GRAND-AM in Indy?

Rumors began to start early this week that there were talks between NASCAR and the owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway about having the Grand-Am Series race on the road course at IMS. The Grand-Am series, which I know as the Rolex Sports Car Series, is owned by NASCAR.        

On Wednesday, June 15, it was confirmed that IMS and NASCAR are seriously considering adding a Grand- Am race to the Brickyard 400 weekend, and possibly holding the Nationwide race at IMS too.

            

           The Rolex cars had tested at IMS a few years ago, but nothing ever came of it. I even asked one Indianapolis Star writer a few months ago if IMS would ever have a Grand-Am race; his response, in short, was no.

           This is all just rumors right now, but I’m not a big fan of any of this change, esp. the Nationwide switch. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is for the best drivers in the world, and to bring the Nationwide drivers would dilute that. The other part that upsets me is that the Brickyard 400 weekend is something I really look forward to. I get to see all the drivers, cars, and teams that I love. I don’t want to see them share the track with anybody else. Not to mention the ticket prices for the whole weekend would increase greatly.

            Here’s the low-down on the Grand-Am Series, because I know next to nothing about the series.

“GRAND-AM Road Racing has the largest sports car fan base in the United States, with nearly 20 million adults, and has also had the highest percentage growth of any major motorsports series on television over the past five years.

GRAND-AM sanctions the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 and the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. The Rolex Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge deliver professional sports car racing to key markets throughout North America in addition to being televised in the U.S. and Canada on SPEED and distributed globally through ESPN International.

GRAND-AM Road Racing showcases emerging and legendary drivers from around the globe and thoroughbred racing machines from the industry's leading constructors and the world's top automobile manufacturers.

GRAND-AM was founded in 1999. The organization's first race was February 6, 2000, at Daytona International Speedway - the 38th Rolex 24 At Daytona.”

http://www.grand-am.com

Apparently it’s spelled “GRAND-AM”, not “Grand-Am” like I was writing it.

When something is announced officially, I will post it on here ASAP!

Rolex Sports Car Series cars. The first two are "Daytona Prototype" class cars, the third one is a "GT" class car.