Design Your Own Race Course III: A Course in Every State and US Territory

That's right, we're going to try and design a road course in Every state.

Alabama

Located just three miles west of Fort McClellan. A nearly 3.5 mile, 20-turn monster.

Alaska

Designed along the runways of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. 4.4+ miles, roughly 18 turns. I don't know if we'll see a track this long again.

American Samoa

The airport of American Samoa is actually built on man-made peninsulas going out into the ocean. This is perfect for a race course. The 3.74 mile course looks very simple, but its 11 turns can be deceptively tricky. A good course for overtaking.

Arizona

I'll confess, it's harder than you think to find a place to design a track in Arizona. We found a spot for this 18-turn, 1.5 mile course to the southeast of Tuscon.

Arkansas

So there's this field about 30 miles south of Pine Bluff. Good place for a 1.97 mile, 16 turn road course.

California

The Pacific Coast along northern California was begging for a road course. We deliver. This 3.02 mile, 16-turn course has a Shangai-esque straight that measures nearly three-quarters of a mile.

Colorado

The first "Figure 8" track we've designed. This 2.25 miles, 18 turn track uses an existing bridge. It's located just outside Colorado Springs.

Connecticut

Connecticut is another of those states in which it is difficult to design a track.

Delaware

This track is designed just outside the small town of Farmington. It comes in at 2.54 miles and 19 turns, with one incredibly sharp hair pin.

District of Columbia

The Nation's Capital course is a 2.8 mile, 16-turn street circuit blazing through the National Mall and around the Washington Monument.

Florida

The 2.1 mile, 20+ turn track outside Tallahassee seems a good place. Sure Florida has Homestead, Sebring, and the Streets of St. Pete.

Georgia

There's a field outside Maysville, GA that holds a rather Bahrainesque track. This tracks comes in at 20-turns and 2.01 miles.

Guam

The small island nation of Guam gets a race course right by the sea. This 17-turn, 2.95 mile course slopes down to the ocean. Very picturesque.

Hawaii

A road circuit in Hawaii seems easy, right? Not really. This 1.75 mile track seems better suited for MotoGP than for something like F1 or the BTCC.

Idaho

This 20-turn, 1.5 mile track was designed around Boise State's famous blue turf football field.

Illinois

When I saw the town in Illinois named Oblong, I knew it would be a great place for a track. This 2.53 mile, 16-turn track is reminiscent of the Formula 1 course at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Indiana

You would think that any track designed in the state of Indiana would have to be near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but this track is just outside Gary, Indiana. It's one of the longer tracks in our design archive, coming in at 2.95 miles and roughly 24 turns.

Iowa

Located about three miles west of Pleasantville, Iowa is this 2.2 mile, 13-turn track with almost no elevation change.

Kansas

Near Junction City, Kansas is a course shaped like a #3, which is, appropriately, not 3 miles long, but only 2.89 miles. This course has 13 turns.

Kentucky

The Kentucky course is one of the longest we've designed. It's 3.9 miles and 15 turns with one of the longest, sweepingest curves we've got to offer.

Louisiana

Call us crazy for all these tracks on college campuses, but here's another. This time on the campus of the University of New Orleans. This track is 3.33 miles and 17 turns.

Maine

Near the Presidential retreat of Kennebunkport is this track. It's almost exactly 2 miles in length with 13 turns and a Sepang-style straight-hairpin-straight combo.

Maryland

Just for fun!

Massachusetts

If anyone would appreciate fast cars on a tricky course, it would have to be the kids at MIT, right? The Boston road course runs on the MIT campus and measures 3.597 miles with 10 or 11 turns, depending on how you count the hairpin.

Michigan

A race course on the UP? You bet. This course is 2.58 miles and 18 turns.

Minnesota

A street course in Minneapolis seemed fitting. This time it's 2.18 miles and a rockin' 23 turns.

Mississippi

The Mississippi road course is located just outside Memphis. It checks in at 2.13 miles, 23 turns, and is one of my personal favorites.

Missouri

The 2.43 mile, 17 turn St. Louis Street course goes by the Gateway Arch and Busch Stadium.

Montana

Montana is so big that it's hard to find a good place near enough to a population center for a track. This circuit checks in at 3.35 miles and 15 turns.

