Clois,
To me that is a very difficult question to give a definitive answer to. It all depends on the condition of the track on a particular day, how far I can see around the corners, and how many other cars are around me and what kind of drivers are they. Normally using your description I would go pretty close to the corner if I could see the other side, iE a flat track versus one like Thunderhill where you see sky until you are around the apex of some corners. And as for down shifiting, I do that before I enter the corner if I do it. Cranky and his group can give far better answers as they run all the time and on a variety of tracks.
Ron
