2014 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge

Last updated
2014 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge
Previous: 2013 Next: 2015

The 2014 IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge was the fifteenth season of the showroom stock series and the first under the International Motor Sports Association sanctioning body after the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series was merged with IMSA's American Le Mans Series. The series remained unaffected aside from the addition of IMSA to the beginning of its name.

Contents

In the Grand Sport class, Fall-Line Motorsports pairing Trent Hindman and John Edwards won two races during the season, but due to Edwards not completing a mandatory period behind the wheel at Kansas Speedway, Hindman was crowned sole champion by 15 points ahead of Edwards. Stevenson Motorsports drivers Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell were next in the championship, finishing just one point behind Edwards, despite winning one more race than the Fall-Line team. TRG-AMR North America's Kris Wilson was the only other driver to win multiple races; he won at Kansas with James Davison, while he also won at Virginia International Raceway, sharing with Max Riddle. Other teams to win races were the second Fall-Line team of Shelby Blackstock and Ashley Freiberg, Rum Bum Racing pairing Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb, Matt Bell and Andy Lally for Stevenson Motorsports, CKS Autosport's Lawson Aschenbach and Eric Curran, while the season finale was won by Multimatic Motorsports with drivers Ian James and Billy Johnson.

In Street Tuner, there was a solo champion like in the Grand Sport class. Murillo Racing's Eric Foss and Jeff Mosing competed for the majority of the season together – with two wins at Daytona and Virginia International Raceway – but Mosing missed the Laguna Seca event due to back spasms. Thus, Foss won the championship by eight points ahead of Team Sahlen driver Wayne Nonnamaker, who did not win a race but finished in second place on four occasions. Mosing finished in third place in the championship, a further three points in arrears. The most wins were taken by Compass360 Racing pairing Ryan Eversley and Kyle Gimple, who won three races during the season – including the last two races – but their other performances were only good enough for ninth in the drivers' championship. Randy Pobst and Andrew Carbonell took back-to-back victories for Freedom Autosport at Sebring and Laguna Seca, while other race victories were taken by Chad Gilsinger and Michael Valiante at Kansas, Canadian duo Remo Ruscitti and Adam Isman on home soil at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Cody Ellsworth and Corey Lewis at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Terry Borcheller and Mike LaMarra at Road America. A second Freedom Autosport car was able to win at Lime Rock, when Tom Long shared a car with Liam Dwyer – a staff sergeant with the United States Marines  – who was racing with a prosthesis on his left leg after losing it when he stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan, three years prior.

Schedule

Official test sessions

Two official test sessions were scheduled:

Race schedule

A twelve-round schedule was announced on October 11, 2013. [1]

RoundCircuitLocationDate
1 Daytona International Speedway Daytona, Florida January 24
2 Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida March 14
3 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California May 3
4 Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Connecticut May 24
5 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas June 7
6 Watkins Glen International Raceway Watkins Glen, New York June 28
7 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Bowmanville, Ontario July 12
8 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana July 25
9 Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 9
10 Virginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia August 23
11 Circuit of the Americas Austin, Texas September 20
12 Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia October 3

Results

[2]