Nebraska

The Nebraska circuit comes in at 3.5 miles and a mere 8 turns.

Nevada

This course is located just outside Reno, Nevada. It weighs in at 3.27 miles and 10 turns, and is actually farther west than Los Angeles.

New Hampshire

Just north of the White Mountains State Park is this "shark" shaped road that makes a perfect "Nordeschleife" style track. This is 3.5 miles and 17 turns of rambling through the forest.

New Jersey

This circuit is inspired by the Catalunya circuit in Spain. It measures 3.69 miles and has 14 turns. The prominent feature of this track is a straight the measures nearly one mile.

New Mexico

The NM Road Course at Roswell checks in at 3.49 miles and 14 turns.

New York

I really wanted to do the New York circuit on Manhattan Island, but it truly was not feasible. This island, though, works very well, as it would nicely house this 21-turn, 3.27 miles street circuit.

North Carolina

The 3.3 miles, 15 turn North Carolina road course sits near Lowe's Motor Speedway.

North Dakota

Just outside Fargo is the North Dakota road course. Its 3.3 miles and a total of 13 turns.

Northern Marianas Islands

Located on a tiny string of island in the western Pacific Ocean, the best we could do is a 2.05 mile, 20-turn oceanside track that treks through a small bit of forest/jungle.

Ohio

The Ohio Circuit is outside Mt. Gilead, around Straits Lake. It's only 1.82 miles but its 18 turns are tricky.

Oklahoma

The Streets of Oklahoma City come to life on this course, measuring 2.09 miles and 22 turns.

Oregon

At 3.37 miles and 12 turns, the Oregon Course treks through Milwaukie, just northeast of Lake Oswego.

Pennsylvania

The 3.46 miles, 14 turn Pennsylvania road course is located about ten miles northeast of Fredricksburg.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico checks in with a 3.9 mile street circuit.

Rhode Island

The tiny state of Rhode Island gets a course. The 2.12 mile 14-turn track is located just outside Providence, but then again, in Rhode Island, what isn't?

South Carolina

The South Carolina circuit houses 16 turns over 2.7 miles on a small island in Charleston.

South Dakota

The South Dakota speedway is located about ten miles east of Mount Rushmore. It comes in at 1.98 miles and 13 turns.

Tennessee

At 11 turns over 3.52 miles, the Tennessee Circuit rests in the woods north of Chattanooga.

Texas

The Texas Circuit combines the best of road courses with the best of NASCAR. It measures a whopping 4.36 miles with 12 turns.

Utah

16 turns in only 1.875 miles seems a tight fit, but the Utah course should be fun.

Vermont

The 2.83 mile, 14 turn Vermont Circuit has to be one of my personal favorites.

Virginia

Located about five miles southwest of Smithfield is the Virginia road course. It runs about 2.7 miles and 19 turns.

Virgin Islands

This course is very similar to Monaco. At 18 turns and 3.15 miles, the Virgin Islands course runs through the forest, through town, along the ocean, and up a hill.

Washington

Located very close to the Pacific Coast is this circuit in the beautiful state of Washington. This track checks in at 2.27 miles and 17 turns with a decent amount of elevation change.

West Virginia

Another road course on a college campus, this time West Virginia University, and once again going by the football stadium. This tracks weighs in at 1.75 miles and 17 turns.

Wisconsin

Green Bay was the only logical place for this track. It's rather long, roughly 2.9 miles and less than 10 turns.

Wyoming

The simplest track we've designed is the Wyoming Road Course. It is nearly an oval, with only 12 turns, none measuring more than 90-degrees. Overall length on this track is 2.48 miles.

2010 NFL Draft Day(s)

This year the NFL Draft is spread out over 3 days, starting tonight with Round 1. Rounds 2 and 3 take place tomorrow night, and the last four rounds take place Saturday.

I will probably watch all of it.

I love the draft. It's like Christmas for me. I usually try to provide you with at least a mock draft of the first ten picks. And so here we go:

1. St. Louis – Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma

Picking Bradford makes a certain amount of sense for the beleaguered Rams. The team has really lacked a franchise-type quarterback since Kurt Warner was shown the door. Honestly, the Rams can’t go wrong here in the top three. The next two players picked will be franchise guys for their respective teams, assuming all plays out and no one becomes a Ryan Leaf style draft bust.

