With more off-track action than ever before, starting as soon as the gates open and continuing well after the racing ends, 2008’s Big Kahuna brings together new vendors, exhibitors, music, shows and more for the whole family. Starting with Thursday afternoon’s Celebrity Kart Challenge at the Plantation Valley Kart Track, at 4:00, then moving to Friday’s action beginning with practice starting at 8:30, plus stunt shows in the Turns Four and Five area at noon. The star attraction off-track though opens at 1:00 Friday afternoon, with the Big Kahuna Vintage Bike display at VIR’s infield Gallery. Featuring some significant race bikes of past decades, the Vintage show is expected to include a wide range of cycles, from Harley-Davidson Sprint road racers to the Aryans, a Freddie Spencer replica, plus more, all arrayed at the Gallery for your enjoyment. Many of these fascinating machines will be taken out on the track, where they truly belong, though toured, not raced, as their value is far too high to risk race damage.
“The Big Kahuna is the capstone of our summer,” says promoter and M1 Entertainment president Cameron Gray. “We strive to bring together the best combination of racing, music, fun and games we can for fans of all ages.”
The music kicks off with The K.O.D.E., a party band “high energy rock and roll explosion” headlining the weekend’s musical offerings. Playing both Friday and Saturday evenings, The K.O.D.E. will have music to please virtually the entire crowd. Following The K.O.D.E.’s concert, Friday’s entertainment ends with the Mobile HD Airblown Theatre.
Saturday opens with more entertainment to join the on-track excitement, with stunt shows and The K.O.D.E. closing the day’s entertainment again. “With the Kids’ Corral for younger fans, plus two giant Jumbotron screens, climbing walls, dealer rides, and all the displays and vendor areas, some fans may even miss the fact that there are races going on,” joked Gray. “We want everyone to enjoy every minute they’re here, whether they’re watching action on the track or just looking at VIR’s beautiful surroundings.”
About M1 Entertainment: At M1 Entertainment, our goal is to provide fans with more than just a motorcycle race. Our events include extra attractions and entertainment for the whole family, creating a truly unique experience for the devoted fan and the beginning spectator. To that end, we are always ready to listen to the people to help make our events even better.
M1 Entertainment is best known as the creator and promoter of the Honda Superbike Classic at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. For 10 years, the Honda Superbike Classic was one of the most successful motorcycle events in the U.S., drawing close to 100,000 fans over the three-day schedule. It was the only event in the world to combine the World Superbike series on the same weekend.
Other notable M1 Entertainment events have included The Big Kahuna Nationals at Road Atlanta (1998-2000), The Reno Supermoto Classic in 2004 and the Red Bull Supermoto A-Go-Go in 2005. Our current events include the Suzuki CycleFest (2003-present) in Copper Mountain, Colorado, and the awesome Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at VIRginia International Raceway - our inaugural event taking place in August of 2005 with five more years under contract through 2010.
A Denver-based company, M1 Entertainment has been working in motorsports for 15 years. Originally spawned from Daniels Corporation under the name FAST, the fledgling company was heavily involved in television production for car and motorcycle racing. With the birth of Speedvision in 1995, FAST took an advertising sales and event promotion, in addition to television production duties.
Now under the umbrella of Fox Television Networks, Speed Channel (formerly Speedvision) is thriving. FAST morphed into M1 Entertainment (Race Promotion Management) and now is operating as M1 Entertainment with many of the same staff still in place. We still sell advertising for Speed Channel and promote our own events, keeping us busy year-round.
VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility, located on the Dan River between Danville and South Boston, Virginia. Reopened in 2000, VIR hosts a wide range professional and amateur auto and motorcycle racing and track events, and is well established as “America’s Motorsport Resort.” In addition to its historic 3.27 mile natural-terrain road racing circuit, VIR is the cornerstone of VIR Club, America's first motorsports country club; the VIR Raceplex Industrial Park and Motorsports Technology Park, which includes the Virginia Institute for Performance Engineering and Research (“VIPER”); the Plantation Valley Kart Track, a 5/8 mile paved natural terrain karting circuit; an expanding variety of on-site lodging (including 45 hotel rooms and the trackside Villas which are for sale); Camp Motorsport for enthusiasts of all ages; and the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the circa-1840 Plantation Clubhouse.
The next big events at VIR are a Porsche Club of America race August 9-10, followed by the AMA Big Kahuna Superbike National on August 15-17, bringing America’s best Superbike racers to VIR’s North Course. The weekend of October 3-5 sees GT Live and the KONI Challenge bring a combination of motorcycle stunts, drifting, track attack and endurance sports car races. These events are all combined with a wide variety of amateur and vintage road racing and schools throughout the year.
Season passes to VIR’s major events include preferred parking and access to the major spectator events. For information on the track and other event schedules, call 434-822-7700 or check our web site at www.virclub.com.

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