Where the Road Remembers: America's Tracks, Strips and Gathering Places

This article was written by Coilovers.com Owner and Principal, Lou Tortola.

Every coilover kit we ship leaves our warehouse in Plymouth, Michigan, bound for a garage we will never see. Yet we know where many of those cars end up on a Saturday. Road courses cut into farmland. Drag strips laid on old runways. Fairgrounds that fill with chrome every summer. This is my thank you to those places, and to the people who keep them alive.

Jump to: Northeast | Mid-Atlantic | Southeast | Tennessee and Kentucky | Great Lakes | Heartland | Southwest | Mountain West | West Coast | Alaska and Hawaii | Year at the Track | All 50 States | Gone, Not Forgotten

A Letter Before the Map

I have spent my working life building things, and most of my free time around cars. Since 2015 we have shipped more than twenty thousand kits, and nearly every one went to someone with a plan. A first track day. A drift weekend. A cruise night with friends.

Those plans need somewhere to happen. So this is a map of the places where our customers come alive, region by region. At the end you will find a table with all fifty states, from Alaska to Florida. Find yours, then tell us what we missed.

New England and New York: Where Road Racing Grew Up

Road racing in America has deep roots in upstate New York. The first race at Watkins Glen ran through the village streets in 1948. The permanent circuit later hosted the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix from 1961 to 1980.

Lime Rock Park opened in 1957 in the Connecticut hills, and it still feels like a garden party with engines. Thompson Speedway opened its oval in 1940, one of the oldest paved ovals in the country. New Hampshire has three homes for speed, in Loudon, Tamworth and Epping. Massachusetts drivers head to Palmer Motorsports Park. On summer Sundays, the lawn at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline fills with themed car shows.

The smaller states hold their own. Maine has Oxford Plains Speedway, where the Oxford 250 usually runs in late August. Vermont has Thunder Road in Barre and a classic car meet in Waterbury every August. Rhode Island has the Newport Car Museum in Portsmouth, open all year.

The Mid-Atlantic: Fairgrounds and Old Favorites

Pennsylvania gives the import crowd its spring ritual. The Carlisle Import and Performance Nationals usually fill the Carlisle fairgrounds in mid May. Pocono Raceway, known as the Tricky Triangle, sits in the mountains at Long Pond. New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville opened in 2008 and gives the region two road courses in one place.

In Maryland, the World Cup Finals pit imports against domestics, usually in late October or early November. Delaware has US 13 Dragway in Delmar. West Virginia has Summit Point. Virginia International Raceway first opened in 1957, closed in 1974 and came back to life in 2000.

The Southeast: Old Runways and Long Nights

Some of the country's most storied racing began on airfields. The first 12 Hours of Sebring ran in 1952 on a former World War II airfield in central Florida. It still runs most years in March, and the bumps in that old concrete are part of the legend.

Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959. The Daytona Turkey Run has filled the infield with classics and hot rods over Thanksgiving weekend since 1974. The NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville date to 1970.

In Georgia, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta opened in 1970. It hosts Formula DRIFT Atlanta, usually in May, and Petit Le Mans in the fall. North Carolina is stock car country. Charlotte Motor Speedway opened in 1960, and zMAX Dragway next door hosts the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals. In South Carolina, Darlington Raceway opened in 1950. They still call it the Track Too Tough to Tame.

Alabama has two worlds of racing. Talladega Superspeedway opened in 1969. Barber Motorsports Park opened in 2003, and its museum holds the Guinness record as the largest motorcycle museum. On the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Cruisin' the Coast has turned whole towns into one long car show since 1996. In Louisiana, NOLA Motorsports Park opened in 2011 near New Orleans.

Tennessee and Kentucky: Thunder in the Hills

Bristol Motor Speedway opened in 1961, and fans call it the Last Great Colosseum. Next door, Bristol Dragway is known as Thunder Valley. In the Smoky Mountains, the Pigeon Forge Rod Run usually fills the town in April and again in September.

Kentucky gave the Corvette a home. The National Corvette Museum opened in Bowling Green in 1994, with NCM Motorsports Park beside it. Farther west, Wildcat Dragstrip in Paragould keeps Arkansas drag racing alive.

The Great Lakes: Home Ground

Michigan is home for us, so forgive me a little pride. The Woodward Dream Cruise began in 1995 and now draws enormous crowds along Woodward Avenue. It usually lands on the third Saturday of August. The Detroit Autorama has shown off custom cars since 1953.

Wisconsin's Road America opened in 1955 at Elkhart Lake. At about four miles, it rewards patience and courage in equal measure. Ohio's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course opened in 1962. The first Indianapolis 500 ran in 1911. The NHRA U.S. Nationals have run near Indianapolis since 1961, usually over Labor Day weekend.

