The race was brought about as a replacement to the annual 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, which was canceled in 2020 due to New York state COVID-19 travel and gathering restrictions.[2] In late August, Tire Rack was announced as the title sponsor of the event.[3] After fan entry was prohibited at the previous round at VIR, spectators were allowed to attend the event, albeit subject to strict COVID-19 restrictions, including a lack of paddock access and facemask mandates.[4]
On August 27, 2020, IMSA released their latest technical bulletin, outlining BoP for the race.[5] In DPi, the lone change was a 15 kilogram weight reduction for the Cadillac. Similarly in GTLM, a 20 kilogram weight increase for the Porsche was the only adjustment made. In GTD, the Aston Martin received a 7.1 kilowatt increase to its average power delta, alongside increases to its turbocharger boost ratio. Several GTD cars also underwent fuel capacity adjustments. The Aston Martin, BMW, and Ferrari all received slight increases, while the Lamborghini received a one liter fuel capacity decrease.
A total of 28 cars took part in the event, split across four classes. 8 were entered in DPi, 2 in LMP2, 6 in GTLM, and 12 in GTD. Due to the endurance nature of the event, many teams drafted in a third driver, with teams in the LMP2 and GTD classes obligated to do so. Tristan Vautier, after running the majority of the early season with JDC-Miller Motorsports' #85 entry, was entered as a third driver in the #5. As a result, Stephen Simpson returned to the #85 to partner Matheus Leist.[7] The preliminary LMP2 class list featured four entries, which reduced to two by the time the green flag dropped. Starworks Motorsport withdrew early, and were followed by Performance Tech Motorsports after travel restrictions prohibited driver Cameron Cassels from traveling to and from his native Canada.[8] In GTD, the third driver demands forced AIM Vasser Sullivan to split the championship-contending duo of Aaron Telitz and Jack Hawksworth, placing Telitz in the #12 and leaving Hawksworth in the #14.[9]GRT Grasser Racing Team also returned to IMSA competition, after most recently competing in the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona. They fielded a Lamborghini for Richard Heistand, Steijn Schothorst, and Richard Westbrook.[7]
Practice
There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, both on Friday. The first session lasted one hour on Friday morning while the second session lasted 75 minutes on Friday afternoon.[10]
Friday's evening qualifying was broken into three sessions, with one session for the DPi and LMP2, GTLM, and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes each, and a ten minute interval between the sessions.[10] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (LMP2/GTD) classes requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put DPis ahead of the LMP2, GTLM, and GTD cars.[21]
The second session was for cars in the GTLM class. Nick Tandy qualified on pole driving the #911 car for Porsche GT Team, beating Antonio García in the #3 Corvette Racing entry by less than twenty-hundredths of a second. All cars in class qualified within two tenths of the pole time.[23]
1 The No. 77 Mazda Motorsports entry initially qualified fourth for the DPi class. However, the team changed engines after qualifying. By IMSA rules, the entry was moved to the rear of the DPi field on the starting grid.[28]
2 The No. 18 Era Motorsport entry was moved to the back of the LMP2 field as per Article 40.1.4 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).[21]
3 The No. 912 Porsche GT Team entry was moved to the back of the GTLM field as per Article 40.1.4 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).[21]
4 The No. 25 BMW Team RLL entry was moved to the back of the GTLM field as per Article 40.1.4 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).[21]
5 The No. 24 BMW Team RLL entry was moved to the back of the GTLM field as per Article 40.1.4 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).[21]
6 The No. 23 Heart of Racing Team entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 40.1.4 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).[21]
Race
Post-race
The result kept Briscoe and van der Zande atop the DPi Drivers' Championship with 150 points. Jarvis and Nunez dropped from third to fifth while Derani advanced from fourth to third.[29] As a result of winning the race, Kelly took the lead of the LMP2 Drivers' Championship with 98 points. Merriman and Tilley advanced from fourth to second.[29] The result kept Antonio García and Jordan Taylor atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 191 points. De Phillippi and Spengler advanced from sixth to third as a result of winning the race while Bamber and Vanthoor dropped from second to fifth. Edwards and Krohn moved to fourth after being fifth coming into Road Atlanta.[29] As a result of winning the race, Farnbacher and McMurry took the lead of the GTD Drivers' Championship with 150 points. Hawksworth dropped from first to third while Hardwick and Long advanced from sixth to fifth.[29] Cadillac and Chevrolet continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Acura took the lead of the GTD Manufactures' Championship.[29] Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R and Corvette Racing kept their respective advantages in the their respective of Teams' Championships. PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports and Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian became the leaders of their respective class Teams' Championships with five rounds remaining in the season.[29]
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