WINMA at VIR for SVRA Race Weekend; Chuck Piazza Shares Memories of Competing at VIRginia International Raceway

WIMNA at VIR for SVRA Race Weekend; Chuck Piazza Shares Memories of Competing at VIRginia International Raceway

By Rhonda Beck, WISNC Creations/BeckRacingMedia

10-3-2023

WIMNA (Women in Motorsports North America) continues to grow and provide opportunities for networking, scholarships, and the celebration of women involved in motorsports. This Saturday, October 7, 2023, it will hold a special fundraising dinner at VIRginia International Speedway in Alton, Va.

The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) series is competing in the VIR SpeedTour October 5-8, 2023, where WIMNA co-founder Lyn St. James will be serving as the Grand Marshall. The SVRA is one of the oldest organizations in vintage car racing. SVRA President Michael Printemp was hired in July of 2023 and is the former President of Watkins Glen International.

Connie Nyholm, CEO and co-owner of VIR, will be part of a special WIMNA evening along with St. James and Tony Parella, CEO of Parella Motorsports. A panel will feature different participants, including Kim Parella, GM of Parella Motorsports; Kim McCullough, CMO of Parella Motorsports; Teena Larson, Team Co-Owner Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports; Michelle Abbate, TA2 Series driver and PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship Recipient; and Rebecca Moffitt, Executive Director and President, Petty Foundation and Petty's Garage.

Cindy Sisson is the current Executive Director of WIMNA, and the organization has been busy highlighting women’s achievements in motorsports and establishing further opportunities for women in the sport. The organization will hold its annual convention, Women with Drive III, in Phoenix, Arizona November 7-8, 2023.

Chuck Piazza Shares Memories of Competing at VIRginia International Raceway

One Carolina racer known for his years of feats on the dirt and pavement against drivers like Ralph Earnhardt and Billy Scott is Chuck Piazza of Inman, S.C. On Monday, the driver who won hundreds of races and won championships at tracks like Stateline Speedway near his hometown of Jamestown, N.Y., spoke about VIRginia International Raceway. Piazza took a lot of trips to the track later in his career with his friend John Finger. ?Finger, known for building and racing special Hill Climb cars as well as winning the 24 Hours of Daytona in American GT in 2000, also raced at VIR in the early years before it was closed in the 1970s. Piazza and Finger then ran at the track when it reopened in the late 1990s until about 2004.

“John raced there way back when. Then we was running the Trans Am cars, the GT1 cars, SCCA; that’s where the Trans Am cars went to compete. And John still remembered the track pretty well. But we ran the historic stock cars there and ran the Trans Am car that I had. I had one of those Riley and Scott Trans Am cars--they build 16 of them in Indianapolis in the series back in the ‘90s. I had one of the 16. When those cars were built, they were quarter million-dollar stuff without the engine and driveline. There were 16 special-built cars and they’d be competitive right today. Even back then, they had that data acquisition and a lot of adjustments inside the cockpit. I don’t remember the number I had. I think it was either 8 or 16,” said Piazza.

Piazza said Finger helped broker the deal to acquire the cars.

“He had the chance that a guy who was going out of business had two of them and I think a truck too in the deal. He was closing his team down. So John and myself and another fellow from Greenville chipped in and bought everything. I bought one Trans Am car and my other friend from Greenville bought one, and I think John ended up with a truck and some parts and stuff. I don’t remember now. He’s always wheeling and dealing.”

Piazza had several crew chiefs and professionals helping him at that time, including Eddie Pearson, the son of David Pearson.

“Yeah, Eddie was helping me some then. I had Scott McLaren. He was more of a car builder and crew chief on some of the cars and he worked with me at several races. Eddie was up there with me. Steve Terry was up there with me. And then I had another kid that used to work with me and he would go. Ended up, I had several up there, but all had pretty good experience. We would run SCCA. We would have Nationals up there, which was a pretty big event. I mean, everybody would come in from all over for a National. I won some Nationals, but they were at Road Atlanta.”

Piazza actually had taken the checkered flag in one race at VIR, but wound up in second due to a rule at the track.

“I won the race, but due to a technicality, they put me back to second. And the technicality was—when a yellow flag comes out in a corner, you’re not allowed to pass anybody in that corner for safety. So I was leading the race; in fact, I won the race. You come down the hill and back to the front straightaway. But that’s pit in, and the flag come out there. There was a real slow car that was trying to get to the pits. He was way off line and in my opinion, he was off line far enough and he was on the way into the pits. But I did pass him, and they penalized me. And that would have been the only race that I really would have won up there or could have won.

“I run a bunch of seconds and top three’s, you know. But it’s a real fast track. The front straightaway is probably 165 mph, maybe 170 mph and the back straightaway is about 175. It’s fast. And the back straightaway, right where you come up to brake to go down the hill, it’s a blind. So they have a flagman right there. You need to watch him because if anything’s happened over the top of that hill, you’re going so fast, you wouldn’t be able to avoid any kind of a problem. But it’s a beautiful track. ?I liken it to a country club for a racetrack. It’s just beautiful.”

