tail of the dragon is at the border of north carolina and tennessee...it is the most amazing road i have ever driven on. 317 curves in 11.5 miles!!! my bf and i went there recently in his lotus and we took pics...you can check them out here:
http://www.dragva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140686
it took us 7ish hours to get there from richmond, so it is pretty far...but trust me it is worth it!

 

If you drop me a PM, when I get home from work I can post the rally map from my last TSD Rally Race outside Richmond. I bet the Dragon has some better scenery, but the counties around the James River have some bangin' roads (125 miles of smooth, twisty, fun).

EDIT:
Question -- to those that have driven the Dragon -- It is only 11.5 miles long? Dang. I guess the corners make up for the short distance... but how long did it take you to get from start to finish?

 

Ok let me say this..NOTHING and I mean NOTHING in Richmond is even remotly close to the dragon. Thats like comparing a Ford Espire to a C6 ZO6.
Richmond is relatively boring and I assume so is Va beach. If you want real driving your gonna have to head out west.

Ohh and Blue Ridge Prkyway blows too. Not technical, flat boring sweeping curvs with to much Law Enforcment and tourists

 

Yup only 11 miles long...and the 7 hour drive is worth every minute to get there

When you drive it you will be in awe

It takes about 20-25 minutes to do it one way
And all the surounding roads are amazing as well. But the dragon is much more technical and treacherous

 

its 11.5 miles of curve after curve after curve after curve...there are no straight roads up there. and all the surrounding roads to get to the dragon are all curves too. there is nothing in richmond that even remotely comes close to the dragon.

 

I use to get lost in suffolk and chesapeake. Theres a few good roads, but nothing to write home about. For work on thursday i use to work all the way out to emporia and everything inbetween...lots of country roads, but so far to drive for a few turns.

 

Dragon > every other road in Va

 

hmm.. car cruise to the Tail of the Dragon?

Here's a link for those that don't know... http://www.dealsgap.com

From what I have been told, the things you MUST do is an overall inspection of the car and it's brake system. Make sure the clutch and cables are good if you have a manual and inspect the brakes thoroughly. If you went cheap on pads and rotors, don't bother going. Upgrade to some better rotors and pads first. Replace the brake fluid first with some quality brake fluid. The lowest quality I would suggest is Valvoline's Synthetic DOT 3/4. It's dry boiling point is 480*-500*. I've heard of drivers going to the extent of bringing extra rotors and pads for just in case.

Also have your suspension checked and up to spec. Replace worn out shocks and bushings. If tires are worn, replace with some quality tires. Have your alignment checked.

Last thing is to just take it slow when going through there or you'll end up off the side of a mountain before you can blink.

 

Yea that place it damn sure fun. I went there last month for a Zday there. Whew. I never got motion sick when I was driving before :-P

Definitly a blast. Only lost one car that weekend. Guy was coming around a corner and a motorcycle came around the otherway across the centerline and never stopped of course. The Z had a choice head-on the bike or try and swingwide and pray he not go off the road.. Well he chose the latter and didn't make it.. ended up about 40 feet down the side of the mountain. The tree he was wrapped around stopped him from going any further. Sure was a nice car.

I have run it on a weekday and if I was any of you, I would hit it in the middle of the week. Almost no traffic on there. The motorcycles running that road make it very dangerous on the weekends. All of them think both lanes are theirs it seems