Not sure where you are in Virginia, but it would be a maximum of 6 hours or even as little as 2 hours (if you are in the northern part) drive and well worth the drive.
This is the first year I haven't made it and I missed it a lot. It's a great time with a very well run show. I can't say enough good about how it's run, the staff and the facility. Even the bathrooms are clean (important for bringing the better half) and there's always a big selection of good food. The cars are great to see and you can spend days just looking at parts.
My advice for someone who attends for the first time is to watch for a thread in the early part of next year about where everyone will be staying. A lot of us stay around the Mechanicsburg area. As you get closer to the show date, it becomes harder to get a room, but you can always just head a little farther west towards Harrisburg and get something.
For a first timer, a minimum suggestion would be to arrive early Friday and stay Friday night and go back Saturday. Sunday is very sparse and most have packed up and gone. Some come earlier in the week, I like to come in on Thursday afternoon and hit the Thursday night cruise put on by the local Mopar club.
If you are entering a car, preregistering early gets you a discount, but even later preregistering will allow you to drive in the gate and park in your class without stopping. Just have to put the sticker on the windshield first.
Must have taken awhile to get out from under that rock...!! 