Alternate Picks: DT Ndamukong Suh, DT Gerald McCoy

2. Detroit – Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska

So the Big XII goes 1-2 in this draft. Suh is a beast, and with a little more polish he’ll be one of the better defensive players for many years. Again, Detroit can’t go wrong here. Picking Suh, or even taking McCoy will give them franchise players on both sides of the ball.

Alternate Picks: QB Sam Bradford, DT Gerald McCoy

3. Tampa Bay – Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma

McCoy will be the first underclassman taken in 2010. Like Suh, he’s a beast. Many actually pick him as a stronger player at the moment than Suh, although the Nebraska DT will likely have a better career (according to those in the know).

Alternate Picks: DT Ndamukong Suh

4. Washington – Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State

Alright, so the Big XII has pushed out the first 4 picks of this draft. In all honesty, I don’t want to say that Washington will take Okung. Nothing against the man, but I actually see the ‘Skins trading out of this pick and moving down to take Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen at a more reasonable spot in the first round. Of course, this move doesn’t come with certainty, as you’ll see in the latter half of the top 10.

Alternate Picks: Trade down for QB Jimmy Clausen

5. Kansas City – Bryan Bulaga, OT, Iowa

Bulaga’s draft status has fallen a bit lately, but I still think the Chiefs make the reach to provide some protection for QB Matt Cassell.

Alternate Picks: S Eric Berry

6. Seattle – C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson

Spiller has, lately, been drawing comparisons to Chris Johnson, the electrifying RB of the Tennessee Titans. The best RB in the ACC will go in the top 10, I’m pretty sure. Seattle has been in need of a RB since Shaun Alexander fell from grace. This looks to be a pretty solid first draft for Pete Carroll.

Alternate Picks: QB Jimmy Clausen, S Eric Berry

7. Cleveland – Eric Berry, S, Tennessee

The best Safety in the draft looks to go top 10, and Cleveland could really use some defensive help. Of course, don’t put it past Cleveland to jump up to Number 4 and grab Clausen if the price is right. The Browns need a QB as well.

Alternate Picks: Trade up for QB Jimmy Clausen

8. Oakland – Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame

Oakland really, really, really, wants to put the embarrassment that is JaMarcus Russell as far behind them as possible. What better way to do that than to grab one of the better QBs in this fairly deep QB draft. Of course, Al Davis is 865 years old and a wee bit senile. I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes Tim Tebow or Dez Bryant here instead.

Alternate Picks: WR Dez Bryant

9. Buffalo – Joe Haden, CB, Florida

Buffalo has several needs, and Haden fills one of them. He’s the best CB in what is truly a weak CB draft. Look for someone to pull the trigger on this guy early.

Alternate Picks: WR Dez Bryant, ILB Rolando McClain

10. Jacksonville – Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida

This is a Washington style pick. I really think that Jacksonville trades out of this spot and moves down so that they can grab Florida QB Tim Tebow. Tebow seems a logical pick for the Jags.

Alternate Picks: QB Tim Tebow, QB Jimmy Clausen

And for the hometown folks:

19. Atlanta – Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan

The Falcons have to address several issues on the defensive side of the ball. Graham is just the continuation. Signing CB Dunta Robinson was the start.

Alternate Picks: LB Sean Weatherspoon, C Maurkice Pouncey

Design Your Own Race Course II

The Grand Prix Course of Georgia

Here's a course I designed recently.

Random Points, Part Whatever It Is At This Point

http://www.newmoney.gov/newmoney/Splashpage.aspx

Go ahead. Click the link. You know you want to.

That link takes you to a site sponsored by the US Treasury, unveiling the new $100 bill, debuting in February 2011. Judging by the quality of the video, I'd say it cost more than one of these new $100s to create. It makes me wonder, in an economy as bad as ours, how we can create a video to unveil new money. Just say that we have a new bill coming out and let's move forward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Eib2di9bq4

Now click this link. This is hilarious to me. An NBC reporter happen upon a black man at a Tea Party rally. Now lately the game has been to cast all Tea Parties and Tea Party members as racists. In fact, the word "racist" has been so overused lately that I don't put much stock in those who use it anymore. Anyway, this reporter asks the man about if he ever felt uncomfortable at the Tea Party rallies. God bless this man for his answer.

