Collegiate Times

Better than Tom Cruise in a stock car, better than Nicholas Cage boosting cars and yes, even better than Paul Walker acting as if he knows how to drive a car, is this weekend?s international motorsports festival, held at the Virginia International Raceway in Danville, VA. Virginia?s elite racing venue is preparing to host the GT Live and Grand-Am Cup Series October 6-8.

?The GT LIVE/Grand-Am Cup Weekend is going to be a non-stop smorgasbord of automotive fun for enthusiasts,? said VIR general manager Josh Lief. ?There is going to be so much going on simultaneously around our 1,500-acre campus that it will be nearly impossible to take it all in. It?s such a big event, logistically, that it has been quite a challenge for our staff to organize, but we?re confident that we have laid a solid foundation for what we think will grow into one of the biggest annual events on the East Coast in the years to come.?

GT Live is an event centered on the import scene, specifically the Japanese tuner-car. The VIR will be the Mecca for these types of car enthusiasts this weekend, not solely due to the powerful draw of professional events, but because of the numerous activities that encourage fan participation.

According to the VIR website, the activities are as follows: ?GT Sim Race, in which fans can ride along in some of the world?s hottest cars on the 3.27-mile VIR Full Course at top speed; Tarzan?s Lap Battle, in which fans can drive their cars on the 1.1-mile Patriot Course in a Time Attack format and compete against other fans for lap times; Rally-X, in which fans car drive their cars on VIR?s gravel rally stages; VIR Karting Zone, in which fans can drive VIR?s racing karts on the 5/8-mile Plantation Valley Kart Track; plus car and bike shows and fan festivals for Honda, Nissan/Infiniti, Subaru, Mitsubishi EVO and Mazda vehicles?

The professional side of this event features the GT Track Attack, the U.S. Drift Shootout and the U.S. Stunt Riding Championship.

The GT Track Attack is a Time Attack event in which the best American tuners compete against their Japanese counterparts for a $10,000 purse. The drifting event features the best amateur and professional drifters competing on VIR?s Patriot Course. The U.S. Stunt Riding Championship is a motorcycle competition featuring the best professional stunt riders from around the country.

The Grand American Road Racing Association?s Grand-Am Cup Series is currently one of the most popular pro-racing series in the country. The series will be ending its season at VIR this weekend with two six-hour endurance races, one for the Grand Sports class and the other for the Street Tuner class.

The GS class features high-performance coupes and GT cars such as the Nissan 350Z, Mustang GT, Pontiac GTO, Porsche 911 and BMW M3. The ST class features smaller high-performance coupes, sedans and roadsters including the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Acura RSX-S and TSX, Mazda RX-8, BMW 330, BMW Z4 and Mini Cooper S.

These two races will take place on Sunday and will be the longest races in series history.

?This is certainly the place to be for anyone with even a slight interest in cars; this event will blow away both the avid enthusiast and the average fan,? said John Gardner, Director of Public Relations.

The VIR is Virginia?s premiere racing venue. The track was founded on a 1,200-acre plot in Danville, VA, in 1955 by four North Carolina car enthusiasts and is now one of largest and most popular professional and amateur tracks in the country.

At the gate, three-day Super Tickets will be priced at $50 with single-day tickets priced at $20 on Friday and $25 on Saturday and Sunday.