What's Your Favorite Race Track to Drive?

What's Your Favorite Race Track to Drive?

Image for article titled What's Your Favorite Race Track to Drive?

Photo: Steve DaSilva

If you’re reading this website, chances are you enjoy performance vehicles (if not, welcome, we’ll get you yet). You might even own one yourself, anything from a dirt-cheap Miata to a top-tier supercar. But no matter what you own, it’s rare that you’ll really get to wring it out on the street — all those pesky speed limits, other drivers, and potholes will put a damper on your fun in short order. No, to really experience your fun car, you need a closed course.

Today, we’re talking about your favorite race tracks to drive. Any closed course qualifies — autocross routes to road courses, oval tracks to drag strips. What’s your favorite place to take a performance car off the street, and put it into its element?

Image for article titled What's Your Favorite Race Track to Drive?

Photo: United Autosports, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

You may have thought, given the header image, that I’d throw up a photo of Palmer Motorsports Park up here. I like Palmer — I’ve driven it in anger, had a fun time, and nearly died on the track after I glazed my pads and lost all braking at 90 miles an hour. It’s a blast, but it’s not my #1 pick.

That spot is reserved for Watkins Glen International, buried deep in the woods of New York. I’ve only driven it on “paced laps,” but everything from the Bus Stop up top to the sweeping elevation changes of the Boot makes for a track that’s an absolute blast to drive.

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My favorite track to drive is Watkins Glen, but what’s yours? Big or small, round or straight, public or private — all are welcome here. Throw your top picks in the comments, and we’ll pick our favorites tomorrow.