IMSA's annual visit to Elkhart Lake's Road America is upon us. Here's what to know.

The IMSA sports cars weekend at Road America has grown faster in recent years than anything else on the schedule at the track outside Elkhart Lake.

The main event is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. Sunday, putting a cap on a weekend that includes the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series as well as Porsche Carerra Cup and Mustang Challenge events.

Here’s a primer for the weekend.

More: Key Wisconsin auto racing events for the 2024 season

What is IMSA?

A sports car series owned by NASCAR, IMSA has 10 weekends throughout the year, beginning with the Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race on the last weekend of January.

Its main division is the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which will feature 47 cars in four divisions racing together.

GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) is the top class, with entries from Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche powered by diverse internal combustion engines with a common energy-harvesting hybrid system. LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) also features swoopy prototypes, while GTD and GTD Pro have cars that resemble their street-legal counterparts.

What is Road America?

Road America, one of the premier road courses in the world, winds through 640 acres in rural Sheboygan County. The main entrance is off Highway 67, less than 5 miles north of downtown Plymouth and 3 miles southeast of Elkhart Lake.

The racetrack was designed to be 4 miles, although various sanctioning bodies have measured it at fractions over that. Regardless, IMSA, as IMSA WeatherTech Championship races and Michelin Pilot Challenge races are timed events.

What’s the best way to watch a race at Road America?

Although there are several sets of bleachers, there is no assigned seating and there are numerous vantage points around the grounds. Shuttles are available. Getting around on a busy race day such as Sunday can be challenging.

Turns 1, 3, 5, 7 and 12 are popular spectator areas, as is the Carousel, a sweeping right-hander composed of 8-10 (known collectively as the Carousel) and 12 are popular spectator areas. A sandy area outside the Carousel, known as the beach, opened last year, and a location overlooking the Kink is new this year.

How much do tickets cost for IMSA at Road America?

Admission is $40 daily Thursday, $50 Friday, $85 Saturday and Sunday or $190 for the weekend. Those 16 and under get in free with a paid adult admission. Tickets are available at the gate.

Parking is free. Carry-in food and beverages are permitted.

What is the schedule for IMSA SportsCar weekend?

The Mustang Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup support series are on track Thursday afternoon.

On Friday, a 90-minute WeatherTech Championship practice is scheduled for 1:55 p.m., and all other series are on track.

Saturday starts with Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying at 8 a.m. The WeatherTech Championship is scheduled for practice at 9:55 a.m. and its qualifying session for 5:20 p.m. The Road America 120 Michelin Pilot Challenge race is set for 1:45 p.m. Also, IMSA has an autograph session beginning at 12:15 p.m. at the team transporters in the paddock.

On Sunday, IMSA opens the grid at 12:50 p.m. to allow fans to see the cars close up. The race is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. and is a timed event lasting 2 hours 40 minutes. Mustang Challenge races at 8:50 a.m. Saturday and 10:30 Sunday. Porsche Cup starts at 11:40 a.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

Spectator gates open at 7 a.m. all days.

Are IMSA qualifying sessions and races on television or available via streaming?

The race is available live on NBC’s Peacock streaming service and is set to air at 5 p.m. on CNBC.

On Saturday, the Road America 120 and WeatherTech qualifying stream on Peacock.

What are the storylines – and who are the drivers – to watch?

The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 that won last year at Road America is leading the championship with Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron . Theirs is the only car in the class to have won more than once this season (Daytona, Watkins Glen). Nasr also was part of the winning team at Road America in 2021.

Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande sit second in the standings in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac entry, 93 points behind with six of nine races complete.

The LMP2 battle has two teams within 12 points, with the No. 74 Riley ORECA of Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga ahead of the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports entry of Nick Boulle and Tom Dillman and the No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA. The No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen car won last year with a different lineup.

AO Racing, whose No. 77 Porsche leads GTD Pro, has undergone a lineup change with Frenchman Julien Andlauer joining Laurin Heinrich , replacing Sebastian Priaulx, who has left to fulfill other commitments.

Dirk Mueller , a five-time pole-winner and two-time race winner in the old GTLM class at Road America, returns for the first time in five years, paired again with Joey Hand , this time in the No. 65 Ford Multimatic Mustang in GTD Pro.

The No. 57 Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3 team of Philip Ellis and Russell Ward has four wins and a runner-up finish in GTD. They won together at Road America in 2022.

NASCAR race winner Ross Chastain is taking advantage of the Olympics hiatus to make is IMSA debut , driving in the Michelin Pilot Challenge race.

What other racing does Road America have?

Remaining events open to the public are Fanatec World Challenge sports cars Aug. 16-18, the fall vintage weekend Sept. 13-15 and the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Oct. 2-4

The track also hosts IndyCar, SCCA club racing, MotoAmerica motorcycles and two other vintage weekends. Gridlife, which puts on a series of motorsports/music/lifestyle festivals, was at the track last weekend.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: IMSA's annual visit to Elkhart Lake's Road America is upon us. Here's what to know.