7 More Tracks to Wring Out Your Mustang
Your Mustang needs to be driven and driven hard. Here are 7 more spots to test your car and yourself.
1. Palmer Motorsports Park
Logged enough hours playing racing video games to choke a horse? Why not take your Mustang to some of the most historic and/or most challenging drivers' tracks in the world?
Rated by Road & Track as one of the top 10 racetracks in North America, The Whiskey Hill Raceway at Palmer Motorsports Park also earns bonus points for using 'whiskey' in the name and continuing the naming tradition of tracks like Lime Rock Park and Mosport Park. "I'll be back later, I'm going to The Park." Opened in Palmer, Massachusetts (70 miles from Boston) in 2015, the Raceway was created specifically for drivers to get time racing and training, and it fits that bill with 2.3 miles of 40-foot wide tarmac, folding its way through 190 feet of elevation change. It also features several blind corners with little run-off so the stakes are high on Whiskey Hill.
2. Road America
Delicious bratwurst. That's what you'll find at Road America (don't worry, Wisconsinites aren't easily offended, they call themselves Cheeseheads, after all), along with three long straights including one downhill stretch that empties into an 80-degree corner, and another with a kink in the middle of a 200mph straight. Draped over the hills of Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine, 4-mile long Elkhart Lake's Road America used to bill itself as 'the longest road course in North America.' That title has since been usurped but that doesn't lessen the thrill of throwing your Mustang around this historic venue. Road America has numerous track days throughout the year, is home to the Skip Barber Racing School, and has even hosted Mustang Weekends. Though the highways in the area will tempt you with the same terrain as the track, be careful—the law in that area is notorious for their generosity with speeding tickets, even that plane you see flying above is clocking you.
3. Road Atlanta
Another of the classic 'Road' tracks is up next. Road Atlanta is one of the stuff of grass-roots motorsports history in the US, for many years hosting the season-ending SCCA Run-Offs. Less than an hour from Atlanta, in nearby Braselton, Georgia, this 2.54-mile circuit hosts the annual Petit Le Mans race and is utilized by just about every entity wanting to go fast: drivers schools, car clubs, professional racing teams, manufacturers, and the AMA. If you leave the pavement at any of Road Atlanta's 12 corners there's good chance you'll wind up cozy in Georgia's famous red clay.
4. Sonoma Raceway- Sears Point
Northern California's Sonoma Raceway at Sears Point is another classic in the pages of motorsport history. Write your own pages among its 12 turns in 2.53 miles, including 160 feet of elevation change. Sonoma offers instruction via the Simraceway Performance Driving Center if you care to seek professional help—we could all use some from time to time. If you want some drag race therapy instead, Sonoma can hook you up [har] in that department too, appointments are Wednesday nights at their dedicated drag strip.
5. Pikes Peak
Yes, Pikes Peak. Possibly the second most storied motoring event in the U.S. and the most famous hill climb in the world. Other tracks may brag about "over 100 feet of elevation change" and "little run-off room"; The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has 4,720 ft. of elevation change—all in the up direction if things are going well, and endless room for runoffs, all... well you know. "The Race to the Clouds" has 156 turns in just 12.42 miles so you might want to clear your schedule of anything requiring the use of your arm muscles the day after you run up to the 14,110 ft finish line. Mustangs have a rich history here and are a common sight in the Vintage Car/Truck Class, which is reserved for vehicles that ran the course prior to 1991. There's even an exhibition class for vehicles that don't meet the technical specs required to compete for a record in an official PPIHC class.
Time marches on and the Sierra Club marched up Pikes Peak and paved it, or rather marched to court and sued the city of Colorado Springs due to the erosion caused by the 1.5 million tons of road gravel that made its way down the mountain and into the surrounding natural areas. The paving started in 2002 and was completed in 2012. It's not the same course that it used to be, but when you make it to the top you'll likely be just as relieved, exhausted and exhilarated as ever, but you'll have fewer stone chips to fret over. Win-win.
6. A Really Big Parking Lot Near You
Autocross, it's the gateway drug to racing and your Mustang wants you to do it. Officially known as Sports Car Club of America Solo II racing, it's also the cheapest and safest way to compete in motorsports. If you think 'safe and inexpensive' doesn't equate to fun, you're dead wrong. Autocross pits you against the clock on a track laid out with cones, and against other racers via a performance index multiplier. It's a laboratory to work on your technique that offers immediate feedback, not to mention competition car camaraderie. Typically held in stadium parking lots and the like, autocross has the ability to put you behind the wheel many weekends each season, measuring your progress as you go, and letting you compare notes with the other regulars. Many of the SCCA Regional clubs offer loaner helmets and don't be surprised if you have an instructional session or two with a national champ, as many are active in Solo driver training programs. You won't see 100mph autocrossing but the fun is turned up to 11 and you'll have money left over for those grippier tires you've been eyeing.
7. Mid-Ohio
For many years Mid-Ohio has been thought as one of the most challenging tacks in the US, mentioned in the same breath as media darling Laguna Seca. And like our previous pick Road Atlanta, it too was perennial host to the SCCA Run-offs for a stretch of years—in 2004, 709 cars competed! Lexington Ohio's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is 15 turns in 2.5 miles and the perfect track for you if you like to go fast. It's also the home of the highly-regarded Mid-Ohio Racing School, which offers a range of options all the way up to and including a full 3-day instructional program. The state of Ohio has long provided support to America's auto manufacturing base, why not let Mid Ohio support your racing habit?
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