IMSA confirms 2015 TUDOR, Continental Tire series schedules

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Lost in the shuffle a bit on Sunday in the wake of the Tony Stewart news and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, then finish at Watkins Glen, was the release of the NASCAR-owned IMSA championships releasing their 2015 schedules.

Here’s the nuts and bolts: for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Indianapolis and Kansas have been dropped, with Lime Rock added in the last weekend in July for the PC and GTD classes. PC also replaces GTD at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July.

This is all part of an aim to reduce the overall racing schedule from 11 races down to 10, as the extra racing time has added substantially to team budgets.

“When we set out to create the inaugural TUDOR Championship schedule we wanted to have a calendar that featured the most iconic endurance races, historic road courses and major market street circuits in North America all on the same schedule,” said IMSA President and COO Scott Atherton. “We have confirmed all of those elements once again on the 2015 schedule, while also adding another noteworthy venue in Lime Rock Park. This is a schedule that we are confident will be embraced by the industry and sports car fans worldwide.”

The Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge schedule mirrors the TUDOR one nearly to a T. Every CTSC weekend will occur alongside the TUDOR Championship, with no standalone weekends as there were this year at Lime Rock and Kansas. CTSC will not race at the Long Beach and Detroit events, but otherwise will be on each TUDOR Championship weekend.

2015 TUDOR UNITED SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Date Event Classes
*Jan. 24-25 Daytona International Speedway ALL
*March 21 Sebring International Raceway ALL
April 18 Long Beach Street Circuit P/GTLM
May 3 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca P/GTLM and PC/GTD
May 30 Detroit Belle Isle P/GTD
*June 28 Watkins Glen International ALL
July 12 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park P/PC/GTLM
July 25 Lime Rock Park PC/GTD
Aug. 9 Road America ALL
Aug. 23 Virginia International Raceway PC/GTLM/GTD
Sept. 19 Circuit of The Americas ALL
*Oct. 3 Road Atlanta ALL

*Denotes Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup rounds.

2015 CONTINENTAL TIRE SPORTSCAR CHALLENGE SCHEDULE

Date Event Classes
Jan. 23 Daytona International Speedway ALL
March 20 Sebring International Raceway ALL
May 2 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca ALL
June 27 Watkins Glen International ALL
July 11 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park ALL
July 24-25 Lime Rock Park GS/ST SPLIT
Aug. 8 Road America ALL
Aug. 22 Virginia International Raceway ALL
Sept. 18 Circuit of The Americas ALL
Oct. 2 Road Atlanta ALL

Seattle Supercross by the numbers: Three riders separated by 17 points

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Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.

Seattle Supercross numbers
Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports

For the fifth time in 10 rounds. Sexton, Webb, and Eli Tomac shared the podium in Detroit. Between them, the trio has taken 23 podiums, leaving only seven for the remainder of the field. Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia have two each with Aaron Plessinger scoring the other.

Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.

Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.

Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.

The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.

In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.

Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.

Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.

Last Five Seattle Winners

450s
2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto

250s
2022: Hunter Lawrence
2019: Dylan Ferrandis
2018: Aaron Plessinger
2017: Aaron Plessinger
2014: Cole Seely

By the Numbers

Detroit
Indianapolis
Daytona
Arlington
Oakland
Tampa
Houston
Anaheim 2
San Diego

More SuperMotocross coverage

How to Watch Seattle Supercross
Dylan Ferrandis may return before SX finale
SMX develops “Leader Lights”
Power Rankings after Detroit
Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan
Results and points after Detroit
Chase Sexton wins in Detroit, penalized seven points