I'm really happy to see Grand American Road Racing starting to look healthier and healthier. I grew up on racing in the IMSA Camel days, and I was so sad when the closed cockpit cars turned into the WSC open top cars. It was really sad to see the GT class cars going faster than the purpose built racecars...

As it stands now for '06 they have divided the cars into these classes.
Rolex Sports Car Series
Daytona Prototypes
GT Class

Grand-Am Cup Series
Grand Sporrt (GS)
Street Tuner (ST)

I just wish I could understand why Grand-Am and American LeMans are not all part of one huge sanctioning body, it's so confusing to have both, sort of like having Champ and IRL...

 

Well, IMO ALMS is far more interesting than Grand-Am. G-A is like a dumbed-down version, but it IS owned by the France (Nascar) family.

Warren

 

Maybe I'll try to take in one of their races next year.
Acura joins in '07 right?

I've camped at both of these places before during the IMSA Camel days...
American Le Mans at Mid Ohio - Lexington, OH, US
New England Grand Prix - Lakeville, CT, US

This track iscloser to me than both of the above, although I have never camped there before, but it is another venue to consider.
Grand Prix of Mosport - Bowmanville, ON, CA

 

Grand-Am is kind of like the WNBA. The WNBA is the NBA's attempt to own all of professional basketball in the US (including what turned out to be a successful attempt to destroy an independent women's basketball league). Grand-Am is NASCAR's (aka the France family) attempt to leverage their tracks and organization and sponsors and drivers and media relationships into owning professional sports car racing in the US. ALMS is an endangered species, because Grand-Am is going to continue to edge them out for media coverage, money, and access to tracks.

 

^ Nice description, that helped.

So Grand-Am/ALMS and Champ/IRL actually do have some things in common. Together they would be stronger, separate they fight for the same fans and sponsorship money.

Ya know I appreciate what the France family has done for my life specifically as they own Watkins Glen and before them it was an old and decaying facility, but I just hope they don't completely destroy Sportscar racing!

 

That depends on your point of view. I was a big fan of the ABL, for instance. But there was only so much media money available for women's pro basketball, and the WNBA took it all. The WNBA is a glitzier product and has deep pockets and lots of media savvy. But I don't watch their games (mainly because the summer is not basketball season!). And also because they seem determined to re-create the NBA formula for basketball, which I think is all show and dumbed down.

Grand-Am may end up weakening or killing the ALMS, but it will probably leave sports car racing financially stronger and with more media coverage than it used to have. But Grand-Am is trying to replicate the NASCAR formula in some ways. Just try and enter an S2000 in a Grand-Am race! No, Mazda has sunk a lot of corporate money into Grand-Am, and Grand-Am reciprocates by allowing RX8s to run with very favorable mod and weight rules while S2000s are effectively banned.

It's not like ALMS didn't also have marque politics -- it has always been in Porsche's pocket, and when BMW started crushing them with the M3GTR they banned it.

But I think you will end up seeing Grand-Am moving more and more towards spec racing with spec cars that have different body styling cues and different nameplates provided by manufacturers who pay for that placement. That's what I suspect, anyway, but I'm not really sure.

 

Mike, I agree. I hate power hungry people like France. Doug you got it right........ it's just another IRL / Champ turf war.

 

I hear ya, but let me just simplify it from my point of view. If it were not for the France family this would most likely not even exist anymore... and that would just plain be wrong.

Watkins Glen International

 

Not so. I would have bought it, just so you could have a historic track in your backyard and you could explain how Painted Post got its name.