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The Monsters of CART – Part 9: Laguna Seca and the Corkscrew Leap of Faith

After surviving the blistering drag races and millisecond photo-finishes of Portland, the retro-speed caravan travels south down the Pacific coast to one of the most physically demanding, breathtaking, and world-renowned road courses ever paved: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Nestled in the dry, golden hills of Monterey, California, this 2.238-mile paved masterpiece is a rollercoaster of speed, elevation changes, and off-camber sweepers. But more than anything else, Laguna Seca is defined by one single, terrifying complex of corners that has tested the bravery of every legendary racer: the Corkscrew.

🌀 The Corkscrew: A Blind Drop Into Legend

Turn 8 and 8A—affectionately and fearfully known as the Corkscrew—is a hard-left, hard-right combination that drops a mind-bending 59 feet (equal to a 5-story building) in only 450 feet of track length.

Approaching the Corkscrew in a 950-horsepower CART monster was a pure exercise in trust and courage. As you rocketed up the hill, the entry to the corner was completely blind. Drivers had to aim their noses at a specific oak tree on the horizon, brake hard, throw the car into the blind left apex, and literally drop off the edge of a cliff while immediately steering right as the chassis compressed under massive G-forces. Get your line wrong by a single inch, and the car would violently bottom out, spinning you into the sand traps.

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca track map

📍 WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca track map: Highlighting the iconic 5-story drop of Turns 8 and 8A (The Corkscrew) right after the Rahal Straight.
Map credit: Will Pittenger / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

🔥 September 8, 1996: "The Pass"

You cannot talk about Laguna Seca and CART without talking about the single most legendary overtake in American open-wheel racing.

It was the final lap of the 1996 season finale. Bryan Herta (Rahal-Hogan Racing) was leading the race, driving defensive lines to secure his first career win. Close behind him was the relentless, charismatic Italian sensation Alex Zanardi (Target Chip Ganassi Racing).

As they stormed up the hill towards the Corkscrew for the final time, Herta took the standard racing line to protect the inside. Zanardi, in a moment of pure, unadulterated madness, did not lift. He launched his Reynard-Honda down the inside on a line that simply did not exist.

Zanardi’s car bounced violently over the high inside curb, launched into the air, and slid completely off the paved track into the dirt and gravel of the Corkscrew’s runoff area. Fighting the steering wheel like a man possessed, Zanardi kept his foot flat on the throttle, wrestled his sliding car back onto the track right in front of a stunned Bryan Herta, and stole the victory yards before the line.

💡 The Legacy of "The Pass":

The maneuver, forever immortalized simply as "The Pass", was highly controversial—many argued it was illegal to pass off-track, while others saw it as the greatest piece of raw racing instinct ever caught on camera. Either way, it became the defining image of the golden era of CART.

🏎️ Collector's Corner: Bring the Legends to Your Desktop

Whether you want to display a piece of history on your shelf or feel the terrifying drop of the Corkscrew yourself from your gaming setup, we’ve got you covered:

  • 👉 Classic & Modern IndyCar Diecast Models on Amazon — Find stunning, high-quality replica models from Greenlight Collectibles, including historically accurate vintage liveries. Perfect for your office desk or gaming shelf.
  • 👉 Retro Gaming Consoles & Racing Gear on Amazon — Want to conquer the Corkscrew yourself? Check out retro handheld consoles loaded with 90s classic racing games, or grab modern masterpieces like Gran Turismo 7 to drive down the legendary 5-story drop of Laguna Seca.

💬 Join the Conversation!

Now we want to hear from you! Was "The Pass" a brilliant, legendary move of pure racing genius, or should Zanardi have been penalized for leaving the track? Have you ever raced the Corkscrew in a simulator and managed to stay on the black stuff?

Let's discuss in the comments below!

🏁 Series Navigation: Monsters of CART

Explore all 13 legendary circuits from the golden era of 1990s turbocharged CART IndyCar racing:

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