Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey ready for 53rd racing season

December 30, 8:16 PMMonterey Peninsula ExaminerJames Raia

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The 53rd Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca season begins May 15 in the three-day Monterey Festival of Speed. It features the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series with the Koni Challenge, Mazda MX-5 Cup and Mustang Challenge as support events. The race will mark the fifth consecutive year for Grand-Am’s Daytona Prototype and GT cars in Monterey.

NASCAR’s recent acquisition of the Grand-Am Sport Car Series created an opportunity to help the road-racing product gain broader mainstream exposure.

NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kyle Petty, Bobby Labonte, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon have raced in the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Full-time driver and 2008 Grand-Am Daytona Prototype team champion Scott Pruett has driven in many NASCAR events. Chip Ganassi and Richard Childress own teams in both sports.

The Rolex Series is also home to some of the most recognized names in sports car racing: Hurley Haywood, Max Papis, Christian Fittipaldi, Patrick Carpentier, Eddie Cheever and open-wheel stars like Dan Wheldon, Paul Tracy, Sebastien Bourdais, Buddy Rice, Scott Dixon and many others who will also make spotlight appearances in the Rolex Series.

The Monterey Festival of Speed is headlined by the Daytona Prototypes and GT cars of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. The Daytona Prototypes and GT cars will race 250 miles (with a two-hour, 45-minute time limit) on Sunday, May 17. The Rolex Sports Car Series will be joined by the Grand-Am Koni Cup for high-performance sports cars along with the Mazda MX-5 Cup and Mustang Challenge.

Grand-Am's top-tier Rolex Sports Car Series begins its 10th season of competition in 2009 and the Daytona Prototype category has attracted the attention of superstar drivers and universally-recognized teams..

Like the Daytona Prototype class that has redefined prototype sports car racing, the Rolex Series GT class has done the same for high-performance, production-based sports car racing.

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s world-class 2009 racing schedule includes the Festival of Speed featuring Rolex Grand-Am Series May 15-17, Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix featuring MotoGP World Championship July 3-5, the 36th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races August 14-16 and the Monterey Sports Car Championships featuring the American Le Mans Series October 9-11.

The KONI Challenge Series for straight-from-the-showroom American muscle cars and the hottest imports will join the Rolex Sports Car Series for the first time at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for its ninth season of competition under the Grand-Am banner.

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s world-class 2009 racing schedule includes the Festival of Speed featuring Rolex Grand-Am Series May 15-17, Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix featuring MotoGP World Championship July 3-5, the 36th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races August 14-16 and the Monterey Sports Car Championships featuring the American Le Mans Series October 9-11.

Tickets, additional event information, parking directions and information for the 2009 season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca are now available by calling (800) 327-SECA or online at www.laguna-seca.com.

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