Occasionally one happens into a situation that few people get to experience, and such was my luck in July of 2016 while participating in the MINI Takes The States event (MTTS) and getting to drive on Charlotte Motor Speedway.
MTTS is put on every two years by MINI USA and invites all MINI owners to join them for a trip from one coast of the US to the other. They offer breakfast in a different city each day and organize drives and other events.
Thousands of MINIs take part in MTTS, some at only one town, some run the entire thing. My wife and I started out with a group from The Woodlands, TX at MINI of The Woodlands who gave us a fantastic send off. We drove with that group to New Orleans, LA and spent the night, then went to Atlanta, GA the next day to start the MTTS trip.
The Charlotte Motor Speedway weather was awesome as you can see from the picture below.
Charlotte, NC was the second day and the morning in Charlotte started at Charlotte Motor Speedway where they let us loose on the track. Awesome is the only word I can use and it falls short. How often do you get to run your car on a top national racetrack, and at full speed, legally?
Watch the video and you get to see more than my lap around Charlotte Motor Speedway at insane speeds, you get to see pit row, the tunnel entrance/exit, and much more.