Turning in NASCAR?

Question

Serious question can anyone tell me why in NASCAR they only race around the track counter clockwise and there are no races where they are making right hand turns in NASCAR. Just was curious if there was a reason for this.

Answer 1

They have right hand turns in some road courses.

Answer 2

cus the cars are built to only make left hand turns!  duh!!

Answer 3

It all goes back to England.

According to Tom Gilcoyne at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga, N.Y., horse racing in this country during colonial times was run clockwise, or "right-handed" (all right-hand turns). But during the American revolution, that English custom was deliberately replaced by left-handed track races like the ones we see in America today.

In England 30–40% of races are now run the same way ours are. In central Europe, however, most are run right-handed.

Answer 4

It may have something to do with where the driver is on pit road.  Counter clockwise keeps the driver next to the wall & in the old days that was important so they could easily hand him a drink or wet towel to cool off with.  Of course this would not be of any benefit for the Indy style cars.

Answer 5

They go clockwise because it is easier for them to see the lines and the marking points because NASCAR is all about all around vision and if they were to go clockwise they would be sitting on the opposite side of the line not on the same side as the line. However, they do go clockwise on Road Races because they have more left hand turns but also they have right hand turns that is why it is so difficult for so many drivers to race on the road courses.

Answer 6

One guy here actually touched on it.  It is a thing of physics.  If you take a car in the Northern Hemisphere and drive it on a perfect circle track clockwise the front end will have a tendency to leave the track, it will not push down to the pavement only try to lift off the track.  Same thing goes for the Southern hemisphere, to go counterclockwise it would do the same thing...  Kinda in theory like the flushing of a commode here in North America vs. Australia.  A best friend of mine was a phisics professor and told me that.  Call him a liar, he's dead and doesn't care...

Answer 7

Golly.. I thought NASCAR had ONE "Road course" race during their competition year.  Or am I wrong?  I keep hearing things like that Stewart and ROBBIE Gordon always do well in that race cuz they came from "road course" racing.

GOOOOOOOOOO J Gordon!

Answer 8

I honestly do not know.  When runners run around a track (or horses) they also go counterclockwise.

Some people say it is for safety- that they keep the driver further from the wall.  But, in Indy cars the driver is in the middle and they run counterclockwise as well.

Answer 9

Northern Hemisphere,counter clock wise.

If your in the Southern Hemisphere youd race clock wise.

Actually,some of the first dirt tracks were horse tracks and the path the horses run were "smoother than the opposite way.So the racing went the way of the horses and run counter clock wise.

Other therory was as the moon shiners raced the law watching could not ID the driver if the drivers side of the car was away from the crowd.

So just about any reason you come up with  is right and wrong.

Answer 10

In case you haven't noticed, races of all kinds are run counter clockwise.  Nascar, Indy Racing League, Horse racing, track and field, etc.  It's just the way it is.  Except on road courses where they turn both left and right, and the races are run clockwise.

Answer 11

first races were on horse tracks and thats the way they ran

there are 2 road coarses were they turn right

Answer 12

on road courses the turn right and the clockwise