Tag: K&N Pro Series

Bristol. Matt Kenseth took the win. Keselowski had an incident. Kahne couldn’t quite make the move. Jimmie Johnson just had a flat out bad day. Fortunately for him he could afford it.

Two races remain, Atlanta and Richmond, before “The Chase” is set. Minor miracles need to happen for some while Johnson, Bowyer and Kenseth can relax even though Bowyer has yet to log a win for the season. Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch are practically in and would need major setbacks over the next two to jinx it. Dale, Jr., Kahne and Biffle just have to finish well to hold their spots, for the most part.

Bubbles and longshots include Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr. along with the likes of Jeff Burton, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Jamie McMurray…

We’re not going for selective alliteration… We promise.

Actually, none of the above is really the point at all. It just so happens it is top tier NASCAR racing the same day (night, as it were) as the entry level series we actually attended. While the Sprint Cup drivers ran for the shrinking availability of Chase points at Bristol, the K&N Pro Series East was packing it in at Virginia International Raceway. It was this race, the first road course for the “East” series, that had us out in the countryside of southside Virginia rather than fighting the traffic around the Tennessee – Virginia border. (more…)

Road racing. It was a full weekend of road courses from cheap chumps all the way up the ladder to NASCAR.

Grand-Am and American Le Mans were at Road America which is interesting on several levels. The two series are combining for 2014 and running the same weekend showcased both series in action. They were still split over Saturday and Sunday but fans were shown both through the paddock, practices and racing.

NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup were racing Watkins Glen, the second road coarse on their schedule and the last for the season. There is still debate about a road course in “The Chase” but that is likely several laps away.

Grand-Am and NASCAR were given a bit of a shake for these races as Tony Stewart (Stewart-Haas #14) was injured earlier in the week in a sprint car rollover crash. This left the #14 without a driver at “The Glen” and points hole where Stewart was (11th before Watkins Glen). The rush to fill that seat landed on Max Papis who is currently driving Grand-Am but also has time in Sprint Cup cockpits. That left Papis’ seat as a fill-in at Road America which put Kenny Wilden in as a co-driver with Papis’ usual partner, Jeff Segal.

How did the replacements run? Segal and Wilden put the AIM Autosport Ferrari into a GT Class 4th place. Max Papis drove Stewart’s #14 to a 15th place finish which, all things considered, wasn’t too bad as he started 29th.

Kyle Busch won at “The Glen”. BMW was the big winner at Road America as Starworks put theirs in for the Prototype Class and Turner put theirs in for GT. (more…)

NASCAR has been running road courses for a while. There is even debate floating about for having a road course in the final “Chase” portion of the Sprint Cup season. The “Big Guns” are racing the storied course at Watkins Glen this weekend (8/10-11).

However, few sanctioned development series offer the up and coming drivers a taste of the twists and turns found on road courses. This year, the K&N Pro Series (East) is doing so. The western series has been, which includes Sonoma also on the Sprint Cup schedule.

The East series now has Virginia International Raceway on their schedule as the first visit to a road course. Later, they will run at Road Atlanta. That is later… The first, at VIR, is coming up fast on August 23rd and 24th.

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We’re used to seeing Grand-Am, and coming in October, American Le Mans as well as other sports car series running laps around this little bit of beauty tucked away in Southside Virginia. Heavy, and somewhat cumbersome, stock cars are something different. Sprint Cup and Nationwide series test here annually because of some rules about sanctioned tracks and sanctioned testing and all that but racing stock cars, under a NASCAR series title, is something new. (more…)

Racing comes in all shapes and sizes. All summer long we’ve been inundated with IndyCar, Formula 1, dirt tracks, sprint cars, trucks, drags, NASCAR and more.

The bulk of it has been through television. Now, however, racing is back on and coming to Virginia and it gets rolling with what could be the most basic of the sport. It is “run what you brung” racing at Virginia International Raceway with the Optima Batteries Chump Car VIR 24 Hour Classic!

Yes – It’s a long name for a long race. 24 hours of a track full of cars of all different sizes and colors and makes and models. These cars are the result of tinkering and tweaking in garages and barns and little car shops all over the country. These are Chumps! They are at VIR to race this weekend (August 9-10-11). (more…)

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… (more…)