Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series at NJMP this weekend July 16-18th!

[TROLL]

There's a great race coming up this weekend... I went last year and it was incredible.

The Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series is coming to New Jersey Motorsports Park this weekend, July 16th, 17th, and 18th and it is a great event with a wide variety of incredible racing going on. If you've never been to a professional race then do something different and check it out!

If you go make sure you get there early and walk through the pits to check out the teams prepping the cars, you can get up close and personal and just soak in the sights and sounds, its pretty incredible.
TST will be in attendance this year covering the event with a feature article and full photo gallery, so keep an eye out for it, but there's nothing like experiencing it in person!

Click Here for Grand Am Rolex Race Series Info (http://www.grand-am.com/)

Click Here for info about this weekends event and to buy tickets (http://www.grand-am.com/schedule/event.cfm?series=r&eid=1489)

Click Here for a schedule for this weekend's event (PDF) (http://www.njmotorsportspark.com/pdf/2010NewJerseyofficialsched.pdf)

Here are a few photos of the cars racing...

http://www.grand-am.com/photos/174285/GALLERY_LARGE.jpg

http://www.endurance-info.com/version2/images/news/09_GA_12_Miamiq_RileysSupercar.jpg

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2008/11/05/220904.1-lg.jpg

[Infa-red SVT]

I am pretty sure I will be down there for this. I just got back last night from running the lightning challenge in the miata, they have done an awesome job with getting big events and running the normal events at NJMP. I am assuming this event will be at thunderbolt?

[TROLL]

Yeah they're racing on Thunderbolt. I'm psyched for this weekend :)

[marshallpre1]

I was thinking of going to this, but I'm already going to Lime Rock on the 24th for ALMS!

Jeremy

[Nick 95 6sp]

I'm not sure what day I'll go yet pending family plans, but definitely either Sat. or Sun. ...Sunday preferred if possible.

[Ciotti]

I shoot this event every year and it's INCREDIBLE how fast these cars lap Thunderbolt, definitely come on out to this event if you have any interest in motorsports where the steering wheel is used :)

http://www.ciottiindustries.com/gallery/NJMP/GrandAm8-31-08/GrandAm138.jpg

http://www.ciottiindustries.com/gallery/NJMP/GrandAm8-31-08/GrandAm126.jpg

http://www.ciottiindustries.com/gallery/NJMP/GrandAm8-31-08/GrandAm124.jpg

[AristoSan]

I'll be shooting on Sunday, i'm pretty psyched for the event except for the 7:30 am media meeting.

[88TSI_Rob]

I got in on that $16 groupon deal so I'll be there on Sunday. I'm a much bigger ALMS fan, but with the track being so close and the ticket so cheap I couldn't pass it up.

[NOPSTNS]

16 dollars? ouch, I paid 40 a piece just for sunday. and im in a corporate membership with the track :(

Ill be there thur, fri, and sunday. Grand am is good for fans because you can see a bunch of different cars racing at the same time. If youre a fan of ANY sporty car, odds are you will see it racing in Grand am. From Ferraris to Kias.
see yas sunday

[B00MB@]

I'll be out and there by 8 if anyone wants to get together and caravan. I heading up from atlantic city that sunday morning.

[tristatesentra]

wish i could go never seen the rolex series in person thats a good almost 2 hr drive from where im at

[superg6819]

im thinking about going sunday.

[HQuakers]

wish i could go never seen the rolex series in person thats a good almost 2 hr drive from where im at

It's worth it.

I just won tickets to this so I'll be there (I was going anyway). Is the garage area still open to walk through? I didn't go last year because of the weather but the year before you were able to walk through the trailer/garage area and see them working on the cars and stuff.

[ViperDom]

I'll be there Sunday.

Looking foward to seeing my first race there since ive got a trackday on the Thunderbolt next month.

[TROLL]

See some of you there in the morning!

[88TSI_Rob]

I'll be there Sunday.

