Race Tracks


[[Road Courses][Ovals][Drag Strips][Kart Tracks]]

Moroso Motorsports Park

Moroso Motorsports Park features a drag strip and a 2.25 mile road course. A paved sprint course for karting is apparently a recent addition. The drag strip is used for much of the road course, which has two very long and fast straights. Moroso is owned by Dick Moroso of the Moroso racing parts fame.

Much of the information on this page was contributed by Mike "doc" Cobine. Chris Ingle revised and modernized the "Hot Lap" in early 2005.

Last Updated: 2007-10-08

Table of Contents

Offsite Links

Track Facts

Elevation: 20 feet Latitude: 26.918205 Longitude: -80.305424 Time zone: EST/EDT (-0500/-0400)

Search for Recent Time Slips

dragtimes.com Search for Recent Time Slips

Historical Note

Moroso Motorsports Park originally was Palm Beach International. Dick Moroso bought the track in the early 1980s and set about making it more than a local dragstrip and race course. The track now hosts several large road racing events besides SCCA National and Regional racing. Saturday nights are drag racing, with many NHRA special events through the year. Moroso was once the site of the Super Chevy Show in March, drawing over 100,000 spectators during the 3 day event. The Super Chevy Show has moved on, and Moroso now runs its own "All Chevy Show". The track is also the site of much winter track testing for manufacturers, TV specials, and others. You will probably see this track on TV many times without realizing it.

Track Office

Moroso Motorsports Park
17047 Beeline Hwy.
Jupiter, FL 33478

561-622-1400
561-626-2053 (fax)

Track Maps and Imagery

Here is a pdf of the track layout.

For information on how these aerial images work, Click Here.

Search for Web Pages

Search for News

You may also wish to try using the Yahoo! Search as it may produce current news items.

Search for Images

Getting There

Address:
using Google Maps.

Moroso Motorsports Park is located about 10 miles west of West Palm Beach, Florida, on the Beeline Highway 710. It is directly across from the Pratt Whitney plant so if no one in a gas station knows how to find Moroso, they will know how to find Pratt Whitney.

From the Florida Turnpike

Get off the Turnpike at Palm Beach Gardens and go west, which is right at the traffic light to the end of PGA Boulevard. If you need food or gas, you can go straight at the light into the Publix shopping center. At the end of PGA, turn right and follow Beeline (710) to Moroso, which is on your right. Take the main entrance which is the second entrance. The first entrance is not used for road racing and is only occasionally used for drag racing.

From the north on I-95

Get off I95 on PGA Boulevard and go west to the end of PGA Boulevard. At the end of PGA, turn right and follow Beeline (710) to Moroso, which is on your right. Take the main entrance which is the second entrance. The first entrance is not used for road racing and is only occasionally used for drag racing.

From the south on I95

Get off I95 on Blue Heron and go west, which is left at the traffic light past Denny's and McDonald's. Go straight across Military Trail to Beeline Highway (710). Follow 710 about 8 miles to Moroso, located on the right side just past Pratt Whitney. Take the main entrance which is the second entrance. The first entrance is not used for road racing and is only occasionally used for drag racing.

Main Entrance

The main entrance to Moroso leads to a gate. Most park on the right side of this road and walk to registration, as you must go there before entering the facility.

Racer's Guide to Moroso Motorsports Park

Impound

Impound is located at the scales near Pit In. As you leave the track during the race, they will direct you to impound.

Tech

Tech is located in the south end of the False Grid near the rest rooms.

False Grid

The False Grid is next to the rest rooms and entered from the north end only.

Timing and Scoring

Timing and Scoring is located in the building marked Press Room upstairs near Pit Out. It is crowded and noisy and they prefer not to have anyone up there unless necessary.

Stewards' Trailer

Stewards' Trailer is on the north side of the rest rooms.

Control/Chief Steward

Control and the Chief Steward are located upstairs next to Timing and Scoring in the building marked Press Room near Pit Out.

Sound Control

Sound Control takes its readings from the north end of the False Grid outside the track.

Worker's Guide to Moroso Motorsports Park

Flagging and Communications workers meet generally 1 hour to 45 minutes before green track on the track side of the False Grid near Pit Out. Everyone is in white and hard to miss.

Virtually all workers except Registration can be found in this general area.

Tech is located in the south end of the False Grid. Timing and Scoring have already climbed into the tower, the only air conditioned area at the track.

Hot Lap

The following hot lap was originally written by Mike "Doc" Cobine with assistance from Will Hamel (ITC #51) and Doug Christensen (SRF #89). In early 2005, it was substantially revised by Chris Ingle, who has video tapes of hot laps of Moroso and other tracks for sale at www.tracktapes.com.

Overall, Moroso is similar to Carolina Motorsports Park in its surfacing and feel. It's a very abrasive, 'grainy' and sand blown track that's tough on brakes, tires and the driver. Because of all the sand in the area, the wind blows it onto the track and the tires just grind the sand into the surface. It takes lots and lots of patience to be quick over a full race distance here. The surface destroys rear tires quickly so you must make a decision - be fast for a lap or two (either keeping up or catching up to someone) or be slow and consistent throughout the race and have something left in the last 2 laps! Check your ego at the door here and drive VERY SMOOTHLY, keeping the rear end under you. If you go out early, slide the car around and burn up your tires, you will be dead last when the checker falls. You can slide the car around for qualifying, but only for a lap or two. After that, you're dirt-trackin'.

All shift points and approximate speeds are using a fully T1 prepared 2001 Z06 with stock transmission and gearing.

Practice sessions start from the pits. Enter the pits near the scales and gas pumps located close to registration, but on the track side of the main fence. Races start from the false grid, located near the rest rooms and entered from the north end. The false grid then enters the track at Pit Out.

