Race Lengths: Are They Laps, Kilometers Or Miles?
There’s nothing like watching a good race, no matter the level it’s at. Whether it’s a dirt track under the lights kicking up dust or a paved speedway with higher speeds, the thrill of racing is easy to get into our veins.
When watching a race, we know that there is a set amount of distance for the race that determines how many laps the vehicles must go.
A lap is one time around the length of the track.
But what about the track itself? How is that measured?
Each track is measured in the distance of miles. Some tracks can be as small as under one mile while others can be over a mile and a half.
Because of the distance around the track, this is what actually sets the lap count.
Most races are based on how many miles the drivers will complete. This is why you’ll often see a race be named “Something 500″. The 500 is the distance in miles the drivers will race.
However when you watch the race you may see that the drivers only need to go, for example, 300 laps. This means to complete the 500 mile race, based on the track length, the drivers will go 300 laps.
So the race lengths are actually determined by the distance around the track, done in miles. The laps come from that mileage.
