Bucket List road track trip planning from Detroit California AZ Vegas suggestions

[TA Two Oh]

Bruce

The Utah Motorsports Campus Full Track event info was just posted. It's Sept 15-17, 2017. Hope that weekend fits in with your plans!

Doug

[mak1118]

If you're driving through Arizona make sure you have some plastic film protection on your car imo of course or should I say ime(in my experience)..

[Bruce H.]

Bruce

The Utah Motorsports Campus Full Track event info was just posted. It's Sept 15-17, 2017. Hope that weekend fits in with your plans!

Doug

Hey Doug,

That's the date I've been waiting for to really start making plans...thanks so much! We'll be heading there from the Toronto area and then putting together other event dates with touring planned around them.

I'll call you to discuss, and hoping you'll be joining us there!

Bruce

Mak...yes, film is essential!

[Vprbite]

There is the beautiful INDE Motorsports ranch east of Tucson about an hour. And from there, take the Devils Highway up to the town of Alpine. Over 1100 turns IIRC in about 3 hours if you don't stop. Some mof us just did it recently but I have done it a number of times with some friends from Tucson. Great drive. From there you can head west and north to the Grand Canyon if that's your destination. From the canyon, easy trip to Vegas.

Maeham will have ideas on how and where to store cars.

Good luck and have fun.

[Bruce H.]

Vprbite,

I just checked out Devil's Highway and that looks like a fantastic drive, maybe during January when we head back down for a winter break. I'm definitely hoping for an opportunity to drive INDE when we first get down there in October, or return in January. Maeham has already reached out. Thanks for the suggestions...it's going to be a blast!

Bruce

[Bruce H.]

Subscribed. Fill in the track dates as they become available!

Hope to drive with you when you come out, Bruce.


Rich

Okay, here's the schedule so far, determined by available track dates, with possible touring ideas in-between.

Week 1

-9/10 Deb and I leave Toronto area with fresh tires on a clean TA to arrive in Salt Lake City 9/13.

-9/14 Tour the area, salt flats

-9/15 Utah Motorsports Complex (formerly Miller) with PCA...yes! Leave for Sacramento afterwards.

-9/16 Drive to Sacramento, CA area

-9/17 Thunderhill Raceway with Hooked On Driving...heck yeah!

Week 2

-9/18-21 Tour Sacramento, wine country and coastal area north of San Francisco. Car service.

-9/22 Tour our way down to the Buttonwillow area.

-9/23-24 Buttonwillow Raceway with Speed Ventures...tirebbqtime! Head to Laguna Seca area afterwards.

Week 3

-9/25 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with Hooked On Driving...omgepic!

-9/26-30 Tour around Salinas, Carmel, Monterey, PCH 1 drive, national parks, ??? Car service and new front tire install. Deb will likely fly home at the end of this week.

Week 4 and beyond

I don't see any track dates listed for this week yet in California. May do a little more touring before head for the Scottsdale, AZ area, maybe do a track day or two at Inde if I'm fortunate enough to have that opportunity, and then store the car for the winter. Fly home, and return with Deb for a couple of weeks in January for a sunny winter holiday, Barrett-Jackson auction, drive The Devil's Highway, etc. Return again late April and head up to NVE3 in Las Vegas May 2-5, 2018 for more Viper fun...and hopefully more track days! After NVE3 we'll tour our way back to Toronto, and if that route should pass by COTA, Barber, Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio or any other tracks then so be it...and you guessed it, more new tires

There's an awful lot of stuff to see in CA:

- San Francisco
- Monterey/Carmel (Laguna is a little North of Monterey)
- Yosemite. Since you will take 80, it's not too far off.
- Sausalito
- Highway 1 in general (North and South of Santa Cruz)
- Santa Cruz
- Catch a Sharks game in SJ (although you may be a Leafs fan somehow)
- There is also a car museum in Sacramento, old Sac but I can't remember the name of it
- Sequoia park

Those are just easy suggestions. Maybe get a AAA book and you will have a boat load of things to see
If you are a foodie, Yelp is your friend around here too.

We're expecting to check off quite a few of these. Might leave San Francisco as it would be ideal for a separate trip. We'll do Yosemite together and Deb might even do Sequoia while I'm at Buttonwillow for a couple of days. She's into photography and won't have a hard time passing the time when I'm on track if she's on her own.

I'm a member at http://indemotorsports.com/ if you want to track the car down there I can take guests. It's a beautiful track.

Hoping that can work out, or at least to meet some of the local guys!

There is the beautiful INDE Motorsports ranch east of Tucson about an hour. And from there, take the Devils Highway up to the town of Alpine. Over 1100 turns IIRC in about 3 hours if you don't stop. Some mof us just did it recently but I have done it a number of times with some friends from Tucson. Great drive. From there you can head west and north to the Grand Canyon if that's your destination. From the canyon, easy trip to Vegas.

Maeham will have ideas on how and where to store cars.

Good luck and have fun.

Great suggestions and hope to do it all! We drove from San Antonio to Vegas after a conference there once, only down as far as Sedona, and a quick peak at the Grand Canyon`s south rim. Beautiful country that we definitely want to see more of!

Thanks to all who made suggestions. We hope to meet and track with a few other Viperholics along the way!

Bruce

[Boosted Motorsports]

Hey Bruce just seeing your thread now. I'm originally from Toronto and have made the drive down here to CA multiple times. Going down from Toronto to the tip of Texas and then across route 66 is hands down the better drive compared to going across the top. Way more scenery and nostalgic spots to hit driving route 66.

[Bruce H.]

Hey Bruce just seeing your thread now. I'm originally from Toronto and have made the drive down here to CA multiple times. Going down from Toronto to the tip of Texas and then across route 66 is hands down the better drive compared to going across the top. Way more scenery and nostalgic spots to hit driving route 66.

Multiple times...I just hope we can survive it once in a Viper! We may need a good chiropractor and massage therapist in CA!

In this case it makes sense for us to go across the top to make the first track location in Salt Lake City. We will have more time and route flexibility on the return trip.

[RedTanRT/10]

Wow Bruce, what a trip!! Hope to see you at Buttonwillow. Mike

[Bruce H.]

Wow Bruce, what a trip!! Hope to see you at Buttonwillow. Mike

Awesome. I'll be there rain or shine...hope you can make it!

[Blue T/A 2.0]

Hit a few Casinos in Vegas, the Secret Gardens at the Mirage, do the Skywalk at the Grand Canyon, stop by Bondurant Racing in Chandler, AZ, ride a horse through the desert near Scottsdale. Take a look at the red rocks in Sedona, AZ.