The End of an Era at Sebring

Sebring is an icon in American motorsport. The great races we all love so dearly have one thing in common: heritage. You can feel Sebring’s heritage just walking up next to the race track on Sunday morning. Those old cracks and rubber filled concrete slabs along the front straightaway have seen many a race car run by. It’s really something special. And the greatest teams in the history of sports car racing have always brought their best cars and drivers decade after decade to challenge the grueling 12 hours.

But this year, was the last of an era. Next year, sports car racing in America goes through a rebirth. We don’t know yet how successful it will be. I remain skeptical of the new series, but optimistic that the organizers know what they are doing, because they know what they have riding on failure of this series. (Basically Grand Am [run by NASCAR] is absorbing American Le Mans series and dropping those fantastically fast P1 cars but keeping the cumbersome Daytona Prototypes. The combined series will run at the best of both series’ tracks but lose a few on both sides. The new series’ name? United Sportscar Racing. Like I said…….I’m skeptical)

So, with sweeping changes coming to sports car racing in America next year, the 61st running of the Sebring 12 hour race would be the last time that those gorgeous and nimble P1 cars would run the concrete tarmac in Florida. It was a pleasure to soak up the Florida sun, surrounded by amazing photographers who are also good friends and enjoy this spectacular car race. Can’t think of anywhere else I might want to be on a Saturday.