Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in

central California Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the state, north of Southern California, which includes Los Angeles, and south of Northern California, which includes San Francisco. It includes the northern portion of the S ...

used for both

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. The racetrack is long, with a elevation change. Its eleven turns are highlighted by the circuit's signature turn, the downhill-plunging "Corkscrew" at Turns 8 and 8A. A variety of racing, exhibition, and entertainment events are held at the raceway, ranging from

superkart Superkart is a form of motorsport road racing that uses karts on long circuits. The most obvious difference between a superkart and most other forms of kart is that they have full aerodynamic bodykits as well as having a longer wheel base than sp ...

s to sports car racing to music festivals. Laguna Seca is classified as an

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

Grade Two circuit. The name Laguna Seca is

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for ''dry lagoon'': the area where the track now lies was once a lake, and the course was built around the dry lake bed. After the course was reconfigured, two artificial ponds were added.

History

The earliest development of the local area occurred in 1867 with the founding of the nearby Laguna Seca Ranch, which has operated continuously for 140 years with

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

and

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

uses. The track was built in 1957 at a cost of $1.5 million raised from local businesses and individuals on part of the US Army's

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...

(a maneuver area and field artillery target range) after the nearby Pebble Beach Road Races were abandoned for being too dangerous. In 1974 the property was deeded over to the

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...

Parks Department and continues to be part of the park system. The first race, held on November 9, 1957, was won by

Pete Lovely Gerard Carlton "Pete" Lovely (April 11, 1926 – May 15, 2011) was a racecar driver and businessman from the United States. He was born in Livingston, Montana. Racing career On November 9, 1957, Lovely won the first ever race held at Laguna Seca ...

driving a Ferrari. In the intervening years, the track has hosted USRRC, Can-Am,

Trans-Am The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includi ...

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

, IMSA GT, CART,

Indy Car INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

Grand American Grand American was a NASCAR sanctioned series of pony car stock cars. The series ran from 1968 until 1972. The series was called "Grand Touring" from 1968 to 1969. History The series formed in 1968 under the name "Grand Touring" as a competitor ...

Monterey Historic Automobile Races The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is an annual event held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Its purpose is to provide an event in which historic racecars can compete. It takes place over the course of one weekend ...

Speed World Challenge The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club ...

, AMA ( American Motorcyclist Association), WSBK

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...

and MotoGP motorcycle races (but 125/Moto3 and 250/Moto2 are not admitted). The day-to-day operations of the track, along with the management and promotion of major racing events, are now handled by A&D Narigi Consulting, LLC. John V. Narigi is the General Manager and President. Until January 1, 2020, it was managed by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP), which is a non-profit organization. With oversight by a board of local residents, SCRAMP operates with a professional staff on-site with the goal of generating income through the operations of the racetrack which is then redistributed to local charities. The track itself has undergone significant changes over the past two decades to meet evolving safety homologation requirements of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM),

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...

(FIA) and other sanctioning bodies. Changes include the addition of the entire infield area in 1988 (present-day turns 3, 4, and 5, eliminating the straight that started at present-day turn 2 and ended at present-day turn 5) extending the track from its original length to meet the minimum-track-length criteria of the FIM for MotoGP events, plus the more recent relocation of pedestrian bridges and embankments, and the expansion of gravel pits outside turns 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 for additional runoff. The original media center was demolished in 2006 to make way for additional run-off room in Turn 1. Also in 2006, the 'hump' at the top of the Rahal Straight was flattened to accommodate the MotoGP riders, though some claim that this increases the wind effects that can perturb a race motorcycle. Remnants of the old configuration can still be seen from the parking lot between turns two and five. They are found underneath a road leading to the parking area for entrant trailers and RVs. The famous Turn 8 and 8A combination, popularly referred to as 'the Corkscrew', is considered one of the motorsport world's most challenging turns, due to the drop in elevation as well as its blind crest and apex on the uphill approach. Turn 2, with its difficult and technical double-apex, has been renamed the 'Andretti Hairpin', in honor of former Formula 1 World Champion

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

, while Turn 9 has been renamed 'Rainey Curve' in honor of 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion

Wayne Rainey Wayne Wesley Rainey (born October 23, 1960) is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his s ...

, a resident of nearby Salinas, California. Also, the straight that runs between Turn 6 and Turn 7 has been renamed the 'Rahal Straight' after four-time consecutive Champ Car race winner

Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 ...

. A

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...

World Series weekend had been a prominent event from 1983 through 2004, when its spot on the calendar was shifted to the

San Jose Grand Prix The San Jose Grand Prix was an annual street circuit race in the Champ Car World Series in San Jose, California. The race had three different title sponsors over the course of its three-year existence, being known as the Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix ...

