The Shenandoah Region was well represented at Virginia International Racway (VIR) for this year's Grand-Am Rolex 250, with several club members including Jeffrey Elmore, Gary Hagar, Alex Smith, Weldon and Phyllis Scrogham, Kerrigan Smith, and Mackenzie from CDOC making the trip down to the scenic 3.3 mile road course near Danville, Virginia the last weekend in April.

Overcast skies threatened to rain on their parade, but fortunately held off for the race. This may not have been what the Porsche GT3 contingent would have liked in the 26-car GT division, where a slick track might have favored the Porsches instead of the big V-8 Pontiac GXP's. However, in the closely contested GT class the Porsche #67 TRG GT3 driven by Spencer Pumpelly and Tim George finished second to the Pontiac GXP. The #86 Leh Keen/Eric Lux GT3 Cup Porsche finished a strong third ahead of the other Pontiacs, Mazda RX-8s, and Corvettes.

Things looked promising for Porsche in the Daytona Prototype division with the #58 Brumos Porsche-Riley driven by David Donohue and Darren Law qualifying third on the grid and with the #23 Ruby Tuesday Porsche-Crawford of Joey Hand and Bill Auberlen alongside in the fourth spot. The race was another story as the Brumos Porsche went out with a gearbox problem, and the Alex Jobe-prepared Ruby Tuesday machine soldiered on to take seventh after leading the race for several laps during pit stops.

PCA club member Gary Hagar stands next to the battle-scarred Synergy Racing GT3 Cup Porsche in the VIR paddock. Photo by Jeffrey Elmore

The immaculate Porsche GT3 of Spenser Pumpelly and Tim George sits by the TRG Racing trailer prior to the start of the Grand-Am Rolex 250 race, where it would finish a fine second in the GT class. Photo by Jeffrey Elmore

The Synergy Racing GT3 of David Murry and Leslie Long and the GT3 of Leh Keen and Eric Lux head a pack of Grand-Am GT cars including Mazda RX-8s and Pontiac GXPs around Virginia International Raceway. Photo by Scott Hill

The #59 Brumos Porsche-Riley of J. C. France and Joao Barbosa is quickly attended to during a pit stop. Photo by Scott Hill

The #58 Brumos Porsche-Riley was qualified third by David Donohue but ran into transmission problems during the race on lap 43. Photo by Jeffrey Elmore

Who says racing's not a dirty business? The #80 Synergy Racing GT3 shows the signs of battle after finishing at tough 14th in class. Photo by Jeffrey Elmore