In the rolling hills outside of Danville, Virginia lies the beautiful Virginia International Raceway road course, home to many wonderful SCCA sports car events over the years. This is the same V.I.R track where Curtis Turner promoted a stock car race head to head against the NASCAR race at Richmond during his suspension.
The "wine & cheese" folks who operated V.I.R. back in 1966 thought the stock car boys to be a big joke, but they also realized stock car races were drawing more attendees than the Trans-Am events, so they decided to get a few "good ole boys" in the field to draw some NASCAR fans to V.I.R.
On Sunday, July 31, 1966, the promoters of the Virginia International Raceway arranged for stock car drivers Wendell Scott, Curtis Turner , Richard Petty and David Pearson to have seat time in the Trans-American Sedan Championship at V.I.R. Petty and Scott had raced at Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday night in a NASCAR Grand National race won by Petty in his 1966 Petty Enterprises Plymouth..
Wendell and Curtis had Mustang rides while Richard was in a Plymouth Barracuda and David in a Dodge Dart.
From the SCCA writeups, it is easy to see that the sporty car boys considered it all a big joke to have the stockers in their hallowed midst. I guess the joke was on them by the time Bud Moore found his way over to the series and spit tobacco juice in all their collective cocky faces.
Below are a couple of write ups of the event, as well as some photos. I was happy to see that Curtis didn't let the fact that this was a sports car race keep him from being surrounded by the ladies!
All information below is reprinted from the Virginia International Raceway site.
VIR July 1966 Trans-Am Race Report
from SCCA Sports Car Magazine
Trans Am VIR 400 - by Gordon Warren
The N.C. Region and VIR are in the heart of NASCAR land, and after all, these sedans are miniature stockers, right? So, why not invite some of the NASCAR "hot shoes" to our little stock car race on a sports car road course? (Ho, ho) "Be sure your little friends keep out of the way." (Snicker) So it was that Dave Pearson, NASCAR points leader; "old pro" Curtis Turner; national folk hero, Richard Petty; and NASCAR's only Negro driver, Wendell Scott showed up at VIR Sunday morning to see what it was all about-shifting gears at the right time, mostly.
Pete Feistman waded around to put the Norburn/Feistman Mustang on the pole with a 2:37.2. Allan Moffat completed the first row with a 2:40.2 in the Lotus Cortina to give you some idea of how it was. Times ranged all the way down to 3:23.4 for the 36 entries.
Sunday morning dawned clear, by George, and the NASCAR drivers went out to find their way around the track (surprise). Everyone made it except for Dave Pearson, who assassinated Brock Yate's Dart at Station 3. It was only a foretaste of things to come.
The flag dropped at 11:43 a.m. and Feistman, with Petty and Yeager up from the
second row, started off on the greatest 5 hour 18 minute 36 second sprint race ever seen.
Petty was running in 2nd until lap 5, when he went in the boonies at Station 3. He finally dug out of the mud in 21st place, romped back to 10th in 5 laps, but splashed back into the weeds at Station 3 on the 13th lap, and that was it for the Barracuda.
Meanwhile, Feistman had turned the first lap with a 2:38 from the standing start and pulled out a 4 second lead on the rest of the pack. Dick Thompson moved his Mustang into third behind the Johnson/Yeager Mustang, then handed over to Wendell Scott, who made it around to Station 3-since renamed NASCAR Bend-before breaking the front suspension while trying to negotiate a ditch.
The under 2-liter chaps were having a ball too, but with eleven GTAs against four Cortinas, the end result was easily predicted. Moffat went out of contention when he wiped out the phone pole at Station 10 in the uphill chicanes, and another Cortina did a head stand at the same spot. The GardnerAttwood Cortina did the best, actually leading the race for three laps because of pit stops.
The Mustang was running like a train and it looked like a shoo-in. On lap 73, however, the whole complexion of the race changed. Norburn brought the Mustang in with the temp. on the peg and much time was lost trying to add coolant. (You can lead a horse to water, but . . . ) Bob Johnson took over the lead with time in hand, but Feistman came charging back. Pit stops became the story and the Johnson crew was just a shade faster. Feistman wouldn't admit defeat and at the end of the race had worked to within 9 seconds of Johnson in an effort that had the troops standing on their heads.
So at the end of 124 laps, or 400.52 miles, the racing was just as close as it had been at the start. Tom Yeager and Bob Johnson parlayed experience into a well deserved victory to become the Trans-Am Over 2-liter point leaders, while Horst Kweck and Gus Andrey did the same in Under 2 with a 3rd overall, three laps behind. Oh yes, the best NASCAR showing was by Curtis Turner, who shared some of the load with Peter Lake, overcoming flat tires, minor prangs, and a seven cylinder engine, to finish a solid last place among the walking wounded.
Drivers Curtis Turner & (R) and Peter Lake enjoy the company of Curtis' daughter Margaret Sue (center) during some down time at V.I.R. in 1966 - Watts Hill, Jr. photo
The Curtis Turner / Peter Lake Mustang at V.I.R. in 1966 - Watts Hill, Jr. photo
Curtis Turner at speed in Mustang #77 at V.I.R. July 31, 1966 - Tucker Conley photo
David Pearson and his Dodge Dart at V.I.R. in 1966 - photos by Roger Blanchard
Richard Petty and his Plymouth Barracuda at V.I.R. in 1966 - Roger Blanchard photos
The King's 'Cuda on the start at V.I.R . - 1966. photo by E. Gordon Vann
VIR - August 1966 Trans-Am - SCCA Bulletin Race Report
ROLL ON PONY, ROLL ON
As it once was so aptly put, "In the rolling hills of Southern Virginia, there exists a rolling course known as V.I.R.", and thereby hangs a tale.
