Hey guys, I'm looking at a potential move sometime in the off-season. I have an option between Chicagoland and Charlotte and was wondering what the consensus was for tracks in the area. Being from Atlanta, I know Road Atlanta, Roebling, Atlanta Motorsports Park, NCBike are all reasonably close, with Summit Point, Barber, and Jennings in a slightly larger distance. What about the Midwest? What tracks? Preferences?
Midwest is awesome if you like saving money in the winter. You have lots of options within ~5 hours of Chicago: Blackhawk Farms, Autobahn Country Club, Gingerman, Grattan, Puttnam Park, Mid Ohio, and Road America (I'm in Detroit so I may be missing something further west). You're also forgetting Talladega, VIR, and Carolina Motorsport Park (with perhaps more) that are relatively close to Charlotte.
What he said, Barber was fantastic. Doubt any place could be nicer. Will find out next weekend how Road America compares. I'll be visiting Mid-Ohio in July. Biggest thing for me to consider is price,, one runs double easily over the other. One has 5 times more traffic. SO if your pay compensates, plus you get something close to work. Chicago or be prepared to live far out and spend long hours both ways to work.
I used to live in Milwaukee, which is a northern suburb of Chicago. I now live in Charlotte, have for 8 years. Weather is good, taxes are lower, 11 month riding season, ocean 1.5 hrs one way, mountains 1.5 the other. Cost of living lower, traffic not as bad, enough going on that it's a fun city. Never in a million years would I move back. t
Thanks for the responses, guys. Looks like I'm deciding between NY and Charlotte now, so it'll be mostly the same as Chicago, but even more of a disparity in cost of living and overlapping tracks. Not sure what tracks are in the New England area, but I'd likely go south for tracks.
New york area has a few (NJMP and others) but you'll have more options and a longer riding season down south...
Don't worry, if you move to the North, your winters will be keeping you busy as can be.....shovelling snow, chipping ice, shovelling some more snow, chipping some more ice, trying to stay warm, shovelling some snow, cutting firewood, shovelling some more snow, chipping some more ice, cursing your decision, shovelling some more snow.......are you starting to see a pattern here? Oh wait, did I mention shovelling snow?