page_title: Sports car racing
section_title: 2000s – Resurgence in the US
hierarchical_section_title: Sports car racing / History / 2000s – Resurgence in the US
caption_attribution_description: This is an image of the #1 &amp; #2 Audi R8 LMP1 cars racing in the Grand Prix of Atlanta at Road Atlanta on April 17, 2005.Audi_start
context_page_description: 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 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.
  A type of hybrid between the purism of open-wheelers and the familiarity of touring car racing, this style is often associated with the annual Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race. First run in 1923, Le Mans is one of the oldest motor races still in existence. Other classic but now defunct sports car races include the Italian classics, the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia, and the Mexican Carrera Panamericana. Most top class sports car races emphasise endurance, reliability, and strategy, over pure speed.
context_section_description: The debut of the SpeedVision television network brought a resurgence of interest in sports car racing in the US, with the network originally showing a large amount of sports car racing and sports car related programming before being replaced by Fox Sports.
  The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series; the European races eventually became the closely related Le Mans Series, both of which mix prototypes and GTs; the FIA remains more interested in its own GT and GT3 championships, with the ACO's rules the basis for the LMS and ALMS. The Le Mans Prototype is somewhat reminiscent of the old Can Am prototype.
  Further splits in the American scene saw the Grand American Road Racing Association form a separate series, the Rolex Sports Car Series, with its own GT and prototype rules aimed at providing cheaper, lower-cost racing for independent teams. Grand Am's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, a support series for the Rolex Series, provides a similar series to the old Trans Am Series, mixing conventional sports cars and touring cars. Due to Grand Am's affiliation with NASCAR, many NASCAR drivers occasionally participate in the Rolex Sports Car Series. Max Papis is a notable example in that he was a road racer prior to his tenure in the Sprint Cup Series. Many of these drivers only participate in the 24 Hours of Daytona.
  The original Trans-Am Series dissolved in 2006, but returned to action in 2009 with tube frame TA1 and TA2 divisions racing with production-based TA3-American and TA3-International divisions. In addition, the SCCA continues to provide a major support series for Trans-Am. This series, known as the SCCA World Challenge, consists of a one-hour race for each round, combining three classes: GT (Chevrolet Corvette, Aston Martin DB9, etc.), "GTS" (Acura TSX, BMW 3 Series, etc.; replaced the former touring car class), and Touring Car (a "showroom stock" class similar to Grand Am's Continental Challenge). The Trans Am series returned in 2009, but has yet to establish a television contract.
caption: 2005 Grand Prix of Atlanta
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