Virginia International Raceway April 17-18, 1971
Danville Bee Friday April 16, 1971
Bill Scott, a pre-race favorite in the VIR Sprints to be held Sunday expects to meet quite a bit of stiff competition when he arrives at the Danville track this weekend.
In a recent interview he commented on the drivers he feels to be his strongest challengers. "I think both Nils Sanborn and Pete Feistman will be extremely fast. They each have competitive cars and both are very fast drivers. I hope to win but will be keeping a close eye on Nils and Pete."
In addition, Scott, a former national champion formula driver, will have to contend with several unknown factors. There are a number of entries that have not raced in this area before. Among them are drivers from Michigan, Canada, and even one from as far away as Los Angeles, Calif. Until practice starts at 10 A.M. Saturday, observers can only speculate as to who is going to be the man to beat. However, fans can be assured that with the coming of the Professional racing to Danville, they will see better prepared cars and m o r e determined drivers than at any other time in the fourteen year history of the 3.2 mile road course.
The Sprints, to be run in two fifty mile heats, are for IMSA International 100 Formula cars. These are single seat, open wheel racing machines much like the European Formula I racers. In the IMSA class the engines are restricted to production models with approximately 100 horsepower and 100 cubic inch displacement. The first heat will be run at 4 p.m. tomorrow with the second starting Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Immediately after the finish of final heat, the Danville 300 endurance race will get under way for the production sports cars and sedans.
DANVILLE, Va. (AP)- Porsche driver Peter Gregg, who outran an impressive field of cars and drivers to win the feature race at Virginia International Raceway last spring, returns Sunday as one of the favorites in the first Danville 300 endurance race for sports cars and sedans.
"There are hundreds of guys who want this type of racing," Greg, says of the new GT series of the International Motor Sports Association. "A single-event endurance type race will enable us to get the recognition we need for ourselves and our sponsors."
The well-prepared factory-backed Porsches are expected to stand a good chance against the more powerful Corvettes, Mustangs and Camaros that will compete for the $12,500 in prize money offered at VIR.
While the endurance test of the feature expected to attract a record crowd to VIR, there will be 50-mile sprints both Saturday and Sunday.
Three categories of sports cars and sedans will be subdivided into two classes each according to displacement for the sprints. The field will consist of the 40 fastest cars according to their respective classes.