Since 2002, the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships have begun in Sebring, Fla., which is exactly where they will commence in 2009, as part of the American Le Mans Series' prestigious Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring event, March 18 - 21.

The SCCA SPEED GT teams will then head west to California for another world-famous race: the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. For the fourth-consecutive year, the SCCA SPEED GT Championship will race on the streets of Long Beach, joining the Indy Racing League along with the American Le Mans Series.

SCCA SPEED World Challenge will also return to the hills of Connecticut and Lime Rock Park to celebrate Memorial Day weekend, May 22 - 25, with Grand-Am. An SCCA SPEED Touring Car-only event in recent years, the SCCA SPEED GT field will come along for the ride in 2009.

In August, SPEED World Challenge will visit two classic Midwest road courses: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America. The series will once again take part in a full bill of racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Aug. 7 - 9, on the combined Indy Racing League/American Le Mans Series weekend. The SPEED World Challenge paddock will make a short trip north to Wisconsin with the American Le Mans Series the following weekend, Aug. 14 - 16, to pace the beautiful Road America circuit.

The shores of Northern California beckon, Oct. 9 -11, as Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca returns to the 2009 SPEED World Challenge calendar to host the season finale. Both races will take place Sunday, following Saturday's American Le Mans Series finale.

"We're quite proud of how the schedule is shaping up for 2009," said WC Vision Co-Chairman Bob Woodhouse along with Co-Chair Peter Cunningham, who added "We'd love to list more of the exciting venues we have planned for next year, but we respect the contract process and will wait until all details are in place."

SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Robert Wildberger agreed that the 2009 SPEED World Challenge schedule was exactly what the fans and teams are looking for.

"Both WC Vision and the SCCA Pro staff put in a tremendous effort to build the 2009 SPEED World Challenge schedule," Wildberger said. "What I see coming together is a perfect mix of classic road racing venues and blockbuster weekends. This schedule will make for great racing for the fans and give tremendous exposure to sponsors."

The remainder of the planned 10-round SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge schedule for 2009 will be released shortly. Keep checking www.world-challenge.com for the latest news.

Provisional 2009 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Schedule

Divided into two separate series and races (SCCA SPEED GT and SCCA SPEED Touring Car), the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships are America's top production car-based series. SCCA SPEED World Challenge events are a maximum of 50 minutes in length, feature standing starts and the world's most popular manufacturers racing head-to-head. For more information see www.world-challenge.com.