Just a heads up that the SSCC (http://sscc.us) hosts an open road race twice a year in eastern Nevada. The May race (May 14-17) is called the Nevada Open Road Challenge (NORC) and the September race is the Silver State Classic Challenge (SSCC, they are the same course).

The race is held on Nevada State Highway 317, is 90 miles long, and of course the road is closed to the public. It is best described as a rally since each class in the race is trying to complete the course in a certain time (e.g. the 120mph class tries to complete the course in 45 minutes).

Rookies have to attend a driving school (no big deal) and are limited to the Touring Division (fasted class withing the division is 110mph, with max allowable speed -- called the Tech Speed -- of 124mph). After competing once in a division, then you can move up in the next event to the next higher division.

The Friday before the race a 1/2 mile and 1 mile shootout is held on 1.9 mile stretch Highway 490. This is basically a drag race where you are timed at the end. Some cars hit 200mph.

Of course speed is dangerous and there are strict safety requirements for the higher speed classes. Over 27 years there have been four fatalities, including a Porsche driver last September (likely survivable had the driver's helmet not come off during the accident).

I've competed twice and plan to go in May. The first time I entered the 100mph class and it was pretty easy (within the Touring Division there are the 95, 100, 105, and 110mph classes). The second time I was in the 110mph class. This may not seem very fast, but doing it for 49 minutes, much of it at 120mph, takes more concentration than you might think. BTW, the Touring Division has no special vehicle safety requirements so any modern car qualifies once you add a fire extinguisher (higher division require things like 6 point belts, roll bars, etc.).

For more information, please visit the SSCC web site using the link above, or post a question here.