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LIVE: Dollar Tree 301 Stage 3 · Berry leads Wallace & Preece · ~102 laps to go at LoudonLARSON P4 · 1 lap down · Stage 1 winner · 18 laps led · pitted from the lead lap 84STAGE WINS: Larson Stage 1 · Blaney Stage 2 · Chastain DNF, out of the Chase⚡ POINTS LEADER: Denny Hamlin — 969 pts; Blaney 2nd at 854 after Richmond🔴 LIVE DESK on nascarobsessed.macaly.app · next Chase race is Daytona SaturdayLIVE: Dollar Tree 301 Stage 3 · Berry leads Wallace & Preece · ~102 laps to go at LoudonLARSON P4 · 1 lap down · Stage 1 winner · 18 laps led · pitted from the lead lap 84STAGE WINS: Larson Stage 1 · Blaney Stage 2 · Chastain DNF, out of the Chase⚡ POINTS LEADER: Denny Hamlin — 969 pts; Blaney 2nd at 854 after Richmond🔴 LIVE DESK on nascarobsessed.macaly.app · next Chase race is Daytona Saturday
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Field guide · Cup circuit geography

TRACKTYPES

Not every oval races the same. Short tracks reward elbows; intermediates reward clean air; superspeedways reward the draft; road courses reward brakes and bravery. Here’s how each category is built — and how pit strategy changes with the asphalt.

Short TracksFlat MilesIntermediatesSuperspeedwaysRoad CoursesPit Strategy Calc →

Visual scale

Relative size by track type

Shapes are simplified silhouettes · sized by typical length

SHORT TRACKS~0.6 MI TYP.FLAT MILES~1.1 MI TYP.INTERMEDIATES~1.5 MI TYP.SUPERSPEEDWAYS~2.6 MI TYP.ROAD COURSES~2.2 MI TYP.
Short tracks pack the most lap traffic per mile. Superspeedways are enormous draft bowls. Road courses look smaller in “oval radius” but run a longer timed distance with lefts and rights. Phoenix’s dogleg silhouette is called out separately from pure short ovals.

Next up · Magic Mile

New Hampshire Motor Speedway — the “Magic Mile” in Loudon — is a 1.058-mile flat oval with progressive corner banking (about 2–7°) and nearly flat 1,500-ft straights. Cup races 301 laps here (Dollar Tree 301). Passing is tough, track position rules, and long green runs chew the right-front. Model it under Flat Mile in the Pit Strategy Calculator.

Phoenix caveat

Phoenix Raceway is often labeled a short track on broadcasts because the racing is tight and physical — but at a full mile with a dogleg, it drives like its own category. On this site we list it under Flat Miles while calling out the short-track nickname so both mental models stick.

Category 01

Short Tracks

Beating and banging under the lights

About 0.5 – 0.75 miles

Banking & layout

Can be flat and paper-clipped (Martinsville) or steep and washing-machine violent (Bristol). Richmond sits in the middle — a 0.75-mile “paperclip” with progressive banking.

What the racing looks like

Door-to-door contact is part of the language. Tracks are tight, restarts shuffle the deck, long runs reward tire management, and one bad shove can put you in the fence. Drivers work the bottom, middle, and top lanes as the surface gums up or cools off.

Pit strategy difference

Tire-deg driven. Soft surfaces and high loads shred right-sides; the square-root stint math in the Pit Strategy Calculator was basically built for these places. Long green runs force you off sequence if you dig too deep early.

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Example tracks

  • Richmond Raceway

    0.75 mi

    D-shaped short track

  • Martinsville Speedway

    0.526 mi

    Paperclip · concrete corners

  • Bristol Motor Speedway

    0.533 mi

    High banks · “The Last Great Colosseum”

Category 02

Flat Miles

One mile of mechanical grip — Magic Mile & dogleg

Roughly 1.0 – 1.06 miles

Banking & layout

Low banking and long straights put the load on chassis balance more than sheer grip from the banking. New Hampshire’s “Magic Mile” corners build from about 2–7° with nearly flat straights; Phoenix’s trademark dogleg bends the backstretch into a unique line few other ovals offer.