Piazza agrees with a well-known comment from Paul Newman who said, “If there’s a heaven on earth, it’s VIR.” Piazza even raced at some of the same venues that Newman did, including VIR.

“I think when he was there, I probably didn’t have my Trans Am car; was running the stock cars. But I raced with Paul a good bit in that series with the GT1 cars and all. It’s a beautiful racetrack. The front straightaway is pit in and pit out and a very good viewpoint. You can’t see the whole racetrack from anywhere. A lot of people like to watch them going up through the S’s. And that’s real fast.

“I was leading another race up there--I would have won it too--but the Trans Am car sits a lot lower than the stock car. The stock car you can just run over the gators; they had a lot of clearance under it. Not so much on the Trans Am car. I was leading the race up there and all of a sudden I come up to the oak tree and I can’t turn. I was slow, but I still couldn’t turn. What had happened is that I had run over a gator and it bent my arm on the steering and so that knocked me out of that. But anyhow, always ran pretty good up there and always had a good time.”

He even ran an Enduro race once at VIR.

“When John and I used to go up there, we used to go together a lot and I had my motorhome back then. Or I had one of my motorhomes. So I went up with my motorhome and then we could stay in it. And I think the last race I run up there it was an Enduro. I was running with a team out of Spartanburg, and it was a twelve-hour Enduro. We was running one of the Mazdas, in the Mazda class, and at about that time I did not see all that good at night. I went out to test at night with a car and the lights weren’t adjusted just quite right yet. But I lost the track. I came in and said, ‘I better not drive at night; I’ll drive during the daylight hours.’ It was four drivers. It was a twelve-hour Enduro. And then when I got in the car in the daylight hour it developed a miss in the engine, so we wound up having to park it. But they’re fun. I like running Enduros. They’re pretty neat. It’s a gorgeous track. It’s very fast and it’s got some technical parts in it too.”

The WINMA will be a part of this weekend’s SVRA event and Piazza recalled that he raced with some women over the years.

“The one that stands out was Lauren Fix. She was also known as “The Car Coach” and was from up in western New York. She used to be on T.V. a lot, and she would report on new cars. But she was a really good driver. I ran in a group with her up at Mid-Ohio and she could hold her own. She was a very good driver and they ran Mustangs, the Roush Mustangs and stuff. They were tied in with that somehow, she and her husband.”

Lyn St. James will be the Grand Marshall at VIR on Saturday and Piazza commented on her influence as well as Janet Guthrie’s.

“I knew of her back then. She was highly respected as one of the top female drivers along with Janet Guthrie. I remember back when Janet was trying to get into NASCAR and Humpy Wheeler was promoting up there at Charlotte. I think Humpy tried to help her a lot. She could drive fast. She was good. And some of the NASCAR guys didn’t think a whole lot of her. They kind of looked down on a woman trying to run NASCAR back at that time.”

As far as the vintage racing series, Piazza described what he raced.

“So it was part of the stock car circuit too that we ran. Ran with a lot of guys that were older and had been in the sport a lot of years. Of all the vintage racing, the SVRA is a purist organization. In other words, they’re pure vintage. A lot of the stuff that I ran in the vintage was called Historic Sportscar Racing and I had dual licenses. I could run with either one.

“Joe Pendergast and one of his children was the promoter back then. And of course, we all run different cars and different kinds. A lot of it was run what you brung, and we got pretty wild. But Brumos Porsche put on a lot of races with them, and they ran pretty regular. I ran that a lot as well as the Porsche Sportscar America, or something. I forget now. But I ran a Porsche.”

Piazza enjoyed his time at VIR and recommends that anyone who hasn’t experienced it, should visit the track. He currently spends his days near his home in Inman, S.C. and attends some pioneer racing events throughout the year. Last week he was at the Combs Family Racers Reunion in Shelby, N.C. It is an annual event put on by Phil and Roby Combs and brings in competitors and fans from many places.

“The weather, of course, was perfect and it was a good group. Rex White was there and Dink Widenhouse. Had some old guys there. Harry Gant was there, and I wanted to kind of meet him, but he was being swamped. So I didn’t get a chance.”

Piazza received a special award at the event.

“It was like a placard from the Combs Family Museum with generally what age group you’re in. Like mine said 80+ years of racing--I didn’t race 80 years, but I’m in my 80’s. Yeah, It was pretty neat and had some guys drop off some pictures from the Old Concord Speedway and things I didn’t have. That was kinda nice.”

Another gathering Piazza hopes to attend is Charlie Craig’s Cruise In next Saturday, October 14, 2023 in Gastonia, N.C. Craig pairs with the Gaston County Shrine Club to raise funds and collect unwrapped toys for children in need. But Piazza also has another very special event to celebrate around the same time—his 69th year married to his wife, Pat Piazza.

“Yeah. I should be there. I’m not sure how it’s going to work out yet, if Pat can come with me or not. Our anniversary is Friday,” said Piazza.

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