From Autoweek - 1974?


VIR To Become Corn Field

By Linda Sharp

It is hard to say good-bye to friends, even harder when they are old friends who have become a way of life to you. But it has come time for the North Carolina Region of SCCA to bid adieu to a devoted, and long serving friend - Virginia International Raceway, Danville, Virginia.

VIR has had an illustrious history which includes Trans-Ams in the 60's and Supernationals in the 70's. It has teased the talents of many of our finest: Chuck Dietrich, Jim Fitzgerald, Peter Gregg, John Gunn, Bruce Jennings, Harry Ingle, John Morton, Bob Nagel, Bob Sharp and Bob Tullius to name but a few.

It had oftened been said about VIR, that if you could drive well there, that you should be able to drive anywhere with little difficulty. With this in mind, Jim Fitzgerald opened his driving school there two gears ago, but as VIR passes so does the Jim Fitzgerald School of Motoracing.

Only a small ray of light beams on the horizon. The next person in line to inherit the property is a race enthusiast. But no one knows when the property will change hands. No one knows if the current owner will see fit to plow up VIR's asphalt or merely be content to plant his corn along her ribbon like path.