Hardware
Piston Trophies.
Real pistons, rods still attached, standing piston-face-down with the rod pointing up through a clear acrylic disc printed with the category. Painted in fun colors.
September 4–6, 2026 · Virginia International Raceway
The world's largest gathering
of Porsche 944s.
Three days at VIR. Four hundred cars, and a weekend full of Transaxle Goodness. Twenty five years in. This is the one.
Keep scrolling
What 944Fest Actually Is
A lot more than just another
Track Weekend.
There are bigger Porsche events. There is not a bigger 944 event. 944Fest is the once a year reunion of the Porsche transaxle community [ 924, 944, 951, 968, and 928 ].
Yes, there is track time. HPDE sessions are a huge part of the weekend. But 944Fest is not just about track driving. It is the Road Rally, the Go Kart Enduro, the Car Show, the off road Rally Car Playground, camping next to your car, kids activities, southern BBQ, and a paddock full of people who understand.
You do not need the perfect car. You do not need fresh paint, big power, or a trailer full of spares. You do not need to know anyone before you arrive.
Drive in. Trailer in. Fly in and grab a rental.
By Saturday night, you will have people to sit with, cars to talk about, and plans forming for next year.
And no, bringing a Porsche transaxle car is not required. If you own one, used to own one, want one, miss one, or just like hanging around the crowd that keeps them alive, you belong at 944Fest.
500+
ATTENDEES
400+
CARS
25
YEARS
FEST
Here for the track?
Sign up for HPDE.
Three days of run groups on the VIR Grand Course and Full Course. Novice, Intermediate, Advanced. Up to 2.5 hours of track time per day. Track space is limited and will sell out.
Not here for just the HPDE? Keep scrolling. There's a lot more weekend.
944Fest Activities
Build your weekend.
Attendee registration covers most of your weekend: meals, parade laps, car show, dinner, the works. A few activities are paid add-ons for the people who want them. Here are the highlights.
Add-on
HPDE
Three days, three run groups, two VIR configurations. Drive your car the way it was built to be driven.
Learn more →
Included
Car Show
You don't enter. If you're at 944Fest, you're already in it. Judges have eyes everywhere, all weekend.
Learn more →
Add-on · $50/car
Road Rally
Saturday morning drive through Virginia back roads. Lunch at the end. Fifty cars, no more.
Learn more →
Included
Rally Car Playground
Saturday off-road course. Drive your 944 (or whatever you brought) through the dirt. Solo runs, helmets required.
Learn more →
Included
Parade Laps
Three lunches, three parade laps. Any car, any driver, no helmet, passengers allowed. Everyone gets on the track.
Learn more →
Add-on · $100/driver
Go-Kart Enduro
Friday night. Ten random teams of four. Two hours of wheel-to-wheel chaos. By the time it's over, everyone knows everyone.
Learn more →
Included
Transaxle Lounge
Thursday night meet-and-greet at Oak Tree Tavern. The weekend starts here.
Learn more →
Included
Awards Dinner
Saturday. Brisket and pulled pork at The Gallery, then 25+ trophies made from real 944 pistons.
Learn more →
Included
Pancake Breakfast
Sunday morning. Pancakes are the vehicle. The Syrup Swap is the point.
Learn more →
The Weekend · Thursday to Sunday
Four days
transaxle wanderland
Thursday
Anticipation Day- Afternoon Hang-out area outside the gates for early arrivals
- 5:30 PM Gates open
- 6:30 PM Early-bird HPDE tech & check-in opens
- Evening Transaxle Lounge meet-and-greet at Oak Tree Tavern
Friday
Track Is Running- 6:30 AM HPDE tech & check-in
- 8:30 AM HPDE sessions on the VIR Grand Course (until 5:30 PM)
- Lunch Track Heroes burgers in the paddock + parade laps
- 5:30 PM Group photo, every car on the main straight
- 7:00 PM Go-Kart Enduro at the VIR karting track
Saturday
Pick A Lane- 6:30 AM HPDE tech & check-in
- Morning HPDE on the VIR Full Course
- 9:00 AM or Road Rally departs, back by lunch
- 9–2 or Rally Car Playground, off-road, til 2:00 PM
- Lunch Parade laps
- 2:00 PM Car Show lineup at The Gallery
- 5:30 PM Awards Dinner · awards & door prizes 6:30 PM
Sunday
The Slow Exhale- Morning Pancake Breakfast & Syrup Swap at the Track Heroes tent
- 7:30 AM HPDE tech & check-in
- Morning HPDE on the VIR Full Course
- Lunch Final parade laps
- After Event wraps after the final HPDE session
944Fest Sponsors
The Stuff That Makes It 944Fest
The weird
good stuff.
