I was first there in the late 50's. Camped trackside upstream of the area you
reference. Woke up Sunday to the Nickey Scarab and a Lister warming up with
some
early laps. Was with a friend driving a speedster, got nabbed lapping the track
Saturday pm after racing ended for the night. Spent much of the morning
watching
both groups trying to find enough brake to stop those beasts. Lives on in my
head. John
H4aardvrk@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 4/11/99 11:24:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> EricSsmc@aol.com writes:
>
> << Although I was not very old when VIR closed, I remember hearing "older"
> guys
> talk about "racing in Danville" and was always very curious as to where the
> track was, what happened to it, etc. So when I had the chance to visit, I
> jumped! It's kind of spooky to be there given the condition. The original
> >>
> Eric,
> You had to have been there in the mid 60's to really grasp what VIR was.
> You no doubt saw the infamous Oak Tree Bend,the very nasty hairpin opening
> on to the back straight.
> I was there one magical day in 1966 with my scca club from
> Charleston,wv. The buzz in the pits was reaching a roar..The GT $)'s are
> here..FORD is HERE!!!..and they were..those Daytona cobras and GT40's were
> here..and they sang a mighty song. The sound of a 427 ci hot rod Ford
> singing out of Oak Tree and shifting through 5 speeds down the straight was
> pure music..I will never forget that sound. and the stroll into the FORD
> pits to see that great engine installed in the Cobra...well...........
> And the VIR is going to be again...I love it.
> yours, H4(Howard)
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