Detour Pit Stop #03: Mrs Orcutt's Driveway, USA

In the Mojave desert, not far from Barstow, California is piece of petrolhead history that's all too easy to miss. Running parallel to Interstate 40 is Mrs Orcutt's 4.1-mile driveway which was used as an illegal test track by car magazines and drag racers throughout the 1970s and 80s.

Built by the federal government solely to serve Mrs Bonnie Margaret McMains Orcutt at her homestead after they cut off access with the interstate in 1968 it was soon recognised by Car and Driver as the perfect (if not strictly legal) spot to reach vMax. A daunting 200mph was exceeded on more than one occasion.

When Detour paid a visit back in the mid-nineties it took a trip to a library to dig out old maps and a not inconsiderable amount of luck to find the the crumbling road. With Mrs O’s house also a ruin the road no longer had purpose and was being left to be gradually reclaimed by the desert.

There were still plenty of rubber marks and some looked fresh, but in many places the road surface was more gravel than bitumen. Still, we’d come all this way. And we’d come in a Chevrolet Corvette so, we lined up for a run.

Hard on the gas and the car slewed left a little as the rear tyres fought for traction on the broken road. As the speedometer edged past the 100mph mark the front tyres too started meandering on the dusty, loose surface. We pressed on to 160mph and, although we still had plenty of room to spare we didn’t fancy our chances of dodging the desert under hard braking so let the speed bleed off gradually. Another road ticked off the bucket list.

It was only after we rejoined the Interstate that we realised just how clearly our antics could have been witnessed as dust still hung in the still desert air. A lucky escape in many ways.

Words Nik Berg Twitter | Instagram

Photography Spencer Davis / Unsplash

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Roadbook

• Class: Unofficial drag strip

• Name: Mrs Orcutt’s Driveway

• Route: Near Newberry Springs, California

• Country: USA

• Distance: 4 miles

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