RoundDateEvent NameCircuitGS Winning CarST Winning Car
GS Winning DriversST Winning Drivers
1January 24 BMW Performance 200 Daytona International Speedway
(Road Course)
BMW M3 BMW 328i
Flag of the United States.svg Shelby Blackstock
Flag of the United States.svg Ashley Freiberg
Flag of the United States.svg Eric Foss
Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Mosing
2March 15Sebring Sebring International Raceway Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R Mazda MX-5
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robin Liddell
Flag of the United States.svg Andrew Davis
Flag of the United States.svg Randy Pobst
Flag of the United States.svg Andrew Carbonell
3May 3Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge
Powered by Mazda
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca BMW M3 Mazda MX-5
Flag of the United States.svg John Edwards
Flag of the United States.svg Trent Hindman
Flag of the United States.svg Randy Pobst
Flag of the United States.svg Andrew Carbonell
4May 24Northeast Grand Prix Lime Rock Park [A 1] Porsche 911 Carrera S Mazda MX-5
Flag of the United States.svg Nick Longhi
Flag of the United States.svg Matt Plumb
Flag of the United States.svg Tom Long
Flag of the United States.svg Liam Dwyer
5June 7The Grand Prix of Kansas Kansas Speedway
(Road Course)
Aston Martin Vantage Honda Civic Si
Flag of Australia (converted).svg James Davison
Flag of the United States.svg Kris Wilson
Flag of the United States.svg Chad Gilsinger
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Michael Valiante
6June 28Continental Tire 150 Watkins Glen International Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R Honda Civic Si
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robin Liddell
Flag of the United States.svg Andrew Davis
Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Eversley
Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Gimple
7July 12 Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix
Presented by Hawk Performance
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R Porsche Cayman
Flag of the United States.svg Andy Lally
Flag of the United States.svg Matt Bell
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Remo Ruscitti
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Adam Isman
8July 25Brickyard Sports Car Challenge Indianapolis Motor Speedway
(Road Course)
Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R Porsche Cayman
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robin Liddell
Flag of the United States.svg Andrew Davis
Flag of the United States.svg Cody Ellsworth
Flag of the United States.svg Corey Lewis
9August 9Continental Tire Road Race Showcase Road America Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R BMW 128i
Flag of the United States.svg Lawson Aschenbach
Flag of the United States.svg Eric Curran
Flag of the United States.svg Terry Borcheller
Flag of the United States.svg Mike LaMarra
10August 23Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR Virginia International Raceway Aston Martin Vantage Porsche Cayman
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Max Riddle
Flag of the United States.svg Kris Wilson
Flag of the United States.svg Eric Foss
Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Mosing
11September 19Lone Star Le Mans Circuit of the Americas BMW M3 Honda Civic Si
Flag of the United States.svg John Edwards
Flag of the United States.svg Trent Hindman
Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Eversley
Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Gimple
12October 3 Petit Le Mans Road Atlanta Mustang Boss 302R Honda Civic Si
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ian James
Flag of the United States.svg Billy Johnson
Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Eversley
Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Gimple
Notes
  1. Separate races for GS and ST were run at Lime Rock.

News

Related Research Articles

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing American auto racing team

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that has participated in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana and Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former television talk show host David Letterman, and businessman Mike Lanigan.

Krohn Racing is a professional sports car racing team based in Houston, Texas. The team competes in the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Prototype class, and has competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Intercontinental Le Mans Cup GTE-Amateur class; the American Le Mans Series GT2 class; and the Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype class.

Lehman McGrath Keen III is an American racecar driver born in Dublin, Georgia, who competes in the United SportsCar Championship. He most recently drove the No. 22 Alex Job Racing WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT America in the United SportsCar Championship GTD class with co-driver Cooper MacNeil.

Colin Braun American racing driver

Colin Braun is an American racing driver. He is the 2015 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype Challenge Champion and currently drives the No. 54 Flex-Box/Composite Resources ORECA FLM09 for CORE autosport. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the Xfinity Series. He lives in Harrisburg, North Carolina.

Mark Wilkins (racing driver) Canadian professional racing driver

Mark Wilkins is a Canadian professional racing driver who is currently a factory driver for Hyundai Motorsport and Bryan Herta Autosport (2018-Pres.) participating in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. He previously raced for Acura in Pirelli World Challenge and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The 2009 IMSA Cooper Tires Atlantic Championship season was the thirty-sixth Atlantic Championship season. It was the first full season of the Championship under the sanctioning of the International Motor Sports Association. After a three-way title battle into the final round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, John Edwards became the series' youngest champion, beating Jonathan Summerton on a tie-breaker, after both drivers finished on 182 points. They also finished tied on four victories, but Edwards broke the tie with four second-place finishes compared to Summerton's three.

John Edwards (racing driver) American racing driver

John Michael Edwards is an American professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver.

