2014 Schedule Taking Shape

Photo: John Dagys

With the highly anticipated release of next year’s United SportsCar Racing series schedule reportedly only days away, further details surrounding what races have made the cut are beginning to surface.

Sportscar365 understands the 2014 schedule will feature a total of 12 races, including a standalone GT race and a Prototype-only round, which would result in a 11-race calendar for each class.

What’s already known is that the season will kick off with the Rolex 24 at Daytona on Jan. 25-26, followed by the Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 15. The Six Hours of The Glen and Petit Le Mans will also be on the schedule with currently unknown dates.

These four events are set to make up the expanded North American Endurance Championship, while a likely return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, possibly in conjunction with IndyCar in early May, appears to be in the cards, but reportedly being reduced to a two-hour and 45-minute race.

A return to Circuit of The Americas, with the FIA World Endurance Championship in September, is all but confirmed, while it’s believed that Road America and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will also be firmly featured on the USCR schedule.

There will be at least two street races, with Long Beach poised to host a GT-only round on April 12 and a Prototype-only race in Detroit scheduled for May 31, the same weekend as the Le Mans Test Day. Both events will share the bill with IndyCar.

It appears USCR will visit Virginia International Raceway, reportedly due to an existing contract with the ALMS, while the latest talk indicates that Kansas Speedway, which hosted GRAND-AM for the first time this year, may not be on the 2014 schedule after all.

Two other circuits that remain in question are Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which recently underwent significant facility upgrades, and the Baltimore street race, which is searching for a replacement date to host IndyCar at a minimum.

It’s believed two of America’s classic road courses, Lime Rock Park and Mid-Ohio, will not feature on the 2014 schedule, as well as the picturesque Barber Motorsports Park, which had hosted GRAND-AM since 2003.

Below is an unofficial schedule, based on this author’s extensive research with industry sources over the last two weeks. It’s expected the series will confirm the 2014 calendar before or during the ALMS event at COTA on Sept. 19-21.

UNCONFIRMED SCHEDULE

January 25-26 – Rolex 24 at Daytona (NAEC)
March 15 – Twelve Hours of Sebring (NAEC)
April 12 – Long Beach (GT Only)
May  – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
May 31 – Detroit (Prototype Only)
June/July – Six Hours of The Glen (NAEC)
August – Road America
September – Circuit of The Americas
October – Petit Le Mans (NAEC)

TBD – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
TBD – Virginia International Raceway

*Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Baltimore and Kansas Speedway believed to be possibilities for 12th date.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John