7 Road Courses to Wring Out Your Car
Drag strips can be a thrill, but the brakes, power, and handling of modern LS powered cars almost demand a big open road course. Sweepers, chicanes, long straights, and plenty of run off room beg you to use your car and talent to full potential. Here's 7 we think you're Camaro, Corvette, or GTO will love.
Take it to the Track
With a lot of horsepower on tap, it is tempting to put the pedal to metal and dip into triple digit speeds while out driving your performance car on the street. Unfortunately, public roads can be very unforgiving with ever changing road conditions, unpredictable debris/weather, and other motorists on the same stretch of tarmac, which means pushing your car to the limit on the street can be a dangerous proposition. Fortunately, there are some great tracks available that will let you drive your car as fast as your heart, or right foot, desires.
Circuit of The Americas (Austin, TX)
Circuit of The Americas is located just outside of Austin, Texas and is considered to be the premier road racing facility in the United States. When it is not hosting Formula 1, MotoGP, World Endurance Championship, or a number of other top-tier racing events, COTA opens its doors for track-day enthusiasts to have a go on the world renowned asphalt. The 3.4 miles, 20-turn circuit was designed to follow the contours of the land and imitate some of the most famous bends from European tracks like Silverstone, Istanbul, and Hockenheim. The facilities are top notch, the weather is great for most of the year, and the 3/4 mile back straight is one of the best places to satisfy your need for speed.
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Road Atlanta (Braselton, GA)
Road Atlanta has a storied history of hosting a variety of racing events at its 2.54 mile course. The track is a classic configuration that follows the elevation changes of the land giving it unique blind corners and a distinct personality not often found in modern day road courses. Despite having a flowing chicane ("The Esses") and a tight 90+ degree bend at turn 7, this is a fast track with a 0.8 mile back straight that will easily see cars reach triple digit speeds before standing on the brakes for turn 10.
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Road America (Elkhart Lake, WI)
Road America has been hosting races since the mid-1950's and is considered by many to be one of the best circuits to challenge your motoring skills. The 4.05 mile track connects many of its 14 turns with long straightaways routed through the natural landscape of the area where drivers can reach high speeds before entering heavy braking zones. Because this is such an old circuit, the barriers are fairly close to the track around most of it, so be sure you are pointed straight before standing on the gas. Overall, this is one of America's favorite tracks with major events held each year that keep enthusiasts coming back to enjoy the splendor that this place has to offer.
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Willow Springs International Raceway (Rosamond, CA)
Long known as "The Fastest Road In The West," Willow Springs International Raceway is the oldest permanent road course in the United States. Originally built in 1953, the 2.5 mile course featuring nine turns has remained unchanged in the track's 63 years of operation. Many argue that Willow is one of the most difficult tracks to master and run a quick lap time as it requires a good rhythm to tie the technical slow speed corners with elevation changes (such as "The Omega"), together with the high speed sweepers of turn 8 & 9. Despite the overall high speed layout of the track, Willow Springs is considered to be one of the safer racetracks around. To top it off, the track is uniquely great for spectators as the entire track can be seen from almost anywhere around the circuit.
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Sonoma Raceway (Sonoma, CA)
Sonoma Raceway, formerly known as Sears Point, or Infineon Raceway, has epic elevation changes and corners of all types to keep even the best of drivers busy the entire lap. While it lacks a lengthy straightaway that favors outright horsepower, drivers see steep climbs, blind crests, a stomach churning carousel, and a series of esses that build to high speeds before a hairpin leading up to the front straight. What is neat about Sonoma Raceway is that the track has one of the most comprehensive schedules of any track in the US as it hosts some sort of speed-related event nearly every day of the year.
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Virginia International Raceway (Alton, VA)
The Virginia International Raceway (VIR) is a facility that features six track configuration set in the gorgeous countryside near the Virginia-North Carolina border. The 3.27 mile "Full-Course," which is primarily used for road racing events, features 17 corners and two lengthy straights measuring 3,000 & 4,000 feet. Drivers rave about the turn seven, eight, and nine sequence known as the "Climbing Esses" (shown above) that actually begins back at turn five where a full acceleration run into the esses sees significant speed and high g-forces. Car and Driver uses this track for their annual "Lightning Lap" shootout because they feel it is the closest representation of the Nurburgring Nordschleife on North American soil, which gives you a long index of street car to compare your time to.
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Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Lexington, Ohio)
The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a 2.4 mile circuit that has remained virtually unchanged for the last 40 years. The course is a favorite among enthusiast for its flowing terrain, high-speed straightaways, and intricately interlaced corners that will test a driver's mettle. This track is fast as cars can easily achieve 150 mph down the back straight and through the kink before heavily using the brakes to enter turn four. This facility was one of the first tracks to feature modern day amenities, and the facilities and lush green grass are always easy on the eyes.
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