VIR marks sixth stop on
2010 WKA Road Racing circuit
07.27.2010 – The WKA Dunlop Tire Road Racing Series driven by Mazda visits the popular VIRginia Int’l Raceway this weekend for the sixth of eight races on the 2010 tour. This is the eighth time the Road Racing Series has run at VIR, and the northern Virginia-based Woodbridge Kart Club has hosted the event each year.

WKA and WKC returned to VIR in 2001, a year after the venue reopened after being closed for decades. Over 500 entries made the 2001 event a very successful one, and entry counts at the VIR national have been impressive since. To date, the best turnout for a WKA national at VIR was in 2004, when 634 entries filled the pit area.

The WKA national at VIR has traditionally been a summer event. It began as the season’s fourth race and this year will mark the second straight year the VIR national goes off on the last weekend of July as the tour’s sixth stop.

VIR offers six different track configurations, and enduro-style karts have traditionally run the North Course, which is 2.25 miles long, features 17 corners, elevation changes, and high- and low-speed corners. Click here for a track map of the VIR North Course.

The VIR national puts the Road Racing Series solidly in the second half of its season. Following VIR, the series will return to the Midwest for a final time this year with the Aug. 20-22 Dart Kart Speedway Club-hosted national at the Putnam Park (Ind.) Road Course. The series will close Sept. 17-19 with another WKC-hosted event, this time at the pristine New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville.

As the stretch run of the season approaches, there are a number of close battles for 2010 national championships. Classes that will have some racers with points in their minds include 100cc Pipe Medium and Heavy, which show Justin Taylor only a handful of markers ahead of Scott Goodman.

Briggs Animal 335 and 360, which routinely have been two of the best-attended divisions over the last couple years, is very close at the top of the standings. Midwest drivers Mike Stroik and Jon Evans are tied for the lead in Animal 360; each driver has one feature win on the season. In Animal 335, Evans holds a 70-point lead over Stroik. Evans has won three Animal 335 mains in 2010.

The WKA 125 Shifter divisions have close battles. Georgia’s Stephen Flatt is 45 markers ahead of Ohio’s John Pickens in WKA 125 Shifter 1. It’s closer in Sunday’s version of the class, which shows Flatt only 20 points in front of Pickens.

In Unlimited, Mike Lattos and Chuck Bunnell each have entered seven of the 10 finals. Lattos has won three times while Bunnell is yet to visit victory lane. Lattos has a 69-point lead over Bunnell heading into this weekend.

North Carolina’s Brian Davies leads Tennessee’s Brian Fisher by 79 points in the competitive Stock Honda 2 division. Noah Stark is third and only 86 points out of the lead.

New Hampshire’s Don Guilbeault leads Spec 125 TaG 1 and 2, but it’s close in both classes. Guilbeault is seven points ahead of Adrian Dale in Spec TaG 1. He’s only 10 points in front of his teammate, Keith Buffo, in Spec TaG 2.

Top winners on the Road Racing tour thus far in 2010 are North Carolina’s Chuck Gafrarar and New York’s Adam Myers. Gafrarar has an unmatched 14 wins between the Stock Leopard and TaG divisions. Myers has 10 wins in the WKA Sprint and PP Can Sprint classes. Other leading national winners include Courtney Atkinson (7), Derek Somers (7), Matt Michel (7), Randy Fulks (5), Justin Taylor (5) and Joey Kuley (5).

Due to track restrictions, teams will not be able to enter the VIR facility until 4 p.m. Thursday. Pit pass sales begin at 5 p.m.; parking will likely begin at approximately 6:30 p.m., depending on when Thursday’s VIR track tenants leave the facility.

Friday marks a full day of practice with racing Saturday and Sunday. Gates open at 7 a.m. Friday through Sunday.

Click here to view this weekend’s schedule and other important information.

To learn more about VIR and what the fine facility offers, visit www.virnow.com.