#VirginiaInternationalRaceway

Nissan wants new GT-R owners to take advantage of their sports cars.

During the summer, the infamous Oak Tree at Virginia International Raceway fell, broken at the base.

The famous Oak Tree at Virginia International Raceway has fallen, broken at the base.

In a venerable perry and thrust response to Ford’s Boss 302 Mustang, Chevrolet is releasing the Camaro SS 1LE: a track-ready version of its 6.2-liter grunting hedgehog of a muscle car.

Athleticism on (or off) the track has always been the Viper’s calling card and with the GTS-R’s upcoming American Le Mans debut, the most recent video should be enough to get anyone excited.

Rumors ran through Twitter today, stirring a frenzy of questions and snarky comments after word escaped that someone wrecked a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at the Virginia International Raceway today.

Earlier this year, we heard word that RealTime Racing would be making the jump to the World Challenge GTS class. And just like that, in what was supposed to be a much more competitive class with even faster cars, RealTime driver and company owner Peter Cunningham has maneuvered his No. 43 RTR Acura TSX all the way to the top yet again. This is Cunningham’s sixth drivers’ championship making him the most decorated driver in World Challenge.

And yes, there is still one event left in the World Challenge Series for the year, but Cunningham and RealTime Racing have been so successful in the GTS class that they can now simply just have some fun in the finale and not have to worry about losing the championship. Cunningham also managed to turn in the fastest GTS lap of the day with a time of 2:09.907 and now has 40 career wins.

So what lies ahead for Cunningham and his RealTime Racing team? We’re not sure, but we’re hoping they find a way to make it even more challenging for the competition and showing off just how refined their racing program truly is.

Dodge head honcho Ralph Gilles took a brand new Viper ACR-X around Virginia International Raceway not long ago, and decided to film his exploits.

With Powertrain Communications Manager Nick Cappa as his passenger/videographer, Gilles managed to hit a peak speed of 165 mph and turn a 1 minute, 35 second lap time. The ACR-X sheds 160 pounds and gains 40 horsepower over the “normal” ACR (for a total of 640 horsepower), making it one seriously quick machine.

[Source: TopSpeed]

Here’s a story that is certainly going to get the rumors of Volkswagen‘s involvement in NASCAR started. Last week two-time DTM Champion Mattias Ekström was at Virginia International Raceway helping test a Red Bull Racing Toyota for the upcoming NASCAR race at Sonoma.

The reason for the odd match isn’t about NASCAR ambitions says Audi, but rather a driver’s dream and a sponsors request. That’s right, Red Bull Racing is the main sponsor for the No. 82 and No. 83 Toyotas in NASCAR, as well as the main sponsor for Ekstrom’s Audi DTM car. No. 83 driver Brian Vickers was ill and the car still needed to be tested, and according to Audi, Red Bull Racing USA remembered Ekstrom’s interest in NASCAR and made the request to Audi Sport.

“It’s no secret that the NASCAR series fascinates me and that it’s been a long-harbored dream of mine to drive such a car,” said Mattias Ekström, commenting after the test that, “The first hour of the test I was fighting the car a lot just getting used to the power, the weight and the fact that the car has little aero — all things that are very different for me. A few hours into the test I felt a lot more comfortable in the car and overall I think we had a really good test. I came into this test not having any experience in these types of cars, and also having never worked with the No. 83 team before, so it was really nice to see how well we all worked together. I really enjoyed my first Sprint Cup test and am glad to have had this opportunity.”

Er…. did he just say “first” test? We think so. Gentlemen, start your rumors.

[Source: Audi and RedBullRacingUSA.com]

Official release after the jump:

Virginia International Raceway has long been a staple of road racing in North America, having been an unofficial home for Car and Driver’s vehicle testing for many years.

Ford recently wanted to show off the track prowess of the new and improved 2011 Mustang GT500, and where else but VIR is appropriate to let the public see what Ford’s baddest muscle car can do, and the end result was a lap that was nine seconds quicker than the outgoing model. There’s a wonderful V8 soundtrack, a nice example of how to steer a car around the track (keep those hands at 9 and 3, no shuffling the wheel) and lots of data for you track geeks.

Hit the jump to watch the GT500 in its natural environment.

[Source: Autoblog]

So many cars are marketed on their performance potential, yet very few sports cars ever get driven they way they were intended. To do so in a legal environment involves going to the track, where the big boys get seperated from the poseurs very quickly.