I'm copying and pasting this from my post over at the ALMS forum...
I was just reading through my latest issue of Speedway Illustrated magazine (pretty good short track and dirt track coverage) and found an article about the Nascar invasion of the Rolex 24. Here's a quote from Boris Said that I found to be quite interesting. I pulled this out of the middle of the article but I think you'll get the point.
...Its main competitor is the American Le Mans Series, also begun in 1999 from the ashes of IMSA. Most in the business believe that there is not room for two major sports car sanctioning bodies in the U.S. "The American Le Mans Series is a joke," says Said. "They hire all European drivers, and American companies aren't standing behind Americans. The Chevrolet Corvette is one of the most American cars there is, and they only have one American driver on the team. I'm a strong believer in America supporting Americans, and if I don't say it, who will?" It was in one of those Corvettes, you'll recall, that Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a serious crash and fire last year as a guest driver.
Said thinks the powerful field in this year's 24 Hours should help Grand-Am "put its final dagger in American Le Mans." Grand-Am and Daytona execs proclaimed the event a major success, even though the stands, as they usually are, were almost empty.
I'm not going to take a side either way here because there are already a lot of ALMS vs. GA debates. I was just kind of surprised to see such a quote from Said. I also wonder how much more mileage GA is going to get out of bringing up Earnhardt's fire.
