Creating a Fast Lap database, need suggestions

[Ludachris]

I'm creating a list similar to the 1/4 Mile Times and Dyno sections:
DSM 1/4 Mile Times - 1/4 ET
DSM Dyno Challenge - Highest Horsepower

I need to nail down the additional Profile field data we'll need for this. Here's what I have in my notes so far:

- Lap Time
- Date
- Track List (pulldown menu)
- Class Ran In
- Link to Proof (should point to a NASA or SCCA-type site with results)
- Mods/Notes for Lap Time (in case it's different from the user's current mod list)

Any other necessary data that we should create a field for? Keep in mind we want as few fields as possible, so only suggest critical data.

The page will then be sortable by Track. I'd like to eventually have each Track time list sortable by Car, Drivetrain, Fuel Type, Turbo Type, etc, similar to the Dyno list and 1/4 Mile list, but to be honest, I doubt there will be that many DSM's running at each track for those sorting options to be necessary.

The one problem I see coming up is the different track configurations. In the beginning, I think we'll just ask users to enter lap times for the full track in its most popular configuration - lap times that were run at an organization event like NASA or SCCA which has online results available for verification. I'll then start adding different configurations in the Track List pull-down in the profile to depict those different configurations. Any other issues that you can see coming up?

I'm thinking we can allow for up to 3 Fast Lap entries in the profile. Any more than that would probably be overkill.

 

[Ludachris]

And here's the list of tracks Tim came up with that we'll be putting in the Profile pull-down menu for users to choose from:
<ul>
Arizona Motorsports Park - Litchfield,AZ
Arroyo Seco Raceway - Fairacres,NM
Aspen Sports Car Club - Woody Creek,CO
Atlanta Motor Speedway - Atlanta,GA
Atlantic Motorsport Park - Shubenacadie,Nova Scotia
Auto Club Speedway - Fontana,CA
Autobahn Country Club - Joliet,IL
Autodrome St. Eustache - St.Eustache,QC Canada
Barber Motorsports Park,Birmingham,AL
BeaveRun Motorsports Complex - Wampum,PA
Blackhawk Farms Raceway - South Beloit,IL
Brainerd International Raceway - Brainerd,MN
Bremerton Raceway - Bremerton,WA
Bridgehampton Race Circuit - Bridgehampton,NY
Buttonwillow Raceway - Buttonwillow,CA
California Speedway - Fontana,CA
Carolina Motorsports Park - Kershaw,SC
Coos Bay International Speedway - Coos Bay,OR
Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach,FL
Englishtown Raceway - Englishtown,NJ
Firebird International Raceway - Chandler,AZ
Gateway Raceway - Madison,IL
GingerMan Raceway - South Haven,MI
Grand Junction Motor Speedway - Grand Junction,CO
Grand Prix of Cleveland - Cleveland,OH
Grand Prix of Palm Springs - Palm Springs,CA
Grattan Raceway Park - Grattan,MI
Hallett Motor Racing Circuit - Hallett,OK
Hawaii Raceway Park - Ewa Beach,HI
Heartland Park Topeka - Topeka,KS
Highplains Raceway, Byers,CO
Holtville Raceway - Holtville,CA
Indianapolis Raceway Park - Clermont,IN
Infineon Raceway - Sonoma,CA
LaJunta Raceway - LaJunta,CO
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - North Las Vegas,NV
Lime Rock Park - Lime Rock,CT
Lowes Motor Speedway - Concord,NC
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca - Salinas,CA
Memphis Motorsports Park - Memphis,TN
Mid-America Motorplex - Pacific Junction,IA
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course - Lexington,OH
Miller Motorsports Park - Tooele,UT
Mission Raceway Park - Mission, BC Canada
Nelson Ledges Road Course - Southington,OH
Moroso Motorsports Park - Palm Beach Gardens,FL
Mosport International Raceway - Mosport,ON Canada
Nashville Super Speedway - Lebanon,TN
New Hampshire International Speedway - Loudon,NH
North Carolina Speedway - Rockingham,NC
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park - Englishtown,NJ
Pacific Raceways - Kent,WA
Phoenix International Raceway - Avondale,AZ
Pocono Raceway - Long Pond,PA
Portland International Raceway - Portland,OR
Pueblo Motorsports Park - Pueblo,CO
Putnam Park Road Course - Mount Meridian,IN
Race City Motorsports Park - Calgary,AB Canada
Road America - Elkart Lake,WI
Road Atlanta Motor Sports Center - Braselton,GA
San Diego Grand Prix - San Diego,CA
Sebring International Raceway - Sebring,FL
Shannonville Motorsports Park - Belleville,ON Canada
Spokane Raceway Park - Spokane,WA
Spring Mountain Motorsports Park - Pahrump,NV
St Johns Grand Prix - St Johns,AZ
Stratotech International Raceway - Fort Saskatchewan,AB Canada
Summit Point Raceway: Jefferson Circuit - Summit Point,WV
Summit Point Raceway: Shenandoah Circuit - Summit Point,WV
Syracuse Grand Prix - Syracuse,NY
Talladega Gran Prix Raceway - Munford,AL
Texas Motorsport Ranch - Cresson,TX
Thunderhill Park - Willows,CA
Virginia International Raceway - Alton,VA
Waterford Hills Road Racing - Clarkston,MI
Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen,NY
Willow Springs Raceway - Rosamond,CA
</ul>

