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The Karjala Grand Prix is the crown-jewel race of the TM Master Cup schedule. It is traditionally held each May at the Karjala Raceway in Finland.

Origin

Master Cup co-founder Gerard Madigan, bolstered by his success in constructing the Decatur Raceway, set off to build a Grand Prix-style track in Europe. He settled on a plot of land in central Finland to build what would become the Karjala Raceway. However, the design of the track proved to be too dangerous for Grand Prix cars, so Madigan decided to bring the Master Cup to the track as a source of revenue.

History

“	 When one first thinks of an American oval racing series, the very last thing they expect is for the biggest race of the season to be held at a road course in Finland...halfway across the world...and especially when this race is history. „ —Lance Andrews on the Grand Prix

The first Karjala race was held in 1977. Ten TM Master Cup series regulars showed up, reportedly quite nervous at being so close to the Soviet Union, along with 28 European drivers. Master Cup driver and legend Arthur Thomas and his Camelot Racing #23 car won what he called "the most difficult race of my life." Heikki Sirola won the second race in 1978, and in doing so became the first non-American driver to win a TMMC race - that is, if one counts non-points events. However, on his victory lap, he famously drove his car into the turn-4 sand trap by accident, giving that section of the racetrack the nickname "Sirola Park".

In the 1980s, with most non-American drivers hailing from the Soviet Touring Car Championship, the race became a de-facto duel between U.S. and Russia. TMMC officials collaborated with the STCC officials in the early part of the decade to create a car that could essentially be used in both series, allowing easier access by the Russian teams into the race. However, none of them ever managed to win the event, and as the race eventually lost its Cold War stigma, use of the new car was ceased and the original TMMC model returned.

With the drivers having nothing but positive things to say about the circuit, its prestige grew, however, it wasn't until 1984 when the race became a points-paying event, and 1987 when Master Cup drivers outnumbered one-off teams from Northern Europe. Perhaps the most memorable Karjala Grand Prix race was when Leonid Roderick won the race as a rookie in 1998, something that was unheard of. He won it again in 2005.

Coming to the checkers of the 2004 edition, Danny Savin and Lance Andrews drew even. According to the transponders, Savin took the win by thousandths of a second. However, some still claim, most notably two-time champion Alexis Rainsford, that Lance's car in fact hit the line before Savin's but was afflicted with a glitched transponder, causing the results to be flawed.

2006 featured one of the most epic, and controversial, duels in TMMC history, as Tyrone Stanley and Steve Marshall went at it for the lead in the final laps, ramming both cars off the course in the process as Stanley took the win. In 2009, the race finally saw its first native winner, as Arto Kekkonen crossed the finish line first after starting 8th. In victory lane, he declared it "the happiest day of my life!"

2011 saw eventual two-time champion Alexis Rainsford manage to win the event after starting 18th, the furthest back any winner has qualified to date.

Winners' list

{|Year	 Winner	 Team 1977	Arthur Thomas	HKH Racing 1978	Heikki Sirola	HKH Racing 1979		1980		1981		1982		1983	Gary Czarnecki	Joe Conley Racing 1984	Arthur Thomas	Camelot Racing 1985	Garth McCallister	McCallister Motorsports 1986	Bill Tinley	Northern Racing 1987	Joseph Howard	McCallister Motorsports 1988	Benny Dwyer	Finntech 1989	Dale Roswell 1990	Ward Corrington	Mitchell and Sons Racing 1991	Alan Foster	Ocean Motorsports 1992	Benny Dwyer	Finntech 1993	Nathan Wilson	Carl Walter Racing 1994	Glenn Kulscar	FLASH Racing 1995	Mark Kowalski	Flare Motorsports 1996	Benny Dwyer	Finntech 1997	Adam Clark	Flare Motorsports 1998	Leonid Roderick	FLASH Racing 1999	Will Corrington	McCallister Motorsports 2000	Benny Dwyer	Finntech 2001	James Dalton	John Calvin Racing 2002	Palmer Stiles	FLASH Racing 2003	Danny Savin	BKR Motorsports 2004	Danny Savin	BKR Motorsports 2005	Leonid Roderick	FLASH Racing 2006	Tyrone Stanley	Gazelle Group Racing 2007	Yuliya Nosova	JC Racing 2008	Lorne Roth	Ocean Team STS 2009	Arto Kekkonen	FLASH Racing 2010	Mathias Taube	Ocean Team STS 2011	Alexis Rainsford	Volpi Racing Team 2012	Leonid Roderick	FLASH Racing

Categories: TM Master Cup | Karjala Grand Prix | Major Races | TM Master Cup races

The Round of Daytona was a TM Master Cup Series event at the Daytona International Speedway that ran from 1987? to 2009, and then again in 2011. From 1987 to 2009 it was the season opener. Scott Bates has won this race more than any other driver, which was nine.

Winners list

Year	 Winner	 Team 1987		1988		1989		1990	Scott Bates	Team EFR 1991	Scott Bates	Team EFR 1992	Scott Bates	Team EFR 1993	Scott Bates	Team EFR 1994	Scott Bates	Team EFR 1995		1996		1997		1998		1999		2000		2001		2002		2003		2004	Ian Cooper	National Racing 2005		2006	Ian Cooper	National Racing 2007	Cyrus LaTerza	Mitchell & Sons Racing 2008	Johnnie Ada	Team EFR 2009	Lorne Roth	Ocean Motorsports 2011	Jose Luis Martinez	Autosport Hermanos Gutierrez

Category: TM Master Cup races

The Round of Decatur is the season-ending race in the TM Master Cup Series and TM Lights. It's been on the schedule since the series started in 1952.

Past Winners

Year	 Winner	 Team 1952		1953		1954		1955		1956		1957		1958		1959		1960		1961		1962		1963		1964		1965		1966		1967		1968		1969		1970		1971		1972		1973		1974		1975		1976		1977		1978		1979		1980		1981		1982		1983		1984		1985		1986		1987		1988		1989		1990		1991		1992		1993		1994		1995		1996		1997		1998		1999	Leonid Roderick	FLASH Racing 2000	Benny Dwyer	McCallister Motorsports 2001	Leonid Roderick	FLASH Racing 2002	Leonid Roderick	FLASH Racing 2003	Palmer Stiles	FLASH Racing 2004	Joseph Howard	McCallister Motorsports 2005	Palmer Stiles	FLASH Racing 2006	Danny Savin	Blitzkrieg Racing 2007	Leonid Roderick	FLASH Racing 2008	Alexis Rainsford	JC Racing 2009	Danny Savin	Blitzkrieg Racing 2010	Adrien Devereux	Hodges-Walter Racing 2011	Scott Bates	Team EFR

Categories: TM Master Cup | Major Races | TM Master Cup races

The Round of Indianapolis is one of the TM Master Cup's most prestigious races, and from 1979 to 1987, it was the season opener. It is held at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Past Winners

Year	 Winner	 Team 1979		1980		1981		1982		1983		1984		1985		1986		1987		1988		1989		1990		1991		1992		1993		1994		1995		1996		1997		1998		1999		2000		2001		2002		2003		2004		2005		2006	Ian Cooper	National Racing 2007	Dale Roswell	Andrew Craig Racing 2008	Paul Lyons	National Racing 2009	Kurt Plissken	Power Steering Inc. 2010	Alexis RainsfordVolpi Racing Team 2011	Ian Cooper	Team EFR 2012	Adrien Devereux	Hodges-Walter Racing

Categories: TM Master Cup | Major Races | TM Master Cup races