I've decided that I am going to take one or two road trips per year to drive on the great tracks in the United States. I will drive, my wife will fly, we'll meet up and make a vacation out of it, with a Saturday set aside for a track day. I'm going to start with Laguna Seca. (Assuming my car will meet the 92 db noise limitations.) I'm looking for suggestions on other tracks. Fun to drive is key. Availability of amateur track days is also obviously necessary. Racing history is a plus, but not necessary. Proximity to an interesting city or tourist attraction other than the race track is also a good idea (so my wife will be interested in going.) Suggestions? Where are your favorite tracks to drive on, and why? Thanks
Barber's Motorsports Track (opened 2003) Birmingham, AL http://www.barbermotorsports.com/ It is the prettiest track in the US without exception.
that is true tommy...it is a lovely facility from track to rest rooms! cost no object and the museum is the finest.
No kidding. It's the only race track I have been to the actually has auto-warmed water for you in the public bathrooms when you wash your hands! I am lucky, it is only 8 miles from my house.
Road America.......Road America.......Road America........!!!!!!!!! What can I say, we have a WORLD CLASS track right here in Wisconsin!! Judge, I have seen pics of your track and ours, and I wouldn't say yours is any cuter!!! Heck, they host a Ferrari Challenge AND Mario Andretti was the Grand Marshal for this year's Brian Redman International Challenge. I was there for both... Doesn't get much better than that for a Ferrari/Race fan.
Holy crap!!! They have AUTOS that warm the water in the bathrooms for you??? That is TRULY a car-enthusiasts dream!!! Alright, alright, if what you say is true, your track IS better!!! ;-)
Oh yeah, one more reason to pick Road America.... Last year sometime Road and Track did a thing on "Creating the dream track" or something like that. They took turns and straightaways and all that from every track around, combined it into a vrtual track, and made it into one "Dream Track" for enthusiasts. Two of the parts of their "Dream Track" were from Road America and it was the ONLY track with multiple parts used. Thought that is good for extra points for RA.
I've driven a lot of them but my favorites are: 1. Mid Ohio 2. Road America 3. VIR 4. Road Atlanta 5. Watkins Glen John
Its not famous and its not pristine like Barber, but MotorSport Ranch in the DFW area is a fun track to drive. 1.7 miles, 11 turns, on camber stuff, off camber stuff, changes in elevation, etc. They are also building a second track that will be ready before the end of the year. That track will be 1.5 miles, have ENORMOUS elevevation changes, and can be connected to the first so that you can run a long course. Track availability is easy, its a country club. I'm a member and would be happy to host you on your visit. http://72.29.98.19/~motorsportranch_com/ You have Dallas and Fort Worth to play in when you are not on the track.
What about laguna seca added to the mix??? I love Road Atlanta with all the elevation changes. I've heard Barber is awesome too, so I'd pick road a & barber.
Sebring Road Atlanta VIR Watkins Glen Lime Rock Mid Ohio Road America Laguna Seca Sears Point (Infineon) There are many other fine tracks, but IMO these are the best. Barber, though a stunning facility, is a bit tight and seems oriented to bikes as much as cars.
Personally, I like driving Sears Point (Infineon) better than Laguna. Much more of "driver's track", IMO. Gary
Don't forget about tracks like Daytona, Indy & Pocono. These tracks are all about speed & power. Turn 1 at Pocono is all about how big are your balls? Lamborghini factory test driver took me into the corner at 170 +. What a ride! Joe
Should have included Daytona (24 hour config) in my list, definitely. Pocono doesn't make my list because the infield is too rinky dink. Hard to make a great roval.
My top 5 preference (tracks I've actually raced on or driven in a HPDE)- 1. Road Atlanta 2. Road America 3. VIR full course 4. Laguna Seca 5. Mid Ohio These five tracks all have something very different that really stands out- 1. Road Atlanta The T2-3 complex is very difficult at speed. I've done it flat out once, the rest of the time I've had to lift. Just for that corner alone Road Atlanta gets my top vote- like Eau Rouge gets my top vote in Europe for Spa. If they hadn't changed the top of the hill into the downhill-main straight that corner would have been the best of all the US tracks. 2. Road America T5 is incredible. Then the Carousel-Kink-straight-Canada Corner is mind blowing. The all out speed coupled with technically difficult corners makes it #2. 3. VIR full course Probably one of the most well balanced courses in the country, high speed, low speed, tight corners, sweepers, elevation change, leaves nothing on the table. A technically hard track to set up a car for, but the sticky track surface makes it easy to cover up inadequacies. 4. Laguna Seca T2 and T9 are the best corners on the west coast that I've driven. The next best corners out there are T8-9 at Big Willow. Then T6 going up to the corkscrew is very challenging at speed too- the slight dip at the corner apex makes it very hard to stay at WOT. Most people will take it as a braking turn but the "fast" ones will just give it a slight lift before going WOT through it in certain car/driver combos. 5. Mid Ohio Going into Madness at WOT, letting the car dance from the apex to the outer edge, is really incredible. T5 (right hand turn after back straight)-T6-T7 are one of the most technically difficult combinations with a lot of car movement. After they recut the track surface last year there is a lot of smooth grip available. Tracks that should merit attention- Grattan Raceway Known in the midwest as the Laguna of the Midwest, the elevation changes and tight corners coupled with the "jump" make it a hoot to drive. Limerock Park A classic. Old man Skip charges way too much for it though. Coming down the hill and negotiatiing the turn is a real wake up call. Barber Motorsports Park Still very new, still somewhat not on the radar yet. One of the best tracks in the country. I haven't driven it yet which is why it's not on my top 5- but I expect it to be. WSIR "Big Willow" is far more of a driver's track than people give it credit for. Going up and down that hill is technically difficult, and T8 and 9 are the exact opposite- they require more cajones than skill (but you do need the latter!). Infineon Raceway I haven't been there, but I hear it's one of the best, if not the best, out West. Tracks that are fun that I've been on GingerMan Raceway- South Haven, MI Summit Point Raceway- Summit Point, WV (or is that VA? that area is so confusing) Buttonwillow (the desert! CA) Motorsports Ranch (near Dallas, TX) Autobahn Country Club (Joliet, IL) Daytona International Speedway (Daytona, FL) Watkins Glen (central NY) Roebling Road Tracks that aren't fun that I've been on Michigan International Speedway the Milwaukee Mile Carolina Motorsports Park (yet another generic Alan Wilson design) NHIS (shooting the concrete gap from the outfield to the infield is NOT fun) Heartland Park (the drag strip straight is the main straight??!?!) As you can see I don't have love for rovals courses. Tracks I really want to try in the US/Canada Trois Riveres Mosport Nelson Ledges PPIR Infineon Barber
"Carolina Motorsports Park (yet another generic Alan Wilson design)" You know, CMP isn't bad until you get to the last four corners, especially the last three. What were they thinking?
Yeah, it's not bad, but that doesn't make it good persay. I think they wanted a good testing facility, like Putnam Park, another track I've driven yet find utterly unmemorable. And to add to CMP's issues, it's in the middle of nowhere- like a lot of tracks... but let's face it, Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca are tops when it comes to location for off track activities. The rest of my top 5 are there despite their location. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but in the end racing and HPDE events cost money, and I don't like wasting it on tracks I don't like...
VIR and Mid Ohio are my favourite American tracks, but Mosport is the be-all and end-all of road courses in North America. As the Chairman of the Board sang: "If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere..."
