USA TODAY 10Best
Best motorsports race? Readers vote Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
Best Motorsports Race (2020)
- Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring - Sebring, Fla.
- SCORE Baja 1000 - Baja California, Mexico
- Knoxville Nationals - Knoxville, Iowa
- Indy 500 - Indianapolis
- Pikes Peak International Hill Climb - Colorado Springs
- BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 - Las Vegas
- Maxxis Tires “Casey Folks” Vegas to Reno - Las Vegas
- Chili Bowl Nationals - Tulsa
- Rolex 24 at Daytona - Daytona, Fla.
- Motul Petit Le Mans - Atlanta
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to pick the initial nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote.
Congratulations to all these winning races!
- Motul Petit Le Mans - Atlanta
- Rolex 24 at Daytona - Daytona, Fla.
- Chili Bowl Nationals - Tulsa
- Maxxis Tires "Casey Folks" Vegas to Reno - Las Vegas
- BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 - Las Vegas
- Pikes Peak International Hill Climb - Colorado Springs
- Indy 500 - Indianapolis
- Knoxville Nationals - Knoxville, Iowa
- SCORE Baja 1000 - Baja California, Mexico
- Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring - Sebring, Fla.
No. 10:
This October race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta offers plenty of action for racing enthusiasts, including night racing, high-tech cars that reach speeds of 200 miles per hour on the backstretch and a track with plenty of spectacular viewing opportunities.
No. 9:
Daytona hosts two of the biggest events in motorsports and they occur scarcely a month apart. The worldwide motorsports season unofficially kicks off in mid January, when the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship heads down to the winter haven of Daytona Beach for a grueling day long test of man and machine.
Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Tulsa World, Stephen Holman
No. 8:
Tulsa, Oklahoma two weeks after Christmas may not sound like the best place and time for a race, but the Chili Bowl Nationals fixes this problem by hosting its race indoors at the Tulsa Expo Center. Inside is the quarter mile dirt track where drivers from all disciplines hailing from Australia to Florida duke it out across four days of qualifying races and one A-Main event on the last day to decide the king of dirt for that year.
Photo courtesy of iStock / 4kodiak
No. 7:
“The Longest Off-Road Race in the United States” brings together motorcycles, quad bikes, UTVs, trucks and cars for a 550-mile race across the Nevada desert. The course runs point-to-point from Beatty to Dayton, with designated pit stops along the way.
No. 6:
The BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400, held each March, is one of the oldest and most prestigious off-road events in the nation. More than 550 race teams in over 80 classes compete in the two-day, 400-mile race through the rugged foothills of Las Vegas.
Photo courtesy of JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images
No. 5:
The second oldest motor racing event in North America, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has been held since 1916 and is a point-to-point race that begins at Mile 7 on the Pikes Peak Highway and ends at the summit after a 12.42 mile course that climbs almost 10,000 vertical feet. The track was once a mix of gravel and paved sections, but is now fully paved and Romain Dumas holds the course record at 7:57.148.
Photo courtesy of Dana Garrett / IndyCar Series
No. 4:
Billed as the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, the Indy 500 has been a cornerstone of American sports for over 100 years and serves as one of the biggest races in the world, raking in nearly 300,000 spectators on race day. Average lap speeds of over 220 miles per hour also make this race the fastest circle-track event on our list. "It needs to be experienced in person," says Road & Track Editor in Chief Travis Okulski.
Photo courtesy of Knoxville Raceway
No. 3:
Nicknamed "the Granddaddy of Them All," the Knoxville Nationals is considered the premiere title in sprint car racing (with the highest paying purse), held on the second Saturday in August at the Knoxville Raceway in Iowa.
Photo courtesy of SCORE International
No. 2:
The SCORE Baja 1000 is a rally race from one end of the California peninsula to the other that changes configurations from year to year. Most of the time, the event consists of a point-to-point race from Ensenada to La Paz, Mexico, but a slightly shorter loop race beginning and ending in Ensenada is also a popular choice by organizers.
No. 1:
Sebring International Raceway was originally an Air Force training base during World War II, but in the post-war years the base was bought from the US government and transformed into the cathedral of American endurance racing that it is today. Sebring hosts a twelve hour event in March that serves as one of the benchmark races to determine who has what it takes to win the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Congratulations to all these winning races!
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
James Raia
A journalist since 1976, James Raia writes a... Read More
A journalist since 1976, James Raia writes a syndicated weekly columnist in Sacramento, Calif., for Bay Area News Group. He also produces a weekly automotive podcast and newsletter, both free and available via signups on TheWeeklyDriver.com. The independent website has been online since 2004. Contact him via email: james@jamesraia.com.
James Raia
A journalist since 1976, James Raia writes a syndicated weekly columnist in Sacramento, Calif., for Bay Area News Group. He also produces a weekly automotive podcast and newsletter, both free and available via signups on TheWeeklyDriver.com. The independent website has been online since 2004. Contact him via email: james@jamesraia.com.
Michelle R. Martinelli
Michelle R. Martinelli
Michelle Martinelli is a writer at USA TODAY's FTW, covering NASCAR and other sports. She once ran a 10k just because the finish line was home plate at Comerica Park. Follow Michelle on Twitter.
Travis Okulski
Travis Okulski was named editor-in-chief of Road &... Read More
Travis Okulski was named editor-in-chief of Road & Track in February 2019. He is responsible for overseeing the brand’s print and digital operations. Previously, he was Road & Track’s digital director since 2015. Before joining Road & Track, Okulski was deputy editor and then editor-in-chief of Jalopnik. Earlier in his career, he was a reporter at Business Insider.
Travis Okulski
Travis Okulski was named editor-in-chief of Road & Track in February 2019. He is responsible for overseeing the brand’s print and digital operations. Previously, he was Road & Track’s digital director since 2015. Before joining Road & Track, Okulski was deputy editor and then editor-in-chief of Jalopnik. Earlier in his career, he was a reporter at Business Insider.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,... Read More
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
