2010 Atlantic Schedule announced
“With another strong schedule for 2010, the Atlantic Championship will once again be the top open-wheel training ground in North America," said Atlantic Championship President Ben Johnston. “We’ve got a great mix of facilities lined up for next year. We are again grateful to the American Le Mans Series for sharing their stage with us for a majority of our weekends in 2010, as well as to all of our terrific promoters for welcoming us back to their facilities."
As it did in 2009, the 2010 Atlantic season will get underway at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Fla. as part of the festivities for the prestigious Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida for the American Le Mans Series. The 2010 Atlantic season-opener is slated for Friday, March 19.
After hosting the Atlantic season finale in 2009, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is scheduled to host Round 2 of the 2010 championship on Saturday, May 22, once again alongside the American Le Mans Series. It will be the 31st Atlantic Championship race at the venerable road circuit in Monterey, Calif.
One weekend later, the Atlantic Championship will make its first of two 2010 appearances at Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park as part of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series festivities on Memorial Day weekend. Round 3 is scheduled for Saturday, May 29. The Lime Rock event will also be the first of two consecutive races that Atlantic will share Grand-Am, as Round 4 of the championship takes place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday, June 20.
On the following weekend, the Atlantic series makes its way back to the East for its first doubleheader of the year at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The first race of the weekend and Round 5 of the season is scheduled for Saturday, June 26, with the second half of the doubleheader set for Sunday, June 27.
The Atlantic Championship makes its third visit to Utah’s state-of-the-art Miller Motorsports Park on the weekend of Saturday, July 10 alongside the American Le Mans Series. Fourteen days later, the series swings back into action once again at Lime Rock, this time as part of the annual American Le Mans Series event.
It will be another quick turnaround for Atlantic as the series conducts its second and final doubleheader of the season with a pair of races at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Ill. The first race of the Autobahn weekend is set for Saturday, July 31 with Race #2 of the weekend on Sunday, August 1.
The 2010 season also sees the return of the Atlantic Championship to the streets of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada as part of the 41st running of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières on Sunday, August 15 which will be the penultimate round of the championship. The season will draw to a close at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. for the second time in three years as part of the American Le Mans Series Petit Le Mans activities. The season finale is slated for Friday, October 1.
Negotiations are still in progress for a potential 13th event on the 2010 schedule and details on that event will be announced should an agreement be reached.
Plans for series-sanctioned open test sessions are still being finalized and will be announced in the near future. Series officials are also working diligently on television coverage for the 2010 season, and those plans will also be announced as soon as they are finalized.
The Atlantic Championship heads into its 37th year of competition in 2010 and is noted for its long history of graduating its drivers into the top levels of motorsport throughout the world. Graduates include past and present IndyCar drivers such as Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Danica Patrick, Dan Wheldon, Graham Rahal, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Raphael Matos, Formula One legends and champions such as Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques Villeneuve and Keke Rosberg, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Sam Hornish Jr. and A.J. Allmendinger and sports car stars like Jon Fogarty, Alex Gurney, Michael Valiante, Luis Diaz, Joey Hand and Simon Pagenaud.
Atlantic Championship graduates have won races and championships at the highest levels of motorsport, including Formula 1, IndyCar and Champ Car, and sports cars. In 2009, Atlantic graduates were top competitors in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, the American Le Mans Series, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and even the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series among many others. Learn more about Atlantic at www.atlantic-championship.com.
| Date | Track/Location | With |
| March 19 | Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Fla. | American Le Mans Series |
| May 22 | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, Calif. | American Le Mans Series |
| May 29 | Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Conn. | Grand-Am |
| June 20 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio | Grand-Am |
| June 26 | New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, N.J. | Feature |
| June 27 | New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, N.J. | Feature |
| July 10 | Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah | American Le Mans Series |
| July 24 | Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Conn. | American Le Mans Series |
| July 31 | Autobahn Country Club Joliet, Ill. | Feature |
| August 1 | Autobahn Country Club Joliet, Ill. | Feature |
| August 15 | Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada | Co-Feature |
| October 1 | Road Atlanta Braselton, Ga. | American Le Mans Series |
NOTE: Additional event may be announced.