What the racing looks like

More about precision than pure aggression. Track position is gold — passing is hard on flat miles, so clean air and a balanced car mean everything. At Loudon, long tight corners and an abrasive surface punish over-driving entry; at Phoenix, who rotates through the dogleg separates heavy hitters from the pack. TV often groups these with “short tracks” because the racing is tight and physical — even though a full mile is larger than Bristol or Martinsville.

Pit strategy difference

Still tire-deg first, with a melt between short-track violence and intermediate calm. Right-front heat builds on long green runs at Loudon; restart zones and late cycles reward clean pit road and frozen track position. Model New Hampshire (Dollar Tree 301 — 301 laps) or Phoenix under Flat Mile presets in the calculator.

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Example tracks

  • New Hampshire Motor Speedway

    1.058 mi

    “Magic Mile” · Loudon, NH · next Cup stop

  • Phoenix Raceway

    1 mi

    Unique dogleg · often called a short track on TV

Category 03

Intermediates

1.5-mile aero chess

Typically 1.5 miles (a few stretch longer)

Banking & layout

Moderate-to-high banking on wide, multi-groove ovals. The classic “cookie cutter” 1.5-mile shape (Charlotte, Kansas, Las Vegas, Texas, Homestead-Miami) dominates the schedule.

What the racing looks like

Aero racing rules the conversation — clean air is gold, dirty air kills the nose, and long runs sort cars by speed more than scrap. When the surface grips up, multiple lanes open; when it doesn’t, it’s single-file survival for second.

Pit strategy difference

Track position is everything. Teams leach for stages, undercut on caution, and often chase “kilometer” green-flag cycles where being first off pit road beats a slightly longer run. Tire deg still exists, but less violently than short tracks.

Open Pit Strategy Calculator

Example tracks

  • Charlotte Motor Speedway

    1.5 mi

  • Kansas Speedway

    1.5 mi

  • Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    1.5 mi

  • Texas Motor Speedway

    1.5 mi

  • Homestead-Miami Speedway

    1.5 mi

Category 04

Superspeedways

Pack drafting at 200 mph

2.5 – 2.66+ miles

Banking & layout

Massive, high-banked tri-ovals. Daytona (2.5 mi) and Talladega (2.66 mi) tower over the rest of the circuit — acres of asphalt and nothing but momentum.

What the racing looks like

Pack drafting. Restrictor-era / tapered-spacer racing keeps cars bunched; the draft pulls trains forward and shoves wrecks into multi-car “Big Ones.” Winning is as much about allies and timing the last push as pure car speed.

Pit strategy difference

Fuel-window first. Tire deg is tiny; the tank (and stage breaks / cautions) set the stop count. Flip the Pit Strategy Calculator to Superspeedway for fuel-window mode and a laps-per-tank board.

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Example tracks

  • Daytona International Speedway

    2.5 mi

    2.5-mile tri-oval

  • Talladega Superspeedway

    2.66 mi

    Longest oval in NASCAR

Category 05

Road Courses

Brakes, gears, and right turns

About 2.0 – 3.4 miles of twists

Banking & layout

Not about banking — elevation, curbing, and corner complexes. Permanent road courses with left and right turns, heavy braking zones, and long flowing sweeper sections.

What the racing looks like

Road-course specialists shine. Passing happens into slow corners after long straights; mistakes on curbs spit you into gravel. Strategy mixes hard tire picks, short-fill calls, and sometimes overtime chaos under lights or weather.

Pit strategy difference

Tires still matter (especially how the right-sides / left-sides wear on clockwise vs. counter-clockwise layouts), but fuel windows, undercuts, and scrambling for clean air after a slow pit stall often matter more than pure oval stint math. Use the calculator as a starting point, then layer road-course stage timing.

Open Pit Strategy Calculator

Example tracks

  • Circuit of the Americas (COTA)

    3.41 mi

    Austin · F1-style layout

  • Watkins Glen International

    2.45 mi

    The Glen

  • Sonoma Raceway

    1.99 mi

    Natural terrain · wine country

Next lap

Put the theory on a stint board

Load a track preset, scrub tire deg vs. pit loss, or flip into fuel-window mode for Daytona and Talladega.

Pit Strategy Calculator →NASCAR for Beginners
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