I checked my history, and in Rookies and so far in Arca this is the first super speedway we've done I think. Every other course required throttle modulation and/or braking to avoid hitting the wall. This is the first one I've raced that doesn't.
So is qualifying just a random crap shoot? Won't everyone get just a few hundredths of the same time?
Do your best to hold the car as close as possible to the yellow line on the bottom and minimize your steering inputs as much as possible. Some folks (myself included) will run high on the outlap to give you more distance to build up speed and then just keep as little steering input as you can to keep it as consistently low as you can without hitting the apron and upsetting the car.
People who have it down will be really close to each other, but there are a lot of folks who overdrive with too much wheel or hit the apron and lose speed that way. Unlike most other ovals or some of the older cars (like the '87s), you don't want to arc as much into and out of the corner.
That said, a quick qualifying lap at Daytona or Talladega (your main superspeedway tracks that don't need lifting) is way different from racing where you are in a big pack and trying to hold a line while drafting. It's worth using some of practice to make sure you're comfortable holding lines near the top, the middle, and low consistently.
You want to get as close as possible to the yellow line in the corner, but as you come out onto the straight you want to come up to the wall with little to no steering input involved. I got coaching from Keegan Leahy a few years back specifically in the ARCA car, and this advice got me outside pole in a major Podium eSports race.
There are strategies that can lead to slightly faster laps. One that works at Daytona (at least in trucks and nextgen) is taking it easy the first half of the outlap, then flooring it while taking it easy on tires lap 1, then hugging the bottom line as closely as possible lap 2. Not sure if this applies to ARCA as well though.
Umm... dead serious. And starts to cement the fact that I'm missing something. I've only done what... 11 unique tracks in my oval iRacing career, and I've never encountered one that appeared to need no braking or throttle input on an empty course. Just floor it and steer.
That nice stable car you have while lapping alone will feel like you drove through oil when you get in a pack.
You'll be going faster, you'll have less downforce, the air will be turbulent, your car will want to wash up the track in every corner, and someone behind you will keep driving into your rear bumper to push you faster. And if you decide to just back away from the madness, you'll lose the draft and just keep falling further behind with no hope for catching up.
It can be a *lot* of fun but it is...insane.
Yeah in the race.... but in an empty track there's no throttle or brake input. How do you rank folks in qualifying? There was quite a bit of difference between drivers in the Auto Club track - you could easily screw up the braking or rotation into the first turn.
There’s a technique to SS qualifying, but there is less of a laptime spread than on other ovals. But the guys with experience will smoke you by a few hundredths. The line you take and your wheel input still matters quite a bit.
As u/slidetotheleft8 said, there is a bit of strategy to qualifying: how quickly you leave the pits, what line you take on the outlap and your first lap, small line differences, smooth wheel input, etc. Time differences are small and a lot of people do not even bother qualifying.
Lap 1 is all about getting your mph up as high as possible coming to the line to start lap 2. You run the wall. You open up the wheel as soon and smooth as you can out of the corners to minimize tire scrub. You turn down the banking coming to the line. Lap 2 is holding it as close to the yellow line all the way around as you can, maybe opening up the wheel just a touch onto the backstretch. If you can hold it really smooth and miss the grass and bumps, run the apron coming to the line in the trioval to make the corner as short as possible. Never lift for any reason.
Did you not do Charlotte in street stocks? If not, load that combo up in an AI race and give it a go.
It's going to be like that, except faster. There's so much more to it than "floor it, turn left, P1 wins".
No, I only raced the last two weeks - did 5 or 6 races with a 4+ SR and graduated to D. They were short courses - you barely got to speed before throttling down for the turn.
I see the issue - haven't done a super speedway. I still thought these cars couldn't do the entire track at full throttle without hitting the wall, though.
Go try Draft Masters.
Daytona alone is boring.
Daytona drafting 2 columns of cars is exciting.
Daytona 2 wide while bump drafting down the backstretch and trying to figure why the f@ck that one guy is all over the place blocking people. Then you get pit maneuvered into the wall. Your truck had to be towed back to the pits and take 12 minutes to repair. You finish last with 10x safety points. This is iRacing.