Maaaaa

Well, I guess sometimes you do things you just aren't proud of.

The Tea Party: Mislabel, Misunderstand, Misinform

Tax Day 2010 is upon us, and the Tea Party movement is in full swing. This particular aspect of American politics is something that I have loved studying over the last year. Watching the Tea Party and how it is portrayed in the media, I am reminded of a quote by Gandhi:

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."

You see, when the Tea Party movement began to spring up last year, they were largely ignored by the media. With the exception of Anderson Cooper cracking juvenile 'teabagging' jokes, and Keith Olbermann blithely condoning that the tea partiers were merely backwards redneck racists who could not deal with a black man in the White House, the media kept the Tea Party on the back burner, preferring to report on whatever celebrity TMZ had seen naked in Los Angeles.

Then, as it became apparent that the Tea Party was not going to go quietly into the night, the media began launching attacks en masse. Olbermann once again brought out the racist element. In fact, MSNBC is more to blame for the racist label being applied to the Tea Party than any other entity. Cooper cracked another teabagging joke, and Olbermann stated that the Tea Partiers were mostly illiterate rednecks who think that the Civil War is still going on.

These snide remarks continued all the way to April of this year, when the true Tax Day Tea Party rallies were entering full swing. Websites began popping up begging people to crash the Tea Parties with poorly spelled and often racist signs, and even scream racial slurs to make the Tea Parties look bad.

Think back to Gandhi's quote. The Tea Party movement has been ignored, ridiculed, and now openly resisted. The only logical step remaining is for the Tea Party to win. In fact, I can very seriously see a landslide of conservative voting that will make the Republican Revolution of 1994 look like a mild primary season.

The Tea Party, you see, is not a racist movement. They are angry, yes. Angry about the inane amount of taxes that we're all paying. Angry about out of control government spending. Angry about a near unilateral disarmament during what is still a dangerous time. Angry about our congress selling our children's future to China one dollar at a time.

They are not angry about the color of Barack Obama's skin. They don't care about his race, they car about his seemingly socialist political philosophy. They care about the fact that our President, the leader of the free world, is so busy bowing to foreign leaders and apologizing to European nations that he's neglected the common man.

They care about the fact that he's reneged on almost every campaign promise. That he went against the will of the populace to pass health care, and then brazenly challenged his political opponents to try and repeal it. That he's pushing to further decrease our nuclear armament; an armament that some say has protected the world for the last sixty years.

So I say, Go Tea Parties! The current administration is claiming that debating its policies is tantamount to racism. But to borrow a quote from Hillary Clinton, "We have a right to debate, with this, or any administration." We have a right, according to our own founding documents, to petition congress for a redress of grievances. I personally would like to see congress own up to the fallacies they've perpetrated on the American people.

Go Tea Parties!

How To Fix NASCAR, Part II

So the last "let's fix NASCAR" article was rather long, but it didn't mean that we were at all finished. In fact, we've got five more tracks that NASCAR can try out for road course racing.

Let's begin.

Milwaukee:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3618864

The Milwaukee Mile is a slightly revered oval circuit, but it does have a decent infield road course. The overall road course length comes in at 1.7839 miles, and roughly 12 turns. The drivers start at the start-finish line and drive through turns 1 and 2, the length of the backstretch, through turn three, which then turns back on itself, not too sharply. There is a sweeping right hander giving way to the first of two interior straights. There is a bit of a hairpin that gives way to the other interior straight. There is an "esses" section that is not as pronounced as the other "esses" we've explored so far. From there the drivers face a quick right hander and a hairpin bringing them back to the oval at the exit of turn 4.

Indianapolis:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3611478

The 2.605 miles, 13 turn road course at Indianapolis has been driven by Formula 1, which gives it some decent cred, even though it suffered the debacle of 2005. That said, it is still a decent course that would only further enhance the image of NASCAR. The track info can be found here.

