Grand Am Pro Racing - Writing The Next Chapter

Circle track and drag racing tend to dominate today's motorsports news, but there is another form of competition in which today's Chevys are finding success—sports car racing. In 2011, both the Grand-Am and SCCA Pro Trans-Am series provided a venue that pitted Camaros against some of the world's best known (and most expensive) nameplates.

Entering its 13th season in 2012, Grand-Am road racing can be seen on TV on historic road courses throughout North America. With its exotic Daytona prototypes and production-based GT-series cars running together, the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 is the top of the food chain in this series. Grand-Am's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) also races two different classes simultaneously with the Grand Sport (GS) and Street Tuner (ST) divisions. Running within both the Grand Touring and Grand Sport classes, fans were thrilled to see Camaros run—and win—against BMW, Ferrari, Porsche, Subaru, Mazda, Dodge, and Ford.

The Rolex GT class features the fastest stock-appearing cars. Autohaus Motorsports came up short by just 2 points in the championship race in Grand Touring with its #88 Camaro driven by Bill Lester and Jordan Taylor. The team won at VIR and placed Second at Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, and Birmingham.

The Rolex GT class features the fastest stock-appearing cars. Autohaus Motorsports came up

Chevrolet won the Rolex Grand Touring Engine Manufacturer's standings in '11, but missed the overall season championship by just two points, as Bill Lester and Jordon Taylor co-drove the #88 Autohaus Motorsports Camaro to one win and three podium finishes. On the Continental Tire Grand Sport side, Stevenson Motorsports broke through to win two events, with John Edwards and Matt Bell driving while finishing Seventh overall. Mitchum Motorsports also placed in the top 10 in season championship points.

On the SCCA side, Chevrolet has had a distinguished history since 1966, particularly in the renowned Trans-Am series. Tony Ave of Maiden, North Carolina, won his second consecutive season title in Trans-Am at Road Atlanta's season finale in the #4 Lamers Racing/Beebe Racing/Optech/PME Corvette. At the same event, Amy Ruman became the first woman to win in Trans-Am's 45-year history while driving a Corvette. In the new Trans-Am TA2 class, Camaros dominated the series as Greg Rodgers won the season opener at Sebring in a 2011 Camaro. Despite breaking early on in the final race, Bob Stretch of Arlington, Texas, still won the season championship by nearly 200 points in his #98 Fix Rim Mobile Wheel Repair Camaro.

Seeing a Camaro SS on the high banks of Daytona with world-class drivers competing against some of the best known sports cars has brought international attention back to American muscle. The #57 of Stevenson Motorsports finished in the Top 10 in the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class last year.
Seeing a Camaro SS on the high banks of Daytona with world-class drivers competing against
Chevys dominated the winner’s circle in Trans-Am TA2 during 2011 with Porsche being the only other marque to grab a victory. Bob Stretch of Arlington, Texas (at right), ran this Camaro in the SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am TA2 series and won the class championship by nearly 200 points over Bob Preitzel of Richfield, Wisconsin, who raced a Monte Carlo.
Chevys dominated the winner’s circle in Trans-Am TA2 during 2011 with Porsche being the on
Amy Ruman of Kent, Ohio, came on strong toward the end of 2011 to win at Road Atlanta to become the first woman to ever have a victory in the 45-year history of Trans-Am road racing. Amy is a past SCCA champion and ran a combined schedule in GT-1 and Trans-Am competition. She finished Third overall in Trans-Am points last year.
Amy Ruman of Kent, Ohio, came on strong toward the end of 2011 to win at Road Atlanta to b

Handling balance is critical in road racing, which is why many of the top teams scale their cars at the track to set the optimum static weight distribution and cross-weight percentage. Teams will change springs, adjust shock settings, switch sway bars, reset anti-roll bars and move ballast around in the car to find the right handling combination for each particular track.
Handling balance is critical in road racing, which is why many of the top teams scale thei
The Virginia-based Mitchum Motorsports team (right) finished ninth overall in Grand-Am’s CTSCC Grand Sport points during 2011 with a Camaro SS built by Riley Technologies. While the car retains the LS3 V-8, a Bosch 4.3 ECU is used for engine management while info from a Motec data acquisition system is used for racecar setup.
The Virginia-based Mitchum Motorsports team (right) finished ninth overall in Grand-Am’s C
Stevenson Motorsports also competes in Grand-Am’s CTSCC Grand-Am class where they have steadily improved since the Gen V Camaro was introduced. The team won two races last year at Road America and Laguna Seca while finishing seventh overall in the championship standings.
Stevenson Motorsports also competes in Grand-Am’s CTSCC Grand-Am class where they have ste

There are plenty of Vettes in Grand-Am racing, too. Marsh Racing ran for years in NASCAR’s Busch series before making the switch to the Rolex GT road racing in the #31 Corvette. Eric Curran and John Heinricy co-drove the car to a win at Road America in 2011 and placed 12th overall in team championship points.
There are plenty of Vettes in Grand-Am racing, too. Marsh Racing ran for years in NASCAR’s
North Carolina’s Tony Ave brought Chevrolet its first SCCA Pro Trans-Am championship since 1998 two years ago and successfully defended his title last year behind the wheel of a Corvette. Ave has also competed in Grand-Am, NASCAR, ARCA, and Indy Lights.
North Carolina’s Tony Ave brought Chevrolet its first SCCA Pro Trans-Am championship since
Canadian Ashley McCalmont shared the wheel with Eric Curran in the #00 CKS Autosport Camaro SS, while Dave Mundy and Tony Rivera drove the #01 car. The cars finished 14th and 16th respectively out of the 53 teams that ran for points.
Canadian Ashley McCalmont shared the wheel with Eric Curran in the #00 CKS Autosport Camar