2010 IMSA Prototype Lites season
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The 2010 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites season was the fourth season of the series. It consisted of eight rounds which started on March 20 at Sebring International Raceway and ended on October 2 at Road Atlanta. This was one of the support series of the American Le Mans Series.
CORE Autosport's Charlie Shears was champion in the Lites 1 class, clinching the title with a round to spare.[1] Despite winning only three races, Shears finished every race in the points and won the championship title by 45 points from his nearest rival. Brothers Antonio and Matt Downs finished in second and third places; Antonio winning races at Miller Motorsports Park and Road America, and Matt at Millville. Three-time race winner Gary Gibson and Jon Brownson, another winner at Road America completed the top five in the championship. Shears' performances helped CORE Autosport clinch the Lites 1 teams' championship, six points clear of the Downs' Eurosport Racing outfit. In Lites 2, BERG Racing's John Weisberg and Factory 48 Motorsports' Lee Alexander dominated the class, taking 13 of the 15 wins available. Weisberg's nine wins gave him the championship title by seven points on dropped scores, from four-time winner Alexander. BERG Racing also took the teams title by six points from Factory 48. Other race wins were taken by Rick Bartuska and Eric Vassian.
All races supported the 2010 American Le Mans Series season apart from round three which was a stand-alone event. All rounds consisted of two 30 minute races.
| Rnd | Race | Circuit | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 58th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring | Sebring International Raceway | Sebring, Florida | March 20 |
| 2 | Monterey Sports Car Championships | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | Monterey, California | May 22 |
| 3 | New Jersey Race | New Jersey Motorsports Park | Millville, New Jersey | June 27 |
| 4 | Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix | Miller Motorsports Park | Tooele, Utah | July 10 |
| 5 | American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix | Lime Rock Park | Lakeville, Connecticut | July 24 |
| 6 | Road Race Showcase | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | August 22 |
| 7 | Grand Prix of Mosport | Mosport International Raceway | Bowmanville, Ontario | August 29 |
| 8 | 13th Annual Petit Le Mans | Road Atlanta | Braselton, Georgia | October 2 |
Entry list
| Team | No. | Driver | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lites 1 | |||
| Ferrari of Houston | 00 | Owen Kratz | 1–2, 4, 6, 8 |
| 33 | Richard Fant | 1–2, 4, 6–8 | |
| Intersport Racing | 2 | David Ducote | 1–2, 6–8 |
| 3 | Wayne Ducote | 1, 3–4, 6–8 | |
| 37 | James Kovacic | 2 | |
| Eurosport Racing | 4 | Antonio Downs | 1–7 |
| 12 | Matt Downs | 1–7 | |
| 34 | Jon Brownson | 1–4, 6–8 | |
| 79 | Lucas Downs | 1–7 | |
| 88 | Dan Weyland | 1, 3–4, 6–8 | |
| Uberwurx Racing | 5 | Juan Carlos Martinez | 6 |
| Performance Tech | 6 | Daniel Goldburg | 8 |
| 8 | Anthony Nicolosi | 1–5, 8 | |
| 11 | Johnny Meriggi | 1–2, 4, 6, 8 | |
| 64 | Patrick O'Neill | 2–4 | |
| 96 | Danny Mancini | 1–6, 8 | |
| Comprent Motorsports | 9 | Jonathan Gore | 6 |
| 24 | 1 | ||
| 92 | Richard Zober | 3 | |
| Inspire Motorsports CORE Autosport[2] |
13 | Gary Gibson | All |
| 21 | Charlie Shears | All | |
| 54 | Jon Bennett | All | |
| Barnhart Racing Kelly Moss Racing |
17 | Paul Barnhart III | 1–2 |
| Robali Motorsports | 25 | Robert Garcia | 6 |
| The Motorsports Group | 28 | Don Yount | 1 |
| Pabst Racing | 40 | Jim Ferro | 6 |
| Brian Graham Racing | 52 | Nick Majors | 7 |
| Gunnar Racing | 66 | Frankie Montecalvo | 1–5 |
| Leslie Racing Services | 94 | Darryl Shoff | 1, 3, 5–6, 8 |
| Green Earth Team Gunnar | 99 | Christian Zugel | 1–2 |
| Lites 2 | |||
| Clueless Racing | 07 | Rick Bartuska | 1, 6 |
| CGI – DeAngelis Racing | 7 | Max DeAngelis | 7–8 |
| 22 | Robert Sabato | 7–8 | |
| 30 | Michal Chlumecky | 2, 7–8 | |
| WEST Racing | 10 | Eric Vassian | 1, 8 |
| 42 | Jim Garrett | All | |
| Wilzig Racing | 15 | Alan Wilzig | 5 |
| Factory 48 Motorsports | 23 | Lee Alexander | 1–4, 6–8 |
| Ansa Motorsports | 44 | Alain Nadal | 1 |
| 68 | Ray Langston | 1 | |
| BERG Racing | 48 | Michael Hill | 1 |
| 75 | John Weisberg | 1–3, 5–8 | |
Season results
| Rnd | Circuit | Lites 1 Race One Winning Team | Lites 2 Race One Winning Team | Lites 1 Race Two Winning Team | Lites 2 Race Two Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lites 1 Race One Winning Driver | Lites 2 Race One Winning Driver | Lites 1 Race Two Winning Driver | Lites 2 Race Two Winning Driver | ||
| 1 | Sebring | #21 Inspire Motorsports | #23 Factory 48 Motorsports | #13 Inspire Motorsports | #75 BERG Racing |
| Charlie Shears | Lee Alexander | Gary Gibson | John Weisberg | ||
| 2 | Laguna Seca | #37 Intersport Racing | #75 BERG Racing | #11 Performance Tech | #75 BERG Racing |
| James Kovacic | John Weisberg | Johnny Meriggi | John Weisberg | ||
| 3 | New Jersey | #21 Inspire Motorsports | #23 Factory 48 Motorsports | #12 Eurosport Racing | #75 BERG Racing |
| Charlie Shears | Lee Alexander | Matt Downs | John Weisberg | ||
| 4 | Miller | #66 Gunnar Racing | #23 Factory 48 Motorsports | #4 Eurosport Racing | #23 Factory 48 Motorsports |
| Frankie Montecalvo | Lee Alexander | Antonio Downs | Lee Alexander | ||
| 5 | Lime Rock | #13 Inspire Motorsports | #75 BERG Racing | not held | not held |
| Gary Gibson | John Weisberg | ||||
| 6 | Road America | #34 Eurosport Racing | #75 BERG Racing | #4 Eurosport Racing | #07 Clueless Racing |
| Jon Brownson | John Weisberg | Antonio Downs | Rick Bartuska | ||
| 7 | Mosport | #21 CORE Autosport | #75 BERG Racing | #79 Eurosport Racing | #75 BERG Racing |
| Charlie Shears | John Weisberg | Lucas Downs | John Weisberg | ||
| 8 | Road Atlanta | #13 CORE Autosport | #10 WEST Racing | #8 Performance Tech | #75 BERG Racing |
| Gary Gibson | Eric Vassian | Anthony Nicolosi | John Weisberg |
