Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980). In addition, the site has also been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series. The facility is currently owned by NASCAR.
Laguna Seca Raceway is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and Monterey, California, United States.
The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types including road courses and street circuits. Trans-Am is split into the TA and TA2 classes for silhouette racing cars, while its production classes are the GT, SGT, and XGT.
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, 64-kilometre (40 mi) east of Toronto. The facility features a 3.957 km (2.459 mi), 10-turn road course; a 2.9 km (1.8 mi) advance driver and race driver training facility with a 0.402 km (0.250 mi) skid pad and a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) kart track. The name "Mosport", a portmanteau of Motor Sport, came from the enterprise formed to build the track.
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive director of SCCA, and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France Sr. of NASCAR. Beginning in 2014, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier series resulting from the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series. IMSA is owned by NASCAR, as a division of the company.
Road Atlanta is a 2.540 mi (4.088 km) road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams. The track has 12 turns, including the famous "esses" between turns three and five; and Turn 12, a downhill, diving turn. The track is owned by IMSA Holdings, LLC through its subsidiary Road Atlanta, LLC, and is the home to the Petit Le Mans, as well as AMA motorcycle racing, and smaller events throughout the year. Michelin acquired naming rights to the facility in 2018.
Portland International Raceway (PIR) is a motorsport facility in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is part of the Delta Park complex on the former site of Vanport, just south of the Columbia River. It lies west of the Delta Park/Vanport light rail station and less than a mile west of Interstate 5.
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central region of the state, from south of Sandusky to the north of Columbus. It hosts a number of racing series such as IndyCar, IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, along with other club events such has SCCA and National Auto Sport Association.
The Circuit Trois-Rivières is a street circuit in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The circuit has been the home of the annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, the longest-running street race in North America, since 1967. The circuit is located on the Terrain de l'Exposition (fairgrounds) and is unusual in that it passes through Porte Duplessis, the narrow concrete gateway of the grounds at turn 3.
Tomy Drissi is an American professional stock and sports car racing driver, and an advertising executive in the movie industry. A long-time competitor in the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series, he was the series' 2009 Champion.
The 1967 Trans-American Championship was the second running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. After the dominance of Alfa Romeo in the under 2000cc class in 1966, Porsche would rise to prominence, starting a dynasty that would last for several years. 1967 would also mark the debut of Mercury, with Dan Gurney winning at Green Valley for the company in its new Cougar. David Pearson would also win in a Cougar at Riverside later that year. Ford and Mercury would both end the year strongly, with four wins apiece. Mark Donohue would provide the first win in the series for Chevrolet at Marlboro Speedway. He would go on to win at Stardust and Pacific Raceways, igniting the Ford vs Chevy rivalry that made the series legendary.
The 1968 Trans-American Championship was the third running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. 1968 marked the addition of the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona, the only year that the Trans-Am Series featured those races. The season also marked the first time that an event was held outside of the United States, when a race at Mont-Tremblant brought Trans-Am into Quebec, Canada.
The 1971 Trans-American Championship was the sixth running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The format was altered to an over 2500cc class and an under 2500cc class, up 500cc from past years. All races used split classes except where noted. The year marked the rise of Datsun as a competitive brand, with the Japanese company winning several races throughout the season. American Motors, led by Mark Donohue's 7 wins, and Datsun, led by John Morton's 6 wins, won the manufacturers' championships.
The 1972 Trans-American Championship was the seventh running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The first seven rounds used split classes, while the last four rounds had the Under 2500cc class only. Milt Minter brought Pontiac its first win, at Mid-Ohio. George Follmer and American Motors won the over 2.5L division, while John Morton led Datsun to the championship title of the "Two-Five Challenge".
The 2011 Trans-Am Series was the 43rd season of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series, a class of racing that straddles the line between sports car and stock car auto racing.
SCCA Pro Racing is the pro racing division of the Sports Car Club of America. SCCA Pro Racing was formed in 1963, the company is a fully owned subsidiary of SCCA.
The 1989 Trans-Am Series was the 24th running of the Sports Car Club of America's premier series. The year marked a new era in Trans Am, with American branded automobiles with American V8 engines, regardless of what vehicle was being used. For example, the Buick Somerset came with a three-liter V6 at best, but was entered with a V8 in the series. This new "American muscle revival" era would last for eleven seasons, after which the Italian manufacturer Qvale would win the championship.
The 2000 BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series was the 35th season of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. 2000 marked the end of the "American muscle revival" era that had begun in 1989, with Italian manufacturer Qvale winning the championship. It would also mark the rise of Rocketsports Racing's dominance using Jaguar XKRs, which would continue until the series dissolved in 2006, after which team owner Paul Gentilozzi would switch to the American Le Mans Series. The season also marked the final victory for Pontiac in Trans Am, with a win at Texas.
The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It is a result of a merger between two existing North American sports car racing series, the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series. At its inception, the name was United SportsCar Championship, which subsequently changed to IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2016. Rolex SA's Tudor brand was the championship's title sponsor in 2014 and 2015, and since 2016 WeatherTech has served as title sponsor.
The 2020 Trans-Am Series season is the 52nd running of the Trans-Am Series. The National Championship began on March 1 and will run for twelve rounds. Within this championship, a Northern Cup and Southern Cup are also awarded consisting of the point totals from certain rounds for drivers who are not running the full season. A separate West Coast Championship will also be held with some rounds separate from the national series and some together.
Paul Gentilozzi