FONTANA, Calif. (October 4, 2001) --- California Speedway President Bill Miller and Grand American Road Racing Association President Roger Edmondson announced today that the inaugural event on California Speedway’s new road course will be a 400-mile sports car race on Saturday, March 23, 2002, in conjunction with the speedway’s new Indy Racing League event.
“The excitement of sports car racing returns to Southern California,” said Miller. “The tradition of sports car racing in our area reached its pinnacle at the old Riverside International Raceway with the likes of Roger Penske and Dan Gurney turning laps and winning races on the famed road circuit. We look forward to bringing the thrill of sports car racing back to an area where high-performance vehicles and sports car clubs are extremely popular.”
The speedway is currently finalizing the construction of its new road course, which also utilizes part of the existing two-mile oval. The speedway is working closely with IRL and Grand-Am officials regarding the weekend event schedule and the logistical aspects of converting the venue to host both series.
“There will be some movement of temporary barriers near the entrance from the oval to the infield road course off the backstretch and the same for the exit from the infield to the oval near turn four,” said Miller. “In developing and constructing the temporary barriers, we have a product that can be moved and placed in a relatively short amount of time.”
The Grand-Am Series was started in 2000. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series features The Rolex Sports Car Series, complete with two categories of competition - SportsRacing Prototypes and GT cars. The other series under the Grand-Am umbrella is the Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Championship, featuring competition in the Grand Sport and Sport Touring categories. These cars are today’s highest performing showroom cars with liberal modifications.
California Speedway joins a growing list of venues hosting the Grand-Am Series, including Daytona International Speedway, home of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, as well as Miami-Homestead Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Watkins Glen International, to name a few.
