2014 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Explained

The 2014 IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge was the fifteenth season of the showroom stock series and the first under the International Motor Sports Association sanctioning body after the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series was merged with IMSA's American Le Mans Series. The series remained unaffected aside from the addition of IMSA to the beginning of its name.

In the Grand Sport class, Fall-Line Motorsports pairing Trent Hindman and John Edwards won two races during the season, but due to Edwards not completing a mandatory period behind the wheel at Kansas Speedway, Hindman was crowned sole champion by 15 points ahead of Edwards. Stevenson Motorsports drivers Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell were next in the championship, finishing just one point behind Edwards, despite winning one more race than the Fall-Line team. TRG-AMR North America's Kris Wilson was the only other driver to win multiple races; he won at Kansas with James Davison, while he also won at Virginia International Raceway, sharing with Max Riddle. Other teams to win races were the second Fall-Line team of Shelby Blackstock and Ashley Freiberg, Rum Bum Racing pairing Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb, Matt Bell and Andy Lally for Stevenson Motorsports, CKS Autosport's Lawson Aschenbach and Eric Curran, while the season finale was won by Multimatic Motorsports with drivers Ian James and Billy Johnson.

In Street Tuner, there was a solo champion like in the Grand Sport class. Murillo Racing's Eric Foss and Jeff Mosing competed for the majority of the season together – with two wins at Daytona and Virginia International Raceway – but Mosing missed the Laguna Seca event due to back spasms. Thus, Foss won the championship by eight points ahead of Team Sahlen driver Wayne Nonnamaker, who did not win a race but finished in second place on four occasions. Mosing finished in third place in the championship, a further three points in arrears. The most wins were taken by Compass360 Racing pairing Ryan Eversley and Kyle Gimple, who won three races during the season – including the last two races – but their other performances were only good enough for ninth in the drivers' championship. Randy Pobst and Andrew Carbonell took back-to-back victories for Freedom Autosport at Sebring and Laguna Seca, while other race victories were taken by Chad Gilsinger and Michael Valiante at Kansas, Canadian duo Remo Ruscitti and Adam Isman on home soil at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Cody Ellsworth and Corey Lewis at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Terry Borcheller and Mike LaMarra at Road America. A second Freedom Autosport car was able to win at Lime Rock, when Tom Long shared a car with Liam Dwyer – a staff sergeant with the United States Marines – who was racing with a prosthesis on his left leg after losing it when he stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan, three years prior.

Schedule

Official test sessions

Two official test sessions were scheduled:

Race schedule

A twelve-round schedule was announced on October 11, 2013.[1]

Round Circuit Location Date
1January 24
2March 14
3May 3
4May 24
5June 7
6June 28
7July 12
8July 25
9August 9
10August 23
11September 20
12October 3

Results

[2]

RoundDateEvent NameCircuitGS Winning CarST Winning Car
GS Winning DriversST Winning Drivers
1January 24BMW Performance 200Daytona International Speedway
(Road Course)
BMW M3BMW 328i
Shelby Blackstock
Ashley Freiberg
Eric Foss
Jeff Mosing
2March 15SebringSebring International RacewayChevrolet Camaro Z/28.RMazda MX-5
Robin Liddell
Andrew Davis
Randy Pobst
Andrew Carbonell
3May 3Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge
Powered by Mazda
Mazda Raceway Laguna SecaBMW M3Mazda MX-5
John Edwards
Trent Hindman
Randy Pobst
Andrew Carbonell
4May 24Northeast Grand PrixLime Rock Park[3] Porsche 911 Carrera SMazda MX-5
Nick Longhi
Matt Plumb
Tom Long
Liam Dwyer
5June 7The Grand Prix of KansasKansas Speedway
(Road Course)
Aston Martin VantageHonda Civic Si
James Davison
Kris Wilson
Chad Gilsinger
Michael Valiante
6June 28Continental Tire 150Watkins Glen InternationalChevrolet Camaro Z/28.RHonda Civic Si
Robin Liddell
Andrew Davis
Ryan Eversley
Kyle Gimple
7July 12Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix
Presented by Hawk Performance
Canadian Tire Motorsport ParkChevrolet Camaro Z/28.RPorsche Cayman
Andy Lally
Matt Bell
Remo Ruscitti
Adam Isman
8July 25Brickyard Sports Car ChallengeIndianapolis Motor Speedway
(Road Course)
Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.RPorsche Cayman
Robin Liddell
Andrew Davis
Cody Ellsworth
Corey Lewis
9August 9Continental Tire Road Race ShowcaseRoad AmericaChevrolet Camaro Z/28.RBMW 128i
Lawson Aschenbach
Eric Curran
Terry Borcheller
Mike LaMarra
10August 23Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIRVirginia International RacewayAston Martin VantagePorsche Cayman
Max Riddle
Kris Wilson
Eric Foss
Jeff Mosing
11September 19Lone Star Le MansCircuit of the AmericasBMW M3Honda Civic Si
John Edwards
Trent Hindman
Ryan Eversley
Kyle Gimple
12October 3Petit Le MansRoad AtlantaMustang Boss 302RHonda Civic Si
Ian James
Billy Johnson
Ryan Eversley
Kyle Gimple
Notes

News

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Article with no caption in the gallery. 10 March 2014.
  2. Web site: Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Schedule. International Motor Sports Association, LLC. May 24, 2014.
  3. Separate races for GS and ST were run at Lime Rock.
  4. Web site: IMSA Official Home | Race results, schedule, standings, news, drivers.