There is a place in Virginia that was built in the 1950’s for sports car and racing enthusiasts to gather and challenge each other and the terrain. Rises and turns made famous by names such as Carroll Shelby, Carl Haas, Bob Holbert and Paul Newman. The track was there in the early days along with Watkins Glen and Elkhart Lake.
The place fell off in the 1970’s but was given a second chance rolling into this century. In 2000, Virginia International Raceway was brought back to life with an upgraded facility and an open invitation for club and enthusiast racing. It wasn’t long before VIR was hosting Grand-Am, American Le Mans, SCCA, AMA and other varieties of sports car and motorcycle racing.
NASCAR has been testing road course racing here for several years but the haven’t raced. Until now…
The NASCAR sanctioned K&N Pro Series has announced they will race at Virginia International Raceway for 2013. Late August will see drivers and teams of this development series arrive and drive at VIR. This will be racing. They will be side by side and bumper to bumper with stock cars fighting for position on this winding and scenic road course.
The K&N series is making moves to incorporate road racing in their schedule. Virginia International Raceway is located in a region rich with this type of racing. South Boston is close. Motor Mile in Radford is a couple of hours away. The North Carolina border and all the racing there is minutes away. For a road course in the schedule, VIR is a natural with the facility, location and infrastructure to accommodate.
NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide are on at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. The K&N development series for younger drivers is embracing this type of race and getting these young drivers some experience to grow their talents.
On a sunny Tuesday in late May, as NASCAR teams were testing Cup and Nationwide setups as a backdrop, six drivers from the K&N Pro Series introduced themselves on behalf of all the drivers ready to take the challenge of VIR.
Austin Dyne, Kenzie Ruston, Gray Gaulding, Jesse Little, Brandon Gdovic and Michael McGuire, ages roughly 16 to 21, were open and excited about the facility and the upcoming challenge of racing there. There was talk about the finesse of a road course verses the rhythm and style of an oval. There was a discussion of gaining experience to grow as a driver. A few were contemplating some specific driving training before the scheduled race in August. One, Austin Dyne, has already raced at VIR with Skip Barber racing.
Some had turned some laps in their living rooms with virtual iRacing…
This discussion was happening while the likes of Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, Sam Hornish, Jr. and others were just outside turning laps in Cup and Nationwide cars prepping for racing at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. It served as a pro stock car setting for the introduction of NASCAR sanctioned series racing at Virginia International Raceway.
Connie Nyholm, the CEO at VIR, was openly excited to expand the racing at the facility. Challenging the drivers in a race setting is one thing but growing the recognition and foundation of racing into the future is a challenge for those that call VIR their day job. They have shown and proven their ability to handle world class events with the ROLEX Grand-Am and American Le Mans series, among many others. Having stock cars on the track in a race setting will be another challenge met and overcome with a regular schedule penciled in.
The young drivers did get a shot at the course. Granted, they were driving VIR staff vehicles with the only modification from the showroom being the publicity decals for the facility. The experience only whetted their appetite for their K&N cars in race trim.
They did get a shot at racing on the kart track. The kart course is twisting and challenging taste of the real thing. It doesn’t matter who won the race. It was a fun exercise on a smaller scale illustrating the racing to come in August when all of their counterparts gather for the real thing.
NASCAR tests the “big dogs” at VIR. Now, they will bring stock cars to Virginia International Raceway in an official capacity. The drivers are young but ready to take the challenge.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series will be racing at VIR in August. Mark the 24th and be ready for stock car racing with a view.
Visit Virginia International Raceway and the K&N Pro Series online for more!