From what you describe, I think Americans (or New Englanders, at least) might call "circle work" "doing a donut". This is where you spin your car around and around in as tight a circle as possible, leaving a "donut" of burnt rubber on the pavement after you (if you do your donuts in the traditional location - the high school parking lot). They're also occasionally done by the winners of auto races in the infield of the track.