Why are oval race tracks made?

Answer 1

Some are oval, some are round, and some are tri-ovals. To be round, you don't get a long enough straitaway, to be square, well, that wouldn't work out, much like rectangular, so, I guess the oval pattern was put to use because all the other shapes were either spoken for, or, too hard to work with. They tried just plain old strait, amd, well, that spawned a whole other sport. I guess it just worked out.

Answer 2

so drivers can race each other. it's called a race track for a reason. although road courses are also used, ovals are more common because they go by faster if they follow one path for X amount of miles.

Answer 3

Just about any form of racing involves going around in a circular fashion of some sort, unless you are talking about a Baja 500 or 1000 race, Rally Race or Dakar Race. The answer is quite simple really. If a a race is 500 miles long most racing cars (and passenger cars) cannot make the required distance without stopping for fuel, tires, adjustments, or repairs If the cars were to race a straight line distance it would be impossible to pre-plan a pitting area for each team to pit in.