The Miller Motorsports Park will host one of the most popular racing series in the world this weekend when the American Le Mans Series comes to Utah. "It's the premier sports car racing series in the world," said Bob Dickinson, vice president of public relations and media services.
Activities kick off on Friday at 12:30 p.m. with the first of four rounds of the Kline Tools Pit Crew Challenge, a pit crew competition for $100,000. Later at 3:40, qualifying begins for the race on Saturday. The featured event, the American Le Mans Series, starts at 5:05 p.m. on Saturday.
The Le Mans Series is nine years old and the "fastest growing" sports car racing series in the world, said Dickinson. It features four different classes, 12 stops on its circuit and an opportunity to compete in one of the biggest races in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in France.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans draws around 300,000 spectators a year, said Dickinson, and features drivers from many different series across the world.
The race really runs for 24 hours and three different drivers switch off for each team. About 12-15 teams a year qualify for the race from the American Le Mans Series and a team from the American series has won the race the past two years.
The Le Mans Series is one of four different kinds of racing. The others are, Indy Car (Champ Car, IRL), Formula One, and NASCAR. While NASCAR may be the most popular in the United States now, the American Le Mans Series is gaining steam and is very popular internationally. The stop at the Miller Motorsports Park this weekend is the fifth of 12 races this season. There are two different kinds of courses on the circuit, street courses and road courses, with the track at Miller Motorsports Park falling into the category of a road course.
The team to beat this year is Audi Sports North America. It is the defending champion of the American Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
This is the second year the American Le Mans Series is making a stop in Utah. The people at Miller Motorsports Park are especially excited this year because the park is no longer under construction like the first go-around.
"Last year, our facility was still under construction," MMP CEO Alan Wilson said in a news release. "We made some mistakes and learned some lessons. We think this year's event will go more smoothly, and that our guests will be more comfortable."
It will also provide Utahns a better opportunity to learn about one of the world's most rapidly growing sports.
"While the American Le Mans Series may still be a relatively new thing to Utah residents," Wilson said, "it is one of the most popular racing series internationally, and is watched by more people than is NASCAR. It's a great opportunity for us to showcase our facility, and Utah, to the rest of the world."
Americam Le Mans Series
Miller Motorsports Park
Tooele, Utah
Schedule of events
Friday
Pit crew challenge, 12:30 p.m.
Qualifying, 3:40 p.m.
Saturday
Race begins, 5 p.m.
E-mail: nstorey@desnews.com