OVAL TRACK

An 'oval track' is a dedicated motorsport circuit, primarily in the USA, which differs from a road course in that it only has turns in one direction, which is almost universally left. Oval tracks often have banked turns as well. Despite the name, tracks do not have to be precisely oval, such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to be classed as oval tracks. A good example is the Pocono Raceway, which has a triangular shape with rounded corners. Ovals are not always symetrical in shape.

Track surfaces can be dirt, concrete, asphalt, or a combination of concrete and asphalt. Some ovals in the early twentieth century had wood surfaces.
The racing held on these tracks is referred to as 'oval racing', and is a type of motorsport, primarily American, that involves running multiple cars wheel-to-wheel in a race around the track.
Major forms of oval racing include stock car racing, sprint car racing, and the form of open-wheel racing currently sponsored by the Indy Racing League or IRL.
For many years the premiere oval race in the United States was the Indianapolis 500 (an open wheel race), but among some pundits this has been largely superseded by the Daytona 500 (a stock car race).

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See also

See also

★ Short track motor racing

★ Dirt track racing

★ Board track racing

★ Roval

★ Road racing

★ Drag strip