America’s Home for Racing will add to its illustrious history with two nights of IMSA action during the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 NASCAR playoff weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT classes will make their ROVAL™ debut Oct. 9 and 10 before the NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 returns on Oct. 11, marking the first time the two series have run at the same event since 2014.
“When Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith first envisioned the ROVAL™, part of that vision included bringing new series to the track in addition to our classic NASCAR Cup Series events,” said Greg Walter, executive vice president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway. “We look forward to working in partnership with IMSA to provide a unique perspective to race fans and a one-of-a-kind challenge to the drivers who will be tasked with tackling this technically innovative course.”
The inaugural two-day IMSA event will include a 60-minute WeatherTech Championship session for both of the series’ GT classes on Friday night and a 100-minute race on Saturday night. Competition will encompass all 17 turns of the technical 2.28-mile course, combining the tight corners of a world-class road course with the high-speed finesse of oval track racing.
“We’re grateful to Marcus Smith, Greg Walter and the team at Charlotte Motor Speedway for providing the opportunity to bring the highly competitive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT classes to the ROVAL™,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “Our teams, drivers and manufacturers will appreciate this chance to acquaint themselves with the unique ROVAL™ circuit, and we expect it will be an entertaining event for race fans.”
The GT Le Mans (GTLM) class will headline the race, bringing the world’s best GT teams and drivers to the ROVAL. GTLM cars such as the Corvette C8.R, Porsche 911 RSR and BMW M8 are eligible to compete not only in the WeatherTech Championship, but also in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The field is expected to include several Le Mans-winning drivers including Jordan Taylor, Antonio Garcia, Tommy Miltner, Oliver Gavin, Earl Bamber, Laurens Vanthoor and Nick Tandy.
The GT Daytona (GTD) class includes world-class race cars prepared by professional race teams, with each team fielding a mix of professional and amateur drivers. Cars from 10 different manufacturers – Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche – are eligible to compete, with drivers behind the wheels such as 2011 NASCAR Cup Series rookie-of-the-year Andy Lally and Bill Auberlen who is currently tied with Scott Pruett atop the all-time IMSA wins list.
The Charlotte ROVAL™ IMSA race will be telecast by NBC Sports with specific time and network details to be announced.
Charlotte Motor Speedway and IMSA continue to work with state/local health officials surrounding options for access to the event for fans during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but no determinations have been made at this time.
ABOUT IMSA:
The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and the IMSA Prototype Challenge, as well as the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, Ferrari Challenge North America and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America one-make series. IMSA – a company within the NASCAR family – is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. More information is available at IMSA.com. Follow IMSA on Twitter (@IMSA), Facebook (facebook.com/imsa) and Instagram (@imsa_racing).
