Somewhere, just west of nowhere, sits one of Max Balchowsky’s masterpieces. Although it has been over a decade since Reagan...
I’ve always liked Blackhawk Farms Raceway, a track not everybody knows about. It’s in Illinois, right on the border with...
Brands Hatch, on the southern outskirts of London, is a classic Grand Prix circuit in the mold of Spa-Francorchamps, Watkins Glen and Mosport. Which is to say, it’s a true driver’s track. Turn one at Brands is without question one of the great corners in motorsports. This right-hander’s full name...
What started as an April Fool’s joke on a long defunct track, ended up becoming an interesting insight into fear...
When asked by my good friend Rick Roso to write a piece on how “to do” one of my favorite...
Turn One of Daytona’s Rolex 24 road course configuration is fast and hairy, because you’ve just spent a whole bunch of time flat-out from the Bus Stop chicane on the backside, through NASCAR 3 and 4, then across start/finish on the tri-oval. The road funnels down, getting narrower and narrower...
Homestead–Miami Speedway is a fun and fast track. It’s definitely one of the best oval/road course combos out there. In...
Close by the heart of Northern California’s wine country, and with tons of elevation changes to thrill and challenge a...
While the world famous Cork Screw gets all the attention at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, if you account for the fact that the corner leading onto the longest straight is the most critical for a fast lap, then it is Turn 11 that is the most important corner. This is...
Turn 5 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca may not be one of the first corners that everyone talks about when...
Lime Rock’s “Lefthander” and Turn Four represent difficult challenges at one of the most demanding racetracks in North America. Mastering...
While every turn has technical challenges, there are very few corners anywhere that require equal measures of skill, perfection and testicular fortitude as the “Downhill” at Lime Rock Park. A major misconception about the Downhill is that it’s, well, downhill. The fact is, while the approach is steeply downhill, the...
Lime Rock Park’s Big Bend really is a big bend and represents a significant chunk of the total lap time...
From May 27 to July 3, Lime Rock Park underwent a major transformation. Not only was the original 7-turn configuration...
On paper, Lime Rock Park seems to be an easy track to learn. There are only seven corners and the track layout is fairly straightforward. However, get behind the wheel on this thrilling 1.53-mile road course and you quickly see that this track rewards only the brave. One of the...
Justly famous for corners such as the Corkscrew and Andretti (a.k.a. Turn 2), plain-named Turn Six is actually one of...
The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is one of America’s most technical and challenging circuits, as most corners involve both radius...
Having raced at “Mid-O” in karts and cars since 1964, the track’s site picture is indelibly scribed on the inside of my skull, where, naturally, there’s little else to get in the way. I grew up (ok, that’s an exaggeration) in Mansfield, Ohio. In 1958 my parents, Doris and John,...
If anyone is looking for another “favorite track,” I would suggest you strap your car on a trailer and take...
One of the “old school” low-grip/high-fun tracks, Moroso Motorsports Park, is a car control circuit, rewarding smoothness and sensitivity. The...
Okay, it’s my turn in the barrel. Asked to “do a corner” for VR, I took a look at the previous Hot Laps. Let’s see, there was the Lefthander at Lime Rock…Road America’s Turn 1… Laguna’s 11… the Bus Stop at the Glen… Mid-Ohio, VIR—even Le Mans, for pity sakes!...
On the northern side of Bowmanville, Ontario, lies a track steeped in automobile racing heritage. Mosport International Raceway is a daunting...
I’ve been asked to write a description of how to drive through a corner. Not any corner, a corner of...
When asked to describe one of my favorite sections of racetracks in Australia, very quickly I thought of Winton Motor Raceway, a 1.86-mile circuit just outside of Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne. It holds club, vintage and professional racing events every year, including the awesome Aussie V-8 touring cars and the...
The historic Le Mans 24-Hour racing circuit, made up of country roads with constructed racetrack sections, has always been a...
Ah, Road America. Four miles of medium- and high-speed corners nestled in the woods of Wisconsin. The type of racetrack...
Of all the race tracks that I have driven and raced on in North America, Road America is up there as one of the best (yes, I know, that’s not a news flash). I grew up in Plymouth, 5 miles from the track’s gate. I’ve been going to this track...
Built in 1969, Road Atlanta epitomizes the saying, “They don’t make ’em like they used to.” While modern-day track designers...
The Turn 6–7 complex at Road Atlanta not only makes for a huge grin factor, it’s also the most crucial...
My first trip to Roebling Road (nee, Savannah-Effingham Raceway) was in the early 1960s to watch my Dad, Charlie, run a sports racer, called a Falcon. We observed from the “Drag Strip Tower,” which is not the one you see on your right just before you cross the track. Rather,...