The second of two track events in the PHA Championship series is held over Labor Day weekend on the Shenandoah Circuit at Summit Point Motorsports Park, Summit Point, West Virginia. This event has been hosted by Steel Cities region in the past, and the hosting region in 2024 is TBD.
The Shenandoah Circuit at the Summit Point Motorsports Park is a 2.2 mile road course that first opened in 2005. It is a no holds barred technical challenge that will take years for drivers to master. The track contains a dimensional replica of the Nurburgring-Nordschleife’s famous banked Karussell turn complete with 20 degrees of banking.
The corners contain both positive and negative camber as well as increasing and decreasing radius turns with vertical drops. If you are truly up for a challenge to your car handling abilities this circuit is the one for you. We “only” run 1.8 miles of the course, but that 1.8 miles is extremely challenging, with 18 turns when run as a Track Sprint, and 19 turns when run as a Time Attack.
The first PHA event was held on the Shenandoah Circuit in the Fall of 2016, replacing the traditional Fall Jefferson event (held on the Jefferson Circuit at Summit Point). This event was held in a Time Attack event format for fall 2016 and 2017. Drivers went out in groups of 3 for 2 timed laps. Pit out was between turns 2 and 3, and the start/finish line was between turns 5 and 6.
In 2018, the event format was changed to a Track Sprint . Pit Out and the Start Line is between turns 2 and 3, and the Finish Line is just past the “Ram Site” crossover after turn 20. Pit out is at turn 21. The course is essentially the same as the Time Attack Format, except the last turn — the crossover at “Old Ram” just before Turn 3 — is eliminated.
This event is more similar in format to hillclimbs than the Jefferson Time Attack event in that we have separate start and finish lines. In fact, I’ve heard it referred to as a “horizontal hillclimb”. But there is still a lot more runoff room compared to our hillclimb events, and that banked turn has no equal on the PHA hillclimb circuit!
The Shenandoah Circuit also offers a larger camping/pit area than Jefferson, with more amenities, including showers and gas pumps. In addition, the cafe is usually open for breakfast and lunch.
Location Summit Point, WV
Length 1.8 miles
Elevation Change Approximately 25'
Number of Turns 18 (Track Sprint)
19 (Time Attack)
Course Map for Track Sprint (click to Enlarge) 
Course Map for Time Attack (click to Enlarge) 
Here is a small sample of some of the excellent photos that Mike Vanino has taken over the years — see https://www.mikevaninophotography.com/ for more photos.
