Why do Horse race tracks go counter clockwise?

Answer 1

Not all tracks are counter clockwise, but every NASCAR oval track has only left turns, because the drivers sit on that side of the car. The drivers generally try to keep to the inside of the track (because it is a shorter distance around the track) So by making all left turns, the drivers can better see what is going on around them. It is for safety reasons also; it keeps the driver away from the out side wall (guardrail in the old days).

In Australia, where they have a very active and popular oval track racing industry, the cars turn RIGHT, not left. This has to do with the fact that in that country the driver sits on the right side of the car, not the left as in the USA.

Despite some claims, it has nothing to do with centrifugal forces. Some link the direction the cars follow on track to the spin of water going down a drain- supposedly, the spin of water in a drain is dictated by the earth's rotation and varies depending upon the hemisphere, north or south. The entire drain theory, however, is a myth; the earth's rotation and being in a certain hemisphere has no bearing on either water in a drain nor the forces exerted on cars on a track.

Answer 2

William Whitley,of Stanford,Kentucky started racing horses counter clock wise in protest to the English.Becausethe English race there horses clock wise. This was started in 1788

Why in Australia do some states race clock-wise and others counter-clockwise
Just about every circular sport runs counterclockwise-horse racing, NASCAR, Baseball. Why? Who knows? Though most believe it was probably an arbitrary decision and tradition that started with the chariot races at Rome's Circus Maximus stadium in the sixth century BC, experts in biomechanics think there also may be some coincidental physiological benefits. Most people are right-leg dominant, so they use their left leg more for support. When running counterclockwise, you'll take longer strides with your right leg-which allows for more propulsion and speed on the turns.

Source: http://www.womens-running.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244--11413-0,00.html ____________ We run counterclockwise because everything in nature tends towards counterclockwise motion"

because we read from left to right.

Going counterclockwise just looks more natural, with runners passing the observer in the

way most people, and especially the folks in charge of Track and Field regulations, read

and organize chronological time (that's left-to-right, if you're in need of a visual).

Needing to choose one for the sake of standardizing international competitions,

counterclockwise got the collective nod.

Source:

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/answers2/frontend.php/question?qid=20070722065122AA2yuJ3

Answer 3

Because if they didn't they would hit the wall.

More to the point, if they drove clockwise the driver would be on the wall side, as opposed to the driver being toward the infield. By going counter clockwise they have effectively reduced the amount of driver side impacts to the retaining wall.

Answer 4

If that means left, YES!!!

Watkins Glen road course is the only NASCAR race run clockwise.

NASCAR, as well as those races on all high speed oval tracks, run counterclockwise. I have found two main reason for this.

Reason 1. There are two forces acting upon a car when running high speeds on an oval track. One being the outward centrifugal force exerted when going into the turn (that's why the turns are are banked), and the gyroscopic force created by the spin of the motor. You may not think that the spin of a motor would have an effect, but at high speeds it does. They chose the counterclockwise direction so that the force of the motor could help decrease the outward centrifugal force of the turns. If they ran in the clockwise direction, these two forces would add, and it would be practically impossible to keep the car from hitting the wall.

Reason 2. It keeps the drivers of the cars farther away from the walls in case they lose traction and slam into them.

The only tracks that do not run in this manner are the road course tracks. These tracks have no banked turns, and the turns may be in any direction. That's also why the speed going into the turns are so much slower, than that of tracks with banked turns.

Answer 5

Because its a road race - is a poor answer to the question. The fact that Watkins Glen is a road course does not determine the direction of flow (although many road course do run in a clockwise direction) - it's initial design is the determining factor. Watkins Glen was designed to be driven in a specific direction, in this case clockwise. Therefore, running a race at The Glen in the opposite direction would create numerous safety problems: Runoff areas; Armco safety barrier setup and design; Pit design. And the list goes on and on.

Very few road-racing tracks are designed to run in both directions. The first that comes to mind was the road-course at the old Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California. I competed at that course in both directions in Formula Ford and also ran the last Formula Atlantic race there in 1976 (which was won by Gilles Villeneuve - I finished 15th, one lap down in my EAR Plug, Baker Precision Bearing, FORMULA Magazine sponsored 4-year old March 712).

All that being said, the correct answer to the question is the road-course races are run in the direction the track was designed for - which is true for both Infineon (Sears Point) and Watkins Glen.

Answer 6

it just has been a tradition. NASCAR just ended it 60th year