Last Wednesday was the kickoff for the 2014 season at Virginia International Raceway. Members were able to come out for events and a track walk on Wednesday followed by a track day on Thursday. I got to be a part of the track walk, going over some of the finer points about the new surface and some of the changes that happened over the off-season.
Kerrigan Smith and his staff at VIR worked so hard over the winter to make changes that will better suit both the racers and the fans – there are updates throughout the whole facility.
We had about 40 club members who walked the track. Some of the changes they saw were widened areas, adjustments to some of the curbing, and of course the repaved surface. Most of the changes are even factors that will make drivers recalculate their driving strategy for certain sections. Once again, local knowledge will be a key factor when IMSA comes to visit in August.
During the members day on Thursday I worked with Jim Taggart and his Porsche once again. We had a beautiful day, and we had no idea that the following day was going to be a snow day! We got snowed out and couldn’t get on track Friday.
With a forecast calling for sun and temperatures in the 60s for the rest of the weekend, we were able to look forward to a great Saturday and Sunday. I worked with some new clients at the Chin Motorsports event and really enjoyed coaching each of them. They all got quicker lap times and learned more about their cars, and that always puts a smile on a client’s face!
Now I’m heading to Florida, and I’m excited about competing in my first 12 Hours of Sebring on Saturday. You can follow @tomlongracing on Twitter to see my updates during the week!
Good luck at Sebring Tom, ,
GO Fast! Don’t Screw Up! have fun Tom!