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.
Virginia International Raceway
The world's largest gathering
of Porsche 944s.
Three days at VIR. Six hundred of your best friends and a weekend full of Transaxle Goodness. We're doing it again in 2027.
Keep scrolling
944Fest 2026 · The Recap
We said it'd be the one.
It was.
Six hundred twelve people registered, with four hundred seventy five cars between them, from thirty two states and three Canadian provinces. We ran the Grand East on Friday, the Full Course on Saturday and Sunday, sent ninety cars out on a road rally, and ate a frankly irresponsible number of pancakes. There has never been a bigger 944 gathering. Anywhere.
612
People Registered
475
Cars
35
States & Provinces
3
Days On Track
Want to see what it looked like? The Instagram is overflowing.
@944fest on Instagram →
944Fest Sponsors
944Fest 2027 · It's Official
We're doing it again.
The Dates
September 3–5, 2027
Labor Day weekend · Thursday, September 2 is arrival day
Registration isn't open yet. The newsletter hears first when it is.
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, 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.
600+
ATTENDEES
475
CARS
26
YEARS
FEST
2027 · The Shape of the Weekend
Build your weekend.
Thursday you arrive. Sunday you leave already planning next year. Attendee registration covers most of what's below: meals, parade laps, the car show, dinner, the works. A few are paid add-ons. Exact times firm up as the event gets closer.
Included · Every Evening
Transaxle Lounge
Thursday night meet-and-greet at Oak Tree Tavern. The weekend starts here.
Learn more →
Included · Thursday Through Sunday
Camping
Camp with your car, right at the track. Half the weekend happens in camp chairs after the engines go quiet. Rooms on site too, if tents aren't your thing.
Learn more →
Add-on · Friday Through Sunday
HPDE
Three days, three run groups, two VIR configurations. Drive your car the way it was built to be driven.
Learn more →
Included · Friday Evening
Track Photos
Friday evening the racing surface opens for the photo shoot. The whole field rolls out together for the shot you can't get anywhere else: your 944, on track at VIR.
Add-on · Friday Night
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 →
Add-on · Saturday Morning
Road Rally
Saturday morning waves out to farm and mountain two-lanes, with lunch at the end. Ninety cars strong in 2026.
Learn more →
Included · Saturday Afternoon
Car Show
You don't enter. If you're at 944Fest, you're already in it. Judges have eyes everywhere, all weekend.
Learn more →
Included · Saturday Night
Awards Dinner
Saturday. Brisket and pulled pork at The Gallery, then 25+ trophies made from real 944 pistons.
Learn more →
Included · Sunday Morning
Pancake Breakfast
Sunday morning. Pancakes are the vehicle. The Syrup Swap is the point.
Learn more →
Included · Every Day At Lunch
Parade Laps
Three lunches, three parade laps. Any car, any driver, no helmet, passengers allowed. Everyone gets on the track.
Learn more →Here for the track?
Three days of run groups, novice to advanced, on two VIR configurations.
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.
We're at Virginia International Raceway now, twenty-six years in. 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 - 2027 - 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 3–5, 2027
Labor Day weekend.
Be there.
The world's largest gathering of Porsche 944s. Three days at VIR. Add your year.
944
Fest