With the first season of the Daytona Prototypes over, the early season conceptions about them are nearly entirely dead. This is for a reason - the DPs have issued a stout wake-up call to the masses of sportscar racing.

The wake-up call has awaken several privateers from the bowels of American racing to come and be the leaders of what is described as a revolution in American sportscar racing, a revolution that has levelled a big kick in the rear to IMSA and has made the ACO take notice.

These teams from the big pond of racers - Bell Motorsports, Brumos Porsche, G&W Motorsport, Cegwa Sport, Doran Lista Racing, Speedsource Engineering, PAP Parts, Mears Motor Coach and Multimatic Motorsports - have led a revolution that has even some of the biggest motorsport teams in America - ones that are world class internationally - to take a long hard look at the DPs. With Ganassi Racing, Powell Motorsports, BOSS, Chase Racing, Wayne Taylor's team and possibly Picchio, as well as several others - have entered the fray. On top of this - several new chassis, including at least one new manufacturer - have come forth. Lots of rumors explode, but there is no questioning that Grand American has a future - and this is a great thing for sportscar racing, as well as American Motorsports in general.

With this, the new Grand American GT class has emerged, and it may just be the best of both worlds - exotic machinery, but competitiveness is doable for mid-level teams, and ones from even other series. The new GT class will be a merger of current GT and GTS teams, which means lots of variety. Just to add to this, the SGS class - which joins the Rolex Series after being the top class in the Grand American Cup - promises to be a twister, and entries have surfaced from Porsche, Corvette, Saleen, Acura and Lotus, with the possibility of more. Top class racing? Certainly, at least in this man's opinion.

With all this great Grand American news, everyone would be forgiven for any good news on IMSA's front. IMSA may soon become the preserve of the big "GT Supercars" that are appearing in the FIA GT Championship. A great front, and with the new LMPs, IMSA looks like it may have the idea of European style transplanted to America down.

It all means something - something for everyone, that is. Those of us who want spectacular style and eye-ball popping speed can watch the rockets in IMSA. For those of us who love close combat competition, Grand American is our ticket. The vast number of American and International sportscar teams is a benefit here, as it means both series can have a stable base of teams. With this both series have ladders growing - Grand Am Cup and the Trans-Am series are both getting faster, and Grand Am Cup has grown out of what it was as the Motorola Cup into its own entity - a ladder to better things for racers and teams. The Trans-Am series has welcomed the future in many areas - new aero, car models. But that series biggest step came at the Puerto Rico - Scott Purett raced his XKR with a new 4.5 litre, twin overhead cam, four valve per cylinder engine - the first time a four valve head has ever been in a Trans-Am car.

Revolutions have happened everywhere, and its never more true than now. I would say that any good race fan needs to see both a Grand American and IMSA race next season. I'll be doing that - if I can get the six hour drive to Watkins Glen from where I am. Hopefully the revolutions will mean substantial grids for both the ALMS and Grand American. Its doable, and looks feasible.

I've had some flak in the past for being anti-IMSA in the past. I hope everyone sees that I am a huge fan of the ALMS. But I am a bigger fan of Grand American, and as many of us have shown, we can all get along, now can't we?

Its better times for American sportscar racers now than it has been in a more than a decade. Here's hoping politics, money, economies, the combined influence of NASCAR and F1 and most of all the rivalries among fans don't come to destroy what was great, as what happened in 1992 and '93.

- November 7, 2003

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