It's time for the final race day for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship of the 2015 calendar year.
It's been a busy weekend leading up to race day with plenty of headlines, due mostly to the treacherous condition Road Atlanta has been in with rain plaguing the weekend and essentially keeping things interesting.
With the final green flag of the season just hours away, here are the biggest headlines to take note of before 10 hours of North American sports car racing at Braselton, Georgia's Road Atlanta to conclude the 2015 season and lead into next year's IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Michael Shank Racing's Ligier will race
The No. 60 Honda-powered Ligier JS P2 of Michael Shank Racing will contest the 10-hour race despite suffering serious damage in a crash during Thursday evening's night practice.
The team did not have the car ready to participate in Friday afternoon's qualifying session, but the No. 60 will take part in Saturday's morning warmup, marking its first time back on track since the accident in the third practice session of Thursday, the first day of the finale weekend.
The crash, which occurred when John Pew hydroplaned through Turn 12 coming onto the front straight, resulted in damage to the car's tub. Despite this monumental setback, the local motorsports community came together to help get the car back ready in time for Saturday's race: senior IMSA officials, including Chairman Jim France and President/COO Scott Atherton; Tim Keene, team manager of DeltaWing Racing Cars; and Elan Motorsports, based near Road Atlanta, were each vital in getting the Ligier chassis put back together so it can complete the weekend.
Michael Shank and Keene spoke after the crash on Thursday night before the chassis was sent to Elan Motorsports in Braselton where it was repaired overnight.
“I got a text from Tim Keene at DeltaWing and Elan Motorsports at eight this morning saying the tub was done, so that’s unbelievable,” Shank said.
The Ligier of Michael Shank Racing will start from the back of the grid for Saturday's 10-hour Petit Le Mans with the diesel-powered SKYACTIV prototypes of Mazda Motorsports who opted to skip Friday afternoon's qualifying due to the treacherous conditions caused by the continuing rain.
Porsches sent to back of GTLM grid
Chassis change for Bamber
The pair of Porsche 911 RSRs of Porsche North America swept the front row in GTLM qualifying with Earl Bamber dominating the session, setting the two fastest laps of the 15-minute period delegated to the class - before crashing the No. 912, bringing out a red flag and the eventual termination of the session.
Because he caused the red flag, Bamber had his quickest lap of the session erased - but with him setting the top two times of the session, his second-quickest time served as a backup and saw him remain at the top of the timesheet as the GT Le Mans class polesitter.
The crash that brought the session to a halt and eventually to its end, though, resulted in chassis damage that was too severe to repair. As a result, the team is changing the chassis of the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR, which will, by the rules, send the driver of New Zealand to the back of the grid.
He was without a doubt the fastest GTLM driver during the qualifying session, so it will be interesting to see how the No. 912 moves through the field during 10 hours of racing on Saturday.
Ride height infringement for No. 911
Similar to the No. 88 ORECA FLM09 Prototype Challenge car of Starworks Motorsport, the No. 911 Porsche of the GTLM category will start from the back of the field after technical infringements were found in the post-qualifying inspection.
The No. 88 Starworks PC car was penalized for an unauthorized airbox modification while the GTLM Porsche will join the aforementioned No. 912 of Earl Bamber at the back for the start after it was caught breaking a ride height rule.
Christina Nielsen aiming to make history
Driver of the No. 007 Aston Martin of TRG-AMR in the GT Daytona class, Christina Nielsen, is aiming to become the first female driver to win a major international sports car racing championship.
Her and co-drivers Kuno Wittmer and Brandon Davis entered this finale weekend leading the GTD category by a single point over the No. 48 Audi R8 LMS of Paul Miller Racing, driven by Dion von Moltke and Christopher Haase.
“Winning the championship would be a major accomplishment in my career and I believe it is a step in the right direction towards becoming a pro driver,” said Nielsen. “Also the fact that no other female has won it before makes it even more special.”
Four second-place results as well as a single third-place finish have been the highlights of Nielsen's performance in 2015. The TRG-AMR team might just be needing that win at Road Atlanta on Saturday in order to hold off the Paul Miller Audi and secure the title.
Three Corvette DPs set to battle for Prototype title
After the 10 hours of racing are up, it'll be a Corvette Daytona Prototype team that is crowned the 2015 champions of the flagship Prototype category. What's to be decided is which of the three eligible teams that run Corvette DPs will prevail at the top of the points when it's all said and done Saturday night.
Both of the Action Express Racing entries, the Nos. 5 and 31 cars driven by Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi as well as Eric Curran and Dane Cameron, respectively, are in the running for the championship.
The third car that could leave Road Atlanta with the title is the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Racing car of Michael Valiante and Richard Westbrook.
The No. 90 VisitFlorida.com car holds a six-point lead over the two Action Express cars and hence if Westbrook and Valiante along with third driver Mike Rockenfeller can earn a podium position, they will win the championship.
Comparatively, one of the Action Express cars would need to win and hope the two other contenders finish worse than fourth. If the No. 90 car finishes sixth or worse, the title would be awarded to an Action Express car if it were to win or place second.
Corvette DP-style cars won both the final year of the GRAND-AM Rolex Series in 2013 (Jordan Taylor and Max Angelelli) as well as the first ever TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season in 2014 (Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi) and the chassis will see another driver pairing crowned on Saturday.
No crashes streak ended for Team Falken Tire
Team Falken Tire, in its seven-year history, has had just a single accident with its driver at fault - and it happened in Friday's GTLM qualifying session during the program's final weekend in existence.
Early in Friday's 15-minute GTLM qualifying session, Bryan Sellers, at the wheel of the No. 17 Porsche of Team Falken Tire, ran through a puddle, sending him spinning off track and making considerable contact with the wall. He was able to complete the lap, returning to the pits for the rest of the session and not setting a time. The session continued under green.
The race on Saturday will mark the final time the Falken Tire Porsche competes in the TUDOR Championship as the team seeks their third consecutive class victory at Petit Le Mans before the program concludes when the season is complete.
Rain set to play its part
Rain has already heavily manipulated the weekend, being the cause for the handful of major incidents that have taken place from the first practice session on Thursday morning to Friday afternoon's qualifying, and it isn't expected to disappear from the radar for Saturday's 10-hour race.
IMSA is ready
IMSA has a plan to be put in motion if the rain persists during the last race of the year. For starters, jet blowers and sweepers will be out on track during full-course caution periods to eliminate as much standing water/puddling as possible.
Additionally, it was mentioned during the drivers' meeting that running later into Saturday night is possible, as is completing as much of the race as possible on Saturday before postponing it if necessary to a three-hour window on Sunday afternoon to surpass the 50 percent mark so it can be deemed official.
Good timing on Michelin's part
Michelin picked an ideal weekend to debut its 2015 WEC wet weather tires for the TUDOR Championship along with its existing damp slick and slick versions for the GTLM teams partnered with the tire manufacturer. A revised tread pattern aids in better grip for the new wet tire.
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For more notes to get you further up to speed ahead of the green flag at Road Atlanta, click here.
The green flag will fly for the season finale at 11:10 am ET.
For minute-to-minute updates during the race to keep you informed throughout the season finale, follow @VAVELSportsCar on Twitter.
Aaron Durant is the editor of the VAVEL USA Racing section. Follow him on Twitter at @DoubleA291.