Super Weekend at the Brickyard included in new GRAND-AM endurance championship

The inaugural Super Weekend at the Brickyard is more than eight months away, but the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series already has placed the race among its elite events by including it as the exciting finale of its new North American Endurance Championship for 2012.

GRAND-AM officials announced Nov. 9 that the Super Weekend at the Brickyard on Friday, July 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will join the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 28-29 at Daytona International Speedway and the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen on June 29-July 1 at Watkins Glen International in the prestigious endurance championship.

The North American Endurance Championship is a special championship within the 13-race GRAND-AM schedule for 2012. Teams in both the Daytona Prototype and production-based GT classes will compete, with championship winners being crowned after the race on the 13-turn, 2.534-mile Grand Prix road circuit at IMS.

"The addition of the Super Weekend at the Brickyard to the North American Endurance Championship heightens the anticipation for this inaugural event more than ever," said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and chief executive officer. "It's only fitting that the winners of this exciting new championship will earn their titles at the Racing Capital of the World."

In addition to featuring all of GRAND-AM's full-time drivers, several top teams also have indicated they will field additional cars with all-star drivers to compete in the North American Endurance Championship, including the Super Weekend at the Brickyard.

"I think the North American Endurance Championship adds more excitement to an already exciting schedule," said four-time Rolex Series Daytona Prototype champion Scott Pruett, also a veteran of the Indianapolis 500 and Crown Royal Presents "Your Hero's Name Here" 400 at the Brickyard. "The Rolex 24 is clearly the highlight of our season, and I'm very excited with the addition of Indianapolis. The new championship gives further emphasis on our three endurance races."

GRAND-AM will make its IMS debut as part of the inaugural Super Weekend at the Brickyard. Separate races for the Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge will take place July 27, with a three-hour endurance race for the Rolex Sports Car Series.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series also will compete on the oval during the four-day event from July 26-29. It's the first time races will take place on the 2.5-mile oval and 2.534-mile road course at IMS during the same event.