currently the layout on the left side of the track page shows basic info, a banner, dedirecs, playpal recs, then authorcomments..

As authorcomments are part of the track info (with pointers by the author) i think it should at least be placed before the listing of records (dedi/playpal) so those who download it actually can see the extra info.

I agree.

The problem is, author comments can vary a lot in length and can become quite long especially if other tracks and videos are linked. People who visit the page and want to get a quick overview of the times driven want to be able to see the records quickly.

I think we'll keep it the way it is. But thanks for the suggestion.