Every event has its quirks. Here are some of ours.
Sunday Morning pancakes
The Syrup Swap.
Sunday morning at the Pancake Breakfast. People bring syrups from everywhere: maple from Vermont, prickly pear from Arizona, something genuinely strange from British Columbia. The pancakes are the vehicle. The syrups are the point.
The Jury Has Spoken
Kid's Choice.
Kids 15 and under walk the car show together with a guide and pick their favorite. The most honest vote of the weekend. Their parents take it very personally.
Free Lunch, No Catch
Track Heroes Burgers.
Free at Friday lunch and the Friday enduro. Donations appreciated. This isn't catering: it's a small team of volunteers grilling for 500 people because they want to. Say thank you.
The Car Show Has No Entry Form
Judges Everywhere, All Weekend.
You don't enter the car show. If you're at 944Fest, you're in it. The judges are looking at your car in the paddock, at the gas pump, in the campground. You don't need to be parked up front.
Celebrating The Ordinary
Most Quotidian 944.
A trophy for the most beautifully ordinary 944. Guards Red, faded. Phone dial wheels. Sixty-series tires. Dash cracks. A couple cracks in the seats. No mods. The perfect unremarkable 944. We love it.
For First-Timers
I don't know
anyone here... yet.
Coming in solo, or with one other person? Don't fret! 944Fest is a welcoming group of people just like you. By Saturday night, you'll already be planning next year with people you met on Thursday.
The whole weekend is built around introductions. Random kart enduro teams. A shared dinner. Parade laps where everybody gets the same straight. There is no inside crowd. We're all the inside crowd.
If this is your first 944Fest, you're in exactly the right place.
“Roll in as a stranger. Roll out with a hundred new friends.”
How We Got Here
A backyard cookout.
Then a real track.
Then the world.
944Fest started as a backyard gathering outside Cleveland. Grill, burgers, a handful of friends who'd found each other through the earliest forums and figured their cars deserved more credit than they were getting.
Those backyards became a Ski Lodge (that was wild), then a real race track, Nelson Ledges. Then Mid-Ohio, then back to Nelson. A couple of early years at VIR, then back to Nelson again. Summit Point was on the books for 2020, until the world ran out of toilet paper and that one got scrapped, so, back to Nelson. Nelson always took us back. And now we're back at VIR, but there are more of us. A lot more. We've outgrown most tracks' ability to host us, and we're not the most modest people about that.
In 2026, we're at Virginia International Raceway, and it's our 25th year. Attendees fly in from Canada, Germany, the UK. There are bigger Porsche events. There are not bigger 944 events. And there is no place in the world you will see more Porsche transaxles in one spot.
This is the one.
Where It Started
Some Backyards near Cleveland
Ohio
First Real Venue
Snow Trails Ski Lodge
Garrettsville, Ohio
First Real Track
Nelson Ledges Road Course
Garrettsville, Ohio
Moving up
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington, Ohio
Back to Nelson
Nelson Ledges Road Course
Garrettsville, Ohio
2015-2016
Virginia International Raceway
Alton, Virginia
Back to Nelson
Nelson Ledges Road Course
Garrettsville, Ohio
2020 Toilet Paper Apocalypse
Summit Point (Almost)
CANCELED
Back to Nelson
Nelson Ledges Road Course
Garrettsville, Ohio
2025 - 2026 - HOME
Virginia International Raceway
Alton, Virginia
The Practical Stuff
Plan your weekend.
Each of these has a full page with everything you'd want to know.
How to Arrive
Getting There.
VIR is in Alton, Virginia, four hours from D.C. and three from Charlotte. Fly into Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro, or Richmond. We've got the routes mapped.
Getting There →Sleep Here
Where to Stay.
Pit Lane rooms above the garages. The Lodge. Villas. RV hookups. Nearby hotels if you'd rather sleep off-site. Or pitch a tent. Primitive camping is included with your registration.
Lodging →Your Registration Covers
What's Included.
Five hundred-plus attendees. Four meals. An event shirt. Camping all weekend. Five raffle tickets in your goodie bag. Parade laps, the car show, the off-road course, and the Lounge. All in.
Registration →Area Attractions
Bringing the Family.
Kids get in free, and there's plenty to do, but there's also a whole world just outside the track. With wineries, hikes, shopping, and kids' activities within 30 minutes, no one will be bored.
Area Attractions →September 4–6, 2026
Twenty-five years in.
Be there.
The world's largest gathering of Porsche 944s. Three days at VIR. Add your year.
944
Fest