Motor Sports: Grand American gaining momentum

If you haven't yet heard about Grand American racing, you will soon.

The endurance racing series began in 1999 and is heading full speed to becoming North America's premiere endurance series.

Grand Am has been building up numerous advantages that will ultimately result in leagues of loyal fans and tremendous popularity.

Some of the advantages include:

* It is owned by NASCAR (they know a thing or two about motorsports).

* Grand Am is the only racing series that features Daytona Prototypes. DPs are the exciting new cars introduced in 2003 specifically for Grand Am.

* It has a highly prestigious series sponsor: Rolex. The well-known brand brings prominence and class to Grand Am racing.

* Grand Am races are broadcast on the Speed Channel. The Speed Channel recently announced that the remainder of 2004's races and all of 2005's races will be broadcast internationally.

* It has races at some of the world's most loved tracks, including Daytona International Speedway and Watkins Glen.

Grand Am also has exciting stories at the team level.

Female driver Milka Duno has garnered a lot of attention for her talent as well as her beauty.

Grand Am has drawn attention due to another driver as well: Tony Stewart, legendary NASCAR driver, has driven alongside Andy Wallace in a couple of Grand Am races (Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and the Paul Revere 250).

Another NASCAR superstar that has made a Grand Am appearance is Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who joined Stewart and Wallace at the Rolex 24.

Perhaps the most interesting story in Grand American is The Spark of Georgia Tech.

The Spark is the gold and white #39 Daytona Prototype driven by Larry Huang and Chris Hall. Huang, a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, decided to paint the car in the colors of his alma mater, and to include the school's mascot ("Buzz") and logo on the car.

Huang has also used the car as an educational tool.

Thus far, seven Georgia Tech students (3 Mechanical Engineering students and 4 MBAs) have received internships to work for The Spark.

The engineering students work with the pit crew, while the MBA students work with the team to help develop the brand, market the car, and locate corporate sponsors.

The ultimate plan for The Spark is to be a focal point to highlight the successes of Georgia Tech, its students and its alumni.

With all of the unique qualities that Grand American has to offer to race fans and car enthusiasts, it's safe to say that Grand Am is definitely gaining momentum.