World’s Most Interesting, Dangerous, and Historical Raceways

At the age of eight years old, I made my way into the Disney Park for the first time. I can’t tell you what a thrilling experience it is to see the Magic Kingdom for the first time as a child. Of course, I’m sure many of you have had the same type of experience with your children, as well as yourselves.

I was a bit too small to ride any of the coasters; however I was able to drive an old Model T Ford. So I could drive a car at eight, but I couldn’t sit in a roller coaster. Go figure.

I remember my mother screaming at me as I hit the sides of the middle track with the wheels. Interestingly enough, I could hear the same types of sounds coming from all the cars on that ride.

Even today, at 31 years old, I still get a thrill out of these rides. I guess as we get older, it’s a way of clinging to our youth, while having the ability to drive recklessly, especially considering all the other adults are telling their kids to relax, they’ll get their turn to drive eventually.

And so, in the event that I do get to experiment in some more raceways around the world, I have found some raceways that will satisfy the need.

Autopia-For Fun

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 In 1955, Autopia was an example of the multilane limited-access highways which were still being developed.  Before the park initially opened, the cars were tested without their rubberized bumpers.  This is course resulted in some major collisions, although that was the fun part of the initial test drive. The cars at Autopia were eventually fashioned with rubber bumpers, and a guard rail was put in place to discourage reckless driving. What’s the fun in that!

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Over the years, Autopia was updated using the very latest is fashionable vehicles including a 1967 Corvette Stingray, a Volkswagen Bug, “Dusty, an off-road style car; Sparky, a sports car; and Suzy. Each was designed to be tied into the Chevron line of animated ‘Chevron Cars‘, and 4 versions of the Autopia cars were sold as toys during the 2000 summer season at Chevron stations nationwide.”

 Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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The list would not be complete without the most famous of international raceways. Indianapolis Motor Raceway has been existence since 1909. This particular raceway has united people all over the country, filling the stands with close to 700,000 people during racing season. This of course is in addition to the fact it’s also the largest sports facility in the world.”By comparison, the world’s largest stadium seats 220,000 spectators.”

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To think, it all started with 7 motorcycle races, “sanctioned by the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM), on August 14, 1909.” Unfortunately, the race never occurred due to safety issues with the track surface.

The first official races began in 1909, and consisted of 16 races “endorsed by the American Automobile Association (AAA).”  The safety of the surface was again in question when several accidents, resulting in five fatalities occurred, and the final race of the weekend was halted after 235 miles.

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On Memorial Day in 1911, at $1 admission, the first 500 mile race was hosted now known as the Indianapolis 500. “Ray Harroun won at the brisk average speed of 74.602 mph (120.060 km/h).”The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” was born.”

Daytona International Speedway

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From personal experience, on race day at Daytona International Speedway, there are drones of street racers edging up on your backside at every traffic light. It’s a time of excitement for the town, and it’s chance for me to drive my lotus like automobile 80mph next to a police officer and not get a ticket.

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Daytona International Speedway opened officially in 1959; “it has been the home to the biggest race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, “The Great American Race”, the Daytona 500.”

The speedway is quite versatile, hosting races of all kinds including go-karts, motorcycles (on and off road), sports cars, modified pickup trucks, and stock cars.

 

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Making history on September 26 and 27, 2006, the IRL held a compatibility test at the Daytona speedway. “The drivers who tested at the track were Vitor Meira, 2006 Indy 500 Champion Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, and 2005 Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon. This marked the first time since 1959 that IndyCars and the first time since 1984 that open wheel cars have taken to the track at Daytona.”

Autodromo Nazionale Monza

 

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

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The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is located near the town of Monza, Italy, north of Milan. “It is one of the most historic motor racing circuits in the world, known for hosting the Formula One Italian Grand Prix.” The racers endure a long stretch of flat track until the gradual incline from the second Lesmos to the Variante Ascari.

The Autodromo Nazionale Monza consists of three circuits including “the 5.793 km Grand Prix track, the 2.405 km Junior track and a decaying 4.25 km high speed track with steep bankings.”

The first circuit was constructed in 1922, financed by the Milan Automobile Club – “which created the Società Incremento Automobilismo e Sport (SISA) to run the track.” The track was officially opened in September 1922.

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In 1928, the most severe Italian racing accident to date ended in the death of driver Emilio Materassi and 27 spectators at that year’s Grand Prix.

Drivers in the Formula 1 category must possess extreme skills in maneuvering the treacherous corners and chicanes. “Power is the key for speed on the straights, only competitors with enough power at their disposal are able to challenge for the top places.”

Autobahn

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Possibly one of the most well know and last on our list is the Autobahn. The German Autobahn is a major high speed highway located in Germany where the main attraction is the lack of speed limit guidelines. Drivers are encouraged to maintain minimum speeds of 37mph; however drivers never adhere to these recommendations.

The initial plan was conceived by the Weimar Republic, but apart from the AVUS in Berlin, construction was slow, and the Autobahn remained unfinished with the start of World War II.

However, when Adolf Hitler took control, he was more than willing to assume the title of Project Manager, maintaining construction crews for the completion of the Highway system.

Today, Germany’s autobahn system has a total length of about 12,200 km, “which ranks as the third-longest in the world behind the Interstate Highway System of the United States and the National Trunk Highway System (NTHS) of the People’s Republic of China.”

Nurburgring

In the early 1920s, races  were held on public roads in the Eifel mountains, however this prooved to be highly dangerous so a plan to build a track was proposed. “The layout of the circuit in the mountains was similar to the Targa Florio, one of the most important motor races at that time. The original Nürburgring was meant to be a showcase for German automotive engineering and racing talent, and was built with both purposes in mind.”

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Over the years, Nurburgring has earned a reputation for being one of the most challenging and dangerous tracks in the world. Known as “THE RING” to racing fans, this spectacular track is situated near the medieval castle of Nurburg in the Eifel.

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Nurburgring is often used as a test track for new high performance vehicles including such makes as  BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, and many other’s. Often times, you can find video footage of the testing, enticing consumers to investigate further the abilities of these impressive cars.

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