Winners. Racing, like any sport, places emphasis on winning. Club racing and enthusiast track events, however, showcase more than Victory Lane. The focus on these events is sharing the experience of driving and improving the road skills to advance that experience. The phrase “everyone is a winner” is almost tailored to club races and gatherings. Yes, winning is fun and all that but experiencing your car and skill in that setting is also quite exhilarating. For many, winning is not the reason or the goal. Having a performance based automobile and being able to experience the car for what it was designed for is the focus. Putting amateur and professional drivers and their vehicles in the same space creates a dynamic display of design, color and speed.
For a cool October weekend, SpeedTour set the stage for these shared automotive experiences. This event is a vintage car show within a varied range of racing. The “winners” here are not only the owners and drivers but the fans that are there to see these fabulous cars in action.
Virginia International Raceway has hosted this event (and the Heacock Classic before) for several seasons. The setting is as much of a vintage beauty as the classic cars that are in the show. For racing fans, the Trans AM series offers a pure spectacle of American muscle and speed. The F4, FR America and the International GT are right there for speed but also throw world class variety in the mix. Let’s be real… F1 at COTA is a bit pricey and IndyCar doesn’t get that close to us here in Virginia but the SpeedTour gives us a very close view with the F4 and FR America! It is an authentic open wheel race experience in a beautiful setting.
Of course, a big part of the SpeedTour event is the SportsCar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) car show and vintage class racing. Ford GTs on track with an Aston Martin DB6, BMW 2002, split window ‘Vette and any number of MGs, Austin-Healeys and Sprites. Watching a classic Cobra race side by side with a vintage “whale tail” Porsche is almost as cool for the enthusiast fan as it is for the owner driver. As fans we get to enjoy these cars without that heavy maintenance price tag! It is a win-win for everyone!
Racing results can be found at the series websites: SVRA | Trans-Am | International GT | F4 US Champ | FR Americas
SpeedTour is a great showcase of Virginia International Raceway and an even better show of the variety of automotive design and progress. A photo gallery of the weekend is below!
