A NASCAR Fan's Introduction to Endurance Racing and the Motul Petit Le Mans

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18-04-2025

You don't have to be a big racing fan to have heard of the Indianapolis 500. The Dayton 500 is almost a household brand. But there's a good chance you've never heard of the Motul Petit Le Mans. It's one of the biggest racing events in the world and it takes place each year at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, the heart of NASCAR country. While most racing fans believe NASCAR and traditional European racing are vastly different, you might be surprised to learn they also have a lot in common.
NASCAR was born out of the southern backwoods moonshine trade, where lead-footed bootleggers tried to outrun 'revenuers' while making their deliveries. When Congress repealed Prohibition in 1933, those boys had to go somewhere to get their speed fix. The racetrack seemed to be the logical place. Enter NASCAR. Founded in 1948 in Daytona Beach, Florida, NASCAR now has one of sport's biggest fan bases in the United States with more than 1,500 races in 48 states, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Europe. But, if you're taking the entire history of auto racing into account, NASCAR is just an upstart.
Almost as soon as someone dropped the first gas-powered internal-combustion engine onto a set of wheels in the 1880's, someone else decided to see how fast it would go. The first organized race happened in 1894 in Paris, France. While the South's contributions to auto racing are colorful and significant, it's Europe that is the true cradle of auto racing. The pivotal moments came in the early 1900's, when the first race tracks were built, and the 1930's, when legendary car makers like Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, and Mercedes-Benz began building cars specifically for racing. Speed was important, but so was endurance. Therein lies the difference between winning in NASCAR and winning an endurance race. Instead of one driver completing 500 miles in the shortest amount of time, multiple drivers combine in teams to complete the most number of laps during a set amount of time.
La Mans, France, hosted the first 24 hours of Le Mans in 1923. There were 35 two-man teams competing in the field made up of 32 cars from France, a Bentley from Great Britain and two Excelsiors from Belgium. It was supposed to be the first in a series of 3-races, with the winner crowned after the third race. Just like the cars that race there, the event at Le Mans has evolved. Some of the greatest drivers in racing history have competed in the race. Today, Le Mans, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 are considered to be the world's most prestigious races. And Le Mans, along with two Florida events, 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona, make up endurance racing's Triple Crown. So, how does the Motul Petit Le Mans fit into this story? In 1998, Braselton, Georgia, businessman Don Panoz partnered with the organizers of 24 Hours of Le Mans to create a racing series called the American Le Mans Series. There were 8 races during the inaugural 1999 season. It expanded to 12 races in 2000. Initially the races were run on rovals, sometimes in city streets. But each year the series featured races at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Mosport, Sebring and Road Atlanta.
In 2014 the American Le Mans Series merged with Gran Am Road Racing under the International Motor Sports Association. Here's where the NASCAR connections become apparent. The IMSA was founded in 1969 by a man named John Bishop and his wife Peggy. The Bishop's received a lot of help from a man named Bill France, Sr. Yes, the same Bill France, Sr. who founded NASCAR. In fact, IMSA is owned by NASCAR and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, right along with NASCAR. If you haven't guessed by now, Panoz bought the Road Atlanta facility in 1996. The track hosted its first Petit Le Mans endurance race in 1998. That was the first of the American Le Mans Series.
That brings us full circle to the 26th annual Motul Petit Le Mans which took place October 11th -14th. There were a total of 52 cars entered in five classes. There were 10 cars entered in the Grand Touring Prototype, or in GTP class. 8 entered the Le Mans Prototype 2, or LMP2 class. The Le Mans Prototype 3, or LMP3 is an entry-level class, with 7 cars this year. The Grand Touring Daytona, or GTD class, usually has an amateur driver on each team. There were 19 cars in the GTD class this year. And 8 cars entered the GTD Pro class.
This year's race was huge. As the 11th and final race of the season, it decided the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the fourth round of the 2023 Michelin Endurance Cup. 3 teams were in position to take the GTP class IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship title. Nick Tandy got knocked out early when his #6 Porche Penske Motorsport Porche 963 was involved in a wreck, a little more than an hour into the race. That put Pipo Derani of the Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing team and Filipe Albuquerque driving for Wayne Taylor Racing-Andretti Autosport as the final two in contention to win the IMSA GTP championship. Almost 9-hours into the 10-hour race, Albuquerque tried to overtake Derani and move into 2nd place. He tried to pass Derani's #31 Whelen Racing Cadillac V Series R on the outside of turn 1. That's when Derani appeared to push Albuquerque off the track and into the grass. The #10 WTRAndretti/Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 plowed into a tire barrier. Paramedics took Albuquerque to an Atlanta-area hospital with a leg injury. Derani was not penalized for his actions, finished in 6th place, and picked-up enough points (21) to bring home the 2023 GTP Championship title along with teammate and co-driver Alexander Sims.
The winner of this year's race in the GPT class was Tom Blomqvist driving the #60 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06. The team completed 397 laps in 10 hours 1 minute and 40.4 seconds (10:01:40.400). The LMP2 winner was George Kurtz in the #4 Crowdstrike Racing by ARP ORECA LMP2 07. The LMP3 winner was Bijoy Garg in the #30 Jr. III Racing Ligier JS P320. The GTDPro winner was Jules Gounon in the #79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. And the GTD winner was Misha Goikhberg driving the #78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 for the Forte Racing Powered by USRT team.
When the 27th Motul Petit Le Mans takes place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in 2024, there will only be 4 classes. This year was the final appearance of the MP3 class. Next year's Motul Petit Le Mans will take place October 9th – 12th. For more information about the race, to buy tickets, or to find out about any of the other events hosted at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, go to their website https://www.roadatlanta.com/.
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