LEO PARENTE: This is pre-grid for the American Le Mans
series here at VIR, Virginia International Raceway.
You know, when they announced this race on the schedule, I
thought, oh my god, we're going to a club track in the
middle of down South.
But that really sells this whole thing short.
Built first in 1957, refurbished, and now it is a
great racetrack.
There are some signature things going on here.
The flat-to-the-floor S's up toward two
turns and the tree--
it's all very, very awesome, a place I wish I raced.
And as cool as it is to have the America Le Mans series
here, the real deal is this is the first race after the
announcement of the 2014 plans to put Grand-Am together with
the American Le Mans series.
So we walked around and talked to a few people, a lot of
people, to get their impression of what this thing
is going to be all about.
Three simple questions.
What was your first reaction?
What's the best thing that could come from this
get-together of racing?
And three, if there's one concern, was is that first
concern that you're thinking about, that
you want to be addressed?
That's basically it for VIR.
I'm gonna go out in the country and enjoy this stuff,
and I've already had my biscuit.
A New Yorker having biscuits down South?
Freaking awesome.
SPENCER PUMPELLY: We were sitting at the autograph
station in Baltimore, and someone leaned over and said,
Hey, did you hear Grand-Am and ALMS are going to merge?
And the obvious reaction was, who's this crazy person?
Yeah, I've heard this before.
And as I'm signing autographs, I've got one hand on the cell
phone, looking to make sure that it's actually happening.
But it was.
BILL SWEEDLER: The first time I heard about it, I was on the
grid at Baltimore, literally 15 minutes before
getting into the car.
And I could see everyone abuzz, all the teams, as the
fans were walking up and down.
So it was--
it was shocking, to say the least, considering what's been
going on for ten years, as competitors.
TOWNSEND BELL: Well, I found out about
the merger at Baltimore.
And it was sometime on Sunday, I think, on race day, that it
sounded officially confirmed, even though it hadn't been
announced yet.
And it was nice to hear.
I come from the IndyCar world, and we went through a merger
there with CART and the IRL to create the IndyCar World
Championship again and have a unified series.
And that's been a plus all around.
LEH KEEN: Well, I was in Baltimore in the paddock, the
ALMS paddock there.
And I was cruising around Facebook on my
phone and saw a link--
merger.
And nobody knew about it.
Nobody in the paddock-- there was no rumors in the paddock
or anything.
And I was in the Grand-Am paddock the weekend before,
and no rumors there.
So it was a bit of a shock, for sure.
We'd heard about it.
We knew it was possible for the past five years.
So finally I saw it in a speed.com article.
And I ran out of the trailer, ran over to the next trailer
and showed it to Alex Job.
And he said, what?
He didn't know anything about it either.
So nobody knew about it.
It was pretty--
it was pretty exciting, for sure, because
it's just big news.
TOM PLUCINSKY: It was surprise.
We had--
some of our executives hadn't heard.
But for it to really sink in took a little while.
I mean, here are two really strong
series, now joined together.
GARY PRATT: Wow.
[LAUGHS]
LEO PARENTE: And then?
GARY PRATT: And then, well, just thought about a lot of
things to work out.
But I think it could be really good.
ERIC BACHELART: Well, some surprise,
to start with, honestly.
And yeah, some excitement, you know, thinking wow, if we
could have a stronger series and working all together, that
could be a good thing.
So I think it's very exciting.
[INAUDIBLE].
SCOTT SHARP: Very excited.
Ed Brown and myself were sort of involved in the early
stages of that whole thing.
And then sort of from our perspective, it got quite for
a while, and then all of a sudden it came together.
They announced that they'd been working hard and got the
merger done.
So I think it's fantastic.
I think it's fantastic news for sports cars.
And especially long term, it can only be a tide
that rises all boats.
ROB DYSON: Well, I thought it was, frankly, inevitable.
And I think it's important that-- if we get it right,
it's absolutely the right, correct thing to do.
SPENCER PUMPELLY: Positives-- certainly long term, this
could be seen as nothing but a positive.
Both series are going to be much stronger.
I think it's gonna be much easier for fans of racing to
follow sports cars, being just one.
Racing in general is a pretty confusing landscape.
There's a lot of different ways that people have chosen
to go race-- different cars, different places, different
tracks, different venues, rules.