If you've never been to V.I.R. you ought to know, that if you ever do go, it's going to rain. There's no way around it. It always has, and I'm reasonably sure it always will. So started the first V.I.R. 400 TransAmerican Race weekend.
Starting with a light drizzle Friday night that ended a 60 day drought for Southern Virginia, the rains slowly increased to the torrential downpour that greeted everyone Saturday morning. So it went all day Saturday with hardly any let-up. Tech was late, practice was late, and most everything else for that matter. Finally after a tent was erected to run Tech in, things began to roll.
Practice was like a hydroplane race, complete with 20 foot rooster tails. During Qualifying Pete Feistman took his and Russ Norburn's Mustang around in 2:37.2 for a firm clench on pole position. Considering that the track record for A sedans was 2:30.5 (in the dry) ole Pete was doing some fair honking to come within 6.7 seconds in the pouring rain. Second place went to the very fast Cortina of Moffatt/Fisher which had so soundly tromped everyone at Bryar two weeks previous. From Moffatt's 2:40.2 the rest of the qualifying times ranged all the way to 3:23.4 to fill out the 36 car field.
After Saturday's feet soaking, bone chilling rains, the cloudless, sun filled, Sunday morning sky was enough to make even Scrooge himself happy. The Track Paddock washed up some late entries, notably the Darts of Group 44 and Brock Yates who were hustling for some early practice.
The NASCAR boys in the forms of Richard Petty, Wendell Scott, Curtis Turner, and such who had also just arrived from Saturday night's Grand National in Nashville, Tennessee also turning a few "get familiar" types of laps before the start.
The Brock Yates/Dave Pearson Dart then again was something else. Unless you've hung around the NASCAR Circuit a bit you just don't know about their roll bar set-ups, such was Yates' Dart. By God, that's security! There's just no way for anything to get to you with that type of setup. Great rollbar, but the engine was something else. Pearson scattered it all over Southern Virginia on the 3rd practice lap and "the Assassins" challenge was thus abruptly ended.
At 11:43 EDT starter Bonner Sams padded upon the track in his tennis shod feet, dropped the "Big Green", and off they went in a blast of rubber and smoke with Feistman hell bent for leather in front in his Mustang with Richard Petty's Barracuda honking along in second just ahead of the Johnson/ Yeager Mustang. First time around Feistman turned a scorching 2:38 from the standing start and was pulling away from everything in sight.
On the 5th Lap Petty tried too hard and took to the "Giggly Weeds" between Stations 3 and 4 and got stuck in the soft ground from Saturday's monsoons. By the time he could rock free he had dropped to 21st place so he really poured on the coal and by the 10th Lap had worked up to 10th, but on Lap 12, you guessed it, high-ho weeds, right in the same place, but with a blown engine - scratch one Barracuda.
By now Feistman had a sizeable lead with Tom Yeager in second, followed by Bruce Jennings in a Barracuda, Dick Thompson in a Mustang, then the Atwood/Gardner Cortina. By Lap 16 things started getting hot for lst place. Yeager had brought his car within a few yards of Feistman, but Pete hung on to first. In the two liter category was between the Alan Mann Cortina of Atwood/Gardner and the Alfa GTA of Harry Theodoracopulos and Sam Posey.
Nose to tail and exchanging leads the battle ranged onward and at 20 Laps Atwood was Chief Honcho in 2 liters and Feistman had strolled on to a five second lead over Yeager.
On Lap 42 Feistman pitted and Yeager took the lead for one lap until he pitted and Atwood's Cortina got the honors for three laps, then that's all she wrote. Norburn replaced Feistman and on Lap 46 a number 57 white Mustang zapped back into lst place. The Norburn/Feistman Mustang was running like a train. Nothing could even get near them and it looked like a hand's down win.
By the 73rd Lap it was pit time for the Mustang gang and baby, that's where it hit the fan. Norburn came in first and was overheating and by the time the steam had cleared and water was added Bob Johnson had the lead he needed. Feistman went out like "Hell's A Breakin"' and was gaining a little but Johnson's crew had the edge in pit stop timing and that's where this race counted. By the 124th Lap Feistman had worked up within 9 seconds of Johnson but it was all over as Bonner Sams dropped the checker for Johnson, who had covered the 400.52 miles with an astonishing 75.353 mph average! So the Yeager/Johnson combination added the VIR-400 to their Mid-America win to surge ahead in the Trans-American Championship with two wins.
In the two liter class it was the Kwech/Andrey combination in their Alfa GTA that took the marbles adding to their 4th Place at Sebring and 1st at Mid-America in the two liter category.
With the last two Trans-American series races being soundly trounced by these two cars it looks like "The Great Race" at Marlboro could turn out to be just that. Peter Kernert, Alan Mann's team manager said that they will have 3 Cortinas to challenge the two liter crowd there, but in the "over 2" Class it looks like Yeager/Johnson again. O.K. Russ and Pete! Let's add a little Dowguard Coolant and get honkin' on those pit stops! Let's hear it for a white number 57 Mustang at Marlboro!
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 02/08/22 10:48:22AM
