Petty’s Garage Team Driver Wins Inaugural HSR NASCAR Classic race at VIR
The first HSR NASCAR Classic was won by Petty’s Garage and team driver Mike Skeen, who won Saturday afternoon at the Virginia International in a Petty Enterprises 2006 Victory Junction Dodge Charger driven by Kyle Petty.
After finishing second Saturday morning and passing Joe Nemchek, who had started from the pole in both races, Skeen sped up when Nemchek’s No. 47 NEMCO 2006 slowed. Toyota Camry in the closing stages of the evening show.
Skeen took the checkered flag by 5.646 seconds, sharing the top three in the Pro class with Ryan Gemmell in the No. 6 2009 Toyota Camry and PJ Hyett in the No. 9 World Racing 2021 Chevrolet Camaro.
“There’s a lot of camaraderie in this series,” said Skeen, a sports car driver. “All the competitors are friends, they ride together, hang out together, hang out together, hang out together and hang out together, then love to fight and race together on the track. They congratulated me, these cars are a lot of fun.
It’s a lot of fun to race for the first time, especially to drive for Petty’s Garage. “They took it and asked me to drive for them, I’m happy that we were able to lead them to victory and keep the car clean and bring it home.”
Fourth overall and first in the SCA class went to Patrick Womack, who did well in his #11 NEMCO-prepped 2014 Toyota Camry. “It’s a lot of fun,” Womack said. It was a good start, cleared turns one, two and three and I got new tires for the second race. I had a big slip at the marker in the morning, I had a lot of understeer, but we fixed it and the car was fine.
I was just trying to stay out of trouble. I can’t thank Joe and NEMCO enough for taking care of the car and the NASCAR Classic for such a great event. I hope there will be more and more competition. “There’s a lot of energy here, and that’s why I’m in.”
Nemechek went three laps in Saturday’s long race, but still left VIR excited about the future of classic car racing and the NASCAR Classic Series.
There is a lot of energy here. We strive to provide better cars for people to drive. Better equipment, things that don’t break – especially I broke today – but it’s a lot of fun and people who want to be here to have fun. That’s what this car is all about. “We’re getting more and more people calling, asking about cars, buying cars, and we’re staying busy.”
Other class winners in Saturday’s feature included HSR team owner and driver Dennis Olthoff in the #44 Olthoff Racing 2006 Toyota Camry, who took SCB honors after his run strength to the sixth of all.
Mike Slutz won SCC in his 1990 No. 5 Chevrolet Lumina while Donnie Strickland stepped into a NEMCO Chevrolet Silverado after his stock car entry was sidelined with a mechanical issue earlier in the weekend and walked away the SCT winner.
Off the track, the HSR NASCAR Classic garage area in the IMSA paddock was popular with fans and the sports car racing competitors. NASCAR legend Richard Petty bolstered the buzz early in the weekend when he joined his teammates and met Skeen at the Petty’s Garage hauler area Friday afternoon.
Petty’s Garage had several race cars and a 1970s era transporter support truck vehicle on display while several more vintage and historic stock cars were available for an up-close and under-the-hood look at the VIR pavilion.
By any standard of measure, the inaugural HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Petty’s Garage race weekend at the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR was a resounding success,” said HSR President Chris Ward. This is the first time we have held an IMSA weekend and the format really works.
The race fans and competitors from all the racing series featured in the NASCAR Classic this weekend were amazing, and congratulations to all the teams and drivers who competed in our first race for showing the quality and entertainment show, on and off the road Thank you. You are out.
Stay tuned, every weekend we look forward to building on the foundation built this week for the next few months at Watkins Glen and Charlotte and for years to come.
HSR Historic Stock Cars returns to Watkins Glen for the second year in a row during NASCAR weekend, 13-14. September, for the HSR NASCAR Classic at Go Bowling in Glen.
Glen will follow the new HSR NASCAR Classic series at the NASCAR Bank of America ROVAL 400, October. 11-12, in HSR’s debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