. On the last lap of the 1996 CART race,

Alex Zanardi Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (; born 23 October 1966) is an Italian professional racing driver and paracyclist. He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998, and took 15 wins in the series. He also raced in Formula One from 1991 to 1994 and aga ...

passed

Bryan Herta Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970) is an American former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series. His team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon and the 2016 Indianapolis ...

on the inside of the Corkscrew to take the victory. Uruguayan driver Gonzalo Rodríguez died during the practice session of the 1999 CART race after crashing at the same corner. Because of the incident, runoff was installed at the end of the Rahal Straight. Champ Car announced on September 11, 2007, that they would be returning the Northern California race to Laguna Seca from San Jose over the May 16–18 weekend in 2008. But the subsequent merger of Champ Car and IndyCar resulted in the race being canceled. On July 17, 2018, IndyCar announced a return of IndyCars to Laguna Seca, with the event to be held the weekend of Sept. 20–22, 2019. The track is also the site of the annual

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is an annual event held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Its purpose is to provide an event in which historic racecars can compete. It takes place over the course of one weekend ...

, formerly known as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. The event features an extraordinarily eclectic mixture of race cars on the course. Each year features a different marque. Considered one of the two greatest historic racing events (along with the Goodwood Festival in England), attendance often rivals, or surpasses the professional racing events listed above. There are many permanent dry and hook-up

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

facilities located at the raceway, which are available year-round as part of the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, the county park in which the racetrack is set. The track's primary corporate sponsor is

WeatherTech WeatherTech is an American manufacturer of automobile accessories headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois. History WeatherTech was founded in 1989 by current CEO David MacNeil, who did not appreciate the quality of vehicle floor mats as they ...

which began in April 2018. As part of the sponsorship, the track is now officially referred to as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Previously, the sponsorship belonged to

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

for 17 years with the track being known as Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. A 2015 study by

California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB or Cal State Monterey Bay) is a public university in Monterey County, California. Its main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside and ...

and commissioned by SCRAMP states that the raceway generated $62.1 million (2015 USD) to the

economy and $5.2 million in state and local taxes.

Racing

Major events each year include the US round of the

World Superbike Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...

(held in conjunction with a round of the

MotoAmerica MotoAmerica is the organization that promotes the AMA Superbike Series since 2015. Sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), it features six classes of road racing: S ...

championship),

Monterey Sports Car Championships The Course de Monterey is a sports car race held annually at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The event began in 1950 as a race on the roads of Pebble Beach, California. In 1951, it was add ...

(

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

), and the Monterey Historics for classic racecars.

Lap records

On August 20, 2006,

Toyota F1 Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in Formula One in 1999, and after extensive testi ...

test driver

Ricardo Zonta Ricardo Luiz Zonta (born March 23, 1976) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 10 Toyota Corolla E210 for RCM Motorsport. Early career Born in Curitib ...

set an unofficial lap record of 1:06.309. The previous record time was 1:07.722, set by

Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...

in a Penske

during qualifying for the 2000 CART Honda Grand Prix of Monterey. The unofficial record was re-taken by a Champ Car on March 10, 2007, by

Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships u ...

, who lapped in 1'05.880 during Champ Car Spring Training. The unofficial record was again re-taken by a Formula One car on May 19, 2012, by

Marc Gené Marc Gené i Guerrero (born 29 March 1974) is a Spanish professional racing driver. He is best known as a tester for Williams and Ferrari in Formula One, Minardi Formula One driver and factory driver for Peugeot's Le Mans team, with which ...

, who lapped in 1'05.786 in a

Ferrari F2003-GA The Ferrari F2003-GA was a highly successful car used by Scuderia Ferrari in the 2003 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Rory Byrne, Ignazio Lunetta, Aldo Costa, Marco Fainello, Nikolas Tombazis and James Allison wi ...

during the 2012 Ferrari Racing Days. Officially, Castroneves is still the record-holder as the times of Zonta, Bourdais and Gené were set during exhibition and testing sessions, and official records can only be set in race conditions (either in practice, qualifying, or during a race). At the 2008 Monterey Sports Car Championships,

David Brabham David Brabham (born 5 September 1965) is an Australian professional racing driver and one of the most successful and experienced specialists in sports car racing. He has won three international Sports Car series and is one of four Australians t ...

set a pole position time of 1:10.103 in a Le Mans Prototype. The fastest lap at the 2006

A1GP A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most fo ...

race was 1:17.951, set by Nicolas Lapierre. At the

2012 United States motorcycle Grand Prix The 2012 United States motorcycle Grand Prix (formally known as the 2012 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix) was the tenth round of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season and the first of two races in the 2012 season to take place in the United States ...

Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three MotoGP World Championships (, and ) and two 250cc World Championships ( and ). After winning the 2006 a ...

set a pole time of 1:20.554 on the Yamaha. During the 2014 Superbike World Championship season,

Tom Sykes Tom Sykes (born 19 August 1985 in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England) is a professional motorcycle racer who has competed in World Superbike Championship since . For 2022, Sykes re-joins his former team Paul Bird Motorsport riding a Ducati ...

set a time of 1:21.811 on the Kawasaki. The 2019

McLaren Senna The McLaren Senna is a limited-production mid-engined sports car manufactured by McLaren Automotive. The car is the third addition in the ''McLaren Ultimate Series'', joining the F1 and the P1; however, it is not a direct successor to either o ...

holds the current production car lap record. Driver Randy Pobst piloted the unmodified McLaren to a 1:27.62 lap time during MotorTrend's 2019 best driver car award testing. The 2016 Porsche 911 GT2 RS previously held the current unofficial production car lap record with 1:28.30. The Porsche 918 Spyder held the previous unofficial production car lap record with 1:29.89. A

Mission Motors Mission Motors was an American company founded in 2007 in San Francisco, California. The company was founded with the aim of creating high-performance, electric motorcycles, but later became a supplier of electric vehicle components. History Missi ...

Mission R, ridden by Steve Rapp, previously held the outright EV lap record with a time of 1:31.376. This was set during qualifying for the 2011 FIM e-Power International Championship/

TTXGP TTXGP are the official promoters of FIM eRoadRacing, an electric motorsport race series. Founded by Azhar Hussain MBE in 2008, TTXGP started life as the first zero-carbon, clean-emission race to take place at the Isle of Man TT as teams from aro ...

World Series race. In 2018,

Earl Bamber Earl Anderson Bamber (born 9 July 1990) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, currently competing as a factory driver for Porsche Motorsport in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM class. He is the 2014 Porsche Supercup an ...

clocked an unofficial best lap time of 1:07 around Laguna Seca in the Porsche 919 EVO, despite not intentionally trying to set a lap record. A

McLaren MP4/13 The McLaren MP4/13 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the 1998 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Adrian Newey, Steve Nichols, Neil Oatley and Henri Durand, with Mario Illien designing the bespoke I ...

, driven by

Pato O'Ward Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion. Early life and care ...

set an unofficial lap time of 1:10.24 at the 2021 Velocity Invitational festival.

All-time lap records

Race Lap Records

The fastest official all-time track record set during a race weekend is 1:07.722, set by

during qualifying for the 2000 Shell 300

Monterey Grand Prix The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey is an IndyCar Series race held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California. The event dates back to 1960, and became an American open wheel race in 1983. The race was part of the CART/Champ ...

. The fastest official race lap records at Laguna Seca for different classes are listed as:

Other use

Automotive

When not being used by the major events the track can be rented. Approximately twice a year the Sports Car Club of America holds regional club races for the San Francisco Region. Various clubs rent the track throughout the year for informal high-performance driving schools that allow the public to drive their own cars at speed. The raceway has also played host to prototype testing of the

Nissan GT-R The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Alt ...

in 2007. The track is featured in

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s such as the Gran Turismo series (including the bike version Tourist Trophy),

Forza Motorsport ''Forza Motorsport'' is a 2005 simulation racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox gaming system. The word ''Forza'' is Italian for strength. The game is the first installment in the ...

, and the MotoGP series. In a bid to compare real life versus video games,

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...

of the British automotive show ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

'' attempted to beat his Gran Turismo time of 1:41.148 in a

Honda NSX The Honda NSX, marketed in North America as the Acura NSX, is a two-seat, mid-engined coupe sports car manufactured by Honda. The origins of the NSX trace back to 1984, with the HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) concept, which was a mid-eng ...

by racing the real track in the same car in 2005. During the trials, Clarkson determined that the game omitted a few details of the track, and the game's physics allowed him to brake later when coming into turns than he could in real life. As a consequence, he managed a best time of only 1:57 on the real course. However, both he and the track instructor agreed that it is possible to complete the course in 1:41 in a Honda NSX if the driver were sufficiently experienced, talented, and most importantly fearless. It was also used in 1976 for the film ''

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo ''Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo'' is a 1977 American comedy adventure film and the third installment of ''The Love Bug'' film series made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie—the white 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own. ...

'' as a qualifying track.