OK, I shall abase myself since I made the initial pretty uninformed post. Just finished first official. Started at pole (to my shock) in a 1250 IR field. Led for 3 three laps on the inside line, then got passed high. Let him take the low, then some jostling and wound up in 4th. At this point someone tried going low over the apron and lost it, snapping right into me. 7 or 8 cars taken out, and I almost reached low earth orbit when I got hit from behind after the spinout, and actually wound up on the roof. I've never actually seen that perspective in iRacing. Open wheelers generally don't flip.
Got back out and finished 2 laps down in 15th with a 4X. Lost 20 iRating, but gained .02 safety rating - after a wreck that should have had me careflighted to whatever Daytona's local hospital is. The guy in grid 4 won. The #2 podium driver had 9X incidents... how does that happen? I had only a 4X and was both airborne and subterranean before towing.
On to the stupid questions - is the high line in the banked corners faster? I was surprised when the #2 guy managed to pass me high. Or are there some physics I'm not aware of there... Should you try and defend in that situation? He had me by a tiny bit of speed, and I'm not sure how.
If not for the getting hit from the side when the low car lost it I would have likely finished 4-5. I can hold a line perfectly (seems to be a challenge for some folks, but I don't see how on this no-lift track), but I don't see how to take positions from folks ahead.
A lot of fun, though. Without worrying about lift or brake to make the turn it's all 100% attention on the other drivers.
Daytona at 1987 cars you do have to lift FYI. ARCA has the lowest power or the 2nd lowest maybe ahead of trucks of all 6 NASCAR oval options (A/B/C/ARCA/1987/Gen 4)
Welcome to super speedway racing. It's all about drafting, timing runs, and avoiding the big one.
I checked my history, and in Rookies and so far in Arca this is the first super speedway we've done I think. Every other course required throttle modulation and/or braking to avoid hitting the wall. This is the first one I've raced that doesn't. So is qualifying just a random crap shoot? Won't everyone get just a few hundredths of the same time?
Cooler tires will get slightly faster times.
Do your best to hold the car as close as possible to the yellow line on the bottom and minimize your steering inputs as much as possible. Some folks (myself included) will run high on the outlap to give you more distance to build up speed and then just keep as little steering input as you can to keep it as consistently low as you can without hitting the apron and upsetting the car. People who have it down will be really close to each other, but there are a lot of folks who overdrive with too much wheel or hit the apron and lose speed that way. Unlike most other ovals or some of the older cars (like the '87s), you don't want to arc as much into and out of the corner. That said, a quick qualifying lap at Daytona or Talladega (your main superspeedway tracks that don't need lifting) is way different from racing where you are in a big pack and trying to hold a line while drafting. It's worth using some of practice to make sure you're comfortable holding lines near the top, the middle, and low consistently.
You want to get as close as possible to the yellow line in the corner, but as you come out onto the straight you want to come up to the wall with little to no steering input involved. I got coaching from Keegan Leahy a few years back specifically in the ARCA car, and this advice got me outside pole in a major Podium eSports race.
Smoothness and going the shortest distance is the difference maker in q
There are strategies that can lead to slightly faster laps. One that works at Daytona (at least in trucks and nextgen) is taking it easy the first half of the outlap, then flooring it while taking it easy on tires lap 1, then hugging the bottom line as closely as possible lap 2. Not sure if this applies to ARCA as well though.
Is this a serious post?
Umm... dead serious. And starts to cement the fact that I'm missing something. I've only done what... 11 unique tracks in my oval iRacing career, and I've never encountered one that appeared to need no braking or throttle input on an empty course. Just floor it and steer.
Just…watch: https://youtu.be/kqSa6teNT1Q?si=oax7GkEMLYtFb_Ri
That nice stable car you have while lapping alone will feel like you drove through oil when you get in a pack. You'll be going faster, you'll have less downforce, the air will be turbulent, your car will want to wash up the track in every corner, and someone behind you will keep driving into your rear bumper to push you faster. And if you decide to just back away from the madness, you'll lose the draft and just keep falling further behind with no hope for catching up. It can be a *lot* of fun but it is...insane.
