Got back from 9 days in IA this afternoon and am still glowing from the awesomeness of it all. Way to go Sammy and Shane and Tim K, but a big hell yeah for Timmy Shaffer!

I got to thinking about one of the many things I like about Knoxville while driving back: the inside berm. I think that it helps the racing out there tend towards a low and high groove in that it can make the bottom a little bit faster than the track might be without it. For example, drivers can run harder up against it without as much worry of tearing something off the car vs a wall. You will also see drivers intentionally put a front tire up on it to loosen a tight car. I think that the berm also tends to trap some water as it runs down, making for a little extra moisture on the low line. And in the case of Knoxville, there is also plenty of room inside of the berm for a slow car to escape and crawl into the pits, keeping them out of the way and saving some yellows.

It also ocured to me that on of my other favorite tracks, Lernerville has a similar berm and tended to see the same benefits at least when I was back in PA.

What other tracks have a similar inside berm? Are the benefits similar in their case. I wonder what tracks might benefit most from this instead of an inside wall or tires?