Other non-automotive events

Laguna Seca and the part of the old

that is now Bureau of Land Management land annually host the

Sea Otter Classic The Sea Otter Classic is a bicycling and outdoor sports festival and exposition held each spring since 1991 at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway ...

"Celebration of Cycling". The event has now become the largest cycling festival in the United States, bringing in over 10,000 racers and over 100,000 spectators – and is now the first major event of the year, typically held in April – for both the road bike and mountain bike professional seasons. Several times each year, bicycles are permitted on the track for 2 hours. The admission fee is $10 per bicycle rider. Laguna Seca served as the finish line for Stage 4 of the 2016 Amgen Tour of California and Stage 3 of the 2018 Amgen Tour of California bicycle races. The raceway has been occasionally as a venue for concerts and other non-sporting events. The Grateful Dead performed on the racetrack in May 1987; later that night, the band filmed their music video for " Touch of Grey" there. On September 17, 1987,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

celebrated mass at Laguna Seca Raceway, where 72,000 people had gathered to see him. In the 1990s, the raceway was the venue for the Laguna Seca Daze music festival, which featured performances from music acts in the

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

and

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often ...

genres. Artists who performed at the festival include

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, Phish, Blues Traveler,

10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band that was founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four album ...

Big Head Todd and the Monsters Big Head Todd and The Monsters are a rock band formed by Todd Mohr, Brian Nevin, and Rob Squires in 1986 in Colorado. The band has released a number of albums since 1989 with their 1993 album '' Sister Sweetly'' going platinum in the United St ...

Meat Puppets Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar/vocals), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothe ...

, 4 Non Blondes,

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " A ...

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...

Gin Blossoms Gin Blossoms is an American alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona. They rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, ''New Miserable Experience'', and the first single released from that albu ...

and

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. While Colvin has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1998 Grammy Award-winning song " Sunny Came Home". Early ...

. On June 24, 2011, John Mueller of Muellerized Suspension Systems married Sheila Stone on the top of the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. This is the location where the ashes of Lee Mueller (4-time SCCA National Champion, IMSA GTU Champion, 3-time winner of the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layo ...

, and 12 Hours of Sebring winner), John Mueller's father, were spread. In Spring 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, graduation ceremonies took place at the raceway. Local schools participating included Carmel High School (June 3, 2020) and

Pacific Grove High School Pacific Grove High School (PGHS) is a public high school located in Pacific Grove, California, between Carmel and Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on th ...

(May 29, 2020). After collecting diplomas, graduates and their families were able to drive around the track in celebration.

Races

Major events

* IMSA Monterey Grand Prix; 1957–present; SCCA Nationals (2014), USRRC, IMSA GT,

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

IMSA SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

United States motorcycle Grand Prix The United States motorcycle Grand Prix was a round of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship. History The first United States Grand Prix was held in 1961 as a non-championship race at the Daytona International Speedway on th ...

; 1988–1991, 1993–1994, 2005–2013; MotoGP *

; 1995–2004, 2013–2019 *

; 1960–2004, 2019–present;

USAC Road Racing Championship The USAC Road Racing Championship was a sports car racing series in the United States held from 1958 until 1962. The series was organized by the United States Auto Club as a fully professional alternative to the Sports Car Club of America's SCCA Na ...

, Can-Am,

, IMSA, CART, IndyCar *

Marlboro Challenge The Marlboro Challenge was an all-star race in the CART series race held from 1987–1992, sponsored by cigarette brand Marlboro. After 1992, the race was discontinued, in part because Phillip Morris reorganized its race sponsorship after the Marl ...

; 1989, 1991; CART

Other events

A1 Grand Prix

MotoGP

Superbike World Championship

Formula 750 World Championship

AMA Grand National / AMA Road Racing

AMA Superbike / MotoAmerica

Rolex Sports Car Series

Trans-Am

Intercontinental GT Challenge

ARCA Menards Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

*1973, 1975-1977, 1980-81: Race ran in the 1.900 mi road course circuit. *2000-2001: Race ran in the 2.238 mi road course circuit.

Formula One

In 1989, the year following the last Formula One race in Detroit, choices for a new location for the

United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

came down to Laguna Seca and

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. The aforementioned 1988 improvements to the track were made in part to lure the F1 race. In the final decision, Laguna Seca was thought to be too remote and too small for an F1 crowd, and so Phoenix was granted the Grand Prix.

References

External links

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Sea Otter ClassicTrackpedia's guide to driving Laguna SecaLaguna Seca Street and Race Car Lap TimesLaguna Seca – A Look Back1963 course mapInsider tips for visiting Laguna Seca
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