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 |