New Hampshire Motor Speedway - NHMS Roval CCW
New Hampshire Motor Speedway - NHMS Roval CCW Notes:
The New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) is a staple part of the NASCAR Series, operating since 1990 in Loudon, New Hampshire, an hour and a half ride north of Boston, Massachusetts. The famous NASCAR Speedway is a typical 1.058-mile (1.703 km) oval track with heavy banking in the corners. But this is not all the NHMS complex offers, featuring a 1.6-mile (2.57-km) road course that shares a portion of the oval and regularly hosts the Loudon Classic, the longest-running motorcycle race of the United States. The addition of six turns featuring impressive elevation changes to the NASCAR oval increases the technical level required to compete successfully in the track.
Races start at the middle of the front straightaway, going counter-clockwise and taking turn one right before the entry to the oval speedway. Turns 1A and two lead into a short back straightaway that uses the banked oval straight until reaching number three, where racers turn heavily to the right and start going uphill. Divers dive back down in turn 5 to face a banked corner in turn six, where they touch the bottom and start going up again. The tire-screeching turn number 9 leads into re-entry to the oval speedway in a 90° turn number 10, with turns 11 and 12 completing the circuit.
Roval CCW Notes:
The Roval counterclockwise configuration at New Hampshire Motor Speedway combines the oval banking with six permanent road course turns to create a unique 1.6-mile (2.575-kilometer) hybrid layout featuring 14 total turns and dramatic elevation changes across the Loudon, New Hampshire facility. Running counterclockwise from the middle of the front straightaway, the layout takes Turn 1 right before the oval entry, then navigates Turns 1A and 2 into a short back straightaway utilizing the banked oval straight before Turn 3's heavy right-hander begins the uphill climb. This configuration has hosted the Loudon Classic, the longest-running motorcycle race in the United States, showcasing the circuit's versatility for both two-wheel and four-wheel competition across terrain that challenges drivers with impressive elevation changes uncommon at oval-based road courses.
Operating the Roval in counterclockwise direction emphasizes the technical complexity added by integrating permanent road course sections with NASCAR Cup Series oval banking, creating corner combinations where drivers transition between flat asphalt and banked surfaces mid-corner. The elevation changes prove particularly demanding—the uphill section after Turn 3 rewards momentum conservation while punishing brake-heavy approaches, while descending sections require confidence committing to blind-entry corners. New England's four-season climate creates dramatic track characteristic variations across the racing calendar—summer sessions see track temperatures exceeding 50°C on the exposed oval sections, while spring and fall events operate in conditions where morning frost can delay track opening. The facility's location in Loudon, approximately 30 kilometers north of Concord, positions it as a regional hub for New Hampshire's motorsport community, with the Roval CCW configuration serving club racing, track days, and the Granite State Legends Cars Road Course Series. The counterclockwise flow creates specific overtaking zones where drivers can utilize the oval banking's multiple lines before braking into the tight permanent road course sections, separating the NHMS Roval experience from pure road courses or simple oval-with-chicane configurations.
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