Looking foward to seeing my first race there since ive got a trackday on the Thunderbolt next month.

Is this you?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4807068480_d73a9e57ce_z.jpg

[unreal-]

How was the event everyone?

[Ciotti]

Fan-bleeding-tastic, I wish I wasn't so backed up with pictures so I could get some I took processed and uploaded but I'll get to it eventually :)

[AristoSan]

Word, it was a great event, it's hard to look at over 2,000 pics after a long day. I was drained even after sitting in the media office downing energy drinks, I gave up at 3 and left it was just too hot.

[JhnRX7]

It was a great event and I loved seeing the rotaries take 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in GT class :supz:

Nothing beats the sound of a screaming, fire breathing, 20B 3 Rotor :eek:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/4807370150_7c5756a762_b.jpg

[88TSI_Rob]

Haha I was waiting for the RX-8 flamethrower pics. The shot above was pretty typical, but I saw a couple times where they would let off and blast a good 4ft long flame.

This is a throw a way pic, but just to prove the point:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4807165944_198edf9c13_m.jpg

[Ciotti]

Great shot brother, I have more rx8 shots than everything else combined from trying to catch the flames on their downshifts and seeing the big fat scumaro's failing to catch them all day long was just priceless/hilarious.

[AristoSan]

Great shot brother, I have more rx8 shots than everything else combined from trying to catch the flames on their downshifts and seeing the big fat scumaro's failing to catch them all day long was just priceless/hilarious.

I was the same way trying to catch those damn flame pics , the vettes were no joke though. It was an awesome event , just wish it was not in July :drag::drag::drag:

[ViperDom]

Yup that was me.

What a great event; from the prototypes to the screamin RX-8's to the V8 GT Cars. Just listening to em tear around the track was music to my ears. I liked watching from the end of the striaght carrying all that speed then going into turn1 3 WIDE. Crazy


not so fast talking trash on the camaro's Ciotte:

i would expect a 3-Rotor 2,200lb car to whoop up on a 2,800 car on a twisty course like the Thunderbolt. But in fact the big fat scumaro's (as you call em) put down similar lap times 1:22.126 as compared to the best RX8's of 1:22.556

either way you look at it they were all running laptimes within a sec of eachother... Very competetive.


How about toward the end when one of the 8's scuicide doors popped open???? I was around ther villas when we saw him come around, that was Halarious. Where did it open? Was he hit?

[HQuakers]

Love going to these races. Copying from the thread over at NASIOC: I got a "behind-the-scenes" tour with some Grand-Am people. Spoke with the inspection guy in the garage, talked with some of the drivers, and I got to go into the Sun Trust trailer and learn the ropes from the manager and the engineers. Here are a couple pictures I took (the rest in the link below):

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v244/HQuakers/10-07-18_Rolex_GrandAm

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/HQuakers/10-07-18_Rolex_GrandAm/3.jpg

Still has the stock ///M Shift Knob in this M3:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/HQuakers/10-07-18_Rolex_GrandAm/6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/HQuakers/10-07-18_Rolex_GrandAm/8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/HQuakers/10-07-18_Rolex_GrandAm/15.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/HQuakers/10-07-18_Rolex_GrandAm/16.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/HQuakers/10-07-18_Rolex_GrandAm/46.jpg

ZR1:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/HQuakers/10-07-18_Rolex_GrandAm/54.jpg

CTS Wagon:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/HQuakers/10-07-18_Rolex_GrandAm/caddy.jpg

[TROLL]

Dom I saw your vette parked at the villas as I was leaving... Next to a 911TT. Your car looks great!
And the race was amazing, loved being out there this weekend even though I had no time to sleep. TST's photos of the event are coming soon!

[ViperDom]

hmmm, must not have been me, cause i dont drive a Vette, lol

yea, that was my friends friends 911. just found out he owns one of those villas. Wish i could find enough people to go in on one with me, $400K...