Virginia International Raceway's famous oak tree stood for over 200 years, shading and guarding the track's tricky double apex turn. It was a unique feature and a signature of the Alton, Virginia track. The racing and enthusiast community was shocked when the tree fell earlier this year, gone forever.

Undaunted, the track's management came up with an innovative idea to memorialize their symbol. Working with Virginia Tech's Institute for Advanced Learning and Research the track hopes to clone the tree. If the project succeeds, the cloned saplings will be made available for fans to plant where they wish.

"To be able to honor the grand old oak tree in such a historic and innovative way is really special for us," Connie Nyholm, owner and CEO of VIR, said in a press release. "We're so grateful to the IALR for helping us with this, and we're excited to be able to share the cloned tree with VIR fans. Nothing will replace the old tree, but this will serve as a great tribute to it."

Along with the cloning project, VIR announced a major revamping of its facility ahead of the 2014 season when the track will be part of the new United Sports Car series, which combines Grand Am and the American Le Mans series. The track will be completely repaved and made wider in places to make passing easier. That should help avoid accidents like the the recent incident that saw two Porsches try to fit in a space meant for one.

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