I went to Virginia International Raceway this weekend to watch the Grassroots
Motorsports Ultimate Track Car Challenge (Friday), and to drive in the "HyperDrive" (Saturday).There was a full slate of HPDE, time trials, instructor courses, and other on-track activities organized by NASA, so VIR was abuzz. Here are a few shots from wandering the paddock. 
Factory Five's latest -- uses a lot of Subaru parts to keep costs down. The road-going version:
The track version:
An "Exomotive-Exocet" -- looks like a combination between an Ariel Atom and a turbo Miata
 
NASA's promotional theme for this weekend's event was "Heat Wave," and with temperatures in the 90s and humidity levels around 70%, the weather was true to form. One especially popular way to beat the heat (popular with all the guys, anyway):
 I had spectated at the UTCC in 2007, when Kuah was involved. The UTTC was in its infancy back then, so the variety of cars entered was a lot more interesting, in my opinion, than the cars entered at this weekend's race. There seemed to be more of an "anything goes" attitude. Kuah with SPL's test bed in 2007:
 This time around, the level of competition seems to have been raised -- or the competitors quite a bit better funded, anyway. There were no cars on the lunatic fringe -- aside from the supercharged V8 Miata fielded by a group of Georgia Tech engineering students (which, unfortunately, never got the bugs worked out).
 The fastest car in 2007 was a competition-prepared Dodge Viper. The fastest car this year was also a Viper, but a "VIPER Stohr-WF-1.4," with a time of 1.49.932. That's CRUISIN'!!! (VIR's full course is a highly technical 3.27 miles.) Here are some of the "A" group of UTTC cars headed onto the track, listed in decreasing order of speed (generally). This was their last session.
 The next day, Jon Hill (Insomniac (VA)) and a group of his friends from Lynchburg arrived for the HyperDrive. Jon is in line for technical inspection.
Coincidently, Jon was also at VIR for the UTCC in 2007. Notice the differences in his car? It's coming along nicely. His conversion to the dark side has been in progress for some time now.... Turbos are going in later this summer, right Jon?
You can review my report about the HyperDrive, when I drove it at VIR in October 2010. This time around, by comparison, I felt short-changed. The HyperDrive is promoted to include 20 minutes of time on track. I didn't time it, but I'd guess we were out for maybe 12 minutes. In 2010, I think I was able to get seven or eight laps in. This time, I got only four. The schedule had gotten backed up, so our session was moved back more than an hour. Shortening the HyperDrive probably helped get the rest of the groups a little closer to the original schedule. Also, the other drivers were not paying attention to their mirrors. I never got a chance to let the car off the leash, because so many of the slower drivers were not giving the point-by. ...It was rather frustrating. And while I'm complaining, I'll offer this: You don't get to choose your instructor, but if I could, I'd choose someone who is young, and familiar with horsepower. My instructor's body language was telling me he thought we were out for parade laps. He wasn't even aware that we were allowed to pass. He wanted me to brake WAAYYYY earlier than I needed to. When it was over, he said I did a great job, and that I didn't do anything that scared him. But I got the impression he hasn't done many ride-alongs in very fast street cars. Odds and ends: This is the corner formerly know as Oak Tree. Gossip among participants at this weekend's event suggests that plans are afoot to have a nursery plant another large oak tree in place of the iconic one that came down two weeks ago.
 VIR has excellent facilities for campers. I had my tent in the shade, with soft grass and level ground, and a short walk from showers and lavatories.
 Saturday morning's weather looks ify, but the clouds burned off soon enough.
 My car performed flawlessly. It carried all my gear a couple hundred miles to and from the track in air-conditioned, stereophonic comfort, even through several torrential downpours. And while on track, it passed every car it encountered without breaking a sweat. Despite my slight disappointment with the HyperDrive, my car's reliability, comfort, speed and agility -- all wrapped in such a sexy skin -- made for a very satisfying weekend.
 
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Heat Wave at VIR - 
