The 1998 United States Road Racing Championship season was the inaugural season of the revived United States Road Racing Championship run by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). The season involved four classes: Can-Am prototypes and three Grand Touring classes referred to at GT1, GT2, and GT3. Five races were run from January 31, 1998, to August 23, 1998.
Rnd | Race | Distance | Circuit | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rolex 24 at Daytona | 24 Hours | Daytona International Speedway | January 31 February 1 |
2 | Homestead 2 Hours 15 Minutes | 2 Hours 15 Minutes | Homestead-Miami Speedway | May 17 |
3 | U.S. Road Racing Classic | 2 Hours 30 Minutes | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | June 14 |
4 | Sprint PCS Grand Prix of Minnesota | 1 Hour 45 Minutes | Minneapolis street circuit | June 28 |
5 | First Union 6 Hours | 6 Hours | Watkins Glen International | August 23 |
Overall winners in bold.
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built (Prototype) or related to road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is one of the main types of circuit auto racing, alongside open-wheel single-seater racing, touring car racing and stock car racing. Sports car races are often endurance races that are run over relatively large distances, and there is usually a larger emphasis placed on the reliability and efficiency of the car than in some of the other types of auto racing. The FIA World Endurance Championship is an example of a sports car racing series.
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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.
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Wayne Taylor is a South African sports car racing driver and team owner. He won the 1996 and 2005 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 2005 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype drivers' championship. He drove for SunTrust Racing with Max Angelelli. He co-drove in the 2006 International Race of Champions in the United States with Angelelli. Taylor now owns and manages his own team competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
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The 1999 United States Road Racing Championship was the second and final season of the revived United States Road Racing Championship run by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). The season involved four classes: Can-Am prototypes and three Grand Touring classes referred to as GT2, GT3, and GTT. Five races were scheduled from January 30, 1999, to October 2, 1999, but the series was cancelled after three rounds on June 6, 1999.
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João Barbosa is a Portuguese auto racing driver. He currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Sean Creech Motorsport in the LMP3 class. Before the 2021 Six Hours of the Glen, Barbosa's teammate, Lance Willey, left Sean Creech Motorsport, forfeiting their entry in the race.
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