GRAND-AM ROLEX RACING SPORTS CAR SERIES RETURNS TO HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY IN 2012: GRAND PRIX OF MIAMI SET FOR APRIL 27-29
Homestead-Miami Speedway continues rich history of sports car racing
MIAMI— Next
spring, Homestead-Miami Speedway will serve as host to the GRAND-AM
Rolex Sports Car Series’ Grand Prix of Miami, with the Daytona
Prototypes and Grand Touring classes both set to run in South Florida in
April. The Grand Prix of Miami will take center stage as Race 3 of the
2012 campaign on the 2.3-mile road course.
“Miami
has a stellar sports car-racing tradition, and this is America’s most
competitive road-racing series,” said Homestead-Miami Speedway President
Matt Becherer. “The Grand Prix of Miami Weekend is a very unique
opportunity to get up close with the best sports car drivers in the
world. And rest assured that we’ll continue our tradition of
unparalleled fan amenities, as we welcome fans into the infield and on
to Pit Road; feature driver meet-and-greets and autograph sessions; and
continue our policy of admitting all kids 12 and under FREE of charge.”
GRAND-AM
Rolex Sports Car Series competitors will compete for an exciting new
three-race endurance championship, highlighting the 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex
Sports Car Series schedule announced today.
The
inaugural North American Endurance Championship will feature the 50th
anniversary running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 28-29, the
Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International on June
29-July 1 and GRAND-AM’s three-hour debut race at Indianapolis Motor
Speedway during the Super Weekend at the Brickyard on July 27.
The
13-race schedule also includes GRAND-AM’s first visit to Detroit – the
automotive capital of the world – with the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car
Challenge at Belle Isle on June 2, and the return to many of North
America’s premier circuits, including Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in
Montreal; Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.; Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
in Lexington, Ohio; Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.;
Homestead-Miami Speedway; New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville,
N.J.; and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif.
“This
is without doubt the strongest schedule in GRAND-AM history,” said
GRAND-AM President Tom Bledsoe. “Highlights are everywhere you look …new
races, new places – and a new three-race championship. We’re going to
be making a lot of sports car history in 2012.”
The
North American Endurance Championship will be open to competitors in
both the Daytona Prototype and production-based GT classes. The
championship’s point structure and purse will be announced in the near
future. Awards for the series will be awarded at dusk on the Victory
Podium at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, following the historic race on
the 2.605-mile road course.
In
addition to featuring GRAND-AM’s solid lineup in both classes, several
top teams have indicated they will field additional cars with all-star
drivers to compete in the three endurance races.
“I
think the North American Endurance Championship adds more excitement to
an already exciting schedule,” said four-time Rolex Series Daytona
Prototype champion Scott Pruett. “The Rolex 24 is clearly the highlight
of our season, and I’m very excited with the addition of Indianapolis.
The new championship gives further emphasis on our three endurance
races.”
The
Rolex Series will also run with the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR
Nationwide Series at Watkins Glen International, and with the NASCAR
Nationwide Series at Road America and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Two
Rolex Series events will be in companion with IndyCar, at Detroit and
Barber.
Following
the season-opening events at Daytona and Barber, the Rolex Series moves
to Homestead-Miami Speedway, followed by a visit to New Jersey
Motorsports Park. Following the Detroit Belle Isle race, the series
returns to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Cars on June 9. In addition, Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca’s event shifts to September.
The
Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge will run in conjunction with the
Rolex Series at 10 of the 13 weekends, including Indianapolis.
The potential season-ending events for both series are still to be announced.
The
Grand Prix of Miami debuted in the spring of 1983 and was long a
fixture as the second major sports car event of the season following the
Rolex 24 At Daytona (again the case in 2011). The event was held in
Miami’s Bayfront Park before moving to Homestead-Miami Speedway in 1995.
GRAND-AM began sanctioning the event in 2000.
Drivers
who have competed in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series include
NASCAR Champions Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch; IndyCar Champions Dario
Franchitti and Scott Dixon; South Florida-residents Juan Pablo Montoya
(NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star) and Helio Castroneves (three-time Indy
500 winner); and “Grey’s Anatomy” star Patrick Dempsey.
Chip
Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates drivers Scott Pruett and Memo
Rojas—who won the 2011 GRAND-AM Championship—will look to pick up where
Ganassi’s IndyCar team left off when Dario Franchitti netted his fourth
IndyCar Championship in October.
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