Say how are the racetracks up there.. within say 150mi of Seattle?
There are two tracks within a couple hours of Seattle:
- Pacific Raceways
- The Ridge Motorsports Park
If you extend your driving distance a bit, there is Portland International Raceway. That's about 3.25 or so hours from Seattle depending on how fast you drive. A little further out, like 5 or 6 hours, you have Oregon Raceway Park and Spokane. In Canada, there's Mission and then the new track on Vancouver Island (purported to be more like a long autocross course with a ton a turns and few typical long straights).
I've been doing track days since about 2004 around here. Before 2015, all of that was split between Pacific Raceways and Portland.
Pacific Raceways -- Pacific Raceways is a scenic, challenging track with lots of elevation change. It was not well maintained for many years -- with iffy pavement in a number of spots. It has reportedly gotten some resurfacing in the recent past and widening of certain spots to make it less sketchy. I have not been since 2011 (I sold my prior car in 2012 and have not taken the Fiesta since purchasing it in 2014). I never really enjoyed PR that much, but could be talked into trying again if some other Fiesta folks wanted to check it.
Portland -- Portland is a fast track. The sport bikes SCREAM there when they open up the main straight to bypass the chicane. It is a very comfortable track to drive in the dry. It's almost relaxing compared to Pacific Raceways (often referred to by its old name of Seattle International Raceway). In the wet, it can be a totally different beast. There is one spot where the geese hangout that is treacherous in the wet (turn sequence at the end of the back straight). I've been back once with the Fiesta and really enjoyed it. I believe it is the only publically owned major road course in the U.S. IRL/USAC and American LeMans Series used to run there, but have not since like 2004ish.
The Ridge Motorsports Park -- This is now my favorite track in the PNW. It is in great shape, has enough straight to get your hear pumping and give you time to stretch your fingers a little and readjust your hand position. It's fairly technical, with a bit of elevation change, so is more entertaining than Portland (which is very flat). It is less worrisome than Pacific Raceways (better runoff setup, much better pavement maintenance). I've been 5 times with the Fiesta (just don't get out that often any more) and am still learning the nuances of this track.
I've not been to ORP, Spokane, Mission, or the Vancouver Island track. I've heard ORP is really fantastic. It's just a bit too far and out in the middle of nowhere for me. Mission has too much concrete and is too far. Spokane has had ownership issues and I kind of just settled on staying close to home.
I hope to get out a couple times a year to The Ridge and Portland, but I'm a fair-weather sport driver at this point. I HATE driving in the rain (despite what everyone says about building expertise in the wet). It's just not fun to me. I have come to dislike very hot days, having experienced a couple last year. That means I track a bunch events, but decide on participation at the last moment based on the forecast.
Here are some track map images and links for you:
PNW road course maps
Also: Here's some info about local track-day organizers:
Track day options
If you move up this way, maybe I'll see you around, or ping me and we can coordinate (weather permitting, hah).