Founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Don Panoz, the American Le Mans Series is a series of sports car endurance racing events patterned after the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans.

American Le Mans Series events feature multi-class racing among the top sports car racing drivers and teams in the world. The starting lineup for every event includes both factory and privateer racing teams going for overall wins as well as wins in one of four classes of competition.

Every year, millions of spectators, broadcast viewers and listeners from around the globe focus on the Sarthe region of France to witness the 24-hour event, which dates back to 1923. The race tests manand machine in what is considered one of the world's most prestigious automobile races.

In an effort to expand upon the rich history and tradition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organizers and rights holders for the trademarks and rules for the 24-hour race agreed to license their internationally famous brand name and rules to Panoz.

The ALMS is holding 10 North American events in 2005, all which will be televised by either CBS-TV or Speed Channel, both of which have entered into mult-year agreements to television ALMS races and ancillary programming.

The majority of the races are "sprint" races of two hours and 45 minutes in length. The longest event is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway, the oldest sports car race in America, celebrating its 53rd year 2005. The prestigious Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta is a grueling 1,000-mile event held in the fall and is a pivotal race for the championship.