Let me know if we need to add to it.

 

[Rx3]

You may want to consider adding Calabogie Motorsports Park and Shanonville to the track list.

Also, you might as well have all the track variations in the track list right off the bat because there are MANY track events that don't run the full courses due to scheduling or $$$$ (VIR and Shannonville would be a prime example). You will have way more track times at different configurations than you will have for the full track. Having people "write-in" results for shorter track configs will just make it harder for the database to be accurate and create more work when you do get around to putting the other configurations on the list and the data has to be transcribed over.


Other parameters missing from the database:

• track temperature
• weather conditions

 

[snowborder714]

Another track you might want to add is New Jersey Motorsports Park. They have 2 tracks - Thunderbolt and Lightning.

 

[tsiboosted]

Can we add No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, LA. to the list Chris? I really like this idea here man. I updated some lap times in the other thread on here not too long ago. Good job

Also, any event/track that uploads to MyLaps.com could be utilized as well. This would give the proof/verification of the lap.

 

[Ludachris]

Here's a resource I found to come up with all of the configurations:
e-Tracks: North America | USA

Let me know if that looks pretty accurate. I'll have to strip out the street courses...

 

[awdfun]

FYI, our local NASA organization runs Firebird Int'l Raceway in three configurations:
Firebird Main (as posted in the elink)
Firebird East and Firebird West as well. I've only run the East configuration, so I don't have a whole lot of info on the other two.

 

[Ludachris]

Here's an updated track list, with configurations added...

