Haltech HyperFest 2022

Tens of thousands of spectators flocked to Virginia International Raceway (VIR) for the 2022 Haltech Hyperfest. With NASA Mid-Atlantic roaring around the full course with multiple classes, and professional and amateur drifting on the “Patriot Course”, there were plenty of thrills and spills throughout the 3-day weekend. Let’s catch you up on what all took place! 

Drifters Invade the Patriot Course

Arguably one of the most popular venues around the 500-acre facility, the Patriot Course is a 1.1-mile road course with a ton of elevation and challenging curves. Over 50 drift cars showed up on Thursday and Friday to put on a show for the thousands of visitors parked right outside of the safety fence. 

What was great about this course, was that it offered excellent views from just about every angle, and the steep elevation change towards the end of the run meant there were crazy high entry speeds and mountains of tire smoke to see. We saw professionals like Dirk Stratton in his Elite 2500 controlled Lingenfelter C6 Corvette, mixed in with amateurs looking to hone their skills out on track. 

There were also plenty of drivers willing to give spectators ride-alongs, like Mike Perez’ in his Elite controlled Toyota Supra MK4 who gave at least a dozen visitors the ride of their life as he made drifting the Patriot Course look easy. While the weather gave us a few fits on Friday, it didn’t put a damper on the fun whatsoever, as we saw over 20 cars slide around in the rainy conditions until the party ended at sunset. 

NASA Mid-Atlantic Rockets around VIR

NASA Mid-Atlantic is a major sanctioning body for both amateur and professional road racing along the eastern seaboard. Their variety of classes and rules meant spectators could see a Ginetta cup car mixed in with a Trans Am prepped Mustang. With races like the Bimmerworld Spec BMW challenge and GRM’s Ultimate Track Car Challenge, you never knew what wild racecar would come around the bend next. 

With “Lightning” and “Thunder” races featuring a mix of GT and Spec racecars, we saw retired NASCAR’s racing alongside Dodge Vipers and Tube-Chassis roadsters. Providing us with plenty of hard racing in both the wet and dry conditions throughout the 3-day weekend.

There were also High Performance Driving Events (HPDE) where visitors could register to have an instructor guide them around the track in their own car(s)! Meaning no one was feeling left out as we raced from sunrise to sunset around the gorgeous VIR facility.

Pennzoil Proving Grounds

The Pennzoil Proving Grounds was nestled right in the heart of the event, with Adam LZ and the Drift HQ gang, alongside Team RTR and the “Fun Havers” putting on an exhibition nearly every hour of the day. We got to see tandem drifting, fan ride-alongs, and a ton of free-swag handed out by the Monster Energy girls.

At the end of Saturday night, we also saw a massive burnout competition that saw standing room only as thousands of spectators crowded around the skidpad. With flaming tires, blown engines and major crowd hype, this was one of the most popular events in all of Haltech Hyperfest. 

Rally Short Course & Chaos Trails

You’d be wrong if you thought the party stopped there, as VIR’s massive facility also had its own rally short course and miles-long off-road trail around the perimeter of the property. With the rain late Friday, we got to see plenty of muddy action as amateur and professional rally drivers put on a show for the crowds. While the off-road trail managed by the crew at Chaos Fabrication gave rides in their long-travel Baja style raptors to visitors all weekend long.

KONI Powerwheels Attack

We have to admit that the Koni Powerwheels Attack was one of the most fun “races” we witnessed at Haltech Hyperfest. Over 50 competitors entered the near ⅛ mile downhill race in a variety of wildly decorated barbie jeeps, plastic tractors and monster trucks. Fans were encouraged to throw water balloons at the drivers as they navigated the obstacles set around VIR’s roller-coaster section of the track. 

Our own tech support specialist Cole, entered the event in his Haltech Elite equipped plastic dune racer where he got pelted with balloons and eventually got stuck in traffic while trying to navigate the carnage of broken plastic wheels and ejected racers on track. 

All in all, this had to be one of the best automotive festivals we’ve participated this year! There are few places in the United States where spectators can come and see drifting, burnouts, road racing, rally-racing, off-roading and all of the other fun shenanigans that were on display. This will definitely become a bucket list event for thousands of motorsport enthusiasts and we can’t wait to do it all again next year!

Want more about the Haltech Hyperfest – check out the event website: https://www.hyper-fest.com/