Car Parts 2011

Shaped like the head of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex, Laguna Seca is my favorite track on Earth.

Brush pit exit at turn 1, shift to 2nd at turn 2, be careful of understeer as turn 3 closes, turn 4 opens, lots of sand at turn 5, make sure you have speed out of turn 6, brake at the crest, throw the car into the "Corkscrew," slow for turn 9, turn 10 opens, and a desperate last attempt late-brake passing opportunity at turn 11 before the start/finish.

I know what some of you might say. This is your favorite track in the world? What about Watkins Glen, Indianapolis, Imola, Silverstone, SPA Francochamps, Circuit de la Sarthe, Nurburgring Nordschleife? The list goes on and on.

Of course, those circuits are nothing short of legendary.

But really, there's two things that define Laguna Seca-- 1.) Corkscrew and 2.) The battles.
The nail biting, passionate, brutal, brave, beautiful, ugly, questionable, honorable battles.

Here are some of the notable battles in the past:

Courtesy of MotoGP Anyone remember? Stoner VS Rossi in 2008 Corkscrew gravel dive: Perhaps the most daring pass in Rossi's entire career.

Not only is it utterly spectacular to watch, but it's incredibly fun to drive on. Because of this, when I'm on Gran Turismo 5's online lobby looking for some trouble, I sort my race rooms by track. By Laguna Seca.

For the readers out there with a copy of GT5 and a PSN, my network name is Capn_Chimichanga.
Brahs, get at me if you want a piece.

Also, please share with us! What's YOUR favorite track?

I'm done with midterms! Sunny 73 degrees! Wow, it's as if I've forgotten what 73 degrees feels like.

Though this would be the first weekend I'll get to enjoy the warm weather, the race season has already begun without me last week.

Bahrain kicked off a season that looks to be more dramatic than the season before (for all the good reasons). A significant rule change in F1 dictates that teams are no longer permitted to refuel after the start of the race. In the past, both teams and F1 fans could have calculated pit times to predict where each team will eventually finish. However, Last week displayed blazing pit stop times of less than 4 seconds on average for the replacement of tires only and losing only 2 positions in the process. To that end, where the driver will join and reform from exiting the pits is no longer significant.

Other than the redesigned rule for this season, we now see that there are four teams vying for the championship-- Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes Benz. Let's hope tight racing continues for the rest of the season.

The other racing series I'm excited about is ALMS this weekend at 12 hours of Sebring. The last few years have displayed some outrageous racing in the closing laps, most notably with the GT class Porsche Flying Lizard Team. Will they win again?