[ To read this file, select Format/Word Wrap from the menu above. ]

September 2018

Track name: Riverhead 2018 PST
Racing Sim: NASCAR Racing 2003 Season simulation.
Short Track: 0.25 Mile oval
Author:  J.R. Franklin and Project: Short Track


TABLE OF CONTENTS:

[1] HOW TO INSTALL THE TRACK
[2] GENERAL TRACK INFORMATION
[3] WHAT WAS CHANGED FROM ORIGINAL TRACK
[4] NOTES ABOUT THIS TRACK  
[5] TROUBLE REPORTING
[6] DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION
[7] AGREEMENT OF USE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[1] HOW TO INSTALL THE TRACK
====================================

Unzip the zip file to:  C:\Papyrus\Nascar Racing 2003 Season\tracks\. If you have multiple installations of NR2003S on your PC, you will need to manually select the tracks directory where you wish to install this track.



[2] GENERAL TRACK INFORMATION
====================================

Type: Real track

AI: Yes.  Working pit stalls for 29 total cars (28 opponents).

Mod support: Cup, GNS, CTS. (This track was not tested using any other physics other than those.)

Track Information: 0.25 mile asphalt tri-oval located in Riverhead, NY.

Banking Information:  12 degrees in the corners, 6 degrees on the straightaways.  

History and Background:  Riverhead Raceway is one of the oldest existing stock car race tracks in the United States, having been built in 1949 and continuing to be successfully operational today.  Riverhead Raceway is a one-quarter mile asphalt, high-banked oval which also includes a world-famous Figure 8 course.

Riverhead Raceway is part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and has been part of the popular NASCAR family for most of its existence. It is the only NASCAR stock car track in the New York metropolitan area. With multiple racing divisions every Saturday night and hundreds of cars in the pits, competition is fast and furious. Riverhead also features many special shows such as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour appaearing twice on the National Schedule each season.  In addition, the track features INEX Legends National Qualifier, NEMA Midgets, Enduros, Demolition Derby, School Bus Figure 8 & Demo, Monster Trucks and much, much more!  (Portions of the above were excerpted from the Riverhead Raceway official website.  www.RiverheadRaceway.com.)
 
This NR2003 version of "Riverhead 2018 PST" is an attempt to closely resemble the track as it appeared for the 2018 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events. Riverhead 2018 PST is not, however, an exact replica of the Riverhead Raceway nor do the limits of NR2003 allow it to be.  



[3] CREDITS:
====================================

1.  J.R. Franklin:  Project manager, graphic enhancement, detailing and immersion, 3d object creation, editing and texturing, camera files, Lps, AI tuning and balancing, surface grip levels for multiple racing grooves, quality assurance and testing.

2.  Ben Althen:  Graphics support and chief immersion consultant, painting of real-life recreations of Hoosier, WMT Team Haulers, miscellaneous signs, billboards, box trucks and various other support vehicles seen in this and many PST tracks.   Provided many reference photos of the facility.  Quality assurance and testing.

3.  Wayne "Bowtie" Anderson:  Creation of 3d objects too numerous to mention individually.

4.  Ian Smythe:  Creation of base track, miscellaneous 3d objects, assistence and consultation.

5.  Carl "Riviera71" Sundberg:  Sandbox expertise.

6.  Beta Testing Team:  Justin Bonsignore (2018 NASCAR WMT Champion and winner of 6 WMT Events at Riverhead), Timmy Solomito (current NWMT Driver and winner of 3 WMT events), Mark Downing, Jim Windrow of STR SimRacing and Mike Ehresman of GroundPounderDesigns.com.


Additional credits:

7.  John Norton (WKC Tracks):  Miscellaneous objects and general consultation.

8.  Mystical (racing.armorydigital.net):  custom 3d objects.

9.  Michael Ciarlo (BB-MC NR2003 Tracks): asphalt infield texture patches and optional twilight sky files.

10. Reference sources:      
    a.  Riverhead Raceway Facebook page.
    b.  Google Earth, maps, miscellaneous images and videos.
    c.	Michael "Jaws" Jaworecki, photography.
    d.  Myracenews.smugmug.com and Myracenews Facebook page and photos.
    e.  Whelen Modified Tour Facebook page and photos
    f.  PitstopPitbull.com (Peter Milano) videos and Noah Watts photos
    g.  Mod Squad Racing Media Photography
    h.  Ben Althen photographs
    i.  Racing-Reference.info
    
11. To anyone else whom we may have unintentionally neglected to mention but contributed in the creation of objects that have been borrowed from other NR2003 tracks for this project, we sincerely appreciate your contributions to NR2003.
 
