Nearly 300 Vintage Cars Expected at Gold Cup

Danville, VA (May 28, 2009) - VIR announced today that entries to-date for the Heacock Classic Gold Cup SVRA Historic Races at VIR are upwards of 300 cars! MGs, Morgans, Historic Stock Cars, Ferraris, Corvettes, Historic Trans-Am racers, Mustangs, Porsches and virtually every kind of race car that raced in years past make up the field for the Gold Cup, facing the challenges of VIR's 3.27-mile road course June 5-7. Driven the way they were intended -- hard and fast -- on a track in essentially the identical layout it had when it first opened in 1957, these cars return the early days of road racing to VIR.

Spectators can join in the weekend's celebration of cars and speed by entering the Texas Steakhouse & Saloon Car Show on Saturday. Any fan who attends the Gold Cup can register their car for the show, with judging results announced shortly after 1:00 p.m. Following the awards ceremony, all cars entered in the show will be permitted to parade around VIR's Patriot Course. Numerous classes of judging are planned, so bring your ride and enjoy the weekend.

"The car show and parade laps are a way fans can participate in the activities without a race car," said track general manager Josh Lief. "Our fans are the greatest, so we look for ever more ways to let them know how special we think they are and this is one of those ways we can give back to the fans." The Plantation Valley Go-Kart track will also be open and rides start at $35 for one-half hour.

The 2009 Gold Cup features Morgans and MGs, plus two unique examples of the Marcos GT coupes, notably the sole "gullwing" Marcos in the country. Over a dozen early MG 'T-series' cars, including an MG-NA, one of the oldest racing examples of the cars in the country, join their more familiar MG-A, MG-B and Midget cousins make up a large portion of the entries for the weekend.

Not to be outdone, the Morgan contingent brings a variety of their cars, including a rare 1935 three-wheeled F-2 "trike." The other extreme of the Morgan spectrum is a V-8 powered Plus 8, with entries representing both extremes, plus a wide variety of examples in between them.

For fans of more recent machinery, there are the thundering Historic Stock Cars, showing that all road racers aren't sports cars. With three-time NASCAR Goody's Dash champion Larry Hoopaugh enjoying his ex-ARCA Monte Carlo as one entrant, the HSC group is always a popular group with the fans.

Woodbridge Kart Club brings their vintage karts to race at VIR, adding even more to attract fans to the weekend's activities.

Three-day tickets for the Heacock Historic Gold Cup Races are available online at www.virclub.com for only $30 in advance or $10 for single-day admission. Three-day tickets at the gate are $40 and one-day tickets are $20 per day. Advance and on-line sales end at 5:00 Wednesday afternoon. Camping and food are available and anyone 15 and under is admitted free with a paying adult.

VIR is really nice to drive.

- Dirk Werner, Championship Porsche Driver in Grand-Am and ALMS

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