A few months ago we had no idea what “Muscle Milk” was…

It is a health, body building, protein supplement for athletes and active, athletic people. “Muscle Milk” is also the sponsor for the Picket Racing #6 ARX-03a P1 Class Prototype.

If the stuff works as good as the team did at Virginia International Raceway perhaps we should grab a bottle or two…

It was as if “Dark Helmet” from “Spaceballs” pushed the “Ludicrous Speed” button…

Really… The thing was simply, silly fast. As an example, we were stationed at the famous Oak Tree turn during a caution and the cars were bunched back together for the restart. The Oak Tree is halfway around the 3.2 mile course from the start. The green flag was waved and moments later here comes the Muscle Milk #6 P1…

Then we commented on the fine, sunny day, went for some lunch, had a drink, made it back to the Oak Tree and watched the rest of the field roll by.

That may be an exaggeration… But just slightly. It was bizarre how fast that car was. In half a lap it was several seconds in front of the field. To watch it move up the esses under the infield bridge towards the Oak Tree it looked like those old movies where they sped the film up.

As a photographer, going through images afterwards, we had entirely too many photos of the back third of the #6.

It was fast. They won by 3 laps. It broke VIR track speed records. The record stood since 2004 from a retired F1 car…

The rest of the field was fast. They just could not touch the Muscle Milk team.

With one last race remaining for ALMS, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, the P1 and P2 classes are left to decide the championship. The other classes clenched their titles at VIR.

For the GT class, the Corvette Racing #4 C6 ZR1 was in control for the majority of the race to win the day and clench the title. They were challenged often by the pole sitter Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari, BMW Team RLL as well as the Falken Porsche trying to make moves.

The GTC class, all running Porsche GT3 cars, was taken over at VIR in the closing laps by Alex Job Racing as the JDX Racing entry went for fuel. The race victory put the GT Challenge championship in their hands.

CORE Autosport was in control for the last laps as the #05 ORECA FLM09 took the win in the Prototype Challenge class while team mates in the #06 finished third. Even with a third place it was enough points to take the championship into Road Atlanta.

For the P2 class it was a battle that often caught other series cars in the mix. P2 drivers were in the pits for penalties almost as much as they were running laps. It seems they were clipping other cars… often.

However, Level 5 and the #95 came through for the P2 win at VIR.

P1 and P2 carry the undecided championships to Road Atlanta. The other series will be racing for a prestigious win at the Petit Le Mans.

If the racing at VIR was any indication, the season finale is bound to be a run to watch. We’ll just have to wait to see if Muscle Milk will bring “Dark Helmet” along for the ludicrous speed…

PHOTOS: American Le Mans at Virginia International Raceway

PHOTOS: VIR Weekend Other Races – Playboy MX5, USF2000, Prototype Lites, GT3

American Le Mans Series website | Virginia International Raceway website