Virginia International Raceway in Danville, Va

[LancePearson]

MGG, yes, I know that is true but these guys raced all the time. I stood when they were on the track at the starting line just off pit row there and watched back towards the Hog Pen corner where the long straight into the turn #1 hairpin is and one guy with two following him that was being timed by the crew standing there by me and he rocketed past me at 175 mph then braked to do turn 1 and powered around from there. I heard and saw him coming and he still frightened me with the speed and sound of it. I don't doubt that some of these guys are hard on the brakes. How can you not be at those speeds? I rode one session with a pro driver in a GTI with 200 hp and automatic to see how he handled the straights and the turns as passenger and that little thing flew...he hit 130 mph and I saw 7,000 rpm on the tach. What he did was keep his average rpms and average speed substantially higher in just about every corner. The BMW M3/4 guys didn't like him because they couldn't catch him and they had 200 hp more than he did. He knew how hard to push the GTI in every corner so their straight line speed did not allow them to keep up with him. Good driver.I went back out in my car the next session a couple hours later and took a minute off my lap times then almost another minute the last session so i did learn but my 76 is stock l48 running as configured about 210 hp and I was unwilling to push a 37 year old car as hard as he pushed the new GTI.

Lance

[lbszr]

It has been on my list to do VIR, it would be good to get a group going as mentioned. I probably won't be ready by May though. cause I'm doing some suspenion mods and would like to get it dialed in on tracks around here before making the long haul to VIR

[ZZZZZR1]

Originally Posted by lbszr

It has been on my list to do VIR, it would be good to get a group going as mentioned. I probably won't be ready by May though. cause I'm doing some suspenion mods and would like to get it dialed in on tracks around here before making the long haul to VIR

Are you installing DRM coil overs? Have you seen MGG (Mike Geyer) posts about installation?

Are you doing anything different and if so what? (are you doing the install?)

Love to hear about it!



David

[LancePearson]

May 4,5 Track Daze at VIR.....I am not going to get involved in racing my car but I'm thinking I will drive it down to VIR and watch others do so at the weekend. If anyone wants someone to work on their crew helping time or anything like that let me know and I'll be glad to do so. Not long after that I'll be driving it to B.G. in May.

Lance Pearson
Chester, Va. 1991 00682

[lbszr]

Originally Posted by ZZZZZR1

Are you installing DRM coil overs? Have you seen MGG (Mike Geyer) posts about installation?

Are you doing anything different and if so what? (are you doing the install?)

Love to hear about it!



David

I'm not sure what Mike's last name is, but I probably talked to him. If it's the Mike that has his car in CarDomain. He has great info about modifying the cooling system to get them cooled down on the track. I just went with Dewitts and drilled three holes in the thermostat. It's been run with offset bushings on the front, Lingenfelter FX3 roadrace chip and different controller. This year it's getting 32S 26S bars, 1100-1200 lbs/in, front, 850 lbs/in on the rear VBP leaf spring. Trailing arm adjustable links, smart camber struts for the rear. I went with Danny Popp spring rates cause he raced them in the day and he'll do the ride heighth/corner balance/alignment after I do the install.

If anybody runs out this way, 10/10th's motorsports is a good group. They usually get MidOhio couple times a year.

[lbszr]

Originally Posted by LancePearson

May 4,5 Track Daze at VIR.....I am not going to get involved in racing my car but I'm thinking I will drive it down to VIR and watch others do so at the weekend. If anyone wants someone to work on their crew helping time or anything like that let me know and I'll be glad to do so. Not long after that I'll be driving it to B.G. in May.

Lance Pearson
Chester, Va. 1991 00682

Maybe I'll try for May, this is getting me motivated! How's the weather there in May?

[LancePearson]

April and May are two very nice months here. May should be good. They run rain or shine at VIR. There is a skid pad on the property as well and they have various track configurations. the one I liked and did was the full course of 3.27 miles with 17 turns and two kinks. I isn't the widest course you ever saw but it also has few hard barriers with grass and tires and hay bales around if you leave the track. It's out in the country on the Va/NC southern border. You'll see lots of skid marks on the track heading off where people have gone too fast and lost it but a good Corvette Z seems to run somewhere around 2'15" here or a little less per lapo versus a current model ZR1 638 hp which might get under 2' if pushed by a pro level driver. For that matter, a tuned 500 hp zr1 of ours should be able to do pretty close to the same being pushed by a pro level driver as it's a fair amount of carrying speed through the corners to the max possible and good brakes. Paul Newman used to love driving there..one of his favorite courses.

Spring weather is temperate though it can also rain. It's spring. I ran my 76 here on May 11, 2011 and it was 72 degrees, sunny and dry. Either way, they run or did then, wet or dry.

Lance Pearson

[LilRedCorvette]

Originally Posted by mgg

Hey Shrek, that car looks familiar. Did you used to attend the "Spooktacular" at Summit Point "jefferson " circuit. You may remember some of the regulars at those events. Chuck Wasserrott, Mike Woods, Aaron Quine. We had some good shootouts. Just curiuos if this is the same car I remember.

Originally Posted by Shrek

Yep!! The Spook is where that photo was taken! I think it was the same event Aaron put his C4 into the tire wall right there by the paddock.

I was there and remember all of that.

Still need to make it down to VIR. Watkins Glen is my favorite track thus far, but I have family up there so I have a place to stay for free.

I am only an hour away from Summit Point, so I mostly go there for my 'need-for-speed' events.