This past weekend was the annual IMSA visit to my home track of Virginia International Raceway. A heatwave rolled in just in time for teams and fans to experience a true Southern summer weekend. The weather didn’t stop the fun, and it certainly didn’t stop the competition from being fierce!
Thursday started with the annual CKG Foundation Pro/Am charity kart race. This is always a lot of fun as IMSA pros team up with local organizations for a 90-minute karting enduro, with the money raised going to a great group that fosters mental health awareness. I wasn’t lucky enough to be on the winning team again this year, but I was proud to walk away with the fastest lap and to know we had raised a bunch of money for a good cause.
The Mazda MX-5 Cup series was at VIR this weekend, too, running their penultimate round of the championship. We had an extraordinary amount of green flag running as well as some fireworks at the end of both races.
Jared Thomas, the 2022 MX-5 Cup champion, has extended his points lead going into the final round at Road Atlanta in October. It was also exciting to see 2022 Mazda Shootout Scholarship winner and rookie Nate Cicero take home his first win in the series. He got his victory in race one, where we had a three-wide finish!
It was a special trackside gathering of cars and guests to celebrate Bob Ingram.
I also enjoyed visiting the Ingram Experience hospitality setup during the weekend. They set up in the South Paddock building to commemorate Bob Ingram and to allow all the special guests to have a prime vantage point for the incredible racing on tap. The Ingram Experience also hosted a track day after the race weekend, so I stuck around for that.
It’s always fun to see the big show at my home track! The competition certainly did not disappoint this weekend!