Leaving the pits, you have a long straight with a slight ess curve known as turn 1. There are two small FIA curbs here, but you can drive over them easily to help straighten the right-left. Line up on the left side of the track and straighten the ess as much as possible. This can be taken two-abreast if you have 2 very competent and trusting drivers, but never three-abreast. Also never run out through the grass to drivers' left by turn 1. There is a ditch hidden in the grass that runs perpendicular to the track that can cause damage.

After turn 1, approach turn 2A on the right under normal racing. Approach it on the left during a start or in heavy traffic, as the inside guy always wins here. The braking zone is very slick and slightly bumpy so be conservative until you learn the limits. Heel-toe downshift from 4th to 3d.

Turn 2A and 2B is about a 200 degree sweep to the left. It can be driven with a single or double apex. If using a single apex, the apex is about two thirds of the way around the corner, marked by an inside FIA curbing. If double apexing, apex early at about one fourth of the way around and again at two thirds the way around. Tracking all the way out in the middle will put you in the marbles so stay in closer. Keep the rear tires under you and be smooth on the throttle!!!!!

The FIA curbing has added a hazard to turn 2 in that many cars are too low to get back on if they go off on the outside. If you go off, it is better to continue around on the grass than risk tearing the oil pan or transmission up by driving back over the curb.

After tracking out to drivers' right exiting turn 2, stay out and shoot basically straight until you are at drivers' left coming into turn 3. Many jump back over to drivers' left sooner but this wastes time by scrubbing speed. Turns 3 and 4 make a 180 degree turn to the right. Typically it is double apexed, with a single apex right at turn 3 flag station and an apex at turn 4 flag station. the exit and trackout area of turn 4 have been widen for a short distance and has gator strips added. Most use these to help their exit speed and the curbing actually has much more grip than the track!

A medium straight approaches a right hand turn 5. You should still be in 3d gear. Turn 5 is the first turn of a set of esses formed by turns 5 and 6. The apex of turn 5 is late and near the end of the inner FIA curbing. This area becomes very narrow and passing is difficult, so many attempt to pass going into turn 5. After going back to drivers' left out of turn 5, stay left, squeeze the binders to set the front end and then make a wide sweep through turn 6.

The apex can be earlier than you expect, but it's about the center of the flag station. This turn leads onto the drag strip and the exit area is very wide. However, apexing early can put you into the grass which occasionally can be flooded. It is very, very tempting to get on the gas hard here and really slide the car to the outside. Don't fall for it. Unwind the wheel and apply power VERY smoothly to the exit curbing. Aim toward the right side of the track to set up for 7 (a left-right tight chicane).

The track has changed over the past few years to increase safety - read that as they added chicanes. Turns 7A and B is a very tight and slippery chicane with a very hard entry braking zone. Again, be conservative until you learn it. If you miss the turn, you can straight line it for safety sake. The entry itself is not that important. Just run over the inside gator strips, but do not drop a wheel off in the dirt. There's normally a hole there that can trash your suspension! 7B is the right-hand critical part. The inside curb is very high so do not run over it. Instead, nail the apex and get on the power early. Believe it or not, this part of the chicane has much more grip than the entry and it has some flat gator curbing on the outside too. I take the chicane in 3d, but you can try 2d if you get slowed by traffic. Just don't burn the tires up on exit. Get to 4th gear before the entry to the next turn 8.

Turn 8 is a very fast left-right ess similar to the front straight but a bit tighter with higher curbs. This turn separates the men from the boys, especially later in the race when your tires are shot. Do not brake in this area - stay under power. On entry, line up on the right as far as possible to help straighten it out. Turn in gently. I put my left tires just on the left inside curbing and then put my right side tires over the right side curbing at the exit. Do not try this if you do not have a compliant suspension. It is rough and will upset the balance of the car. Before this area was widen and the track slowed down, mistakes could mean a ride over the embankment and into the canal. Once the car settles coming over the curbing, straight line brake toward the left side of the track to set up for turn 9. Heel-toe downshift 4 to 3.

Turn 9 is a right hand turn that is very deceptive. The exit is in the staging area of the drag strip and is very wide, but slick in the middle. 9 is an increasing 90-degree right but it actually widens A LOT and bends farther around. You can take a standard apex, but the car tends to push upon entry and then oversteers once you get out to the small curbing on the left. As soon as you apex 9, let the car drift out and keep your eyes focused on the apex of the next right hand turn 10. Control that ever prevalent oversteer!

You want to be as far to the left as possible on entry so that you can straighten the run at turn 10 and the front straight as much as possible. If your car has reasonably compliant suspension settings, you should hit the gator strips on the inside and then on the outside at the trackout point if you are on the line. This is the most important turn on the track because it leads to the longest straight away. There is little room on the outside of 10 for mistakes. Sacrifice exit speed on 9 for entry position and stability on 10 and you'll fly down the straight. I hit about 6500 rpms in 4th down the straight - around 135-140 mph.

Be conservative on set up here (if you can). Soften the rear springs, sway bars and shocks and set your car up to push. You'll still end up very loose at the end of the race, but you'll have more rear bite than the other guys!!!!!!

Accomodations

Several motels have discounts for racers at Moroso. Ask if the motel has the discount for Moroso Motorsports Park, not SCCA.

Camping is available outside the Main Entrance. Beware: you are in the swamps and mosquitoes can be very bad.

Number/StreetCityState
using Mapquest

Fine Dining and Otherwise

Number/StreetCityState
using Mapquest

Search for Racing Support Services

Service
Number/StreetCityState
using Mapquest

Copyright/License

This collection is copyright 1996-2014 by NA Websites. All contributions copyright by their original author. Please contact the webmaster for permission to use any materials from this page.


North American Motorsports Pages / Krusty Motorsports / webmaster@na-motorsports.com