2 days ago
Here Are The Automotive Events On Jalopnik Readers' Bucket Lists
What car event have you always wanted to attend but just haven't managed to make it for one reason or another? There are so many incredible car gatherings around the world, from Mille Miglia to King of the Hammers, there's something for just about everyone. I've been lucky enough to see almost every event my little gearhead heart could ever dream of, bar one, the Goodwood Festival of Speed. One day I'll have to make the trip over and see it in person, but for now it remains the biggest event still on my list of things to do before I kick the proverbial bucket.
Earlier this week we asked all of you to tell us about the event still on your bucket list, and you did not disappoint. With dozens of great suggestions to choose from, we picked ten of our favorite answers and included them below. If you think there's something missing from this list, or your bucket list has a more unique answer, feel free to sound off in the comments below.
Read more: These Are The Best Engines Of All Time, According To You
I'd love to attend the Pebble Beach Concours. I enjoy car shows of all kinds and that seems like the ultimate event to attend. Hope to get to it one day.
Suggested by Dan60
The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, OK Sage Net Center, two weeks after Christmas. I'm not all that big of a fan of Tulsa, but the racing is supposedly incredible.
An international cast of the baddest midget drivers, sprinkled with NASCAR and Indycar stars slumming for the week. A week of cut-and-thrust midget heats, sub-features and last-chance qualifiers capped with a Saturday night A-Main.
Suggested by jrhmobile
The Lane Museum's 'Rally for the Lane'
I participated in the first one and it was a blast. Unfortunately, trying to convince a group of friends to shell out a grand apiece to spend a weekend driving a weird foreign car through rural Tennessee is more challenging than one would expect.
Suggested by Earthbound Misfit I
Spa. I have not been as in to F1 as I used to be, 10-, 20-, 30- years ago, but I'd still love to see F1 cars go through Eau Rouge at speed once in my life.
Suggested by WeryPert1
This might seem like an odd choice, but as someone not from the States, I would really like to attend RADwood some day. It is much smaller in scale than a lot of the major automotive events around the world, but it happens to represent my favorite automotive era.
Suggested by epep-
I lived and worked out there but never had the chance to see it in person - the Africa Eco Race. It's kind of a pared down Paris - Dakar when it was still run in Africa. But this course snakes through the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, through Mauritania, and into Senegal. It's stunning country out there. Downside, while staying/eating there won't destroy the budget, flights will cause the credit card to wince. And personal security is always an issue in some of the areas where the route passes through.
Stateside, I'm still kicking myself for not getting my MX-5 up and down the Pikes Peak route. But it's still on my bucket list.
Suggested by Xavier96
Any WRC event in Europe. Rallying is amazing, European fans are out of their minds. The settings and courses are beautiful.
Suggested by JohnnyWasASchoolBoy
Sure it is riddled with issues but after visiting Monaco during spring break more than 20 years ago, I still want to attend the Grand Prix before I get too old to travel. The city is beautiful and I got chills just walking through the famous tunnel under the Fairmont Hotel, imagining the cars wailing and transitioning as they exit. There are so many elevation changes and turns and the concept of turning a small coastal city into a race course ticks so many boxes on my happy list.
Like my previous trip, I will most likely stay in much more reasonably priced Nice and take the train over. Or, I could rent a scooter, lose my riding buddy within 10 minutes, and accidentally wind up in Monaco (this was before Google maps). Back in 2003, a dirty martini at the Casino Monte Carlo set me back €20, so I can't imagine how expensive things are nowadays. It might be five figures alone just to get tickets for two people for the race weekend.
As a runner up, I want a chance to drive a fun car (most likely an M Car), at the Nürburgring on a tourist day. It's not a proper motorsports event but would certainly be the highlight of my amateur weekend warrior track day career.
Suggested by ODDseth
Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. Nothing more to add, really.
Suggested by Pete
I grew up in Indianapolis and my dad took me to the Indy 500 when I was probably 9 or 10 and it was... boring as hell. We even had fantastic tickets- across from the pits and under the big roof so we didn't get baked by the sun. Jim Neighbors sang, a really old lady said "gentlemen start your engines," There was a pit fire where one of the pit crew spilled fuel and the car caught on fire, that super weird clear fire you can't see except for the effects it has on anything near it, it was objectively a cool experience but I was 9 and it was 4 hours of watching cars blur past in a straight line over the bricks.
So, I'd love to go back. I'd love to go to the 500 as an adult who has patience and some understanding of what was going on. As a hoosier, even a former hoosier who'll never move back, I feel like this is a thing I need to do. Maybe I can take my own kiddo and help her see why the 500 is the greatest spectacle in racing.
Suggested by Buckfiddious
Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox...
Read the original article on Jalopnik.
