IMSA News & Notes, 4.1

***Stephen Simpson told Sportscar365 at St. Petersburg he is expecting to be back in the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Prototype Challenge entry for selected rounds later this season. Simpson missed the previous round at Sebring but did race in one of LAP Motorsports’ new MINI JCWs in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge ST class. Neither JDC-Miller nor Performance Tech has confirmed its lineup for the balance of the TUDOR Championship season.

***Three of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring class winners in Prototype, Prototype Challenge and GT Le Mans lead the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup points standings as well, in the form of the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP, No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca FLM09 and No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C7.R entries. Al Carter and Cameron Lawrence lead in GT Daytona; Lawrence has also released a promotional video this week as he continues to introduce himself to the sports car world. Full Patron Endurance Cup points standings after Sebring are linked here.

***IMSA and TOTAL announced last week that TOTAL will continue as the Official Engine Oil of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge through the 2017 season. TOTAL will continue sponsorship of the TOTAL Pole Award given at each event to P, PC and GTD pole winners in the TUDOR Championship and also for both GS and ST in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.