North American Championship Racing Series

NACRS logo

The **North American Championship Racing Series**, commonly known as **NACRS**, is a mixed-style racing series held primarily within North America. Founded in 2004, the series is sanctioned by the North American Motor Racing Association (NAMRA) and competes primarily on purpose-built road courses, although it has also raced on temporary street courses on occasion throughout its history. NACRS is split into two distinct classes that share the track together in multi-class racing.

## Origins

The North American Championship Racing Series was founded in 2004 as a result of growing interest in road course racing from late model short track drivers and sportscar racing teams wanting a use for cars that were no longer homologated by FICA. The inaugural season featured late model stock cars and a wide variety of GT sportscars from Chevrolet, Dodge, Porsche and Lamborghini. In 2007, complaints about the difference in speed between the GTO and GTU classes were raised after multiple incidents in previous seasons involving both classes of cars, causing team expenses to increase. In response, NAMRA created a new homologation for GTO cars that offered better handling and more power with tube-frame chassis made specifically for road course racing, and spec-racing V8 naturally aspirated engines. In 2016, GTU homologation rules shifted towards GT4 cars which no longer had FICA-homologation status. This created a large shift in the series, as for the first time in the series' operations the GTO Class cars completed faster lap times than GTU cars. The GTO Class also found a resurgence in participation, with the GTO class frequently having the most entrants out of the two classes. As a result, the NACRS underwent a full restructuring process with changes made to championship points, prize pool distributions, car regulations and race formats.

## Current Series Format

The NACRS features tube-frame late model stock cars in the Grand Touring Over 5 Liters (GTO) Class, while production-based sportscars occupy the Grand Touring Under 5 Liters (GTU) Class. Drivers have two qualifying laps with no other drivers on track to determine the grid order for the race. The race is 45 minutes long and uses a rolling start procedure. The drivers who finish in the Top 10 of each class are awarded points, with 1st place being awarded 25 points and 10th receiving one point.

### Schedules

NACRS events take place across a variety of North American road courses and street circuits. The schedules are announced three months before the first race is set to begin. Frequent venues for NACRS races include Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Sonoma Raceway, Road Atlanta and Long Beach Street Circuit.

### Car Specifications

Eligible GTO Class cars are tube-frame chassis late model stock cars equipped with 350 cubic inch V8 engines rated at over 600 horsepower, Hoosier racing slick tires and a four-speed manual transmission. The suspension is similar to oval racing late model cars, using Double A-arm front suspension and truck arm rear suspension. The GTOs must weigh 3000 lbs or more including driver and fluids, with ballast being added in the cockpit to meet minimum weight requirements.

Eligible GTU Class cars are the production-based GT4 sportscars that are no longer homologated by FICA, and must utilize similar aspiration configurations to their previous homologations. The GTUs must weigh 3600 lbs or more including driver and fluids, with ballast and power restrictions being added to ensure a fair balance of performance.

### Event Protocol

NACRS cars carry enough fuel to complete the entire race without refueling. Pit stops are not required, but may be necessary to switch to rain tires or for mechanical repairs. In the event of rain or an on-track incident that requires track marshals to enter the track, a safety car will be dispatched and the running order of the field will be frozen at the time the safety car is deployed. In the case that racing stewards determine the cars must switch to rain tires, a black flag will be waved which freezes the field at that time. Drivers will then enter their pit stall to change tires, and resume their position behind the safety car as it was when the black flag was waved.

### Championships and Awards

NACRS awards a cash prize pool of $20,000 to each class for Driver's Championships and Team Championships. Points for the Driver's Championship in each class are awarded at the end of each race to drivers who finish 1st to 10th in a 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 format. The Team Championships for each class are awarded to teams whose drivers finish 1st to 5th in a 10-7-5-2-1 format. A Rookie of the Year award is decided among drivers in their first year of full-time competition, with the winner being decided by best average finish.