2. Sonoma Raceway
- Sonoma, CA
- It’s bold and complex! And we’re not talking about the area’s Cabernet Sauvignon. We’re talking Sonoma Raceway (once called Sears Point), a 12-turn, 2.53mi course with plenty of altitude change and a few blind corners to add hair to your chest. Both Indy and NASCAR run races here annually. And you can too, by taking a class through the on-site Simraceway Performance Driving Center. If you just feel like flooring it and seeing what your car can do when pushed to the limit in a straight line, the drag strip is open to all (for a small fee) on Wednesday nights from March through November.
- Monterey, CA
- You’ve raced this 2.24mi, 11-turn track while playing Gran Turismo or Forza, but there’s nothing like driving Laguna Seca in real life. The track’s focal point is “the corkscrew,” a five-and-a-half story drop consisting of a left-to-right combo turn, which has the tendency to chew up and spit out overconfident drivers. To test your mettle and get on the track yourself, join a car club that’s rented the track for a day -- look at the track calendar at Mazda Raceway to see who’s secured track days. The best thing about coming here is that it’s close to Big Sur, so you can convince your significant other to make the trek and “neglect” to tell them you’ll be spending a day at the track.
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