Why We Love Laguna Seca

Corner by corner, inch by inch, one of the greatest tracks in the world. We’ve got thousands of laps there. Walk the track with us!

What makes Laguna Seca so great? Is the answer . . . California? The mountains? Memories of Mario, getting loose in Turn 9, that cotton-candy morning fog, or how the rear axle just snap-crackle-pops into the Corkscrew on trailed brake? 

Yes! And so much else, right?

This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this ep's format “Walking the Track.” In this installment, Sam and Ross destitch their love for a deeply American, deeply Californian, and deeply wonderful track.

You will learn where the apexes are, if you don’t already know. But that’s the least interesting part.

***YOUR RELATED TRIVIA STARTS NOW***

Ross has strolled Laguna’s pavement countless times while teaching people to go fast there. Sam once got yelled at by track security for daring to walk a lap at sunset, on a club-race weekend, after everyone had gone home.

(Not allowed, they said. Which is ridiculous, but also, in that case, why were the gates open? Boo hiss.)

This episode was produced by Mike Perlman.

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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ABOUT THE SHOW:

It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.

Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.

We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.

New episodes every Tuesday.