Racing fans can experience track racing or enjoy a road course adventure. Regardless of whether you’re present at the race, betting on the race at an online Vegas casino sportbook or just viewing the race’s progression online you’ll thrill to the races that take place at America’s most challenging and beautiful courses.
Lime Rock Park Course in Connecticut
The Lime Rock Park Course offers driving challenges for everyone. The 1.5 mile, tree-lined course opened in 1957 and hosts a number of exciting races and events.
Beginning and Intermediate drivers can join the Lime Rock Park’s Summer Autocross program that will give them the basic skills for future participation in racing fun. The next step on the ladder is the 1.5-mile Road Course for more practice and assistance with racing strategies to introduced you to participation in High Performance Driving Events (HPDEs.)
The course gives drivers the chance to drive their cars in a controlled environment at speed. The non-competitive track sessions are generally grouped by experience level so you can compete with other beginners, intermediate or advanced drivers, according to the group that you and your instructor feel are most suited to your ability.
There are businesses that host events at Lime Rock Course in which anyone may purchase spots. Alternately, regional groups of enthusiasts get together for a day of racing fun.
Some of the groups that organize racing courses and programs at Lime Rock include the
Lime Rock Drivers Club (LRDC), the Sports Car Driving Association (SCDA), the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) Northeast Region, the Vintage Sports Car Club of America (VSCCA) and Survive the Drive which is a teen driver car control programs.
There are also special racing programs for owners of Porches, Jaguars, Ferraris, BMWs, Audis and Aston Martins.
Willow Springs Raceway in California
Willow springs Raceway, located just north of Los Angeles, is one of the most complex tracks in America. It looks simple but it’s deceptive and demands technical skill and the ability to steer your car with your pedals. Willow Springs features include:
- The “Big Willow” is the main track. It was built for speed and consists of nine turns. The Big Willow offers drivers the chance to combine speed with turns and elevation changes, giving them a unique challenge of fun and excitement.
- The Balcony Autocross and Skid Pad us 400 by 350 feet and 60 feet high.
- Horse Thief Mile is a one-mile road course. It includes 11 tight turns and major elevation changes amid canyon-like surroundings.
- The 1.8-mile Streets of Willow Springs course has a skid pad and is used for testing purposes.
- The 3/8 Wall Street Stadium is a 3/8-mile dirt oval track. There are no walls but there is a high banking. It’s used for turning and testing purposes.
- Willow Springs Kart Track is a 9-turne paved apring track that measures .625 miles. It’s used for testing purposes.
- The Willow Springs Speedway is an oval track that measures 1/4 mile. It has walls and is used for testing and turning purposes.
- The Pit and Paddock area is open to all visitors who pay for general admission at the track.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana
Even non-racing fans have heard of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis Indiana, though most know of it more for its overall racing events than for its road course.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway has one of the longest histories of any track in America. Most of that history took place on the legendary oval road course that cuts through the middle of the infield. The course passes through a golf course and a series of manmade lakes.
The Indianapolis Speedway is considered fairly flat. It’s America’s oldest speedway, dating back to 1909 and is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world. It can seat up to 400,000 fans per event. The site hosts the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum which is open to visitors who want to learn more about racing history, cars and drivers.
The Indianapolis Speedway hosts America’s biggest and most important car racing events including the Indianapolis 500, Lilly Diabetes 250 and NASCAR’s Brantley-Gilbert Big machine Brickyard 400. It has also served as the host of the Moto GP and the Formula One United States Grand Prix.
There are two long straightways at the course of .625 miles by 500 feet and two short straightways of .125 miles by 500 feet. There are 4 .250 mile turns of 60 feet.
Daytona International Speedway n Florida
Like Indianapolis, Daytona is known more for its oval racing than for its road course. Yet the 24 Hours of Daytona is one of the world’s most challenging and thrilling endurance races. The 3.81-mile road course was built in 1959 and was expanded to 1,200 miles in 1964.
Over the years many changes have been made to the course which has turned into an Americana classic. Turns 1 and 2 have been re-profiled and turn 3 was moved close to adjacent turns to better define the race. There’s an entry leg that give a long, three-legged “bus stop” shape so that cars can how enter into the first leg and move to the second leg right from the first leg. This allows the cars to experience a cleaner entry into the third oval turn. The braking zone is approached from the high speed oval down into the first corner which presents a particular challenge for the drivers.
The Daytona endurance race is held in the winter, so much of the race is run at night due to the Florida heat. There is also a 24 Hours of Le Mans race that is held in the summer.
Daytona also hosts an infield road course for motorcycles. The motorcycle course is 2.95 miles. The Daytona Daytona 200 Sportsbike course uses the main road course.
Circuit of the Americas in Texas
Circuit of the Americas in Texas was built primarily for Formula 1 racing. The COTA track is dominated by a very steep four story climb that brings drivers to the top of turn one and is followed by a long downhill winding section. The circuit is 3.4 miles long and is comprised of of twenty turns. There’s a total elevation change of 133 feet. The circuit’s design was inspired to sculpt the circuit to the contours of the land, a European tradition in race course design.