Rockingham, NC

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3618912

Rockingham was once a staple of the NASCAR season. Then, through various factors like commercialism, the North Carolina oval saw its races taken away. Things went so far as to have new owners take over the track, with the promise that, as long as they own the facility, NASCAR can never run there. That said, the 10-turn, 1.4505 mile road course offers a definite change of pace. The track uses a vast majority of the oval, entering the road course portion at the entrance to turn 3. A protracted hairpin a la turn 8 at Istanbul Park leads to a short straight and a protracted right hand hairpin that very nearly resembles a mirror image of the first hairpin. Another straight leads to a sweeping left hander that deposits the drivers back on the oval in the middle of turns three and four.

Road America:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3618015

The 4.037-mile, 14 turn Road America course outside Elkhart, Wisconsin is a beautiful track. The .75 mile straight would provide some nice overtaking opportunities going into turn 1. A 90-plus degree turn 2 leads to another straight. Turns 3 and 4 are roughly 90-degrees, leading to a triangular right hander. Beyond this is a 90-degree left going into a sweeping right hander once again reminiscent of turn 8 at Istanbul Park. (As an aside, Istanbul Park is probably the best design from Hermann Tilke, the man who has been accused of slowly killing F1.) Back to Wisconsin. After this sweeping righty is a quick left-right chicane that takes the drivers into the woods. A sharp right hand turn leads to another triangular left hand turn, which promptly turns back to the right and back onto the long stretch.

Miller Motorsports Park:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3617991

The Miller Motorsports Park complex outside Tooele, Utah has several configurations that would work for the boys of NASCAR:

The Long Course

The East Course

The West Course

The Outer Course (linked above)

For our intents and purposes, I think the Outer Course is a better circuit for NASCAR. At 3.0373 miles and 14 turns, the boys of NASCAR would thoroughly enjoy the twists and turns just south of the Great Salt Lake. The outer course lap record is 1:31.050 seconds, set by Timo Bernhard in a Le Mans prototype. The NASCAR boys would obviously be slower. Still, the Right Wing thinks this would be a great place for NASCAR.

So that's that. We've discussed thirteen "new" tracks for NASCAR to use in an effort to win more fans. Road course racing, as evidenced by the appeal of Formula 1, American Le Mans, The British Touring Car Championship, and the Deutsche Tourenweg Masters, proves to have a great following. Even in the realm of video games, from the realistic (Forza III, Formula 1 2009), to the outlandish (Mario Kart Wii), road courses are fantastic.

NASCAR could do worse than to deny these courses, there is no doubt. But if NASCAR would, by some chance, choose to venture onto these road courses, it would be a definite plus for the sport.

How to Fix NASCAR...

If you're anything like me, you'd like to see some changes in NASCAR. The stock car, and I use that two-word term loosely, racing circuit only runs on two road courses. That's 2 out of 36 races, or 1/18th of the season spent off of ovals. So I started thinking about a way to change this thing and make it a little more enjoyable for people like me who enjoy road course racing.

Many of the tracks that NASCAR journeys to have two races scheduled per season, and these ovals often have road courses built into them to service motorcycle and sport car races. So I used gmap-pedometer, the site linked here, to start building my own NASCAR road courses.

I figure that any track visited twice by NASCAR during a season should run the "oval" track one race, and then the "road course" on the other race. Of course, some of the rules would have to change in order for this to work.

Rule Changes:

1. Every car must qualify. Right now there are several factors that guarantee cars a spot in a race. Basically, as it is now, only 10 "outsiders" have a chance of making a NASCAR race. By forcing all cars to qualify, you ensure the most competitive field, at least in theory.

2. For road courses, only 33 cars qualify, not 43. This is because some tracks, in order to access the road course, require a short-cutting of the pit lane. And since every car is qualifying, you still maintain the competitive field with the possible Cinderella story.

3. Bring grooved tyres, because it might rain. Formula 1 runs in the rain. Football plays in the rain. I'm pretty sure that NASCAR would rather be equated with Football and the pinnacle motorsport series rather than baseball, which takes a break if it gets cloudy.

4. Points restructuring. Only the top 10 get points, and you only get points for where you finish. No more points for leading the most laps. No points for leading at the halfway. No one cares who is leading on lap 399 of a 400 lap race, they care about the leader on lap 400.

