Why Do Sims Often Struggle with Oval Racing?

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Just like real motorsport, sim racing's various disciplines and very different in nature. Circuit racing has been accepted as the standard form, but even there, considerable differences can be found - like on ovals: Despite them being run on closed courses and on tarmac surfaces (for the most part, that is), many racing sims tend to struggle when trying to portray this discipline in addition to racing on road circuits. But why is that?

Oval racing has a bit of a reputation for being easy, especially among racing fans from regions where it is not very present. European fans, for example, tend to dismiss the discipline as "just turning left", doubting the entertainment value and that there is much skill involved.

The opposite is true, in fact - especially on superspeedways (read: the big ovals), drivers need to be very precise, smooth and aware of their surroundings at all times as they reach enormous top speeds in excess of 380 kph/240 mph in competitions like the IndyCar series. The slightest mistake could mean a race ending and potentially highly dangerous crash involving multiple cars, so the stakes are high when racing in close quarters to other cars.

And yet, the underlying principle is the same as in road racing: The car to complete the set race distance the fastest wins. It is the way there that differs considerably, however, and this is where many sims tend to struggle.

The Rules​

Despite the principle being the same, the rules of oval racing are usually rather different compared to circuit racing, most notably for full-course yellows. It is the exception rather than the norm for a yellow not to be thrown when something goes wrong during an oval race - even spins that do not result in contact with a wall are often the cause for a caution for safety reasons.

Implementing this into a sim that is not built with oval racing in mind from the ground up can be difficult, as Automobilista 2's case shows: A FCY system has been implemented in 2022, and while it works, it can be hit or miss when it is actually going to get triggered. Caution periods are also very short, so they do not present much of a tactical opportunity. There are no options to choose whether or not the pits should be closed once a yellow flag waves, either. However, the system could be imrpoved soon in combination with the introduction of an actually visible pace car being part of an upcoming update.

AMS2 CART 1998 Fontana Mark Blundell PacWest.png

Racing at over 240 mph on a Superspeedway has to be one of the most exciting things possible in sim racing - if it is pulled off correctly.

AI​

Getting the AI right when it is not built for ovals from the beginning can be a tricky task as well as the same principles at work in road racing do not necessarily apply on speedways. Do you gamble and stay out during a yellow to potentially gain positions should another caution fly soon, or do you use the opportunity to pit? These calls are highly subjective and not always rational, so getting AI drivers to act in a realistic manner in these instances proves to be challenging.

They also need to drive in a predictable and fair manner in order for players to be able to race them well, even more so than in road racing. Small lifts in unexpected places or an erratic steering movement can cause other cars to overreact, triggering unnecessary incidents. AI lines and their overall behavior are under a magnifying glass on ovals, especially the faster ones.

When the AI works, it can lead to spectacular oval races including exciting back-and-forth battles using the draft, but it can all fall apart quickly once it is time to pit under green due to weird AI behavior when trying to leave the track to get service.

Participation​

The issues listed above are all irrelevant for multiplayer racing, of course. Therein lies another problem, though: Ovals are often regarded as a novelty feature, which quickly loses its allure once drivers who find out how hard it can be to be fast around an oval lose interest - oval racing is an acquired taste in most of the world, after all.

This can also be the result of the different nature of oval setups: They are asymmetrical by default, meaning the usual methods of setting up a race car do not necessarily apply. And setups are essential to be fast on ovals - meaning many drivers will rely on the default setup. If this is not up to par, oval racing may not be enjoyable to them unless fixed setups are enabled.

As a result, developers may find it hard to justify putting in more effort into a discipline that is hardly used in their title.

iRacing NASCAR Next Gen.jpg

iRacing pulls of featuring in-depth oval races as well as circuit racing both on tarmac and dirt. Image credit: iRacing

Conclusion​

As you can see, there are quite a few elements that make oval racing tough to implement into a circuit-racing-based sim. The biggest factor is how different the discipline is compared to "normal" tracks, meaning any sim that is not built with it in mind from the get-go could struggle adding them later on.

The only modern simulation that manages to pull this dance off fine is iRacing, which even throws in dirt ovals. Of course, iRacing is rooted in the old NASCAR games by Papyrus, so the oval base was already very solid for the US-based sim. Participation is high due to this reputation and the official cooperation with NASCAR, and until the IndyCar license deal expired, open-wheel oval racing was very popular as well.

rFactor 2 also offers oval racing, but it can be hit or miss - it can be tweaked via config files, however, so the experience is highly customizable. The sim even features an official rendition of the Dallara IR-18 IndyCar, as well as a fictional NASCAR-style stock car

Your Thoughts​

What is your opinion on oval racing? Do you think there are other reasons for the difficulties when it comes to implementing the discipline into sims? Let us know in the comments below!
About author
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

Comments

Premium
It is clear that ovals are not all about turning left, given every race a percentage of them turned right in to the wall.
 
