to build a flat track

[cattle-dog]

i think i would like to build my own flat track to play around on, so i need a little info. i have my own tractors with 3 point tiller, a backhoe, dozer, and dump truck.
1) how big should the track be? i have tons of room.
2) what is the surface, clay,sandyloam, or just loose dirt?
3) should the surface be rolled to pack it?
4)are the corners banked?
i am really going to do this so any info would be great, thanks cattle-dog

[atc350xer]

It would be so nice to have the room to do something like this... looking forward to seeing

[nitrodude81r]

The corners dont have to be banked, loose dirt would probably be good, and you should roll it to pack the dirt. Good luck, post some pics.

[leviblue]

I run a 600cc micro sprint and tend to like 1/8 mile bullrings but 1/4 mile is a blast too. No banking just a good sticky clay base. no loose sht it'll pack down like ice after awhile. There's alot of care for a flat-track more so than a MX track....If you have a local stockcar dirt track I would go and take a look and talk to the guy who grades the track before the races...most will give you more info than you need....good luck with it

[DixiePlowboy]

The track size should be big enough for you to get as fast as you feel comfortable going into a turn. Do you want a 3rd gear technical track or a 5th-6th gear monster?

The corners can be semi-banked, but I wouldn't go too far with banking.....just as I would not use clay. At least not clay like I (a Bama boy) understands clay to be. Way too sticky unless you like slowing down and hugging turns/fighting the bars and trying to keep the rear end flat.


Of course, the above advice is coming from one person who has ran certain tracks and rides a certain way. What you like, how you ride, and how you're willing to set up for it will have alot to do with whether or not you like what I like. I like no brakes, fast paced, and loose.

[Race Demon]

I like Dixie Plowboys, way of thinking. The two tracks we have built for our {mad70s} are slightly different on purpose but are ruffly 20 feet wide all the way around and 60 feet inside to inside with a lenth of 120ft long inside to inside down the straights ruffly, They are built to run modified 70s on, most of us are x racers of some kind and want the rush of racing without a sqaud to hall us away, thats somthing else to think about the track is dirt and clay mixed , packed with a lawn roller and drug with a homemade drag, little to no banking, bigger bikes will make banking for you over time, getting the track ot drain and keeping it smooth is where the real problem is . the early videos on mad70s you can see the stuff we use sitting in the middle of the track

[cattle-dog]

race demon and dixie i like to ride fast and hard and little to no brakes, i had set up a oval in the snow with my father and we had a blast that was fast and loose lol, we didnt use studs eather just hung it out there. i think i will try the normal dirt first and see how we like it. if i decide to improve the grip the clay i have access to is high compaction clay used at land fills and our local dirt sanctioned stock car tracks. the clay is very resonably priced if i truck it myself. drainage wont be a problem as i will choose a dry location we have lots of room, i am going to buld it at the back of our property so it wont bother the people who live around us.

[leviblue]

Dixie I'm just saying go out and check out the local dirt tracks. Some of the tracks I run in sprints lets the quads come out after heat races when the track is packed down. Alot of dirt tracks are 60-70% clay based and thats to keep most of the track on the track. Bridgeport speedway a 5/8 mile track got a million dollar load of clay from Georgia last year and I know of plenty of others that do that to. Eldora , Tony Stewart's track is from down south. It's just the mix after that. Our tracks are grated and sprayed down before the first hot lap is done. After the heat races the track packs down to almost a slick asphalt thats getting the groves cut into the corners. I don't know how the quads do it cuz it's a bumpy rutty ride. After the mains it's like ice and it's slick. This is my exp with dirt tracks and I'm just suggesting to take a look at the local tracks, he's got a quite a few in westren NY and I've raced a two of them, so it wouldn't really hurt now would it? But who am I ...oh the guy who's running a car tomorrow on a 1/4 mile dirt track....and we run fast too

[cattle-dog]

i grew up at the dirt tracks levi, back when we had bigblock modifieds here ransomville speedway, merritville,batavia, the list gos on, and i know how the track gets once the surface packs and turns black from the rubber, but boy once you find the groove look out!. hey good luk today sprints are crazy fast and a blast to watch, if you come up this way give me a hollar i swing out and meet up. cattle=dog

[dickieg89]

I'll offer to help if an hour or two on a saturday morning would help.

[cattle-dog]

that would be cool dickig it will be after first round of hay season ours will be ready next week or week after, just trying to get some ideas from the guys who have raced wheelers on flat tracks.

[dickieg89]

do you need help with hay? Square I can help, round, i'm too old to throw anymore...

[cattle-dog]

this year i throw for my 80 year old nieghbor and we will split the crop. he actually threw his own bales until last year !!! yes a 79 year old man throwing 1500 bales by himself while his wife baled!!! all in a week which for his age is incredable. our bales are 60 lbs average. i dont have a elevator so i throw mine into the loft once the wagon gets low.

[Dirtcrasher]

My dads 70 and plays hockey 4 times a week!! Keeps them alive I'll tell ya; That man can EASILY outwork me, but I haven't had a regular schedule/routine in about a year and 8 months now........................

Dad says when he can't get "lai.", play hockey and drive a car that I'll find him in the garage with the doors shut and the "Moody Blues" playing on the car radio. I love ya DAD!!

Anyhow:

I would start off with one flat track and see what you like and feel safe with. 3rd gear pinned is pretty quick, barely enough time to grab 4th on the short straights.......

The type of dirt matters too, Not only for traction and sliding but also the dust it brings up. Although a sprinkler system can take care of that

I'd dig it down a couple feet and get all that earthy material out of there. Maybe them build a solid base (such as reprocessed concrete and or repro. asphalt) and cover the top 2 feet with whatever material you choose. I look forward to seeing your progress!! I'll build one at some point too for the 70's and a modded 350X. It won't be anything put together quickly if you want it safe though!

I'm not getting any younger and 80MPH on a flat track doesn't excite me anymore! (But ice would ) Also, not sure about where you live, but in my state my homeowners policy doesn't cover ANY gas powered equipment resulting in an injury. Regardless of a "waiver" or promises made from friends. Once someone is in a chair for life, it all changes.....................