Illinois has Autobahn Country Club in Joliet and Blackhawk Farms near the Wisconsin line. World Wide Technology Raceway sits just across the river from St. Louis.

The Heartland and the Plains

Minnesota has Brainerd International Raceway, which opened in 1968. The NHRA Brainerd Nationals usually run there in August. Iowa calls Knoxville Raceway the Sprint Car Capital of the World. The Knoxville Nationals usually fill the grandstands in mid August.

Kansas Speedway opened in 2001. Missouri has Ozarks International Raceway near the Lake of the Ozarks. Nebraska has Kearney Raceway Park, and South Dakota has drag strips in Marion and Sturgis. North Dakota's Motor Magic fills the Minot fairgrounds over Labor Day weekend.

In Oklahoma, Hallett Motor Racing Circuit has rolled through the hills near Jennings since 1976.

Texas and the Southwest

Texas does everything at scale. Circuit of the Americas in Austin opened in 2012 and hosts the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, usually in October. Texas Motorplex in Ennis opened in 1986 and hosts the NHRA FallNationals.

Arizona has Firebird Motorsports Park near Phoenix and Inde Motorsports Ranch in Willcox. Every January, the Barrett-Jackson auction turns Scottsdale into a rolling museum. New Mexico has Albuquerque Dragway and the lowriders of Route 66 Summerfest, usually in July. Nevada has Las Vegas Motor Speedway, opened in 1996, with The Strip drag strip beside it. Up north, Hot August Nights has filled Reno with classics since 1986.

The Mountain West: Big Sky, Thin Air

Colorado holds one of the oldest races in America. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was first run in 1916, and it still climbs into thin air most years in late June.

In Utah, the Bonneville Salt Flats have hosted Speed Week since 1949, usually in August, when the salt allows. Idaho has Firebird Raceway near Boise. Montana has Yellowstone Drag Strip near Billings and Lost Creek Raceway in Anaconda. Wyoming has the Crossroads of Wyoming Speed Trials in Shoshoni, usually in July.

The West Coast: Where Drifting Found a Home

California may be the spiritual home of American car culture. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca opened in 1957, and its Corkscrew is one of the most famous corners anywhere. The Monterey Motorsports Reunion fills the paddock with history, usually in mid August. The Pebble Beach Concours, first held in 1950, closes out that same August week.

Formula DRIFT ran its first season in 2004, and Long Beach has long been its season opener, usually in April. Willow Springs in the high desert opened in 1953, and it still calls itself the Fastest Road in the West.

Portland International Raceway sits in West Delta Park, and the Rose Cup Races usually run there in July. Pacific Raceways near Seattle opened in 1960. The Ridge in Shelton and Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, home of Formula DRIFT Seattle, round out Washington.

Alaska and Hawaii: The Far Corners

Alaska has Alaska Raceway Park in Palmer, with the mountains close enough to touch. Alaska Speed Week usually starts there in June. Hawaii has two quarter mile drag strips, Kauai Raceway Park and Maui Raceway Park. Wherever the road ends, someone still finds a way to race.

A Year at the Track

A typical American season, month by month. Check each event's own website for dates.

Your State at a Glance

Every state in one place, with typical seasons only. Venue names link to their official websites. Where a cell says "Tell us yours", we want your help.

What These Places Teach a Suspension

A track is the most honest test a performance suspension will ever face. A soft spot shows up by the second lap.

Brands like BC Racing, KW, Fortune Auto, Öhlins and TEIN all build kits for this kind of driving. Our guide to setups by discipline is a good place to start.

Gone, But Not Forgotten

Every map has ghosts. Some famous American tracks have gone quiet, been sold or become something else. They still matter. Somebody learned to drive fast there, and somebody's father raced there first. Here are a few we remember.

A Word of Honesty About Maps

Places change, as the list above shows. Events move or skip a year. We checked every place here in the fall of 2026, but the calendar never stands still.

So treat this as a love letter, not a schedule. Check a venue's own website for dates and rules before you load the trailer. If something here has changed, please tell us.

An Open Invitation to the Community

If you run a club, flag a corner, work a tech line or chase a time every season, I want to hear from you. Tell us what we missed.

We keep Coilovers.com gear set aside for the people who write in, and for the regulars who make these places run. For drivers and crews who represent their home track season after season, we are open to talking about support and sponsorship. No promises on the first email. Just a real conversation.

We have done this before. In 2020 we sponsored Nick Kohrs, a Pennsylvania driver. He started in novice autocross and worked his way up to Gridlife time attack in a Honda Civic Si. His first road course laps came at Pittsburgh International Raceway, which you will find in our farewell list above. Nick went on to podium finishes in the seasons that followed. We are still proud of that partnership, and we would love to build more like it.

Reach us through our contact page, or call 1-800-460-9106 and mention this letter. See you at the track.

Lou Tortola, Owner and Principal, Coilovers.com

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