Grand-Am Logo

About Us

GRAND-AM Road Racing was established in 1999 to return stability to major league sports car road racing in North America. As the organization begins its 10th season of competition in 2009, GRAND-AM is universally regarded as one of the world's most competitive road racing organizations.

GRAND-AM is located in Daytona Beach, Fla. on the same corporate campus that is also home to NASCAR, International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and Daytona International Speedway. GRAND-AM was acquired by NASCAR Holdings in late 2008 and operates now as one organization, with resources such as marketing, research and public relations fully integrated into the NASCAR framework. GRAND-AM offers a product that features extremely competitive sports car racing on historic road and street circuits and in major market speedways throughout North America.

Sports car racing in North America endured tough and uncertain times for the majority of the 1990s, a far cry from the successful IMSA series of the 1970s and ‘80s. As is often the case in motor racing, sports car racing's decline during this period could basically be traced to uncontrolled technology and its related costs. GRAND-AM has addressed this with sensible and affordable rules that are competition driven but grounded in common sense and stability with a firm commitment to a level playing field.

GRAND-AM's top-tier Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 - which begins its 10th season of competition in 2009 - has established itself as the most competitive professional road racing championship in North America. The Rolex Series Daytona Prototype category has attracted the attention of superstar drivers and universally recognized teams through its extremely raceable and relatively affordable format, and has revolutionized sports car racing with plentiful battles at the front of the field and close finishes in virtually every race.

Like the Daytona Prototype class that has redefined prototype sports car racing, the Rolex Series GT class has done the same for high-performance, production-based sports car racing. With an eye toward the cost-containment and close competition that has propelled the popularity of the Daytona Prototype class, the GT category provides a stable battleground for the world's top automobile manufacturers. Perhaps best of all, the Rolex Series' two-class format allows race fans watching from the grandstands or on television and the media covering the sport to follow the action with just two easy-to-distinguish classes of race cars - Daytona Prototypes and GT. The GRAND-AM KONI Sports Car Challenge, featuring straight-from-the-showroom American muscle cars and the hottest imports, is also back in 2009 for its 10th season of competition under the Grand-Am banner.

GRAND-AM races at some of the world's most prestigious venues - Daytona, Montreal and Watkins Glen - and has taken the role of a top annual attraction at some of the newest venues in the industry such as Miller Motorsports Park, Barber Motorsports Park, Virginia International Raceway and New Jersey Motorsports Park.

GRAND-AM is also making a standard out of the newest form of circuit racing - "Stadium Road Racing" - on the road course layouts at tracks like Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Rolex Series is also home to some of the best and most recognized names in motorsports - Scott Pruett, Max Angelelli, Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty and more - and is a road racing showcase for NASCAR notables such as Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Casey Mears and AJ Allmendinger. Open-wheel stars like Buddy Rice, Scott Dixon, Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti, Ryan Briscoe, Darren Manning and many others will also make spotlight appearances in the Rolex Series this season.

RETURN TO TOP

Rolex Watch USA Involvement

Rolex Watch USA LogoLong known as the benchmark for quality, durability and reliability, Rolex is one of the world's most recognizable names. For six years, Rolex Watch USA has been the title sponsor of GRAND-AM's premier series. Anchored by its support of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Rolex is synonymous with legendary events throughout the world that test the endurance of their participants.

"GRAND-AM is thrilled to have a prestigious company like Rolex as the title sponsor of our series," GRAND-AM President Roger Edmondson said. "We firmly believe that working with Rolex has contributed to the growth of sports car racing in this country. We are thrilled with their continued support."

Each year, Rolex Series drivers in both the Daytona Prototype and GT classes compete for the highly coveted, specially engraved, steel and gold Daytona Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Rolex watch.

RETURN TO TOP