Little Changed In Grand Am Road Racing 2002 Rule Book

Little Changed In 2002 Rule Book

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 2, 2001) - The most dramatic change anyone will find in the 2002 Grand American Road Racing Association Rule Book is the inclusion of the Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series into the book, combining it with the rules for the Rolex Sports Car Series.

The book will have a general rules section that relates to common safety matters, points systems, etc., that will be applicable to both series. Each series will then have its own section where specific rules will be laid out for that series and its classes.

Grand-Am Cup teams will find the new book much easier to use. The Technical Information Forms (TIFs) are now a part of the rule book, making it easy to see what is allowed for various makes and models.

In the general rules, the most notable change is in the driver points system. No car and/or driver points will be issued unless the car completes at least 50 percent of the laps completed by the class winner in that race. In other words, if the winner in a class completes 80 laps, a car will have to complete 40 laps to earn any points from that race.

Based on requests from drivers and teams, the bonus points for driving time during the races has been eliminated. All drivers sharing time in a single entry will earn the same number of points. However, to be eligible for driver points, a driver must complete at least 20 percent of the total laps covered by the car during the race.

The Rolex Sports Car Series will continue relatively unchanged in the rules department, with the obvious exception that all cars will be using approved Goodyear or Dunlop tires. Cars competing in the SportsRacing Prototype class will see a modification to the minimum weights of the cars. With a sliding scale based on engine displacement, cars with engines up to 245 cu. in. will have a minimum weight of 1980 lbs., up to 325 cu. in. at 2000 lbs., and up to 366 cu. in. at 2020 lbs.

The rule book has announcements on a couple of items for 2003. First, no turbos will be allowed after the 2002 season. The 2003 season will also see the GTS and AGT classes combined into one.

More information on Grand-Am is available online at www.grand-am.com. 

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For more information: Grand-Am Public Relations
Christie Hyde (386) 681-4182
email: CHyde@grand-am.com