We owe a debt of gratitude to each of you for your contributions, time, support and help.



[4] KNOWN ISSUES AND NOTES ABOUT THIS TRACK
============================================= 

This track was constructed under "Butter's Rule" to make it capable to run with AI.  However, because of the size of this track at 0.25 mi., it pushes the NR2003 simulation to beyond the limits of what it was originally intended.

1.  For the best results with this track, we highly recommend you use the following:

     a.  A default papy_ai.ini
     b.  The default fast setups for each physics (Cup, GNS and CTS) 
     c.  The opponent strength set at 97%. 
     d.  Ratings for the car sets used in testing and in developing the A.I. for this track are from the NRatings program using the MasGrafx Full Season V3.1 formulas. 

2.  Highly Detailed Graphics Rich Track.  In an effort to duplicate the details of the real Riverhead Raceway facility and capture as much immersion as possible for the end user, we have poured a ton of high-resolution objects and detaling into this project.  Please be advised that this track may tax the ability of some computers. We apologize in advance if this is the case for you. If you are experiencing difficulty running this track and your frame rates are dropping below 30 FPS, we might recommend installing the 4GB Patch offered at NTCore.com (https://ntcore.com/?page_id=371).  Details about installing this patch can be found at the StunodRacing.net forum:  (http://stunodracing.net/index.php?threads/4-gb-patch.7183/).

3.  Duel Pit Road.  The way the pits are laid out at the real Riverhead Racway made it impossible to duplicate in NR2003 and have properly working A.I..  As a result, we had to make a compromise in realism.  The entry to the pits in our NR2003 version is off of turn 2 leading into dual pits (13 pit stalls on the left and 16 pit stalls on the right) located behind the backstretch grandstands.  The entry back onto the track is in it's real-life location beween turns 3 and 4.  We have detailed the rest of the pits with objects to very closely resemble how the real Riverhead Raceway pits are and as a result we feel that you will agree that this compromise configuration does not detract from the overall look, feel and enjoyment of the track.

4.  Realiging After A Caution.  As is the case with most short tracks made for NR2003, it may take a little longer for the NR2003 "Race Director in the tower" to get the AI realigned after a caution flies. This quarter mile track holds 29 cars in the starting field.  When they are pacing single file under cation, the 29-car pacing line almost completely encircles the entire track to the point where the pace car almost reaches the back bumper of the last place car.  The pace car and leaders may pass some of the tail end cars when the caution first comes out.  BE PATIENT and get in line behind the car that the spotter tells you to as soon as possible.  The field will get sorted out and re-aligned properly. Sometimes during a caution, after some pitting has occured, the game will wave off the re-start if the field has not realigned and closed up properly and other times it'll just throw the green flag when back markers have not caught up, so be ready to go at all times.  

5.  Caution Pacing.  During caution laps, the A.I. will speed up, then slow suddenly, then speed back up again, etc.  This cycle is a behavior we call the "Brake Check Accordian Effect". In other cases when A.I. cars are pitting, the A.I. cars pacing on the track will slow suddenly and sometimes stop in the middle of the track and wait for a car rolling slowly into the pits off the apron.  These are behaviors we have observed in other short tracks of this size built under Butter's Rule.  Unfortunately, in no cases have we been able to solve these issues. So please be aware of this and give yourself plenty of room behind the car in front of you while pacing under caution, be prepared to stop suddenly or drive to the outside of the car in front of you in case he suddenly brake-checks.  We have worked hard to minimize this and feel that by giving you this "heads up" about it you will find that it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of racing at Riverhead PST.  

6.  Pit Stops.  We had set up this track to run a full 200 lap race on one set of tires.  However, in the event you do need to pit, we have intentionally set the caution pace speed very slow at 30 mph and pit road speed at 55 mph. Routine 4-tire and gas pit stops are possible without losing a lap depending on how close you are behind the pace car when you make your stop. If you are further back in line, you probably will not have enough time to complete damage repairs or a full 4-tire stop with gas and still remain on the lead lap, so plan your pit work accordingly. 

