THE ALFA ROMEO GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO. THE BMW M3 COMPETITION. AND THE CADILLAC CT4-VBLACKWING HEAD SOUTH ONA ROAD TRIP TO FIND OUT WHICH ONE BEST DELIVERS ON THE SPORTS-SEDAN PROMISE.

One of us, gassing up the 2025 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, says, "No, we drove from Michigan.

- EZRA DYER

Where it's also legal. But still no." A third editor, stepping from the 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, asks, "Isn't weed legal in West Virginia anyway? We saw a medical dispensary." The gas-station guy replies, "Well, yeah. But if you have one of those cards, then you can't own a gun." Effectively illegal, then, to this guy. Fueled up and with a fresh understanding of West Virginia drug law, we return to the road with our mind-altering sports sedans, legal in all 50 states but capable of extremely extralegal feats of performance.

Which is why we're heading to Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. The M3 hits 100 mph in 7.3 seconds, the Giulia tops out at a claimed 191 mph, and the CT4-V feels so untroubled at 96 mph that you'd swear you're going 65, Your Honor. These cars need a track like a hyper Labrador puppy needs a dog park, and Rockingham is just the place. The famous NASCAR venue hosted its last race in 2013 and then slid into disrepair, but new ownership and a multimillion-dollar glowup brought Rockingham back from the dead, with the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Trucks on the schedule for April. Both the mile-long high-banked oval and the infield road course got new pavement, so we figured we'd do our part to lay down some fresh rubber. First, though, we had to get there-from Michigan.