5. Standing starts on the road courses. Most of these start-finish lines are on the wider portions of the track, so staggering the cars three-wide would provide excellent standing starts.

So those are the rules. Let's examine the tracks.

New "Road Course" Tracks

Atlanta:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3609241

Following the link will take you to a special Right Wing designed 2.4-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway road course. The start-finish line remains the same, and obviously some parts of the oval are still used. The big change starts at the end of the pitlane. Drivers make a sweeping left-hander into a short straight. This straight leads to a kind of hairpin onto another straight. At the end of this straight is a right-left-right "Esses" that remind me of the Turn 1-2-3 complex at Catalunya. Beyond this complex is a tight left-hairpin that puts the cars back on the oval. The only other change is at the entrance to turn three of the oval, where there is a quick chicane.

Texas:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3576714

The Texas Motor Speedway is another prime candidate for a 2.08-mile road course. Again, start-finish line stays the same. In fact, the drivers run the oval all the way to the back stretch. Here, coming out of turn 2 there is a left-hand hairpin that rather quickly turns back to the right. After running through an elongated left-right chicane, the drivers encounter the inner straight, which leads to a right hand turn of more than 90-degrees. Perfect for overtaking. Beyond this sharp turn is a gradual right-hander leading to a another left-hand-hairpin. The next gradual turn leads into yet another left-hairpin, which almost immediately turns into a right-hand-hairpin. A long left hand turn later and the drivers are back on the oval, heading back to start-finish.

Pocono:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3608393

The triangular Pocono racetrack is a fun, fast place for NASCAR. Our road course idea will slow the cars down considerably, but will require greater skill to navigate. Our plan for Pocono changes the track layout from what amounts to 3 turns, into a 19-turn behemoth measuring 3.1 miles. Coming off the start-finish, the drivers attack a nasty 90-degree-plus left hander, that "esses" through turns 2, 3, and 4. Turn 5 is a sharp, shallow hairpin leading to turn 6. Turn 7 is a quick lefty bringing the drivers to a sharp turn 8, taking them back into the depths of the infield. Turns 9 through 11 can be taken fairly quickly, but turn 12 is a left-hand-hairpin that will probably catch some drivers out. Shuttling through turn 13 leads the drivers back to the oval, but this is short-lived. Turns 15 through 19 go left-right-left-right-left, bringing the cars back to the start-finish line.

Fontana, CA:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3608307

The track at Fontana can produce some fast oval races, but our road course adds a new level of skill. The 17-turn, 3.1945 mile track uses a vast portion of the original oval. Turn 1 is a sharp left hander, almost bus-stop chicane like in appearance. This near-chicane gives way to a sweeping left hand turn going to the first near-hairpin. After doubling back, the drivers double back once more, going through turns 4 and 5, and finding themselves on a straight. Not too much speed, though, as a chicane does await at turn 6 and 7. After this chicane there is a very shallow right hander leading to an "esses" area, leading to the 90-degree turn 10. Turn 11 is another 90-degree right-hander, leading to a hairpin turn 12, similar to turn 12 at Pocono. After a sweeping right-hander the cars encounter a wide hairpin turn putting them back on the oval. There is a quick chicane a la Atlanta before once more reaching the start-finish.

Charlotte:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3608537

Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte is a good track as an oval, but I think out 2.24-mile road course could be even better. Actually, this track is really hard to "road course." It also uses much of the old oval The new road course does not take over until nearly halfway down the back straight, where there is a tight left-hand-hairpin that leads to a pseudo-chicane. After this turn complex there is a sweeping right-hander that leads to another right-left complex. After a short straight there is a left-hander that almost doubles back. There is a quick "ess" complex leading to another hairpin. There is a final left-hand-tight-hairpin that puts the drivers back on the oval and leading to the start-finish.

