Over the years, car clubs have become a fixture of the automotive community. With that wonderful thing we know as the Internet, it's easy to find like-minded enthusiasts who share the same fanatical views about the cars we love. Clubs can be based around things as general as a style of car, or as specific as make, model, or color. If you can drive it, rest assured, there's a club to represent it.
The SVT Cobra Mustang Club was founded as a mailing list for technical information in 1999 by Tony Sorrentino, and 10 short years later, the club has over 500 members from four countries and its website gets as many as 500,000 hits a week. Open to all SVT Mustangs, the club is comprised of '93-'04 Cobra owners and '07 to present Shelby GT500 owners.
Club participation is huge, and Tony gives back to his members with track days and car shows all over the country. Members can get together and show off their iron, talk shop, and tear up a road course or dragstrip.
We caught up with Tony and a slew of SCMC members at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, Virginia, for three days of road-course fun to celebrate the club's 10-year anniversary. "We do this for the love of the cars and the hobby," Tony says. "We have a passion for our SVT vehicles."
The event started Friday as the Cobras started rolling in and drivers prepped their machines to hit the track. Head instructor Rick McNutt kicked off the day's drivers' meeting, and paired the drivers and instructors for the weekend.
Drivers are placed into one of four groups based on ability, from Novice to Instructor. With safety being the number one goal, track officials reviewed the flags and track procedures before letting the club loose on the 3.37-mile circuit.
The Friday schedule found the club running the full VIR track. A challenging mix of technical turns, elevation changes, and fast straightaways gave participants the chance to push their Cobras to the limit.
The Saturday and Sunday agenda brought on the shorter North course. The technical 2.25-mile course offers 21 turns and a straightaway long enough to satisfy almost anyone's speed addiction.
Saturday also played host to a massive car show in the skidpad area of VIR. All kinds of Mustangs were on hand for the show and festivities, and show participants even got the chance to drive the famed VIR course during lunchtime parade laps.
All in all it was an incredible weekend. Good weather, great people, and awesome cars truly make for a great experience. If you've never been to an SCMC open-track event, plan to attend the next one.
 Mark Young brought out his...  Mark Young brought out his super-rare '95 PP1 prototype Cobra. Mark's Cobra was pulled off the assembly line in early '95 and fitted with a '96 Cobra driveline. This Cobra spent the first year of its life as an SVT show car! |  Terminator Cobras were well...  Terminator Cobras were well represented at the SCMC's 10th Anniversary. This MystiChrome '04 was one of many Terminators tearing up the track. |  The SCMC track events are...  The SCMC track events are open to all club members and all cars. Everything from Fox-body Mustangs to Ford GTs were on hand taking to the track. The club's next event will take place at VIR on October 17 and 18 for a weekend on the full course. |
 John Evans of Ashburn, Virginia,...  John Evans of Ashburn, Virginia, came out to turn some laps in his 40th Anniversary GT500. This beautiful convertible grabbed our attention on and off the track. | | |