In case you didn’t know, I went to every IMSA GTP round in 2026. I think people started asking me to write something like this around Long Beach or Laguna, when it became clear I wasn’t bluffing about going to every round. I guess it makes sense, who better to give fans a look into the pros and cons of attending each race than a person who attended each race. This started as a true pro/con list for each track but as I was writing, it morphed into a bit of a travel guide to each track. Maybe rather than calling this a pro/con list I could call it a “what to expect when you’re attending” list.

Daytona

I am sure that everyone expects me to say Daytona is the race they should attend if they can only attend one race. In some ways it is, but in so many ways it is not. The obvious thing is that it is a major 24 hour race, and if you have a team or a driver you support, the opportunity to see them win is a temptation that is almost too great to overcome.

That is heavily counteracted by the fact that it is impossible to get a camping spot at Daytona unless you are renewing or buying it second hand. In a 24 hour race, the ability to go back to the tent, the RV, or the car and get a couple hours shut eye is almost a necessity. Luckily it is Florida, so it generally doesn’t get too cold, and you can sleep in the stands, the infield, or basically any bit of flat surface you can find.

I’ve done camping and also a hotel within walking distance at Daytona. Honestly the hotel was not worth it. A hotel that was further away (and cheaper) would have been a much better option, but I think camping was the best option of all. There are plenty of Facebook groups and SubReddits where you can find camping, but be aware that you’re going to pay a premium for it. And it will likely be tent camping only.

The year that I tent camped, I was able to see the banking between turns 3 and 4 of the oval right from the campsite. The toilets and showers were only steps away, and the paddock was just a short walk.

One thing that Daytona has, which most of the other tracks don’t, is an airport nearby. Now Daytona International Airport doesn’t have the greatest number of direct flights, but you can actually see it from the track, and it is an easy walk. But I have never used it, only driven and flown into Orlando. Based on social media it doesn’t seem like many of the drivers use it either, so there must be some downside.

For me, access is the main thing I look at when I am at a race. Daytona’s isn’t bad, considering how massive the race is. The garage area is massive, and the garages aren’t set up like most other IMSA races, the cars are in permanent garages, while the personnel are in trailers somewhere else. There are a few races like this, namely Laguna Seca and Indianapolis. If you’re not there to meet and see drivers then this might not be relevant to you, but that’s the bulk of my weekend, so it will be a recurring theme throughout.

One thing to know if you are going to Daytona is that you will not see the podium ceremony. It is positioned in a way that you simply can’t see it, and the only way to get close is to have VIP access. Understandable given the scale of the event, but disappointing given the standard IMSA sets the rest of the year.

Something to make sure to do if you can is the IMSA Welcome event called the IMSA Twenty Four Premier at One Daytona on Wednesday night. There are cars, an autograph session with most of the field there, multiple driver Q&A sessions, and it’s just a big party. Since the autograph session at the race itself is not full field because of the size of it, this is a great way to see a lot of the drivers all at once.

Speaking of the autograph session, it is one of the unique ones of the year. They group several of the GTP teams together and you go through a line for the whole group. This year the line I went through had PPM, Action Express, and Meyer Shank. It was probably the most popular line there. If you want to get through the line of one of the “big” teams (or AO racing) get there well over an hour early. I think we waited in this line for almost 2 hours before the session started.

Sebring

I really didn’t like Sebring and have not recommended anyone go to Sebring since attending.

I suppose a positive is that camping is easy to get, and doesn’t sell out immediately like Daytona. But with the massive campgrounds comes the biggest downside of Sebring: the fact that it is not a race with a party atmosphere, it is spring break at a racetrack.

If that is what you want, then Sebring might be perfect for you, but it is not what I wanted, and some of the things that I think are fundamentally necessary at a race track (like the ability to see the start/finish line) are notably absent.

The paddock at Sebring is … fine. No complaints really. It’s just a long corridor with the normal tent and trailer garages on both sides. Easy enough to navigate even if you need to cross a bridge to get to it. Getting the bike over the bridge for “Bike Lessons with Larry” was probably the most annoying bit there.

The podium at Sebring is nice and accessible, like a lot of the other races. The car pulls in, the driver gets out with the flag, and you can be right there to see it up close. But this is the norm and not the exception, so it isn’t really a positive to me.

If you don’t want to camp at Sebring, good luck. It’s really in the middle of nowhere and even the media folks I know had to stay almost an hour away without traffic. There are also two main food options, Outback Steakhouse and Chili’s. If your name is Kévin Estre, this is really the time you should use that gift card that you claim to still have from over a year ago, and keep bringing around but not using. It’s basically the only choice.

Sebring has a traditional autograph session, with each team setting up tables in front of their garages and lines forming per team. PPM had a massive line that formed over an hour before the session, but they were honestly one of the only ones with a line that lasted the whole session. Pick the big line first and then go to the smaller lines after.

Long Beach

If you can only go to one race and it for some reason can’t be Petit Le Mans, or if you also really like IndyCar, go to Long Beach.

Yes, I had this insane condo overlooking the track, and yes once I got there I was able to walk everywhere, and yes I was able to go back to the condo for lunch. But even if you don’t have all of that, Long Beach is still easily one of the best race weekends of the year.

Probably the most interesting thing about Long Beach was that the IMSA paddock and IndyCar paddock were separate and separately ticketed. With a ticket to the race, you got access to the IMSA paddock and all that came with that, including the autograph session. To access the IndyCar paddock a paddock pass was required and this was (as is standard for ticketed paddocks) close to the cost of the race weekend itself.

IMSA is very much a support series at Long Beach but it is far from the only one. There was Formula Drift, Stadium Super Trucks, and more. The whole race weekend felt like a massive celebration of motorsports rather than just a bunch of sessions for a race. There was almost always something happening on the track, or some sort of fan engagement session going on.

The autograph session for IMSA happened while IndyCar was on track, and the IndyCar autograph session was while IMSA was on track. If you are a big fan of both series you do need to pick between the two for these things. IMSA’s autograph session was a normal one at the trailers/garages and IndyCar’s was in the convention center. I did not go to the IndyCar one so I can’t say what it was like. For the IMSA session, the PPM line started to form around an hour before it started. AO Racing also had a line start forming around then.

One thing that is great about Long Beach’s location is that it is in the middle of a city, and surrounds a shopping area with a lot of restaurants. There are stands with normal “track food” inside the track but if you happen to want a sit down meal at somewhere like California Pizza Kitchen or Chili’s they are only steps away.

This is the first in a three part “travel guide” series about the IMSA GTP rounds.