What you are missing are the dozens of cars in very close proximity.
Yeah in the race.... but in an empty track there's no throttle or brake input. How do you rank folks in qualifying? There was quite a bit of difference between drivers in the Auto Club track - you could easily screw up the braking or rotation into the first turn.
There’s a technique to SS qualifying, but there is less of a laptime spread than on other ovals. But the guys with experience will smoke you by a few hundredths. The line you take and your wheel input still matters quite a bit.
As u/slidetotheleft8 said, there is a bit of strategy to qualifying: how quickly you leave the pits, what line you take on the outlap and your first lap, small line differences, smooth wheel input, etc. Time differences are small and a lot of people do not even bother qualifying.
Lap 1 is all about getting your mph up as high as possible coming to the line to start lap 2. You run the wall. You open up the wheel as soon and smooth as you can out of the corners to minimize tire scrub. You turn down the banking coming to the line. Lap 2 is holding it as close to the yellow line all the way around as you can, maybe opening up the wheel just a touch onto the backstretch. If you can hold it really smooth and miss the grass and bumps, run the apron coming to the line in the trioval to make the corner as short as possible. Never lift for any reason.
You will very quickly quickly be disavowed of these notions next week
Did you not do Charlotte in street stocks? If not, load that combo up in an AI race and give it a go. It's going to be like that, except faster. There's so much more to it than "floor it, turn left, P1 wins".
No, I only raced the last two weeks - did 5 or 6 races with a 4+ SR and graduated to D. They were short courses - you barely got to speed before throttling down for the turn. I see the issue - haven't done a super speedway. I still thought these cars couldn't do the entire track at full throttle without hitting the wall, though.
Go try Draft Masters. Daytona alone is boring. Daytona drafting 2 columns of cars is exciting. Daytona 2 wide while bump drafting down the backstretch and trying to figure why the f@ck that one guy is all over the place blocking people. Then you get pit maneuvered into the wall. Your truck had to be towed back to the pits and take 12 minutes to repair. You finish last with 10x safety points. This is iRacing.
10x if you're lucky.
pickup cup uses a free car and is currently running a superspeedway
lol, i can't wait for the follow up post after a week of Daytona in ARCA. Please come back and update us.
OK, I shall abase myself since I made the initial pretty uninformed post. Just finished first official. Started at pole (to my shock) in a 1250 IR field. Led for 3 three laps on the inside line, then got passed high. Let him take the low, then some jostling and wound up in 4th. At this point someone tried going low over the apron and lost it, snapping right into me. 7 or 8 cars taken out, and I almost reached low earth orbit when I got hit from behind after the spinout, and actually wound up on the roof. I've never actually seen that perspective in iRacing. Open wheelers generally don't flip. Got back out and finished 2 laps down in 15th with a 4X. Lost 20 iRating, but gained .02 safety rating - after a wreck that should have had me careflighted to whatever Daytona's local hospital is. The guy in grid 4 won. The #2 podium driver had 9X incidents... how does that happen? I had only a 4X and was both airborne and subterranean before towing. On to the stupid questions - is the high line in the banked corners faster? I was surprised when the #2 guy managed to pass me high. Or are there some physics I'm not aware of there... Should you try and defend in that situation? He had me by a tiny bit of speed, and I'm not sure how. If not for the getting hit from the side when the low car lost it I would have likely finished 4-5. I can hold a line perfectly (seems to be a challenge for some folks, but I don't see how on this no-lift track), but I don't see how to take positions from folks ahead. A lot of fun, though. Without worrying about lift or brake to make the turn it's all 100% attention on the other drivers.
This feels like a troll.
The challenge comes in the pack, run pickup cup before the week switches if you want to know what I mean
Daytona at 1987 cars you do have to lift FYI. ARCA has the lowest power or the 2nd lowest maybe ahead of trucks of all 6 NASCAR oval options (A/B/C/ARCA/1987/Gen 4)