2018 6 Hours of The Glen

Watkins Glen International, where the race was held.

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2017.[1] It was the fifth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2018 Sahlen's 6 Hours of the Glen was the sixth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and was the third round of the Patron North American Endurance Cup.[1] The race was held at the eleven-turn 3.450 mi (5.552 km) Watkins Glen International on July 1, 2018.[1]

After the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic 4 weeks earlier, Filipe Albuquerque and João Barbosa led the Prototype Drivers' Championship with 144 points, ahead of Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr who were tied with them on 144 points, and Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor with 130 points.[2] With 121 points, the GTLM Drivers' Championship was led by Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook with a seven-point advantage over Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor.[2] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 125 points ahead of Katherine Legge with 122 points.[2]

IMSA released two separate technical bulletins regarding the Balance of Performance for the six-hour race. The first one was released on May 25, 2018, for the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class.[3] This was done to allow IMSA teams who were preparing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in three weeks time, notably Corvette Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing, to have the beforehand knowledge of the Balance of Performance for the race so they could prepare better. In this Bulletin, the BMW M8 GTE received a reduction of turbo boost, as well as a 4-liter fuel capacity reduction. The second technical bulletin was released on June 21, 2018, which regarded the Balance of Performance in the Prototype (P) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes for the event.[4] In P, The Acura ARX-05 and Cadillac DPi-V.R received fuel capacity reductions of 2 liters. In GTD, Acura NSX GT3 received a 10 kilogram weight increase while the BMW M6 GT3 received a fuel capacity of reduction 2 liters.

A total of 42 cars took part in the event split across 3 classes. 16 cars were entered in P, 8 in GTLM, and 18 in GTD.[5] In P, United Autosports made their first appearance since Sebring. Performance Tech Motorsports returned after skipping the Belle Isle round.Gabby Chaves subbed for João Barbosa, who was injured, in the Mustang Sampling Racing #5.[6][7] Will Owen joined Sebastián Saavedra and Gustavo Yacamán in the AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports entry.[8] In GTLM, Tom Blomqvist joined John Edwards and Jesse Krohn in the BMW Team RLL #24 entry.[9] Bill Auberlen returned to the BMW Team RLL #25 entry after contesting the 2 previous rounds in GTD with Turner Motorsport. In GTD, HART, Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, CJ Wilson Racing, P1 Motorsports, and Squadra Corse Garage Italia made their first appearances since Sebring. Scuderia Corsa added a second entry while Wright Motorsports scaled down to one entry. Daniel Morad substituted for in the Adam Christodoulou P1 Motorsports entry due to visa issues.[10] Oswaldo Negri Jr. joined Francesco Piovanetti and Daniel Serra in the Squadra Corse Garage Italia entry.[11] Markus Palttala, Don Yount, and Dillon Machavern returned to the Turner Motorsport entry for the first time since Sebring.[12] Mario Farnbacher joined David Heinemeier Hansson and Jack Hawksworth in the #15 3GT Racing entry.[13]

There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Friday morning and afternoon. The third on Saturday morning lasted an hour.[14]

Prototype Drivers' Championship standings[25] Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 Filipe Albuquerque 169 2 Eric Curran Felipe Nasr 168 3 2 Dane Cameron Juan Pablo Montoya 156 4 Jordan Taylor Renger van der Zande 156 5 3 Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson 150

GTLM Drivers' Championship standings[25] Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 2 Joey Hand Dirk Müller 147 2 1 Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook 146 3 2 Antonio García Jan Magnussen 143 4 2 Earl Bamber Laurens Vanthoor 142 5 2 Nick Tandy Patrick Pilet 138

GTD Drivers' Championship standings[25] Pos. +/– Driver Points 1 Bryan Sellers Madison Snow 155 2 Katherine Legge 154 3 Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating 134 4 1 Cooper MacNeil 126 5 1 Jack Hawksworth David Heinemeier Hansson 102

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.

Prototype Teams' Championship standings[25] Pos. +/– Team Points 1 No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing 169 2 No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing 168 3 2 No. 6 Acura Team Penske 156 4 No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing 156 5 3 No. 99 JDC-Miller Motorsports 150

GTLM Teams' Championship standings[25] Pos. +/– Team Points 1 1 No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 147 2 1 No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 146 3 2 No. 3 Corvette Racing 143 4 2 No. 912 Porsche GT Team 142 5 2 No. 911 Porsche GT Team 138

GTD Teams' Championship standings[25] Pos. +/– Team Points 1 No. 48 Paul Miller Racing 155 2 No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin 154 3 No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports 134 4 1 No. 63 Scuderia Corsa 126 5 1 No. 15 3GT Racing 123

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.

Prototype Manufacturers' Championship standings[25] Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Cadillac 199 2 Acura 190 3 Nissan 181 4 Mazda 180

GTLM Manufacturers' Championship standings[25] Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 1 Ford 160 2 1 Porsche 156 3 Chevrolet 155 4 BMW 148 5 Ferrari 58

GTD Manufacturers' Championship standings[25] Pos. +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Lamborghini 162 2 Acura 155 3 2 Lexus 140 4 1 Mercedes-AMG 140 5 1 Ferrari 137

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.