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The Nissan GT-R is a lot to handle, but a day of training at Virginia International Raceway could help.

As far as performance machines go, they don't come much more focused than the Ariel Atom. And they keep getting more extreme in their performance capabilities, leading up to the latest version you see here.

Maserati has been celebrating its 100th anniversary all year, but recent visitors to Virginia International Raceway might have gotten to see one of the coolest highlights of the whole centenary. The brand took its already amazing Chris Bruce

It was with heavy hearts that we reported on the natural felling of the Virginia International Raceway's Oak Tree in July. The 200-plus-year-old monument actually influenced the design of the track, leading to a tricky, double-apex, right-hander called Oak Tree Turn.

There is no doubting the fact that it takes nerves of steel to be a racecar driver, but the same can also be said for motorsports photographers. Case in point: The American Le Mans Series Oak Tree Grand Prix at the Virginia International Raceway where two Porsche 911 racecars crash hard into the tire barrier, but the dedicated cam

Any time you have to hand off the keys to a valued car, it can be a little nerve racking – and with some justification. Just check out this video, which serves as a cautionary tale of sorts. According to its YouTube description, the user, named ShakenBakeRacin, lent his Ariel Atom to his brother and recorded video of him driving the lightweight racer on the north course at VIR – Virginia International Raceway. What was probably

There are two draws in the pony-car competition bracket: brawn-über-alles pits the 580-horsepower Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 against the 650-hp Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, while the track-day killers set the 426-hp Camaro 1LE against the 444-hp Mustang Boss 302

The Viper GTS-R continues its march to a motorsports debut later this year in the GT class of the American Le Mans Series. Following its surprise debut alongside the new production SRT Viper at the 2012 New York Auto Show, the GTS-R John Neff

While the Dodge Viper is in the midst of a much-too-long (and thankfully soon-to-be-rectified) hiatus, there's really no question as to who holds the title of Baddest American Sports Car: The Chevrolet Corvette. And the top-of-the-line in Corvette Land is, of course, the 638-horsepower supercharged ZR1.

2010 Ariel Atom 3 – Click above for high-res image gallery

2010 Hurst Ford Mustang Pace Car – Click above for high-res image gallery