Racing in the Viper Cup Series was an experience of a lifetime this past weekend at Virginia International Raceway. This was quite a bit different from my normal ripping through the trees and doing back flips on my snowmobile that's for sure. My first impressions out on the track in the car was that this torque monster was WAY more capable than the driver. This was going to take some time to get acclimated to. This is where Cindi Lux from Lux Performance really speeded up my learning curve. Cindi, who is a world class driver in her own right was so awesome and confidence inspiring when coaching me through certain areas on the track as well as managing the car. Every session out on the track I improved on my lap times. I even got to follow fellow Viper Cup competitor and CEO of Dodge Ralph Gilles around the track for a couple laps. He showed me a few of his lines around the insanely fast course and then checked out on me. That dude freakin rips!

During the two races on Saturday and Sunday the racing action was intense! People flying off the track, taking lines through the dirt and even a few "love" taps to move other racers out of the way made the 11 lap dash one of the craziest things I've been a part of. It was mayhem out there!!! I had some awesome battles during both races with my fellow Dodge Viper cup competitors and brought the car home with not a scratch on it! Not everyone who raced the two races could make that statement. :)

The whole crew at Lux Performance was an absolute pleasure to work and hang out with. I can't say thank you enough for all the prep work that went into making my car very competitive on the track. The brute power of the Viper ACR-X coupled with the insane brakes, incredible handling and glue like traction of the Michelin tires made this the most incredible piece of equipment I have ever got to pilot. Thank you Dodge and Lux Performance for this opportunity and hopefully I can get back in the saddle of one of these bad boys down the road.

Chris Burandt