New Hampshire Motor Speedway - NHMS Roval CCW
El New Hampshire Motor Speedway forma parte regular de la serie NASCAR, operando desde 1990 en Loudon, Nueva Hampshire, a una hora y media de camino desde Boston, Massachusetts. La famosa pista de carreras de NASCAR es un típico óvalo de 1.058 millas (1.703 km) con alto peralte en las curvas. Pero esto no es todo lo que el complejo de el NHMS tiene para ofrecer, ya que también tiene un circuito de carretera de 1.6 millas (2.57 kilómetros) que comparte una porción de la pista oval y que regularmente alberga el Loudon Classic, la carrera de motocicletas más antigua en los Estados Unidos. La adición de seis curvas con impresionantes cambios de elevación al óvalo de NASCAR incrementa el nivel técnico requerido para completarla de forma satisfactoria.
Las carreras comienzan en el medio de la recta frontal, yendo en sentido contrario de las agujas del reloj y tomando la curva uno justo antes de ingresar a la pista oval. La curva 1A y la dos llevan a una recta trasera corta que utiliza los segmentos rectos con peralte de la pista oval hasta llegar a la curva número tres, en la cual los corredores giran fuertemente a la izquierda y comienzan a subir colina arriba. Los conductores después bajan en la curva cinco para enfrentarse con una curva número seis de alto peralte, donde tocan fondo y comienzan a subir de nuevo. La curva número nueve hace rechinar los neumáticos y lleva al reingreso a la pista oval en una curva número 10 de 90°, para luego completar el circuito con las curvas 11 y 12.
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.
