2014 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge


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:
A twelve-round schedule was announced on October 11, 2013.
RoundCircuitLocationDate
1Daytona International SpeedwayDaytona, FloridaJanuary 24
2Sebring International RacewaySebring, FloridaMarch 14
3Mazda Raceway Laguna SecaMonterey, CaliforniaMay 3
4Lime Rock ParkLakeville, ConnecticutMay 24
5Kansas SpeedwayKansas City, KansasJune 7
6Watkins Glen International RacewayWatkins Glen, New YorkJune 28
7Canadian Tire Motorsport ParkBowmanville, OntarioJuly 12
8Indianapolis Motor SpeedwaySpeedway, IndianaJuly 25
9Road AmericaElkhart Lake, WisconsinAugust 9
10Virginia International RacewayAlton, VirginiaAugust 23
11Circuit of the AmericasAustin, TexasSeptember 20
12Road AtlantaBraselton, GeorgiaOctober 3

Results

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

;Notes

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