{"id":135,"date":"2014-04-14T01:08:23","date_gmt":"2014-04-14T01:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/americanracetracks.org\/?page_id=135"},"modified":"2014-04-14T01:08:23","modified_gmt":"2014-04-14T01:08:23","slug":"methodology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/americanracetracks.org\/?page_id=135","title":{"rendered":"Methodology"},"content":{"rendered":"

How do you find tracks from the past?\u00a0 One of the challenges is that even when they are mentioned by town or racetrack name, you rarely get a description of the exact location.\u00a0 I collect the place names that I find in primary and secondary literature, then geocode them to get a general sense of where the tracks were (that gives you points on a map).\u00a0 My real aim is to find an exact location though, so next I look for maps of the area to see if I can find one that shows the track and get coordinates for its precise location.\u00a0 Also, I try to distinguish between duplicate names or trace all the different names that might have been used for the same track.\u00a0 And finally, I am always looking for photos or other images of the tracks and particularly of the buildings (grandstands, clubhouses, stables, etc.) on the sites.\u00a0 It\u2019s an ongoing task\u2026if you have some information that I\u2019m missing, please submit it to the Atlas<\/a>!<\/p>\n

You will see a notation in the atlas for each track of the first place where I\u2019ve seen it mentioned.\u00a0 Some of the main sources used include:<\/p>\n

For the older tracks (late 1800s \u2013 c. 1990s)<\/p>\n