So this is going to help simplify that
just a little bit.
BILL SWEEDLER: My initial reaction was this is going to
great for sports car racing.
I mean, frankly, to take two independent series that have
been clashing against each other and uniting the greatest
tracks in the United States, that have the heritage from
literally the '50s and '60s, between 24 Hours of Daytona
and Sebring, and Road Atlanta and Watkins Glen.
My initial reaction was, wow.
This is going to be amazing in the United States.
TOWNSEND BELL: Well, it gives everybody one umbrella to work
under, a unified schedule, a unified set of rules.
And I think it's exciting.
I mean, for IndyCar, what it's done is eliminated any kind of
fan confusion.
And everybody will be looking in the same
direction going forward.
LEH KEEN: Yeah, I think it will be a good thing for sure.
It's kind of a powerhouse GT series, which is what we what
we need, and a road racing series, which is what we need
in the States.
Now we have--
we have two great series, but they're kind of pulling fans
to each one, pulling manufacturers
to different ones.
And now it's all under one roof.
And hopefully we can create like a superpower road race
series in the States that will be a big deal internationally.
TOM PLUCINSKY: Well, I'd say probably the most positive
thing is now you have all the major endurance races under
one series, or eventually under one series.
So 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring.
You've got Petit Le Mans and possibly Le
Mans in there as well.
For an endurance racing team, what could be better?
GARY PRATT: Well, better racing, better fields, great
schedule, possibly more races.
Going back to Daytona and just positive for Corvette.
ERIC BACHELART: Well, obviously you want to take the
best out of each series and put it together, you know?
So now, it's probably going to be a little of a challenge to
make it work, but again, I just went through this with
Champ Car and IndyCar, and at the end of the
day, what you want?
Yes, it's a better series, stronger, more return on
investment.
And so if all of that is done in the right way, I think
everybody can take advantage of it, and make it one of the
best series of sports car racing in the world.
SCOTT SHARP: I just think if they do it all right from the
standpoint--
which I expect them to do.
I mean, we've got great teams here, great teams there.
They ought to come together with one big, great series.
We've got great venues.
They've got some good venues.
Putting them together ought to be an incredible schedule.
You expect the Grand-Am/NASCAR side of things to be able to
come with a huge, strong television package.
So all of that comes together, and I think you have a series
that has a lot of momentum.
LEO PARENTE: What defines getting it right?
What are some of the details that you're going to look for
as a team owner?
ROB DYSON: I think understanding the diversity
that exists here--
tires, engines, chassis, the whole range
of different things.
It's not a spec series.
And I think that that's important, to preserve as much
of that as we can.
And I think speed.
I think speed is important.
I think the cars have to go fast in order for
people to see it.
LEO PARENTE: I have to ask this question, because you're
running new green technology in the cars this race.
So what do you look for from this new series, in terms of
that type of application?
ROB DYSON: I think that that's an example where they've got
to take a look at how they can embrace modern technology
without costing an arm and a leg.
There are some technologies that clearly do, that take
enormous R&D budgets, and all of that.
I think they've got to be careful how they would
introduce that.
In our case, this was an affordable approach.
And we're testing it now, and I hope it works.
SPENCER PUMPELLY: There's gonna be a lot of people who
are left out to dry.
If you think about it, we're not going to need drivers
doing two series now.
So a guy like myself who runs Grand-Am and America Le Mans
might find himself just doing one series.
BILL SWEEDLER: Clearly, after the exuberance of hearing the
news, you start to think about what if, what if?
And you think through our current format and Grand-Am's
format, and how are the two going to fuse?
Sure, everyone's got concerns.
But I'm hopeful that the France family really looks at
this, along with Dan Panoz and how he's run this with Scott
Atherton, and incorporates what has made it special,
which is manufacturer car support, tire support--
literally having that competition and the
engineering that goes along between the prototype and the
GT class is so critical, I think, to the success of what
the ALMS is.
When we come to an event and we have 80,000, 90,000,
100,000, 150,000 people coming here, all they do is they talk
about the technology of the cars.
I'm hopeful.
I'm very hopeful that that will remain, and incorporate
the best of what we do and the best of what they do.
Their GT racing is second to none in Grand-Am.
