Racing Series
From the 24 Hours of Le Mans to the Daytona 500 and the Dakar, these are the racing series AutoGathering follows. Each one has its own kind of car, its own rules and its own way of deciding a champion. Here’s a quick guide to all 11, grouped by type, with the tracks where you can see them race.
Racing Series at a Glance
Series 11 racing on six continents
Oldest 1923 24 Hours of Le Mans
Newest 2014 Formula E
Types 4 endurance, single-seaters, touring and stock cars, rally
Endurance and Sports Cars
Long races where drivers share a car and reliability matters as much as speed.
France · Since 1923
24 Hours of Le Mans
Endurance Hypercar, LMP2, LMGT3
One car, three drivers and a full day and night on the Circuit de la Sarthe. It’s the oldest active endurance race in the world and the centerpiece of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Where it races: Circuit de la Sarthe
Japan · Since 1993
Super GT
GT racing GT500 and GT300
Japan’s top GT series started as the All-Japan GT Championship and took the Super GT name in 2005. Factory GT500 cars from Honda, Nissan and Toyota share the track with the slower, more varied GT300 class, and the points leaders carry extra weight to keep things close.
Where it races: Suzuka, Fuji Speedway, Motegi, Okayama
Single-Seaters
Open-wheel cars built for one thing: going as fast as possible.
Worldwide · Since 1950
Formula 1
Open-wheel World championship
The world championship began at Silverstone in 1950 and now runs 24 Grands Prix across five continents. New rules for 2026 brought smaller, lighter cars, a near 50/50 split between engine and electric power, and an 11th team in Cadillac.
Where it races: Monaco, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Suzuka, Interlagos
North America · Since 1996
IndyCar Series
Open-wheel Ovals, roads, streets
America’s top open-wheel series, built around the Indianapolis 500, which was first run in 1911. Everyone uses the same Dallara chassis with Honda or Chevrolet engines, and the calendar mixes ovals, road courses and street circuits.
Where it races: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Streets of Long Beach
Worldwide · Since 2014
Formula E
All-electric Street circuits
The all-electric single-seater series held its first race in Beijing in 2014 and became an FIA World Championship in 2020. Most races run on temporary street tracks in city centers, so the walls are close and the racing is tight.
Where it races: Monaco, Jeddah, São Paulo street circuit
Stock Cars and Touring Cars
Cars that look like the ones in showrooms, driven door-to-door.
United States · Since 1948
NASCAR Cup Series
Stock cars Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota
Bill France Sr. founded NASCAR in 1948, and the top series ran its first season in 1949. The season opens with the Daytona 500, and the current Next Gen car, introduced in 2022, uses many shared parts to keep the field close.
Where it races: Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte, Indianapolis
Australia and New Zealand · Since 1997
Supercars Championship
V8 touring cars Bathurst 1000
Formerly V8 Supercars, this is Australia’s top touring-car series, and its championship traces back to the Australian Touring Car Championship of 1960. The big one is the Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama.
Where it races: Mount Panorama, Adelaide Street Circuit
United Kingdom · Since 1958
British Touring Car Championship
Touring cars Three races a weekend
The BTCC runs three races at every meeting, and part of the grid for the last race is reversed by a draw, which keeps the contact coming. Cars have used a hybrid boost system since 2022.
Where it races: Brands Hatch, Donington Park, Thruxton, Silverstone
Germany · Since 1984
DTM
GT3 cars Sprint races
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters started in 1984, stopped after 1996 and came back in 2000. Since 2021 it has raced GT3 cars, so brands such as Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari and Lamborghini race on the same grid.
Where it races: Hockenheimring, Norisring, Nürburgring
Rally and Rally-Raid
Point-to-point stages against the clock, on roads and terrain racetracks never see.
Worldwide · Since 1973
World Rally Championship
Rally Gravel, tarmac, snow
Drivers and co-drivers race against the clock one car at a time, on closed public roads in forests, mountains and snow. Each event packs dozens of timed stages into a long weekend, and the fastest total time wins.
