A beautiful weekend for the VIR 13-hour!
This is a great time for racing at Virginia International Raceway: the weather is perfect and drivers have had a full season to hone their skills. Everyone seems to be having a lot of fun right now. The VIR 13-hour race is a special event for me every year, and I’ve been participating in it for at least 10 years now.
In the past few years, I’ve been more focused on the overall win, rather than a class victory. This year was no different – Jim Taggart had his entry tuned up and ready to compete for overall honors again.
Some familiar teams were racing in the VIR 13-hour.
The weather is historically very cold for the 13-hour, but this year was different. It was actually beautiful in the mornings and a little warm in the afternoons, so it was perfect. Unfortunately, Jim’s car didn’t behave as well as the weather. We had a gearbox issue that was terminal and sidelined us from the race before it even got started.
It was disappointing because the whole team was prepared, and a lot of energy and resources go into making a team competitive for an event like this. I wound up using the race as a chance to see familiar faces I don’t usually get to catch up with until the end of the year. Teams like Freedom Autosport and Automatic Racing were competing in the event, and it was nice to see everyone. I wound up helping out the Freedom guys with their strategy.
Sunday was a Chin Motorsports event, and I had plans to work with a couple of drivers. I had worked with Michael and his Ferrari at VIR in the past, but this was my first time working with Jeff, who drives a Porsche 993.
Gearbox problems kept Jim’s car out of the race.
It was a really dynamic day from that standpoint: there were goals to continue working on with Michael, while we needed to set up a plan and goals for Jeff. Some of the concepts and approaches were a little different between the two drivers, and both of them made progress throughout the day.
It’s really rewarding to be able to work with drivers and help them achieve their goals. To see them walk away with a smile because they dropped their lap times and met goals they have been working on all year is really rewarding for me. Driving skills are at their peak by this point in the year, and we’ve got a couple of weeks left in the season, so I’m looking forward to the next track event!