Rolex Series plans ‘triple crown’ of endurance races

Grand-Am plans to link together its biggest Rolex Sports Car Series endurance races–Daytona International Speedway, Watkins Glen International and Indianapolis Motor Speedway–in a triple crown mini-championship, perhaps as early as 2012.

Grand-Am boss Tom Bledsoe explained that the confirmation of next year's three-hour race on the Indianapolis road course, during the same weekend as NASCAR's Brickyard 400, was the catalyst for the idea. He said that the triple crown, which would have its own prize fund and points structure, could become a reality next season.

"It is something that made sense now that we have three such iconic tracks on our schedule," he said. "It is something that we would like to accomplish in 2012 on a pro-am basis and on a full basis in 2013."

Bledsoe explained that he hopes the triple crown will encourage extra entries from existing teams and also those not wishing to partake in the full schedule, as the Rolex24 at Daytona already does.

Wayne Taylor, who runs the front-running SunTrust Racing Daytona Prototype team, said, "A triple crown is a great idea, but I'm sure that if we or a team like Ganassi were to enter an extra car it would have to be with an all-pro line-up of drivers." AutoWeek