<ul>
Arizona Motorsport Park - Full (AZ)
Arizona Motorsport Park - East (AZ)
Arizona Motorsport Park - West (AZ)
Arroyo Seco Raceway (NM)
Aspen Sports Car Club (CO)
Atlantic Motorsport Park (Nova Scotia)
Autobahn Country Club - Full (IL)
Autobahn Country Club - North (IL)
Autobahn Country Club - South (IL)
Autodrome St. Eustache (QC, Canada)
Barber Motorsports Park (AL)
BeaveRun - Full (PA)
BeaveRun - North (PA)
BeaveRun - South (PA)
Blackhawk Farms (IL)
Brainerd (MN)
Bremerton Raceway (WI)
Bridgehampton (NY)
Buttonwillow Raceway - Full (CA)
Buttonwillow Raceway - East (CA)
Buttonwillow Raceway - West (CA)
Calabogie Motorsports Park - Full (ON, Canada)
Calabogie Motorsports Park - East (ON, Canada)
Calabogie Motorsports Park - West (ON, Canada)
Carolina Motorsports Park - Full (SC)
Carolina Motorsports Park - East (SC)
Carolina Motorsports Park - West (SC)
Daytona (FL)
Firebird International Raceway - Full (AZ)
Firebird International Raceway - East (AZ)
Firebird International Raceway - West (AZ)
Gateway (IL)
Gingerman Raceway (MI)
Grand Junction Motor Speedway (CO)
Grattan Raceway (MI)
Hallett (OK)
Hawaii Raceway Park (HI)
Hawaii Raceway Park - Short (HI)
Heartland Park Topeka - Grand Prix Course (KS)
Heartland Park Topeka - Intermediate Course (KS)
Heartland Park Topeka - Club Course (KS)
Heartland Park Topeka - Short Course (KS)
Highplains Raceway - Full (CO)
Highplains Raceway - North (CO)
Highplains Raceway - West (CO)
Highplains Raceway - Short (CO)
Homestead-Miami Speedway (FL)
Infineon Raceway (CA)
Laguna Seca (CA)
Lime Rock Park (CT)
Michigan - Internal Course (MI)
Michigan - External Course (MI)
Michigan - External Extended Course (MI)
Michigan - Long Course (MI)
Michigan - Extended Long Course (MI)
Mid America Motorplex (IA)
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (OH)
Miller Motorsports Park - Full (UT)
Miller Motorsports Park - Perimeter (UT)
Miller Motorsports Park - East (UT)
Miller Motorsports Park - West (UT)
Mission Raceway Park (BC, Canada)
Moroso Motorsports Park (FL)
Mosport International Raceway (ON, Canada)
Nelson Ledges Road Course (OH)
New Hampshire International Speedway (NH)
New Jersey Raceway - Lighting (NJ)
New Jersey Raceway - Thunderbolt (NJ)
No Problem Raceway (IL)
O'Reilly Raceway Park (IN)
Pacific Raceways (WA)
Pikes Peak International Raceway (CO)
Pocono Raceway (PA)
Portland International Raceway (OR)
Pueblo Motorsports Park (CO)
Putnam Park (IN)
Race City Motorsports Park (AB, Canada)
Rausch Creek (PA)
Road America - Full (WI)
Road America - Short (WI)
Road Atlanta (GA)
Roebling Road Raceway (GA)
Savannah Harbor (GA)
Sebring (FL)
Shannonville Motorsports Park - Full (ON, Canada)
Shannonville Motorsports Park - Perimeter (ON, Canada)
Shannonville Motorsports Park - Fabi Circuit (ON, Canada)
Shannonville Motorsports Park - Nelson Circuit (ON, Canada)
Spokane Raceway Park (WA)
Spring Mountain Motorsports Park (NV)
St Johns Grand Prix (AZ)
Stratotech International Raceway (AB, Canada)
Summit Point Raceway - Jefferson Circuit (WV)
Summit Point Raceway - Shenandoah Circuit (WV)
Syracuse Grand Prix (NY)
Talladega Superspeedway (AL)
Texas Motorsport Ranch (TX)
Thunderhill Raceway Park (CA)
Virginia International Raceway (VA)
Waterford Hills (MI)
Watkins Glen (NY)
West Palm Beach (FL)
Willow Springs (CA)
Willow Springs - Streets of Willow Short (CA)
Willow Springs - Streets of Willow Medium (CA)
Willow Springs - Streets of Willow Long (CA)
Willow Springs - Streets of Willow Extended (CA)
</ul>

Looking better?

 

[tsiboosted]

Starting to look great Chris. This will be a very kewl feature on the site. One thing, No Problem Raceway is in Louisiana, not Illinois

 

[snowborder714]

Pocono Raceway has multiple different configurations as well. They have North Course, East Course, and South Course. But what is tricky is they can have multiple infield configurations, which can link multiple courses. Per NASA's Northeast website, they run North and East, along with single and double infield.
NASA NE 2009

Not even sure how to approach this, as I'm not familiar with the track and how it can be set up. I can't find anything that says this either.