They really don't get the kudos that
they should in Grand-Am.
TOWNSEND BELL: Well, I think as they blend the spirit of
both series, I think the only risk is that you do things
that might alienate a fan here or there.
But I think in general, if you love fast sports cars, if you
love seeing Porsche and Ferrari and Lotus and all the
top marks going at it wheel to wheel, you're a fan of sports
car racing.
So I'm really excited.
LEH KEEN: I race in both series right now, so in a way,
I'll be racing both series in 2014, too, but not as many
races, for sure.
So my races will get almost cut in half.
But it's exciting.
I'm looking forward to it.
TOM PLUCINSKY: Well, I think we're really interested in
seeing what the classes will be in the series, and then
what cars we should build for one of those classes.
We have customer cars racing in Grand-Am.
We support the Ganassi team in Grand-Am.
And we're here at ALMS with the BMW Team RLL.
So we have a lot at stake here, and we want to make sure
that this all fits together.
TOWNSEND BELL: Well, I think--
I think this is going to be led by Grand-Am and Jim
France, and you can't find a more experienced and
successful racing leader than the whole NASCAR system.
And it's going to be fantastic to benefit from all of their
collective expertise.
ERIC BACHELART: Well, I mean, obviously it's just a balance,
because now you have to put two sets of rules together.
So you know, I mean, we have quite different rules than
Grand-Am, so that's the big concern.
It's going to be a big challenge.
By the same token, ALMS is aligned with the ACO.
And it's something quite important, because for sure, I
mean, as far as we're concerned, we
want to go to Le Mans.
So we want to keep it this way, especially with our
association with Hawk Racing, that is based at Le Mans.
So that's [INAUDIBLE] something quite important.
And then after that, of course, control the cost.
Cost control.
So that's the two main issues, I would say.
SCOTT SHARP: This series has got to become more viable.
You have to be easier to attract additional sponsors.
And I think starting off with a very solid television
package is step number one.
ROB DYSON: I think that the more diversity they embrace
while establishing clear delineation of classes, I
think is important.
I think that the fans expect technology.
They expect different shapes of cars, different
performance of cars--
true class racing in a number of different levels, so that
then they can see the cars they drive, the cars that they
want to drive, and the car that look like rocket ships
that are ready to go into space.
I think that's the biggest concern I've got, is to
maintain that kind of diversity.
LEO PARENTE: As a car builder, when do you need to know what
you need to build for 2014?
GARY PRATT: Uh, about three months ago.
[LAUGHS]
We're working on '14 now, but so far, we're going in a
straight line.
But they need to decide real quick.
LEO PARENTE: Now have they reached out to the
manufactures to talk?
Have you reached out to them?
What's going on?
GARY PRATT: Well, I think the powers that be
are working on that.
We're putting together something to present to them,
and then we'll go from there.
LEO PARENTE: VIR, the track is living up to its billing.
The race is still on, and it's been great.
The action's fantastic.
You can see the speed of the cars.
And they got a great crowd in the stands.
The action in the paddock, as you saw, was equally ecstatic.
We talked to a lot of people off-camera as well, and the
consensus is really, truly, positively hopeful.
There's a certain racer cynicism that says, show me
the facts, because races deal with facts.
So they're all waiting for decisions to be made.
But that process is in play.
As it turns out, there are people going to Europe to meet
with the ACO.
Manufacturers are writing their white papers.
The tire companies are planning their discussions
with the two sanctioning bodies.
And the sanctioning bodies themselves have been coming
together to really make this happen.
I've been told by some really trusted automotive people that
Jim France has a sincere wish to do the right thing for
American sports car racing.
The smart guys, the smart-asses, will say, does
Jim know the definition of that?
But he's reached out to ALMS.
He's got quality people like Mr. Bennett in his
organization.
And I actually believe it'll all come together.
That's not Pollyanna.
The real definer will be how they treat DPs.
P2 will stay and it'll evolve.
The American sports car racing with the ALMS cars, that GT
stuff, will definitely stay.
And the GT cars will sort in.
Everyone's ready for this to be a good thing.
And everyone's ready to act and do whatever they need to
do to make it a good thing.
So that's the report from here.
Now we'll go to the Grand-Am race in Lime Rock and see
what's next.