Key West Course Maps '86 and '87

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

I first attended the races in Key West when they raced around Sand Key. The course has moved in and has been shorten over the years. In 2001 the course still had a long east bound leg and returned west to run along the beach before turning right into the harbor. I don't think it has done that since.

It may be hard to imagine now running a long course. Now you never lose site from the shore. Notice the course lengths.

 

[Ryan Beckley]

Start to turn one is 7 miles which is longer that the entire course now.

 

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

TT



Recent course in red.

 

[Ratickle]

Do you know how long the course was in '97 - '98?

 

[Top Banana]

The course back in the 70's was out to Dry Tortugas with a couple of small laps back toward Miami from the harbor.

It averaged about 185 miles

 

[Ratickle]

Down to 4.4 miles this year. It is amazing that the boats in 1986 went farther on day one that the total combined distance of all three days of racing currently. If you followed the same program in NASCAR, the Daytona 500 would now be the Daytona 185.