iRacing is regarded as the gold standard for competitive sim racing. No other simulation features a comparable, dedicated multiplayer system that treats the races like real events. RaceDepartment writer Yannik Haustein is taking his first, long-overdue steps in the sim now and takes you along with him – this time, focus shifts to oval racing.
Left turn after left turn – on first glance, oval racing seems simple. What is often overlooked is the fact that it is not just full throttle and turning left. As a big IndyCar fan, I have been familiar with this discipline of racing for quite a while, but have not seriously raced them myself – and since the idea came up to compete in the iRacing Indy 500 in May with a friend, it was time to take closer look at this type of racing. After all, an Oval C-License is required to be allowed to start the special event.
At the very beginning of my time in iRacing, I had tried one or two oval races in the USF2000 car, but that series had counted towards the road course license. Apart from this, I had done offline races with IndyCars against the AI in rFactor and Automobilista at Superspeedways multiple times, but online, it would be a completely fresh start. This start happened in the Street Stock cars at small ovals, so-called short tracks. Memorizing the track layout, as with any oval circuit, was no problem, but finding the quickest line through the corners and consistently hitting it is an entirely different story.
Short tracks can be described as very short “normal” road courses with very few turns, as using the brakes is essential on them, too. Also, finding a rhythm is arguably even more important than on road courses – just like mutual respect and cooperation with your fellow competitors. This was obvious in the Street Stock series already – if you do not leave enough space or go for a gap that is barely there, quickly ends in the wall and likely takes out a few uninvolved drivers as well.
Great successes were not on the cards, but focusing on having clean races quickly paid off: Getting promoted from rookies to a D-license only took a few races, a NASCAR truck race at Charlotte among them. At the 1,5 mile oval, things were moving much faster than before, incidents were bigger as a result – getting taken out right after the start and running behind in no man’s land is not very motivating, as I got to learn. However, the unpredictability of this kind of race makes it worth to keep going until the end.
In the next class up, the free content iRacing provides did not cover the possible series anyomore like it did in rookies. The next step was buying an ARCA car, and the series it ran in was racing at Phoenix International Raceway – while the car had to be purchased, the track was the legacy version of PIR, and thus free. While the track is longer than the short tracks, it is still one of the smaller ovals and also has very little banking in the turns. This makes the track very technical in stock cars, and keeping up in the ARCA car was not easy. Still, I usually found my way to the upper midfield if I could manage to steer clear of incidents.
Making progress in D class worked relatively quick as well, although a bit slower than in rookies. The iRacing season was in week 12 by this point though – to net the promotion to C class, I needed to gain more Safety Rating before the season rolled over and I would have needed a lot more SR to advance. As it turns out, entire Saturday afternoons just fly by when you do oval race after oval race – as a result, I managed to fulfill all the criteria to get a promotion as soon as season 2 gets started.
In C class, proper oval rules including full-course yellows come into effect, which makes the discipline even more intriguing – you can expect more entries of this series that focus on oval racing. The next event on the calendar, however, is the Nürburgring 24 Hours from April 8th to 10th – for now, the main focus is likely going to be the Nordschleife. After that, all concentration is on the Indy 500 – a highlight on the special events calendar.
What I Learned
Left turn after left turn – on first glance, oval racing seems simple. What is often overlooked is the fact that it is not just full throttle and turning left. As a big IndyCar fan, I have been familiar with this discipline of racing for quite a while, but have not seriously raced them myself – and since the idea came up to compete in the iRacing Indy 500 in May with a friend, it was time to take closer look at this type of racing. After all, an Oval C-License is required to be allowed to start the special event.
At the very beginning of my time in iRacing, I had tried one or two oval races in the USF2000 car, but that series had counted towards the road course license. Apart from this, I had done offline races with IndyCars against the AI in rFactor and Automobilista at Superspeedways multiple times, but online, it would be a completely fresh start. This start happened in the Street Stock cars at small ovals, so-called short tracks. Memorizing the track layout, as with any oval circuit, was no problem, but finding the quickest line through the corners and consistently hitting it is an entirely different story.
Short tracks can be described as very short “normal” road courses with very few turns, as using the brakes is essential on them, too. Also, finding a rhythm is arguably even more important than on road courses – just like mutual respect and cooperation with your fellow competitors. This was obvious in the Street Stock series already – if you do not leave enough space or go for a gap that is barely there, quickly ends in the wall and likely takes out a few uninvolved drivers as well.
Great successes were not on the cards, but focusing on having clean races quickly paid off: Getting promoted from rookies to a D-license only took a few races, a NASCAR truck race at Charlotte among them. At the 1,5 mile oval, things were moving much faster than before, incidents were bigger as a result – getting taken out right after the start and running behind in no man’s land is not very motivating, as I got to learn. However, the unpredictability of this kind of race makes it worth to keep going until the end.
In the next class up, the free content iRacing provides did not cover the possible series anyomore like it did in rookies. The next step was buying an ARCA car, and the series it ran in was racing at Phoenix International Raceway – while the car had to be purchased, the track was the legacy version of PIR, and thus free. While the track is longer than the short tracks, it is still one of the smaller ovals and also has very little banking in the turns. This makes the track very technical in stock cars, and keeping up in the ARCA car was not easy. Still, I usually found my way to the upper midfield if I could manage to steer clear of incidents.
Making progress in D class worked relatively quick as well, although a bit slower than in rookies. The iRacing season was in week 12 by this point though – to net the promotion to C class, I needed to gain more Safety Rating before the season rolled over and I would have needed a lot more SR to advance. As it turns out, entire Saturday afternoons just fly by when you do oval race after oval race – as a result, I managed to fulfill all the criteria to get a promotion as soon as season 2 gets started.
In C class, proper oval rules including full-course yellows come into effect, which makes the discipline even more intriguing – you can expect more entries of this series that focus on oval racing. The next event on the calendar, however, is the Nürburgring 24 Hours from April 8th to 10th – for now, the main focus is likely going to be the Nordschleife. After that, all concentration is on the Indy 500 – a highlight on the special events calendar.
What I Learned
- All ovals are not the same – anyone who takes a serious look at them quickly notices this. Knowing this before starting my oval journey was immensely helpful, as it prevented me from underestimating practice sessions. Even ovals with the same layout differ in where bumps are, which can lead to trouble on corner exits especially.
- Spotters are absolutely essential, and the one in Crew Chief does the job really well. Nowhere is it more important to know what is happening around your car than on ovals at potentially ludicrous speeds in higher classes.
- Stock Cars are more fun to drive than I first thought: The cliché that these cars are easy to drive needs to go away quickly. Due to their high weight and little aerodynamic downforce, Stock Cars are rather special and do not necessarily require the precision of IndyCars, but you do need to know how to steer them around a corner using the throttle and brake pedals.