 

[asian312]

Here's some for the Texas area:

Motorsports Ranch Cressen - 1.7 and 3.1 configurations
Motorsports Ranch Houston
Texas World Speedway - 2.9 (CW and CCW)
Eagles Canyon Raceway
Harris Hill Raceway

What about accepting logs from data acquisition systems (ex. Traqmate)?

 

[Evan K.]

Thunderhill Raceway has four configurations. Normal and CW, both with or without the bypass.

Reno-Fernley raceway in Fernley Nv. is another one to add to the list. Only problem I can see is that it has so many configurations that it would be a bear to list them all.

 

[Ludachris]

I agree about the config issue. That's why I don't know if we will want to list them all. Maybe we'll just do the popular ones. The goal of this database is mainly to be a benchmark for DSMers involved in Time Trials/Time Attack events. It's about bragging rights as well. But with all of the tracks out there that have several different configurations, it's going to be difficult to cover everything, I know. People will just have to understand.

This project is going to be the first of its kind, and as a result, will be far from perfect. But it will also be unique and very cool. It's not an easy feature to build, and that's probably why nobody has done it before us. But just like many of the other sections that we have on this site (Parts Catalog, Photo Gallery, dynamic 1/4 Mile List, dynamic Dyno Section, etc), it will be the first of its kind in the DSM world, and in some cases, the entire online car enthusiast world.

So let's try to keep it as simple as we can and yet have it be as robust as possible.

 

[tsiboosted]

I agree about the config issue. That's why I don't know if we will want to list them all. Maybe we'll just do the popular ones. The goal of this database is mainly to be a benchmark for DSMers involved in Time Trials/Time Attack events. It's about bragging rights as well. But with all of the tracks out there that have several different configurations, it's going to be difficult to cover everything, I know. People will just have to understand.

This project is going to be the first of its kind, and as a result, will be far from perfect. But it will also be unique and very cool. It's not an easy feature to build, and that's probably why nobody has done it before us. But just like many of the other sections that we have on this site (Parts Catalog, Photo Gallery, dynamic 1/4 Mile List, dynamic Dyno Section, etc), it will be the first of its kind in the DSM world, and in some cases, the entire online car enthusiast world.

So let's try to keep it as simple as we can and yet have it be as robust as possible.

Couldnt agree more. You the K.I.S.S. method on this one. GREAT job Chris and anyone and everyone who are involved in this project

Keep It Simple Stupid

 

[snowborder714]

Why not just eliminate all of the different configurations (or just leave out the hard tracks or ones you haven't done) and put a text box where the user can enter the configuration if they know or want to? This way it can still be an option, but you don't have to go through the hassle of finding every track's configurations.

 

[UofACATS]

- Lap Time
- Date
- Track List (pulldown menu)
- Class Ran In
- Link to Proof (should point to a NASA or SCCA-type site with results)
- Mods/Notes for Lap Time (in case it's different from the user's current mod list)


I'm thinking we can allow for up to 3 Fast Lap entries in the profile.

That list is sufficient. Being clear, user friendly, and easy to read is just as important as getting all the nitty-gritty details included. You could add a "Note:________ "section at first to allow for an extra pertinent detail. (If people use that section regularly, I think we'll see a pattern and the initial list can be modified to include it.) Example: my track is faster going CCW rather than CW, both of which are run regularly. Do I think that should be a choice? No, it's unnecessary and adds clutter without much benefit. If I feel it's necessary however, I can add CW or CCW in the note section.

- Link to Proof (should point to a NASA or SCCA-type site with results)

Will a link to a picture of the laptime be allowed? (like with drag slips)

 

[338vr4]

Lud
what if we aren't going to any timed events and just have a vid camera to prove our time??
I for one will never be doing anything other then HPDE's and track days in general.

 

[KevinBoosted]

Hey Chris any new updates? Add Phoenix International Raceway to the list, my new setup should be laying down some times there pretty soon

 

[TKW#13]

If you keep the different configurations of each track, Miller Motorsports Park is
Full track 4.2 miles
Outer Loop
East track
West track

Is anyone coming to the SCCA Club Trials on June 19th? It is on West track, last year I ran 1:48.57, going for 1:44 with all the new upgrades.