Sebring’s Turn 17

Turn 17 at Sebring, which ends the back straight—and “begins” the front straight—could actually be called the “World’s Biggest Hairpin.” Certainly one of the most difficult. Turn 17 (also known as Sunset, because as night falls on the 12-Hour race, drivers are looking right into the setting sun heading into the turn), perhaps my favorite corner in racing, is actually a little “tighter” now than it was for its first 40 years.

As you may know, Sebring was built in the ’40s to train the B-17 flight crews for WWII, and was paved with coquina-based concrete. Even though some of it hasn’t aged well, its abrasive finish produces some of the best grip in the world. Our Skip Barber cars actually eat up about three times more tires than at an asphalt track. But the grip is worth it! Especially in the two remaining high-speed corners, 17 and Turn One.