SCCA

RACE: VIRginia Oak Tree Nationals preview

Sports Car Club of America Racers Converge on VIRginia International Raceway August 11-12 DANVILLE, VA. - Amateur sports car racers from nearly 25 states will converge on VIRginia International Raceway August 11-12, driving for points leading to ...

Edited: Dec 21, 2009, 5:33 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Sports Car Club of America Racers Converge on VIRginia International Raceway August 11-12

DANVILLE, VA. - Amateur sports car racers from nearly 25 states will converge on VIRginia International Raceway August 11-12, driving for points leading to the national championship Runoffs.

SCCA's racers come from all walks of life: from retired engineers to high school students, with everything in between. The 2006 Oak Tree Nationals attracted entries from half the states in America, plus Puerto Rico, Italy and the Bahamas. This year's entries look even more diverse, with nearly 200 cars entered and around 250 cars expected to compete on VIR's scenic hills and valleys. Entries are already in from 20 states plus the Bahamas, with more arriving daily.

Not the usual marketing exercise, SCCA racing is staged for the participants and their families, with entire families pitching in. Mom may work Registration, the kids in Timing and Scoring, while Dad races, flags from a corner or serves as a Steward. Often, the "kid" in the family is the racer, while everyone else serves as support crew. Whatever the plan, it's a family-oriented group, with emphasis on fun and comradeship.

SCCA racing has led to many professional careers, with stars such as Carroll Shelby, Mark Donohue, Michael Andretti, Al Unser Jr., joined by actor Paul Newman all having successes in national and international racing after a start in Club Racing. Newman, for example, has national championships on his resume as well as professional pole positions and race victories.

"Club racing, of all forms, is the foundation of road racing in America," said VIR General Manager Josh Lief, who himself participates in SCCA Club Racing. "We are very proud of our long association with the SCCA and are really looking forward to the Oak Tree Nationals."

Entries this year have already come from over 20 states, with more arriving every day. "The depth of SCCA interest in VIR and Club Racing overall is amazing to outsiders," said long-time SCCA member and worker "Mo" Overstreet. "It's truly an addiction that we can take part in legally."

VIR opened with an SCCA feature race in 1957 won by Carroll Shelby and the legacy of SCCA stars continues to this day.

VIR's next major event is the August 17-19 Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals AMA Superbike races. The racing is only a small part of the weekend's planned festivities, so make arrangements now to attend. Tickets are available online at the promoter's web site, www.moto1usa.com or by calling the promoter's ticket sales at 770-965-4565 or 770-965-4566.

For information on the track and other event schedules, call 434-822-7700 or check our web site at www.virclub.com.

-credit: vir

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article SOLO: Nominations open for 2007 honors

Next article CHAMPCAR/CART: Road America pre-event news of note

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

IndyCar 2026 season review: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

IndyCar

Indy IndyCar 2 h

IndyCar 2026 season review: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Kyle Larson admits he didn't think Cup title was possible in NASCAR champion's speech

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup 2 h

Kyle Larson admits he didn't think Cup title was possible in NASCAR champion's speech

Wright Motorsports names full-time 2027 IMSA GTD lineup as Sargent joins Adelson

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 2 h

Wright Motorsports names full-time 2027 IMSA GTD lineup as Sargent joins Adelson

John Klausmeier joins 23XI Racing as technical director

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Homestead-Miami

3 h

John Klausmeier joins 23XI Racing as technical director

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts