Over the past week, VIRginia International Raceway has completed a paddock project that places nine access roads in the main grass area to be utilized for paddock at the 2019 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs®.
Following the April 2019 Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour event, which recorded significant amounts of rainfall throughout the week, SCCA went to work to find a better solution for the October classic.
“The paddock lanes became a mud bog, and that was just a three-day event,” Eric Prill, SCCA VP and COO said. “We couldn’t put people through that again, so we started researching scenarios to bring in temporary roads, similar to what you see at construction sites. After discussing the temporary route with VIR, we all agreed that a permanent solution was the best option for everyone.”
Made with a full depth reclamation (FDR) base and covered in tar and chip, the 13-foot-wide paths, centered within 25-foot fire lanes between rows, will serve as driveways for racers paddocked in the grass. The new roads are able to withstand weather and vehicle traffic for years to come. And pipes were installed along the main road beneath the driveways to provide proper water drainage.
“VIR is such a beautiful place,” Prill added. “Nobody liked what happened in this spring; many of our racers had a bad experience in the mud and the grass was really torn up. We’ve taken steps to both ensure that our participants have a great experience in their home-away-from-home, and we can leave the property the way it was when we arrived. We thank the VIR team for their partnership and willingness to work toward a great solution.”
The overhead map of the grass paddock area has been updated, along with other paddock maps, on the Runoffs home page (www.scca.com/runoffs) under “Maps.”
Multi-car team and manufacturer paddock parking is complete, with teams and drivers being notified this week of their assignments. These can be viewed within a driver’s registration in www.motorsportreg.com or through the parking app at https://runoffsparking.motorsportreg.com. Multi-car teams not assigned are encouraged to contact runoffs@scca.com for additional information.
Single-car paddock space reservations begin August 21. Full details on the parking process are available at https://www.scca.com/downloads/46010-19-runoffs-registration-paddock-eventinfo-final
