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I’m no expert on warp drive, but with the placement of the nacelles, I can’t figure out how the Enterprise doesn’t just spin around in circles

Well, the nacelles aren't directly providing force, they're just creating the sub-space field the ship sits in while traveling at Faster Than Light (FTL) speeds.  Duh.

Nerd.

 

Hey, you're the one posting Star Trek Sametime Statuses.  Don't blame me for that.  

Also, I don't believe your theory anyway.  Regardless of whatever sub-space field (Also known as a "Warp Shell") is generated by the warp drive, something still has to propel the ship to these types of speeds.  The only thing that can be doing this are the nacelles, since the impulse engines aren't capable of that type of force.  So, here's my issue...

 
 
 Oh, you've got more issues than this...

Let's assume for the sake of this Blag post that the thrust to go to FTL speeds comes from the warp nacelles.  It's logical.  Let's also point out that I'm basing this somewhat rhetorical question on the original Constitution Class USS Enterprise, NCC-1701 as portrayed in Star Trek, The Original Series.  If you'll note, the warp nacelles are positioned approximately at the same height as the bridge, and above nearly everything else on the ship.  You May Refer To This Picture.  In a car, this would be perfectly acceptable, because things like gravity, tires, and the ground keep the car moving in one plane and in one direction.  In space, these types of things don't exist, and there's also no air resistance around.  The result is the purest form of Newton's Third Law....the whole equal and opposite reaction.  For example, if you're out in space and you have a wrench and you wanted to turn a bolt, you would just as easily turn yourself around the bolt as you would actually turn the bolt.  Because of all this, any thrust to power a space ship would need to come from directly opposite the intended direction of motion, and would also need to be precisely in line with the center of mass of the whole ship.  

Take a coin and set it on a table.  If you push it from the back, it goes forward.  If you push it slightly off-center, it moves, but eventually spins off of your finger.  Unless the thrust of the Enterprise is centered exactly on the ship, this is the same thing that will happen when it goes to warp.  So to have the nacelles positioned so high above the bulk of the ship makes no sense...all of the thrust will be high above the center of mass, sending the poor ship careening in little vertical circles at extreme speeds.  The inertial dampeners might be able to stave off motion sickness for a little while, but eventually, that's going to catch up to you.  

Ostensibly, this was fixed with the Galaxy Class Starships, such as Enterprise NCC-1701-D, but I can't be sure without full technical schematics and a complete lack of dignity.