The best kept secret in the Sports Car Club of America™ is arguably SCCA® Targa. Each Targa is an unadulterated powerhouse in the quantity of fun it serves to those thirsting for motorsport goodness. Imagine hitting four racetracks in four days, driving your vehicle from track-to-track and state-to-state alongside a teammate, all the while flanked by others who also crave #funwithcars.
Targa events have a fantastically fun history with SCCA, dating all the way back to the pre-pandemic times of 2017 when the inaugural event took teams to zMAX Dragway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motorsports Park, and Memphis International Raceway (now known as Darana Motorsports Park Millington). Was fun had? You bet your fuzzy little driving shoes they were! And following a spectacular return of Targa in 2025 (read more about some of those adventures here and here), Targa’s back for 2026 for even more shenanigans.
Targa’s return is no shocker – SCCA already announced the April 29-May 2 Targa Tex-ish and July 29-Aug. 1 Targa Great Lakes. What SCCA hasn’t formally announced (until now) is the return of Targa Carolinas and the launch of Targa New England.
Here’s the shorthand:
Targa Carolinas
- June 10: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, NC
- June 11: NCCAR, Garysburg, NC
- June 12: North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, NC
- June 13: Carolina Motorsports Park, Kershaw, SC
Targa New England
- July 15: Palmer Motorsports Park, Warren, MA
- July 16: Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, CT
- July 17: Canaan Motor Club, Canaan, NH
- July 18: Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA
You’ve got the taste – now let’s bite into the juicy details.
Southern Hospitality with Targa Carolinas
On Wednesday, June 10, you’ll check-in and tech in the late morning with an afternoon lapping on the roval (using both chicanes) at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The infield, meanwhile, will bring a TrackSprint.
Day one ends with a 225-mile transit to NCCAR (North Carolina Center for Automotive Research) in Roanoke Rapids, NC, for a day of fun on Thursday, June 11. Expect a TrackSprint alongside a series of track sessions in each direction, giving everyone a chance to experience what this facility has to offer.
Another 225-mile transit later, and Targa participants will spend Friday, June 12, at the home of Moonshine and Motorsports and the world famous 6/10th mile oval of North Wilkesboro Speedway.
“We have wanted to do an oval on Targa since its inception in 2016 but couldn't line one up, and I am hard pressed to think of a better one to start with,” says SCCA VP of Experiential Programs Heyward Wagner. “The event is expected to be run similar to a TrackSprint – cars spaced out, out lap, green-white-checker, pit in.”
One hundred and fifty miles down the road is Carolina Motorsports Park, which is where Targa will wrap on Saturday, June 13, alongside the Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack Challenge.
“Targa teams will get laps in before lunch, but everyone is encouraged to stick around for the weekend and enjoy the track and paddock,” Heyward says, adding, “Awards to be presented at the Saturday night party.”
A Wicked Good Time at Targa New England
The start date for this one is July 15 and the location is Palmer Motorsports Park in Warren, MA. Like with Targa Carolinas, the morning will involve tech and check in, and the afternoon will bring lapping on the flowing (side-to-side and up-and-down) 2.3-mile road course that is no less than amazing.
A short 90-mile trek will bring Targa teams to the one and only Lime Rock Park on July 16. Guess what happens there? Track time!
The next transit leads to options: Head to Canaan Motor Club (about 200 miles away) or score extra points and experience the Auto Road at Mount Washington (roughly 300 miles from Lime Rock) for sunset.
“If you join us on the Mount Washington side trip, you will have the option to stay in the area that night or head on to Canaan area – roughly 100 miles away,” Wagner says.
Friday morning, July 17, will begin early at Canaan with TrackSprints, followed by a six-hour haul to Pocono Raceway for the final Targa stage on July 18. This is also where Targa New England meets up with the Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack Challenge for the weekend. Then Saturday evening brings the traditional Targa party.
“I am really, really happy with how this route came together,” says Wagner. “Palmer is an epic driver’s track that not enough people have heard of. Obviously, Lime Rock is as bucket-listy as it gets, and Canaan is one of those hidden treasure tracks – one you might not get to without inclusion in an event like this, and punches way above its weight. The added bonus of Mount Washington brings another iconic motorsports venue and experience to the event, just to add more challenge and fun to the road trip.”
Learn more about SCCA Targa and the Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack Challenge at timetrials.scca.com.
Photo by Philip Royle