If you do pit under caution pay attention to the STOP/GO Paddle Man located far down pit road well past the white paint line across the front of the first 2 stalls.  If he is displaying the STOP sign, you MUST stop BEFORE that white paint line or you will receive a penalty and go to the end of the longest line.  We positioned that STOP/GO Paddle Man that far down pit road so that he can be seen from the cockpit view of cars pitting in those front 2 stalls.
  
7.  Pit Stop Frequency.  It is highly recommended that this track ONLY be run with "Pit Stop Frequency" set at 1X.  Higher Pit Stop Frequency" settings of 2X, 3X or 4X will introduce problems, cause confusion with the AI and should not ever be used.

8.  Odd AI Behaviors.  AI cars will sometimes exhibit other odd behaviors that are unfortunately inherent in short tracks made for NR2003 under Butter's Rule and are less than 0.5 mi. For instance, during a caution AI cars may stop in the middle of the track and hesitate before moving forward and into position. Sometimes AI cars will exit the pits during a caution and merge into an improper position in the restart alignment without penalty.  All of these types of things are inherent with short tracks under 0.5 mi. made for NR2003 and are likely incorrectable, but in most cases do not deter from the enjoyment of running these tracks.
  
9.  Race Ending Under Caution.  If a race ends under caution, some of the AI cars will stop on the track and not make their way back to the pits. We have tried a number of things to remedy this situation, but have not hit on anything that will solve this.

10. Multiple Racing Grooves.  This track features 2 distinct racing groves just like the real Riverhead Raceway, so race 'em low or race 'em high.  The AI will go 2 and 3 wide to provide an exceptional and exhilarating racing experience.  However, passing on this track is pretty difficult.  An AI car beside you (either on your outside or inside) will put up a great fight for several laps and will not relinquish the spot easily...if at all.

11.  For those who wish to run the "Islip 300" on this track, just open the "track.ini" and change the "default_event_laps = 200" to "default_event_laps = 300". 

12. AI cars will sometimes exhibit other odd behaviors that are unfortunately inherent in short tracks made for NR2003.  



This track was not tested with Cup or PTA physics.  All testing and track.ini settings are for the GNS and CTS physics only, which the creator of the track feels are best suited to racing at Riverhead Raceway and short track racing in general in NR2003.

We went to great efforts to make the A.I. and racing as realistic as possible. At the same time, we also took some liberties with the A.I. tools available in the track.ini to enhance the "fun" factor. We're confident that you'll enjoy the offline racing experience against the AI the way we have set them up for you. 

To enjoy the best results, we recommend that you use the fast setups provided with the track and car sets containing ratings as described above. Your results and AI behavior, however, may vary depending on the type of mod used, the ratings of your specific car set, different setups used, driving style, skill level and countless other variables that make it practically impossible to predict the results that you will achieve while racing on this track.


PROJECT:  Short Track Team:
J.R. Franklin
Ben Althen
Wayne Anderson
Carl Sundberg
Ian Smythe




[6] TROUBLE REPORTING 
====================================

This track is not supported by or affiliated with Vivendi Universal Games, Sierra Online, or Papyrus Racing Games so please do not call or email.

You may use the forums at www.SimRacingDesign.com, www.NR2k3Tracks.com or the Ground Pounder Designs Facebook page for questions regarding the track.



[6] DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION 
====================================

Autorized Distributing Websites:

Ground Pounder Designs Facebook page
www.nr2k3Tracks.com
www.smiffsden.com
www.SimRacingDesign.com

THIS TRACK SHALL NOT BE POSTED AT ANY WEBSITES, OTHER THAN THE ONE(S) PROVIDED, WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM J.R. Franklin.


[7] AGREEMENT OF USE
=====================================

Use of this track by installation into a racing simulator constitutes agreement with this and the following statements:

1) This track shall not be sold or distributed for commercial purposes, or money exchanged for this track or any part thereof.

2) This track shall not be redistributed without written consent of the author(s) as listed above. 

3) This track cannot be modified without written consent of the author(s) as listed above.

4) This track, or any parts thereof, shall not be converted to rFactor or any other simulation without the written consent of the author(s) as listed above.

5) This track must always maintain an unmodified copy of this CREDITS_README in whatever form it is distributed.

6) This track is covered by implied intellectual property laws, in that it is the property of the author(s).

7) This track is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.