AI, tyre models and specific rules...

You really didn't need to write anything more than that...

AMS2 has great oval racing potential held back by the AI and MP net code...

When it's working all of the elements are there, 2-3 lane racing, bump drafting and FCYs even if they don't always activate... And soon an actual saftey car...

I've had many a great oval race over the years and 90% of the time it's the rules that have let down any sim... The tyre models from Pacejka onwards can be tweaked to work on an oval, but a lot of developers struggle with the concepts... Find a good league where they care about the rules and that isn't a problem as you can have a league admin call out the yellows and lucky dogs...

And most of those great races were outside of the so called best in oval racing sim in iRacing... Which has had tyre model issues over the years...

It's a very complex thing to get right from a developers and modders point of view... Even if it looks very simple as it's just 2-4 turns and a couple of straights... There's a lot that happens on an oval that rarely happens on a road course...
 
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Oval racing is Chess at 200mph. Not really about driving with skills required in, say, rally. It's more about not driving like an ass and being patient.
I would never waste a minute of my life actually watching it and have no interest in the soap opera that is NASCAR, but DAMN is it fun to do a good 250+ mile race. The strategy and constant moment by moment decision making is a thrill and makes it more exciting than other disciplines of racing. For me.
I've been sim racing for decades and the hugest accomplishment in my entire "career" was winning the CC 600 in iRacing a few years back.
6 hours of pure hell.
I lead 2 laps. The final two laps.
Gifted to me by fuel use and pit strategy.

iRacing is king AFAIK, but I can't afford it anymore. NH5 is nice for offline, but I'd rather race humans.
I believe LFM is running some rF2 oval this season. Most definitely going to check that out.
IMO rF2 stock cars are superior to iRacing and it seems rF2 has all the rules and oval racing oddities in place for some great online racing.
 
Some of this is down to car setup. Cup teams at the point in time NR2003 was released were experimenting with quite rearward weight bias which made the Fast or Expert level setups a bit absurd to drive. Moving the weight bias forward to keep the front end under load and the rear end predictable, and doing a once-over of your setup values, often fixes a lot about what's wrong with NR03.

A lot of the default setups that come with add-on tracks, I don't trust at all.

It's crazy how good NR03 feels when it's all dialed in, but there's a certain melancholy that comes with knowing it's been 20 years and nothing has ever replaced it.
There are exe mods that absolutely fix the weird grip issues NR2003 has, I use one called NR2K3RE that pretty much just ports the superior CTS tires to the other three physics models and makes them even better.

As for the add-on track setups, you usually can just take a setup from a similar track (they're ovals, they can only be so different let's be honest) and tweak it to suit your needs.
 
I don't know about you, but I'm having a blast driving CART Extreme at Fontana in Automobilista 1.
Never was a fan of oval racing, never understood it, until I got to try it.

400KMPH.
VR and a fan blowing at your face.
The wheel wants to break your arms.
AI fights you all the time.
One mistake and you're in hospital with a broken wrist.

The best fun I ever had.
 
As a predominently single player these days (well always have been since my Papyrus Indycar and Geoff Crammonds Grand Prix) I love oval racing still. I get a great kick out of finishing a long oval race with pitstops and incidents. I still regularly have a few hours of NR2003 (heavily modded) and recently Nascar Heat 5 which has surprised me how enjoyable it is.
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nascar crash.jpg

nascar win.jpg
 
Because it's a LOT more complex than most people think. Most people say "Oh it's cars turning left all the time, how complicated could it be". It's the same deal with American Football. Most say "Oh it's just a dumb brute force sport". Then they play some Madden and go like "what is going on here?".
 
Because it is perceived as quite easy and boring, also the rubbin's racin contacts and bumper drafting triggers this new racing fans that think that a car overtaking by braking later in a braking zone is dive bombing and very unfair.

Once that they try a game meant to race mostly on ovals with a hardcore physics simulation in mind they discover that: the races are way too long, it is very boring, too mentally exhausting, any minuscule mistake from other driver and they are dead, and for most of the people the cars are very hard to drive and the slightest of the mistakes ends up with their car very heavily crashing on the wall.

NR2003 proved all of it, and because of that it was never popular even among hardcore simracers despite being an incredibly well rounded simulator.
 
It's the same deal with American Football. Most say "Oh it's just a dumb brute force sport". Then they play some Madden and go like "what is going on here?".
just point a finger for me to those who talk §hit about so called "american football" :mad:

I literally watch 2 things on TV - motorsport and NFL :geek:
 
Ovals!? Ugghh!!

If it doesn't go UP and DOWN, as well as LEFT and RIGHT, I don't want to see it.
Tilke, NASCAR - hasta luego!

Portimao, Mid-Ohio, VIR, Spa, Charade - there is fun racing! :)
 
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