With NASCAR, IndyCar and Formula 1 all off this weekend, IMSA will take center stage at Road America. This year, Road America is part of the Michelin Endurance Cup, meaning that the main show on Sunday (Aug. 2) is a six-hour race.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix
There are 54 teams entered in this weekend’s Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix, equal to the car count from June at Watkins Glen. The last time out, the GTP class was not in action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The GTP class has 11 teams entered, the same as at Watkins Glen. Since this is a six-hour race, teams have the choice of running two or three-driver lineups. Only JDC-Miller MotorSports and Action Express Racing have three-driver lineups this weekend. Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian had three drivers at Watkins Glen, but Kakunoshin Ohta is unavailable due to racing in the Autobacs SuperGT Championship at Fuji Speedway.
Jack Aitken enters Road America with a 203-point lead over JDC-Miller MotorSports’ Laurin Heinrich with three races to go. MSR’s Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly are third, then Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr.
In LMP2, there are 12 teams entered, up from nine at CTMP. Era Motorsport is back on the grid after skipping the last race. Intersport Racing is also back after missing CTMP after suffering significant damage in multiple incidents at Watkins Glen.
For this weekend, Intersport will have a new driver in the fold in Max van der Snel, who will drive in place of Seth Lucas. Van der Snel, who will be making his WeatherTech debut, is full-time in the European Le Mans Series’ LMP3 class for Eurointernational alongside Matt Bell and Douwe Dedecker. As of now, he is ninth in points with a pair of fourth-place finishes. However, those finishes sandwich a disqualification at Paul Ricard for illegal assistance in the pit lane.
JDC-Miller MotorSports’ is also fielding their No. 79 for Josh Burdon, Sennan Fielding and Gerry Kraut. JDC-Miller MotorSports is based out of Chaska, Minn., which makes Road America their home race.
As of now, CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s George Kurtz and Alex Quinn have a 70-point lead over Inter Europol Competition’s Jeremy Clarke and Tom Dillmann, who won last time out at CTMP. AO Racing’s Dane Cameron and PJ Hyett are third.
GTD Pro has 12 teams entered, up from 10 at CTMP. The extra entries are the Michelin Endurance Cup teams from Manthey Racing (“Grello”), Risi Competizione and Triarsi Competizione.
Paul Miller Racing’s Connor de Phillippi and Neil Verhagen currently have a 108-point lead over Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner. AO Racing’s Harry King and Nick Tandy are third in their Porsche.
In GTD, there are 19 teams entered, up from 13 at CTMP. Unlike GTD Pro and GTP, three-driver lineups are required here.
Teams that are back this week include AF Corse, Triarsi Competizione’s No. 023, Rennsport One, Lone Star Racing and Manthey Racing’s No. 912.
In addition, YRB Racing’s Aston Martin has switched back to the GTD class after running GTD Pro at CTMP. Marius Fossard is back in the car.
For Rennsport One, only Jan Heylen was listed on the preliminary entry list. He will be joined this weekend by Devlin DeFrancesco and Ryan Yardley.
Yardley has been racing this year in SRO America competition. He won GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Race No. 1 at Circuit of the Americas back in April.
Meanwhile, DeFrancesco has been idle this year. Last year, he was full-time in the NTT IndyCar Series for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, where he finished 26th in points. This weekend will mark his first IMSA start since the Motul Petit Le Mans in 2024, where he finished second for Forte Racing.
At Gradient Racing, Joey Hand is back in the No. 66 Ford Mustang after missing Watkins Glen. Hand suffered a broken pelvis in a karting crash earlier this year.
In GTD points, The Heart of Racing’s Eduardo Barrichello currently has a 92-point lead over Vasser Sullivan’s Benjamin Pedersen and Aaron Telitz. Turner Motorsport’s Patrick Gallagher and Robby Foley are third.
The IMSA Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix is scheduled to go green at 11:40 a.m. ET. Coverage will stream live on Peacock starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Road America 120
There are 42 teams entered in Saturday’s two-hour Pilot Challenge race at Road America. This is equal to the 42 cars that raced at CTMP.
There are 28 cars entered in the Grand Sport class, down one from CTMP. Teams that raced in Canada that aren’t entered are Czabok Simpson Motorsports’ No. 3 Porsche and Shopify Racing’s Porsche.
Madusa Motorsports is back with their Aston Martin after missing CTMP. LAP Motorsports has changed numbers from No. 30 to No. 6. The team’s No. 30 was heavily damaged in a crash at CTMP that saw Scott Thomson roll the car over.
In GS, McCumbee-McAleer Racing’s Nate Cicero and Robert Noaker have a 30-point lead over Ibiza Farm Motorsports’ Michael Cooper and Moisey Uretsky. AutoTechnic Racing’s Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer are third.
In TCR, there are 14 teams entered, up one from CTMP. Returning teams to the grid are HART and RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate, which has missed the past couple of races. Don Yount will drive the No. 31 alongside Luke Rumburg.
For Yount, this will be his first IMSA start since 2023 in Porsche Carrera Cup North America. It will be his first Pilot Challenge start since 2020.
Stallion Motorsports’ No. 77 Cupra is not entered this week. Celso Neto, who has driven the car full-time this year, has moved over to the Gou Racing No. 55 in place of Eduardo Gou.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the Frontstretch email newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the Frontstretch Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.