NASCAR Cup Series

Grand-Am takes step toward DTM series

Published Mar. 26, 2013 8:09 p.m. ET

foxsports

Grand-Am Road Racing and the International Motor Sports Association have reached an agreement with a German organization in hopes of establishing a touring car race series in North America.

The agreement with the Internationale Tourenwagen-Rennen, which administers DTM racing, was announced Tuesday. Grand-Am President and CEO Ed Bennett says any North American version of DTM, the popular German touring car series, would not begin until 2015 at the earliest.

He and ITR Chairman Hans Werner Aufrecht say the next step is discussions with automakers.

The series could possibly run as a companion to United SportsCar Racing, which was announced March 14 as the name of the new series resulting from the merger of GRAND-Am and the American Le Mans Series.

''On the heels of our United SportsCar Racing and IMSA announcements, reaching this agreement adds to the momentum we're experiencing right now,'' said Bennett. ''The next steps in this process will involve further discussions with various automotive manufacturers, whose commitment to this concept is essential if a North American DTM-style series is to become reality.''