The 2011 American Le Mans Series season was a multi-event motor racing series for sports racing cars which conform to the technical regulations laid out by the International Motor Sports Association for the American Le Mans Series. It was the thirteenth season of the American Le Mans Series, a sports car racing series that drew original inspiration from the types of racing cars that compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 41st season for the IMSA GT Championship, as this series traces its lineage to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship. The full title of the 2011 series is "the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón" to include the principal sponsor. The season began March 19, 2011 with the 12 Hours of Sebring and ended after nine rounds on October 1 with the Petit Le Mans.

The 2014 IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship (TUSC) was the inaugural season of the International Motor Sports Association's new series created out of a merger of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series and the first to be held under the name as the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. It began with the 24 Hours of Daytona, the first time since the 1997 IMSA GT Championship season that IMSA sanctioned an event at Daytona International Speedway on 25 January and ended on 4 October at Petit Le Mans. It was the 44th overall season of IMSA GT championship racing tracing its lineage to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship.

The 2014 U.S. F2000 National Championship was a season of the U.S. F2000 National Championship, an open wheel auto racing series that is the first step in IndyCar's Road to Indy ladder. It was the fifth full season of the series since its revival in 2010. The National Class merged with the Championship class in 2014, resulting in just one class of competition.

8 Star Motorsports LLC is a sports car racing team founded by racing driver Enzo Potolicchio in 2012. The team currently races in the United SportsCar Championship PC class and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites L1.

Matt Plumb is a racing driver who has previously competed in the Barber Dodge Pro Series and currently races in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Matt Plumb is also team manager of Rum Bum Racing, a sportscar and GT racing team.

The 2015 Pro Mazda Championship was the 17th season in series history. The series consisted of sixteen races at nine tracks, having expanded from fourteen races in 2014; adding races at NOLA Motorsports Park, the Streets of Toronto, Iowa Speedway and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, while dropping races at Houston, Milwaukee and Sonoma Raceway. The season began on March 28 at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and ended on September 13 at Laguna Seca.

Ben Keating American racing driver (born 1971)

Ben Keating is an American amateur racing driver and business owner operating out of Tomball, Texas. Keating is the owner of 20 car auto dealerships across Texas, The Keating Auto Group. Since starting auto racing in 2006, he has competed in many auto races worldwide, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, Twelve hours of Sebring, and most recently the World Endurance Championship. Keating began racing in 2006 after receiving a weekend track driving course as a Christmas present from his wife.

Michael Lira (racing driver) American racing driver

Michael Lira is a Peruvian-American professional stock car racing driver.

Trent Hindman is an American racing driver. Hindman won the 2014 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge in the GS class. He also was selected by BMW Motorsport for their junior program in 2015.

Pato OWard Mexican racing driver

Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion.

Misha Goikhberg Canadian racing driver

Mikhail "Misha" Goikhberg, is a Russian-born Canadian race car driver, currently signed to compete in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Heinricher Racing with MSR Curb-Agajanian.

Ashley Lynn Freiberg is an American racing driver who has competed in open-wheel, sports car and endurance racing. She became the first woman to win a Skip Barber Racing championship title in 2010, and the first female to claim outright race victories in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge and the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Mason Filippi is an American auto racing driver who currently competes in the TCR class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Copeland Motorsports. He previously raced for Bryan Herta Autosport, finishing the Michelin Pilot Challenge in second place in 2019 and third in 2020. Filippi also piloted touring cars in the TC America Series and the Pirelli World Challenge from 2017 to 2019, finishing in the top five of the standings each season. Prior to racing touring cars, he drove Spec Miatas, competing in the Global MX-5 Cup and the Teen Mazda Challenge and winning the 25 Hours of Thunderhill race in 2015 and 2016.

References

  1. "Article with no caption in the gallery". 10 March 2014.
  2. "Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Schedule". International Motor Sports Association, LLC. May 24, 2014.
  3. "IMSA Official Home | Race results, schedule, standings, news, drivers".