IMSA weighing options after Detroit cancellation

The cancellation of the Detroit Grand Prix has given IMSA another scheduling puzzle to solve.

With the loss of the two-class WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race on the Saturday portion of the event, the series will need to find make-up opportunities for its Daytona Prototype international and GT Daytona entrants.

Looking at the updated calendars for both series, one option that could work is the October 3-4 weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Announced Monday, the NTT IndyCar Series will race on Saturday while the existing eight-hour Intercontinental GT race fills Sunday’s activities.

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RACER has learned IndyCar officials have extended the offer to IMSA to share its Saturday, Oct. 3 date, which is subject to review by IMSA's leadership, teams, and promoters. It’s believed the invitation will be discussed at some point in the coming days.

From a logistics standpoint, the IMS ‘Harvest Grand Prix’ would be an optimal fit for IMSA. Following directly after the September 27 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio, the move from Mid-Ohio to IMS involves a convenient four-hour drive west from Lexington, Ohio, to Speedway, Indiana.

If IMSA accepts the offer, racing fans would have a triple-header to enjoy in early October, and for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, it would mark its return to IMS for the first time since the 2014 Brickyard Grand Prix, won overall by the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP driven by Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi.