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Track name: Seekonk 2022 PST
Racing Sim: NASCAR Racing 2003 Season simulation.
Short Track: 0.333 Mile oval
Author:  J.R. Franklin and Project: Short Track


TABLE OF CONTENTS:

[1] HOW TO INSTALL THE TRACK
[2] GENERAL TRACK INFORMATION
[3] CREDITS
[4] NOTES ABOUT THIS TRACK  
[5] KNOWN ISSUES AND NOTES ABOUT TRACK
[6] TROUBLE REPORTING
[7] DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION
[8] AGREEMENT OF USE

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[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

These NR2003 day and night versions of "Seekonk 2022 PST" are an attempt to closely resemble the track as it appeared in 2022. Seekonk 2022 PST is not, however, an exact replica of the real-life Seekonk Speedway nor do the limits of NR2003 allow it to be.  It is my extreme pleasure on behalf of all of us at PROJECT: Short Track to offer our version of Seekonk Speedway to the fans of NR2003.

AI: Yes.  Working pit stalls for 25 total cars (24 opponents).

Mod support: GNS and CTS (This track was not tested using any other physics other than those, however the track will still work with Cup and PTA physics.)

Track Information: 0.333 mile asphalt oval located in Seekonk, MA.

Banking Information:  8-10° in the turns and 8° on the straightaways.  

History and Background:

Seekonk Speedway was the vision of it's founder, D. Anthony Venditti in 1945 and held it's very first race on Memorial Day in 1946. The one-third mile oval was built with midgets in mind, but has featured many racing classes since, including Pro Stocks, Late Models, Pure stocks and top touring series like the Whelen Modified Tour (WMT), The Busch North Series, American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and the Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) to name a few.

Dubbed "The Cement Palace" for it's cement grandstands surrounding the entire track, the facility has a capacity of 12,000.  It is also known as "The Action Track of The East" and as a great venue for family fun. In addition to it's weekly racing schedule, the speedway hosts their World Famous Thrill Shows, Enduros, demolition derbys, one-lap spectator drags and Monster Trucks to the delight of fans of all ages.

The Venditti family has operated the popular racing New England facility since it's inception through generations of the family and currently it is under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series banner.  

For more information on Seekonk Speedway, follow Seekonk Speedway on it's website, www.SeekonkSpeedway.com and Facebook.

(The above historical info on Seekonk Speedway was excerpted from www.SeekonkSpeedway.com, and Wikipedia.)

 
[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, Sandbox, quality assurance and testing.

2.  Ian Smythe:  Creation of custom 3d objects too numerous to mention individually.

3.  Ben Althen:  Painting of real-life recreations of Hoosier and miscellaneous haulers seen in this and many PST tracks.  Miscellaneous graphics work.  Provided numerous reference photos of Seekonk Speedway.  Performed quality assurance and testing.

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

5.  Mike Ehresman:  Quality assurance and testing.

6.  Carl Sundberg:  For his technical expertice and wealth of knowledge.

7.  Charli Brown:  Provided numerous reference photos of Seekonk Speedway.

8.  Aaron Maynard and Matt Gilson:  Creation of the basic base track.

9.  Beta Testing Team:  Mark Downing, Jim Windrow of STR SimRacing, Ben Althen and Mike Ehresman..


Additional credits:

10. John Norton (WKC Tracks):  Miscellaneous custom 3d objects.

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

12. Wayne Faircloth and Aaron Maynard:  Baseline Fast setups for BGN, CTS and CUP physics.

13. Michael Ciarlo of BBMC Tracks for some of the beautiful night skies.

14. Reference sources:      
    a.  Seekonk Speedway Facebook page.
    b.  Google Earth, maps, miscellaneous images and videos.
    c.	Miscellaneous YouTube videos.
    d.  Ben Althen and Charli Brown - numerous reference photos
    e.  Racing-Reference.info
     
15. 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
============================================= 

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.  Starts and Restarts.  Be aware that at the drop of the green flag, the AI will slow down driving into the turns.  This is also quite common in real short track racing when the field is tighly packed for a start or restart.  However, once a few laps have gone by and the field starts to spread out a little, this issue goes away.  Also, keep in mind that if you are starting at the back of the pack, you may be faster than many of the lower rated AI cars in front of you (kind of like Kyle Busch starting at the back of a NXS race).  Once you are able to "reel in" the leaders, you will have a much more difficult time keeping up with them in the corners.

3.  Cautions.  In an effort to try to simulate the short track racing experience, we have tried to make it so the A.I. cars race tight and have occasional contact resulting in a caution.  This happens often after a start or restart, but will also happen after a longer period of racing action... so expect it.  If you've been to a short track in real life it is not uncommon to see 5 to 7 cautions or more in a 150 lap event.

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 0.333 mile track holds 25 cars in the starting field.  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.  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.  Pit Stops.  We have set up this track to run a full 200 lap race on one set of tires and a full tank of fuel, because routine pit stops for gas and 4-tires are likely NOT possible without losing a lap. The same is true if you need to perform damage repairs.  This is essentially why we set the track up this way.  Otherwise, it could result in almost the entire field, with the exception of the leader, being a lap down. Purely unrealistic.  (It's too bad that NR2003 does not allow for a race to be set up to count green flag laps only.)  To that end, you will observe very minimal tire wear during the course of a 200 lap race. 
  
6.  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.

7.  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 found anything that will solve this.  (Chalk this up to another quirk of NR2003 short tracks under 0.5 mi. built under Butter's Rule.) 

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 example, during a caution, AI cars will sometimes exit the pits and merge into an improper position in the restart alignment.  In most cases they will be put into their proper position before the green flag restart, but other times they will not and without penalty.  All of these types of things are inherent with short tracks under 0.5 mi. made for NR2003 and are likely incorrectable.  In most cases, these behaviors do not deter from the enjoyment of running these tracks.
  
9. Multiple Racing Grooves.  This track features 2 distinct racing groves just like the real Seekonk Speedway, 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 especially on the outside.  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.

10. This track was not tested with Cup or PTA physics.  All testing and track.ini settings were done for the GNS and CTS physics only, which we feel are best suited for racing at Seekonk Speedway and short track racing in general in NR2003.  (The track will run however, using Cup and PTA physics and in Arcade mode.)

11.  WARNING.  Highly Detailed Graphics Rich Track.  In an effort to duplicate the details of the real Seekonk Speedway 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).  Also consult and try implementing the Performance Guide suggestions at the BB-MC website at: http://bb-mc.co/performance-guide/

12. 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
Mike Ehresman
Ian Smythe
Carl Sundberg
Wayne Anderson



[5] 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 NR2k3Tracks.com, stunodracing.net 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.stunodracing.net

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


[8] 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.



