I see they quietly added Kansas Speedway..... Haven't seen this mentioned anywhere. Something tells me they knew it wouldn't be a popular decision and didn't want to cause a debate by announcing it independently.
Kansas...heh. Golly, I wonder why. Oh yeah! International Speedway Corporation located at 1 Daytona Boulevard Daytona Beach, Florida Merger of equals...bwahahahaha
Second that. :frown2: Considering who owns it I was shocked when Kansas wasn't on the list right away. This is, unfortunately, an expected disappointment.
A Tudor race at Kansas sucks, but why would it surprise you that half of the permanent tracks in the upcoming season are owned by two of the major parties that are combining forces to create the series in the first place? They aren't doing it just for fun, they want it to be profitable not only for the teams but for them too... This is their business after all.
Not a surprise to me. In fact, that's one reason I was so surprised to see Kansas left off the earlier list. I foolishly hoped it would stay that way. Assumed if they added another track it would be one of the good ones they'd left out the first time around. Shoulda known better. Maybe it's just personal prejudice but I feel like if you asked teams and drivers which of the tracks on the current list they'd most like to see deleted, an overwhelming majority would choose Kansas. The other ISC- and Panoz-owned tracks on the list are also all at or near the top of competitors' favorite tracks lists while Kansas is a track chosen, IMO, despite lack of interest because it's owned by ISC and it needs business.
Hey the racing economy is not good right now, not an overflow of cash to put in a pipeline like there has been in the past... These folks need to make cash asap of their investment. But there is nothing about a sports car race at Kansas speedway that would make me want to buy a ticket, there are definitely better venues to build sports car fans at.... It probably will be a one an done event there.
In that regard it's even worse than in could be. The only TUSC class that will run in Kansas is PC! I don't quite understand the IMSA Prototype Lites lash-up. Kansas Added to 2014 Schedule (sportscar365.com)
Reads as...lets toss a bunch of odd new stuff against the wall and see what sticks. Most, if not all, of this carp will be in a heap at the floor/wall intersection.
PC Teams Weigh in on Entry Caps, Schedule Changes (sportscar365.com) Couple snips below, much more in the full story here.
Changes Coming to IMSA Safety Team Oy, the NASCARization of sporty car racing is reaching deep. Rest of Article at - Changes Coming to IMSA Safety Team - Sportscar365
Don't see a problem myself. Been plenty of serious accidents at the Grand Am races with no issues. I think the criticism is short-changing the many very qualified volunteers that man those races.
United SportsCar Championshp entry lists for Sebring, Daytona tests released, and they fit on a Post-It note Just three teams sign up for Sebring test, six for Daytona. t's gotta get better, right? Yes, it will. But those looking for stones to throw at the new Tudor United SportsCar Championship -- created by combining Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series -- will find at least a medium-sized pebble by looking at the initial roster of entries for the Sebring test, which is barely two weeks away, and the Daytona test one day later. On the list for the Sebring test, Nov. 16-17, is just three teams: Extreme Speed's Honda-powered prototype, and a pair of GT Daytona teams, Magnus Racing (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) and Scuderia Corsa (Ferrari 458). The only new driver in an unfamiliar car is Ryan Dalziel, who has signed on with Extreme after leaving Starworks, which is still trying to decide what to do for 2014. At Daytona (Nov. 19-20), there are six entries, but three are Extreme, Magnus and Scuderia Corsa. Enzo Potolicchio's 8Star team is testing a LMP Challenge car -- that's the spec series with an Oreca chassis and a Chevrolet V8 engine -- with Potolicchio co-driving with up-and-comer Sean Rayhall. 8Star has also entered its Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype car, with Gustavo Yacaman as the driver -- he is the Colombian who drove mostly for Michael Shank's team in 2013. Both 8Star cars are sponsored by the Industrial Bank of Venezuela. How much the recent controversy involving Venezuela's intention to clamp down on state-supplied race sponsorship will affect Venezuelan driver Potolicchio remains to be seen. The sixth team on the Daytona test list is the Highway to Help Riley-BMW of Jim Pace and Byron Defoor, a part-time effort in car that isn't likely to see many of the performance updates the series is suggesting for the Daytona Prototype teams to keep up with the rival LMP2 cars. Addressing that, the sanctioning body continues to tweak the rules with the likely intent of making it less expensive to upgrade the DP cars to performance-balance them with the LMP2 entries. A final version of those rules would likely result in a sudden addition of some teams to the Sebring and Daytona tests. Worth noting, too, is that some of the better-funded teams prefer to test in private, so as not to tip their hand to their competitors before they have to. Corvette Racing, for example, has a private test for the new C7.R scheduled for December at Sebring, and Porsche tested there on Halloween. Source: United SportsCar Championshp entry lists for Sebring, Daytona tests released, and they fit on a Post-It note - Autoweek Racing USCC news - Autoweek
If they did it would help that series and I would get to see a race. That Kansas race was so boring I turned it off. It's the first time in over a decade I've turned off a sports car race.
The only reason they are going to Kansas is that International Speedway Corp owns the track. Who is International Speedway Corp you ask. They own and run an bunch of tracks, Watkins Glen, Daytona, Michigan, Kansas, Phoenix, Darlington and others. For more see International Speedway Corporation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Disclaimer: ISC, through Watkins Glen did sponsor M/A for a period this year to promote the Vintage at the Glen where Mini was the featured marque.
Looks like manufacturers will be required to pay marketing support for the series, possibly well into the 7-figure range, before they'll be eligible for Manufacturer titles. Might be a bit of a connection between this and low participation in the upcoming tests (see above). [full article at link below] Inside IMSA’s Manufacturer Marketing Strategy (sportscar365.com) Full article here.