Miami:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3608593

The 2.1913-mile, 12-turn road course at Miami is probably the most "unique" of all the road courses discussed here. It uses none of the original turns in the oval, utilizing on the front and back straights. From the start-finish line the drivers approach a shallow left hander, that keeps going through a triangular turn 2 and into a doubling-back turn 3. From here, the drivers go through a slow right-hander leading to the first of two interior straights. Turn 5 is a 90-plus degree turn leading to a sweeping turn 6 onto the second interior straight. At the end of this straight is a hairpin turn 7, into another sweeping turn 8, leading to the back straight. Before the entrance to the oval's Turn 3, the drivers break left into a very fast section with a shallow angle turn 10. There is a quick right-left, turns 11 and 12, leading back to the start-finish.

Phoenix:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3608674

The track at Phoenix is a gruelingly hot 11-turns jammed into a 1.506-mile road course. From the start-finish, the drivers take a shallow turn into turn 1, which quickly sweeps into turn 2, turn 3, and turn 4, and pronounced "esses" section leading to a very short straight. Turn 5 is a quick, shallow left-hander leading to a C-curve turn 6 and 7. After a fast turn 8 the cars encounter the hairpin that returns them to the original oval. A quick blast through turns 10 and 11 (turns 3 and 4 on the original oval) leads back to the start-finish.

Daytona:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3608649

The last track on our tour is Daytona. The famous track already has a road course that is used for the 24-hours of Daytona endurance race, but our design modifies that road course into a 3.0029-mile, 14 turn affair. From the start-finish line, the drivers enter turn 1, which is a sweeping left-hander. Turn 2 is an S-curve leading to the hairpin turn 3. Turn 4 is a quick right hander leading to a C-curve comprised of turns 5 and 6. Turns 7 and 8 are a very pronounced, abbreviated S-curve, leading to the back straight. About three-quarters of the way to turn 3 there is a double-chicane leading back to the last part of the oval. The cars will use the original turn 4 leading to the tri-oval and the start-finish.

That concludes our tour of the new "road courses." If you have any ideas for changing NASCAR, we'd love to hear them.

Malaysian Grand Prix Revisited

Alright, so about our prediction of a McLaren 1-2 with a Mercedes 3rd. I would like to point out that there was a team finish 1-2, and a Mercedes did finish 3rd, just none of those drivers were the ones we predicted.

Congrats to Red Bull, Seb Vettel, Mark Webber, and Nico Rosberg.

Also, congrats to Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, and Felipe Masses for taking their cars from the back of the starting grid to finish in the top ten.

Design Your Own Race Course

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

Follow the link above.

Using this website, you can design your own Grand Prix course. If you want to use existing streets, simply click on the Start Recording button. You can switch to manual and design your own course in someone's back yard.

I'm challenging all of you to give it a try. Post a comment linking to your saved course.

There's only one rule:

Try to stay under 7.004 kilometers. That's the length of Spa, and I think it should remain the longest track on the circuit. As you reply with links to your tracks, I'll try to add them to this post.

I tried my hand at a new French Grand Prix street circuit, for the Grand Prix of Calais.

Here is the Grand Prix of Niagara Falls.

The Grand Prix of Dahlonega.

Holy Week

The Right Wing doesn't often tackle religious issues, but it seemed like a good time to do this. This is Easter weekend. I know that some people will say that this is a Pagan holiday and that Christianity simply took over this date to spread itself around the globe. Anyway you choose to believe it, it is known that Christ was crucified around the time of Passover, which is going on at the moment.

I've had several conversations lately concerning Christ, Christianity, and issues of faith. I think it would be a good break from sports to actually bring up some of these issues.

Continental Drift:

Wait, seriously. Continental drift? In religion? Well, yes. I was discussing this with some people one time and I was basically told that science should have nothing to do with God, and that God should have nothing to do with science. My answer to that is simple: God gave us science so that we could unveil even more of his glorious works. In many instances, the Bible will actually back up science, and science will back up the Bible. Take continental drift, for instance. The Bible states that there was a man named Peleg, and in his day the Earth was divided. Some say that means the Earth was politically divided, but it could just as well mean that the land was, quite literally, divided.

The Shroud of Turin:

I'll say this straight forward: I do NOT believe that the Shroud of Turin is the burial cloth of Christ. This does not mean that my faith is any weaker. In fact, I'm glad that God gave me enough faith that I don't require relics to believe. That being said, I respect the history of the Shroud. Close study reveals the brutality of a Roman flogging and crucifixion. The death on the cross was so painful that the Romans invented a phrase for it ex crucio, or as we now say "excruciating", meaning "out of the cross."

