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The American Endurance Racing (AER) series was born in 2014 out of a desire for an inclusive endurance racing series with simple rules. AER’s goal is to provide a fun, safe environment for experienced drivers to participate in endurance races using almost any production based race car.
All AER races will be multi-class races with cars competing against other, in-class cars. Cars will be classed with other cars with similar performance based on qualifying times posted during qualifying sessions.
While entry fees will vary event to event due to the length of the event, AER is determined to provide competitors an excellent value and to keep entry economical. AER’s simple, all-inclusive fee covers the event costs for one car; all driver and crew and all practice, qualifying, and race sessions.
Who is eligible to race with AER?
Drivers who have, or have had, a racing license with a major governing bodies OR drivers who have competed in five LeMons/Champ races OR drives with substantial track time OR drivers with other types of racing experience. A good reference helps too.
What cars are eligible to race in AER?
Any production-based race car built to compete in sanctioned road racing with the SCCA, NASA, BMW CCA, PCA, PBOC, IMSA, WC or similar governing bodies OR top Champ Car cars (including EC) OR class A LeMons cars
What do you mean by “run what you brung”?
At AER you can build the car you want to build and not worry about weight, horsepower, displacement, aero or any other restrictions imposed by other series. Build your car, bring it and we’ll put you in a class where you will be competitive.
What kind of tires can I use?
All cars must use DOT approved street tires with a minimum tread-wear of 180. This includes many high-performance summer tires that are readily available in all sorts of sizes. We do this to keep speeds down and as a cost saving measure.
How are your events structured?
Most events are three day (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). On Friday morning there is a HPDE session for all drivers registered to race in the event. During this session they may go on track in street cars, track cars and race cars. You can also go on track with a coach. Qualifying is held on Friday afternoon as well as a welcome drivers meeting for drivers new to AER. Friday wraps up with a cookout sponsored by one of our partners. Saturday and Sunday each have individual seven to nine hour races.
Can I register for just the HPDE?
No, this session is just for those drivers who will be racing to practice and get coaching on the track.
What does it cost?
All 2024 events are $2950
What does that cover?
Registration for one car and an unlimited number of drivers, crew, friends and family. It also includes, stickers, candy, swag, tee shirts, Friday cookout, etc.
Are there any other fees such as yearly membership or license?
Yes. AER charges a $50 yearly membership which comes with discount coupons worth much more than $50 from our partners . The only other fees are for garage rental (optional at tracks with garages) or transponder rental should you need one.
How does qualifying work?
Qualifying is an open track session where every driver who will be racing turns at least five laps in the car they will be racing in.
How do you class cars?
We start with every car’s fastest qualifying lap time plotted on a timeline. We then look for natural groupings of the cars. If it’s not obvious where to draw a line between classes we look deeper into the qualifying data for each car near the area that we suspect the line will be drawn. We would look at the fastest driver’s second fastest lap and average lap time. We would also look at the second fastest driver’s fastest lap, average lap time as well as the average of all lap times for the car. When we look at all of the data in this way it becomes much more clear where to class those cars.
Can people sandbag to win?
No. Since classes are based on the cars at each race it would be very difficult to identify a lap time to drive to in order to do this. On top of that we monitor lap times with software we developed during racing and have the option to move a car if it appears to be running in the wrong class.
Do you mandate the length and number of stops teams must do?
Yes. The minimum number of stops is a calculation that is dependent upon the length of the race, but generally is set in a way to accommodate cars that can run for at least 90 minutes. All stops have a minumum length (currently set at three minutes) as to give teams a reasonable and safe amount of time to do what they need to do (change drivers, fuel and service the car, and so on). The three minute minimum removes any ability for a team to spend big money on fuel rigs and such. If your team is organized and prepared you can fill your car with simple, five gallon fuel jugs in three minutes and be competitive.
Boy AER sounds great but what does Grass Roots Motorsports Magazine and Roundel think of it?
See for yourself: HERE and HERE
Do you have any videos where AER racers talk about what they love about AER?
Funny you should ask: HERE
Do I need to have my car tech’d before the event?
No. If you are new to AER we think its best that you do take your car to one of our tech inspectors before the event to avoid issues at the track but we also offer inspections at the track.
Is there a charge for inspections?
First time teams can get their car’s teched for free at events. Our tech inspectors charge $150 at their shops. Some of them also perform inspections at our events. They charge $200 at events