aeronca65t
aeronca65t Dork
7/11/11 6:12 a.m.

Reminder for those of you in the Pittsburgh area:

The PVGP kicks off with practice at BeaveRun on July 15 and then the historic races at BR on Saturday and Sunday (July 16-17).
Throughout the following week there will be car events (rallys, shows, etc) in the town of Pittsburgh. On Friday (July 22) racers will set up their cars and trailers at the makeshift paddock in Shenley Park in downtown Pittsburgh.
On Saturday and Sunday (July 23-24) they will shut down Shenley Park to normal traffic and have the races! (What other major city in the USA shuts down and entire city park and runs car races for a bunch of amateurs?).
A truly excellent venture!
I'll be at both races with Spridget #909.

~More Info~

bravenrace
bravenrace SuperDork
7/11/11 6:32 a.m.

Thanks for the reminder! I had planned on going but had forgotten.

jimbob_racing
jimbob_racing Dork
7/11/11 6:35 a.m.

I've been regularly attending since 1985 and it is a great event! Totally free for spectators and it raises a lot of money for charity. Really a must see kind of thing if you are a car guy/girl.

pinchvalve
pinchvalve GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/11/11 7:51 a.m.

I even scored some free Parking Passes! See you there and good luck. You'll hear me yelling for you!

Giant Purple Snorklewacker
Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork
7/11/11 8:20 a.m.

~sweaty palms~

I have been pouring over all things Vintage Racing for years but since the last GRM came out with reasonable prices for ridiculous hardware listed next to lap times it has become the functional equivalent of a painful erection.

Based on that article I believe that if I were to livery up my E30 in the guise of some storied team that ran one that I could use it at these events as well as NASA, BMW CCA, etc. Failing that, I was floored that I could buy an IMSA widebody mustang for $17.5k with spares. I keep eyeing the 911 and the E30 race car and thinking... sell both, buy a proper vintage eligibile racing car with a log book and... ... ... ... profit?

jimbob_racing
jimbob_racing Dork
7/11/11 8:29 a.m.

I have seen very few cars race in Shenley Park that are newer than the early '70s. There have been a few exceptions but for the most part the newer cars are relegated to the Beaverun track event held the weekend before the PVGP in the park.

I do remember them running the new at the time Group 44 IMSA car in the park back in '85 for some "exhibition" runs. It was awesome. BMW ran some cool newer stuff a few years ago too. Seems to happen every now and then depending on who the featured marque of the year is.

daytonaer
daytonaer Reader
7/11/11 11:03 a.m.

I've been hoping to go for years, looks like this year everything lines up! Any recommendations for good spectator spots in the park? Anything I need to see? Thanks, mike

jimbob_racing
jimbob_racing Dork
7/11/11 12:23 p.m.

Going for both Saturday and Sunday? If you don't mind walking, you can get around the entire course quite easily. There are also free shuttle buses too but they run on a schedule that can take some time away from your day. Lots of the best places to watch from are on the golf course, feel free to move around. There's a great shady spot by the stone wall hairpin turn that I sit at a lot. The cars are hard under braking and there is lots of passing action taking place. The paddock is open to the public as is the grid area so you can see all the cars up close. Lots of car shows around the park on Saturday and kind of a "best of" on Sunday. Usually some neat vendors of automotive memorabilia too. Wear comfortable shoes, a wide brimmed hat and you'll be set.

Hal
Hal Dork
7/11/11 2:18 p.m.

Unfortunately I won't make it up there this year. My brother will be out of town and I won't have any free lodging.

areonca65t: As a native of the area I have three problems with your post.

  1. Pittsburgh is a city! Not merely a town.
  2. Schenley Park is not in downtown rather ~2 miles out of downtown.

fasted58
fasted58 HalfDork
7/11/11 2:26 p.m.

Follow PVGP on FB and Twitter.... LOTS of news and updates

http://www.pvgp.org/67461012414140237/site/default.asp

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