slope, they borrowed surveying equipment from me for layout.....also kinda interesting after Earnhardt wreck, I loaned Nikon instruments to U of Nebraska Roadside Safety for investigating (they developed the safer barriers now in use)

Of course I wanted to advertise that our instruments were used, but was told no.

I do know Topeka is uphill both directions!

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Maple Grove looks downhill. I don't know if Napierville is downhill or not but it's awfully fast. I'll go to my grave convinced that Connecticut Dragway was uphill.

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Bremerton out here in Washington is an airport runway track (unused) at the Municipal Airport. It's been operated as a dragstrip by the Handlers Racing Association since the early 50's.Continuously, I think. It makes a dive at the 1/8 mile mark but I have no data on that. The track switched from 1/4 mile to 1/8 mile in 2019. Some folks laughed but the big power SST and SC cars from Pacific started to show up.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Pomona - downhill.

Al Corda

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

I have an altimeter app on my phone along with a compass app. One of the things I do when I get to a track is check the compass heading for weather station setup and check the altitude at the start and finish line. All the stuff I have recorded is in the trailer and I don’t trust my memory enough to give numbers but there are some tracks that are definitely downhill. Mike McMahan 25 H/SA

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Oahe Speedway, 1% down hill. Built that way to NHRA spec.

#5458

Curt Rees

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Charlotte was built with the most allowable slope (according to what I've been told the NHRA "spec" is 1% for new tracks), so it should be right around 13 FT.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Is Las Vegas downhill at all, or does it just look that way because of the uphill shutdown area?

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Quaker City: Wildly wonky!

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Randall,
Green Valley looked pretty level to me back in the day, and was definitely not short! I raced there many times,in the 80's. The reason it was so fast in the spring of the year, was all of tree foliage (making all that oxygen) that surrounded that whole area. I set at least a couple of National records at that track, and won some pretty good races, with both the 283 & 327 in my 66 Chevy II 100 sedan. When running on that track my RPM was always 200-300 & 2-3 MPH higher than anywhere else, you can't do that on a short track! I loved that track, one of my favorite places to race, too bad that it is gone.
Eddie Rezac

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

I have been told that Byron is 16 feet lower at the top end too. I have raced there, and my slow junk was no faster there than anywhere else.

Vegas really looks downhill, I'm sure Bruton had it built with as much slope as he could to help ET's out in the desert.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Personally I like downhill staging lanes, like Reynolds. Us old guys need a break occasionally.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

If anyone is using google-altitude, it's just a local average and not accurate. My property has a bit of a valley in the back and my Bosch transit level says it's about a 16 ft drop. I had a link to a web site that doesn't exist anymore that gave an accurate altitude where it showed the 16 ft and would give me in fractions of an inch as I moved it down my driveway which has a gradual slope. Google shows my entire property as the same 562.2 ft wherever I move it. I checked a lot of tracks with the accurate site a few years ago, It showed Beaver uphill about 17-20 ft I think, but Numidia, Englishtown Atco, Leb Val, NE Dragway, Island and most NHRA tracks to be level within a few inches. It showed Miramichi Dragway Park, I think Cecil and Sacramento, CA to be downhill. I wish I could find an accurate site but can't seem to, the test is easy, my driveway.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Now that's a fact !! Crazy uphill!!! Want humbled, run your junk at Quaker !

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I was told that the starting line and finish line are level with one another at Quaker. The track goes downhill, but goes back up hill past the 1/8th mile for sure. Pretty much negates whatever you picked up in the first half.

I ran 154 and change there in a door car, never had to hang the laundry, and never wore out any brakes. Still one of my favorite shutdowns to cruise through...

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

mike what app do you use

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Im surprised Eddie or Randy didn't mention Kearney Raceway. It is uphill and then downhill.

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Back in the 60's Hallsville, Tx. was very downhill. I always ran more MPH there than any other track. Then you drove though sand to get to the return road. I guess the sand was to improve shutdown. The starting line was concrete and appeared to have been graded with a rake to make it rough. Personally I loved the track.

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I thought if you have a points race or national event you can't be more than 1% downhill. But I'm old and don't know much.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

In that thread I asked about Capitol in Maryland and never got an answer.


Stan

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

When NHRA ran points meets at Quaker,the indexs were adjusted..I think like 11.70=11.86 ..and 11.86 =12.02..Up up the hill for the burn out..Looking down the track it looks up hill,but I think it's just the shut down .

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Don't mind the downhill but the uphill staging lanes (Seattle comes to mind) wreaks havoc on us stick guys. I always have to have the wheel turned when I come to a stop (to get some wheel lock from the spool) so I don't roll back into somebody when restarting the car.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Jim, that was a nice thing about Eagle Motorplex in Ashcroft BC, the downhill staging lanes meant no starting the car or pushing it, once you got into the lanes. Bremerton does run downhill , but I think not until after the finish line.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Spokane and Boise also.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Coming back from INDY in 2004 we raced at Tri-State in Earlville.

I was going to visit my brother in Janesville, Wisconsin so I showed up a few days early to see about dropping our trailer. The rest of the crew headed out to the Field of Dreams.

I was met by the owner and invited it to drop the trailer and he gave me a guided tour in his Caprice with his puppy sitting on the back of the front seat.

What he told me was that the track was all concrete, family was in the business, Laser leveled and downhill 13' because NHRA gives you 1% (13.2') before a correction and sand blasted to rough it up. Still driving, we went up the shut off, down the return road and stopped in the level pit area. There was an uphill area to get to the staging lanes, because they ran downhill to the water boxes.

This is what you get when a plan for a racetrack comes together and it didn't hurt that they are a family of racers..

I love that place.....

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

Miramichi Dragway (New Brunswick Canada) really dives off around the 1/8, sitting on starting line you can't see finish line. Not sure what the elevation difference is from starting line to finish, just know its fast, a little better than Napierville.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

@ Renegade in central WA the track is within a foot but the shutdown area drops 6 ft. (By google earth)

The16 ft rise in the shutdown area @ Pacific I didn't really notice racing there, but watching the national event held there, on tv, the top end camera made it way more evident visually.

Re: Down Hill Tracks
 

boise, seattle, Medford, vegas, are not level!!

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I know the shutdown at Medford is uphill a fair bit, but is the 1/4 mile level? I certainly liked the downhill return road there, nice being able to coast back to the pits with the engine off, especially when it over 110 degrees in the summer!

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Bandimere Speedway has down hill staging, and an uphill shutdown area. However, I am not so sure about the track being anything other than level though.

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Using google earth again, I see roughly 6 feet in variation in the track and the shutdown rises 130 ft.

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Chris, we checked Miramichi last year, was at finish line 8' (i think) now until you turn off gauge just said cliff ahead lol and Bob you are correct Charlotte is max, 13.2 feet, 1% that NHRA allows.

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You might like the downhill return road at Medford but you better have headlights for night racing, it slaloms through the trees and it slopes off quickly if you happen to get off the pavement, very easy to high center with bad results. Also, there is a huge deer population at the top end, lots of collisions over the years. I remember a female motorcycle racer hit one at the top end and ended up with a broken arm.

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If you stand at the starting line at Fontana and watch the car go down the track it will actually disappear kinda like a over the horizon type deal. the 1/4 is uphill and shutdown is downhill?

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My old stomping grounds......couldn't see the stripe till going over the rise, LOL....Lots of MPH up there!!

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I can see the finish from the start. :rolleyes: My problems start just before I get there!! :o