Making the Most of a Travel Lifestyle

Road Trips to IMSA Venues Add Considerable Rewards

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Anyone who works in the racing industry quickly learns it’s as much a lifestyle as it is a vocation. It generally entails long hours, weekends spent working away from home, and a whole lot of travel. Participants, and more importantly, their families, need to understand up front the time and other sacrifices that can be involved.

The travel is a double-edged sword. Yes, it can be a hassle, particularly air travel with its crowds and inevitable delays or cancellations. But if you’re fortunate enough to be able to bake a little extra time into your trips to races – as little as half a day – the rewards can be considerable. If you have the flexibility to drive instead of fly, the possibilities are even greater.

Folks who know me know that’s my modus operandi. In 2001, I drove to every race I covered in the United States, Mexico, and Canada from my home in Indianapolis, and that’s still generally how I roll. I’ll fly to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races in California, but two-day drives to and from Florida for the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring don’t faze me at all.

Daytona is unique as a two-weekend event (the Rolex 24 is preceded by IMSA’s media day and The Roar Before the Rolex 24 test sessions) and it doesn’t make any sense to even fly back for the days between. I’ve passed the time by visiting the Brumos Collection an hour to the north, the Kennedy Space Center an hour to the south, or just playing golf. This year, my son flew into Gainesville, Florida on a cheap airline points ticket for the race weekend, and I had a really enjoyable time when I picked him up, exploring the new Tom Petty Park (below) in the neighborhood where the legendary musician was raised. 

Travel to races can also put you in proximity of friends or family. That’s the case at Sebring, because my dad and his wife spend winters in nearby Sarasota. It’s a convenient opportunity to see them for the first time since Christmas. The race at Road America provides an opportunity to get together with my longtime pal Dave Everhart in suburban Chicago, whether over rounds of golf or beer.

Hotels near Road America can be expensive and my tent camping days are in the past, so I tend to stay 30 or 40 minutes from the circuit. That’s no bad thing, because a 40-minute drive on scenic Wisconsin roads on a quiet weekend early morning can be very peaceful and relaxing. VIRginia International Raceway and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park are other rural tracks where you can count on a pleasant country commute.

Traffic was the motivating factor in the decision to completely circumvent the Greater Toronto Area this year on my drive to CTMP. Once clearing the border into Canada at Detroit midday Thursday, I pointed north and spent the night in Collingwood, a groovy little town on the banks of Nottawasaga Bay. I spent a couple hours in Orillia the next morning on my way to the track in time for afternoon practice, visiting sites dedicated to the late Canadian musician Gordon Lightfoot.

Planning a route that avoids Atlanta traffic is an annual challenge when traveling to the Motul Petit Le Mans. Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is on the far side of Atlanta when coming from Indianapolis and the Midwest, and I stay away from the most crowded interstates – I-65, I-70, and I-75 – as much as I possibly can. But it’s a challenge I always look forward to, and in the process have discovered many beautiful state and U.S. highways through Kentucky, Tennessee, and northern Georgia. 

The Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic is a great example of how a lifetime “road warrior” can become a creature of habit. I like to stop for lunch at Big Boy in Defiance, Ohio on the drive up and stay in Dearborn, Michigan, an easy 20-minute drive to the old Belle Isle circuit or the new downtown venue. After finishing up work at the track, I’ll walk from my hotel to Buddy’s Pizza for dinner (above), then take a lap of Dearborn Music, one of the finest record stores in the country. Heading back, I’ll walk the lots of a couple car dealers, including Les Stanford Chevrolet, known as “America’s Corvette King.” 

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is a nostalgic trip. I grew up in Pennsylvania a couple hours due south of Watkins Glen International, so I always stop and pay respects to my grandparents. I also regularly spend a day at Knoebel’s, the old-school amusement park my grandparents took me to when I was a little kid. I have such wonderful warm memories of those days, and it’s always a treat to share the Knoebel’s experience with my son. Check it out if you can!

I was buzzing with excitement after writing about JDC-Miller MotorSports’ victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and still had seven hours to kill before my redeye flight out of San Francisco. In a Palisade that Hyundai kindly provided (above), I drove up the Pacific Coast Highway (California State Route 1) and stopped for a tri-tip/smoked chicken combo and some low-key live blues music at Aptos St. BBQ outside Santa Cruz. I had been reading a locally based true-crime novel, so after dinner, I visited some of the sites described in the book, both in Santa Cruz and in the nearby Redwood forests. I made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare in what I recognized in the moment was one of the best days of my life.  

A final upside of a travel-based lifestyle is the occasional opportunity to catch live shows wherever you might be on a given weekend. I’ve been lucky enough to see a gamut of artists – Rush, Phish, David Gilmour, Robert Cray, Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers Band, and yes, Tom Petty – when they were playing the town where and when I happened to be covering a race. IMSA’s events at Long Beach, Detroit, and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (near Toronto) often have potential for a concert/race double dip.

I totaled nearly 13,000 miles behind the wheel covering IMSA competition in 2026. I didn’t count the number of hours that entailed, but getting to and from the track as fast as possible is rarely what matters most to me. I want to enjoy the journey.