Ideal size for a dirt track?

[EDERDS]

I personally love the quarter mile tracks and anything larger than 3/8 is pretty blah to me.

[Action10]

Depends on banking, type of dirt, that type of thing. Terre Haute and Eldora are both half mile tracks, but they are completely different.

[nc mudcat]

my favorites are generally 3/8, but my favorite dirt track, bar none, is the big half mile at Wytheville.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

3/10s. Progressive banking. Keep the cushion cut off of it.

[Highside Hustler25]

Bullring fan myself. 1/4 mile generally. And you can mix in a occasional 1/5 miler like Macon. Out of all the races over the years, I've never been to a bad race at Macon.

[50Dixon50]

My favorite is 1/3 with some banking or a quarter 1/4

[TerryM]

Nothing smaller than 1/4 or bigger than a 1/2. Otherwise, it’s all about surface, banking and track prep.

[johnE]

1/4. Cars maintain close contact. Safer at lower speeds.

[Jed]

I enjoy everything from Macon to Eldora. Having a variety of track sizes is a good thing. Of course, the larger tracks probably aren’t good for weekly racing.

[TBSprintFan]

1/4 to 3/8's. Anything bigger and the cars get too spread apart.

[3 wide]

High banked 1/4 mile or slightly larger worked track like Tri state in Indiana.

[buster83]

4/10 favorite size.

[Slideways]

I think 3/8ths or 4/10ths seem to produce better racing.

[chathamracefan]

Typically 3/8 or smaller. Although Knoxville and Eldora produce great action and are bigger tracks.

[CIRF]

For dirt late models the smaller the better. Makes for much more beatin', bangin' and wreckin' one another and that's half the show at a dirt late model event. The occasional dust up in the pits afterward is another benefit of the bullrings. The longer/faster tracks present a higher possibility of injury and guys are more reluctant to mix it up and get rough.

[JimBo]

For dirt late models the smaller, the better. Makes for much more beatin', bangin' and wreckin' one another and that's half the show at a dirt late model event. The occasional dust up in the pits afterward is another benefit of the bullrings. The longer/faster tracks present a higher possibility of injury and guys are more reluctant to mix it up and get rough.

Yeah the smaller, the better for Late Models. But I do like the speed associated with the 1/2 mile tracks, the racing is just not as close.

[Hoosier_Dirt]

1/4 to 3/8 seems to produce the best racing.

[NorthAlabama]

The question should be what track for what driver with their pay scale, and the track's ratios (banking, shape, surface, width and length) which I think there is a formula for what max speed it can handle. Some tracks are not for SLMs accidently by first design, but noticed some tracks have changed the design over time and now can handle the SLMs better. The big boys have big money motors for speed, so a wide large 1/2 mile track for them, for they are to chicken to get in a bull ring because their big money motor will not always win it for them. I noticed that some pro drivers will not return to some of the small bumper tracks around here, that one time was enough for them, or was it the bad tasting chicken feed that they tried to feed the drivers.

[DennisErbFan]

1/4 mile bullring 100%

[Morgs153]

Almost always the best actual races I've seen for super late models have been on 1/3 or 3/8 mile tracks. Now I've seen great races at Eldora and Knoxville as well. Knoxville just seems to have a surface delivered from the heavens as far as holding moisture and delivering a great race.

The big thing is not always the size of the track, it is things like: the surface quality, the prep, the suite of equipment the track has on hand for "farming", and the knowledge of the prep crew for delivering a lasting racy surface.

Today's modern late model has almost outgrown the half mile track, so to speak. They go dang fast on the big halfs but, sometimes it seems like you're watching a high speed car show because they run from the front row, string out, and don't pass much.

I recently attended two nights of WoOLMs at Mississippi Thunder Speedway. It was a great show on both nights and it was in large part because of the amount of work they put into the track before and during the event. MTS is a high banked 3/8 and the racing was fantastic in both the LMs and the USRA mods. The size and configuration of the track promoted great on-track action but the care and commitment that the people who run the facility put into keeping the track "in shape" made it so. MTS has their act together.

Cedar Lake is another track I love to go to and it is in large part for the same reasons. They have a bunch of equipment to do the necessary work and they know how to deliver a good race track.

Look, you could go to a bullring with a sandy, dusty clay and see a stinker of a show if all they have is a seldom used water truck and an old road grader. You could go to a bigger track and see a great show if they have the surface, equipment, time management, and people to get the track right. There are variables involved that make it more than just the size/banking of the track alone. However, with that being said - I think the advantage tilts toward the bullring tracks for better on-track action with today's HP, suspension, and especially aero packages.