INDIANAPOLIS — There’s been other sports car races on this 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as of late. However, they weren’t sanctioned by IMSA, the main sports car series here in North America. This is the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s first visit to these hallowed grounds since 2014.

However, in the three-year visit between 2012, 2013 and 2014, it was a companion race to the Brickyard weekend. This time, Sunday’s TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks (1 p.m. ET, NBC) is a standalone event.

IMSA, the stage is yours.

With the NTT INDYCAR SERIES being done for the year and this essentially being their home track, plus NASCAR having their race at Bristol on Saturday night, the stage is all on IMSA on Sunday afternoon on network NBC.

This is a true barometer on where sport cars lie here in the United States. See, it’s always big in Daytona because the long-standing season opener in January is the the annual kick off to the motorsports calendar. They’re the first out the gates.

But, as the season goes on, the attention isn’t as great. It’s not their fault, it’s just that NASCAR gets going, INDYCAR is growing and life happens.

Now, in a key Fall weekend, where does this race land in importance?

F1’s race would have already been completed by time this one starts on Sunday. There’s nothing rivaling this race on TV. The limelight is all IMSA’s and for a return to Indianapolis, the mecca of all things racing, how does this race do?

It’s no secret, IMSA has been growing too. Rising car counts with a new GTP class appearing with 4 powerplants and a rejuvenation it seems in the top class of IMSA, all seems right.

48 cars across five classes will race in Sunday’s race across to put on a display of bravery and skill. With that many cars, that much talent, that many different manufacturers on display in front of a world wide audience at Indianapolis, well it can take IMSA race even higher.

The storylines are tremendous. Penske swept the front row. Can they sweep the Indy 500-IMSA events on their hometrack?

Third place starter is Meyer Shank Racing. The Daytona scandal left them with an uncertain future. The defending GTP champions and two-time Rolex 24 Hour race winner may not have a place here in 2024.

Thank the tire pressure saga for that.

However, despite a 200 point penalty, they’ve rallied back and came to Indy -118 points back in fifth. They’re on a run of three straight podium finishes and start third behind the Penske’s on Sunday.

“If we’re in contention when we leave this place in a month, might as well come (to Road Atlanta, season finale) because it’s going to be a Martinsville short track race,” Shank agreed.

Sebastien Bourdais is back. He starts fourth in a Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac. He completed nine Indianapolis 500’s with turning 1,687 laps on Memorial Day weekend here. He’s also turned 685 laps in 10 races around the 2.439-mile road course layout in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES too.

He’s never won. Can he on Sunday?

Then you have in Gar Robinson in LMP3. He’s 4-for-4 in race wins in points paying events this season. He crashed in qualifying and starts last.

In GTD, the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 entry can clinch the title already. They start on pole.

This ride has been en fuego this season. Both Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow have a record setting 5 trips to victory lane including two straight. With a 375-point lead in points, if they leave Indy 385 points up or more on the field, then they’d clinch the title a race early.

In GTD-Pro, you have points leaders from Vasser Sullivan Racing starting third.

Jimmy Vasser knows a thing or two about racing here. He’s made eight Indy 500 starts during the course of his highly decorated open wheel career. Now, he’s back at Indy. This time, he’s hopeful to take his sports car team to victory lane on Sunday afternoon? KVSH won the 2013 Indy 500. A decade later, they’re eyeing an IMSA win in GTD Pro.

Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth in the No. 14 entry give them the best shot. They hold a 144 point lead in the standings on the heels of two wins in 9 races. While they’ve not won since June (Watkins Glen), they do have three straight runner-up finishes and 7 top 2 results in the last 8 races.

The racing should be good too.

All five classes will compete simultaneously during the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks, with a nearly 10-second gap in lap times during the test between the GTP and GTD cars. That should ensure plenty of action and drama as quicker prototypes will have to navigate lapped traffic of the production-appearing GTD classes.

Bourdais says that’s going to make this weekend’s race a tricky, yet thrilling one. With so many cars around here (48), there’s going to be traffic and going to be plenty of times with that gap in a speed differential to have the GTP cars catching the others.

However, you can’t just pass as easily as you’d like and if you catch a slower car in the wrong place, it could be a massive loss of time which could make for a race to where no one is going to get too far ahead.

Plus, the braking zones here will make for a lot of moves too.

With how tight these individual classes are and how close the margins should be, catching traffic at the wrong time could make or break your chances of kissing the bricks at the end.

With 48 cars and 14 turns on a 2.439-mile track, it’s going to be busy and chaotic on Sunday.

IMSA, the stage is yours.