It has been a while since I've been there. But, my first thought when I read this story was, "how long has this been a potential hazard?" As long as I remember, the tree has hung over the track. I can't image what would have occurred if this thing had toppled over or branches started falling off during a race.
BTW, when grabbing the picture above, I discovered that you can use Google StreetView for VIR.