The relics of St. Helena:

Three hundred years after the crucifixion, the mother of Emperor Constantine, Helena, went to the Holy Land seeking the places where Christ walked, and where he was crucified. Of course, there was no real documentation at that time, and she was basically shown places with people saying, "Yeah, uh, he walked down this road." I can't help but feel sorry for those who require these relics to strengthen their faith.

The Crucifixion and Resurrection

This is it. Without this moment, there is no Christianity. As Paul stated, "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (1 Cor. 15:17). As the Bible tells us in the prophecies of the Old Testament, Christ came to Earth with the intent of dying for our sins. He was beaten beyond recognition, spat upon, had a crown of thorns placed on his head, and even nailed to the cross. Here is another sticking point with some people. Were the nails through his hands or wrists? Does it matter? The most important thing is that he willingly died for us. Then, the Sunday after his crucifixion, the borrowed tomb He'd been placed in was found empty. He was later seen by many, and after issuing the Great Commission, he ascended into Heaven. Had none of this occurred, we probably would not have had any idea of Christianity.

I have no qualms in proclaiming my faith. As Romans 1:16 states, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." When it comes to the things of God, I'm not going to sugarcoat anything. Take, for example, this passage from John, Chapter 6:

⁴²And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?

⁴³Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.

⁴⁴No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

⁴⁶Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.

⁴⁷Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

⁴⁸I am that bread of life.

⁴⁹Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

⁵⁰This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

⁵¹I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

⁵²The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

⁵³Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

⁵⁴Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

⁵⁵For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

⁵⁶He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

⁵⁷As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

⁵⁸This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

⁵⁹These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

⁶⁰Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

⁶¹When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

⁶²What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

⁶³It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

⁶⁴But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

⁶⁵And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

⁶⁶From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

⁶⁷Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

⁶⁸Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

⁶⁹And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

Christ did not intentionally offend anyone, but He knew, as most of us do, that the truth will offend more than a lie will. I chose the truth long ago, and I do not regret it. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

The Right Wing... Relaunched!

Take a look. Feast upon my magnificence.

We've relaunched the Right Wing, complete with a new layout and background, along with a nice new Search feature.

Enjoy.

Malaysian Grand Prix-view

Well, this is the third race of the Formula 1 season. The fast cars are at Malaysia, just outside Kuala Lumpur, in Sepang. I personally like this track a lot. The start finish line gives way to a quick right-left-downhill bit. A sweeping right-hander going back uphill leads into a a sharp right-hander. Too much speed going into this turn will definitely send you off.

This sharp right gives way to a gradual left-to-right S-curve that, if taken properly, can almost be run flat-out. Beyond this S-curve is a quick succession of right-handers that are nearly 90-degree turns, but are shallow enough to be taken with some speed. The second of these right-handers leads downhill to a very sharp, very slow left-hander that begins taking the cars back up-hill.

A semi-gradual run through turn 10 leads to a sharp turn 11. Another pseudo-S-curve (turns 12 and 13), bring the cars to a sharp sharp sharp right-hander, leading onto the long straight.

At the end of this straight is turn 15, the hairpin, that brings the cars back around to the start-finish line. Lewis Hamilton holds the lap record here, with a 1:34.175.

The nasty thing about Malaysia is the rain. Last year it rained. And rained. And rained. It was the first time in my year and a half of following F1 that a race was actually stopped because of rain. Jenson Button, now of McLaren, then of BrawnGP, took the win, but only got half points. This year the race will start 2 hours earlier than last years, which should avoid some rain, but it will still rain.

So we'll do our old normal thing and predict the podium.

1st - Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes

2nd - Jenson Button, McLaren Mercedes

3rd - Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP

That's right, we think that Schumi will return to podium form. Let's watch.

Why am I not in bed?

So it's 11:00 pm, or 2300 to my military friends. I have to be at work tomorrow morning. I'd like to be there by about 7:00, or 7:30. And yet, I'm still awake.

I've played Mario Kart Wii and F1 2009. I've watched TV, I've watched DVDs. I'm mentally exhausted, and yet I'm still awake.

Why?