STARKE, Fla. – You know that game you play when you're walking toward a car as a group and someone yells “Shotgun!” One word at the right time before anyone else earns you the passenger seat.
I rarely play that game because I'm usually the driver, and that's OK. I like driving. I take vacations to drive.
From Deal's Gap, North Carolina, I've slayed the Dragon -- a road with curves so famous they have their own names. I've enjoyed the amazing views on the Blue Ridge Parkway and found myself alone among the turns, climbing toward the clouds on the Cherohala Skyway.
As far as GPS, mine is always set to avoid highways. Backroads and byways may take a little longer, but they offer views of historic main streets and hidden gems that have been lost with the migration of traffic to the interstates.
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While driving back roads can be beautiful and relaxing, not all of my drives are done at Sunday speed.
There are times when I like to hear the exhaust climb to a crescendo while shifting through the gears. To feel the seat bolsters squeezing my ribs as the car pivots at the polar moment of turn in, apex and exit. For those times, I could dare to mar my near flawless driving record on a public roadway -- or take my need for speed to a racetrack.
My prescription for performance includes West Palm Beach, Sebring and Roebling Road.
WANT MORE? Watch a longer version of Richard's story
But our Morning Show series, “The Places You Gotta Go That You Don't Know,” is all about adventures in our own backyard -- and there's a spot a little over an hour away from Jacksonville that will get your pulse racing.
The Florida International Rally and Motorsports park is a 420-acre complex of on- and off-road driving excitement at the Keystone Airport in Starke.
My adventure took me from the 1.6-mile road course to 22 miles of configurable and diverse surfaces in a Rally car.
The stages include an asphalt road course, broken tarmac, skid pad, loose gravel, dirt, sand and lime rock -- with unlimited scenarios to test your driving skills.
These courses will put you in a 2WD or AWD rally car on the FIRM's 1,000-foot skid pad, rallycross course layout and European inspired rally stages. Since we're talking rally and off-road, the FIRM also offers ATV/UTV courses.
From Open Track Days, corporate and team building events to military and security tactical driving, the FIRM offers options for all driving levels.
The motorsports park is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday with open track days every weekend available with an annual pass for unlimited track time.
To get to the FIRM, you can take I-10 west to U.S. 301 south and then take State Road 100 south toward the airport. The FIRM's address is 7266 Airport Road, Starke, Florida, 32091.
For more information on the prices and what the FIRM has to offer, go to http://www.gorally.com or call 352-473-2999.