Where it races: Safari Rally Kenya, Rally Chile, Rally del Paraguay
Saudi Arabia · Since 1978
Dakar Rally
Rally-raid Cars, bikes, trucks
The Dakar started from Paris to Dakar, Senegal, at the end of 1978, moved to South America from 2009 to 2019, and has run in Saudi Arabia since 2020. It’s about two weeks of desert stages for cars, bikes, trucks, quads and side-by-sides, and it opens the World Rally-Raid Championship.
Where it races: Rallye du Maroc, Desafío Ruta 40
Compare the Racing Series
Not sure where to start? Here’s every series side by side. If you like strategy and long nights, try endurance racing. If you want close, physical racing, touring and stock cars deliver. And if you want to see drivers on roads that were never meant for racing, watch a rally.
| Series | Cars | Where | First season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Hours of Le Mans | Endurance prototypes and GT cars | France | 1923 |
| Super GT | GT cars | Japan | 1993 |
| Formula 1 | Open-wheel single-seaters | Worldwide | 1950 |
| IndyCar Series | Open-wheel single-seaters | United States and Canada | 1996 |
| Formula E | Electric single-seaters | Worldwide | 2014 |
| NASCAR Cup Series | Stock cars | United States | 1949 |
| Supercars Championship | V8 touring cars | Australia and New Zealand | 1997 |
| BTCC | Touring cars | United Kingdom | 1958 |
| DTM | GT3 cars | Germany and Europe | 1984 |
| World Rally Championship | Rally cars | Worldwide | 1973 |
| Dakar Rally | Rally-raid cars, bikes and trucks | Saudi Arabia | 1978 |
Talk Racing With Other Fans
Whether you follow one series or all of them, the AutoGathering community is where fans share race-weekend plans, hot takes and photos from the track.
- Race weekend trips
- Who wins this season?
- F1 vs IndyCar
- Daytona 500 talk
- Bathurst memories
- Rally spectator spots
- Dakar stories
- Sim racing
Racing Series FAQ
What racing series does AutoGathering cover?
Eleven so far: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Super GT, Formula 1, IndyCar, Formula E, NASCAR Cup, Supercars, the BTCC, DTM, the World Rally Championship and the Dakar Rally.
What is the oldest racing series on this list?
The 24 Hours of Le Mans, first run in 1923. The Formula 1 World Championship started in 1950, and the BTCC in 1958.
What is the difference between Formula 1 and IndyCar?
Both use open-wheel single-seaters, but F1 teams design their own cars and race worldwide, mostly on road courses. IndyCar teams all use the same Dallara chassis with Honda or Chevrolet engines, and race mostly in the United States on ovals, road courses and street circuits.
Which racing series is all-electric?
Formula E. It has raced electric single-seaters since 2014 and has been an FIA World Championship since 2020.
What is the difference between a rally and a rally-raid?
A rally like the WRC runs many short timed stages on closed roads over a weekend. A rally-raid like the Dakar covers hundreds of kilometers a day across deserts and open country for up to two weeks, with navigation playing a big part.
Are there full guides for each series?
24 Hours of Le Mans, Formula 1, IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series and World Rally Championship have full guides with the calendar, latest champions, history, memorable stories and rules. We’re adding one new series guide every day, and each card links to its guide as soon as it’s live.
Find a Track Near You
Every series on this page races at circuits in our racing-circuit directory, with track facts, events and visitor tips by region.
Photo credits
- Header image: Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized.
- The No. 51 Ferrari 499P at the…: T GOUREAU, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- A British Touring Car Championship car on…: TCExplorer , CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and resized.
- A Toyota Land Cruiser that raced in…: Tokumeigakarinoaoshima, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Formula E Gen3 cars racing at the…: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Will Power racing in the 2024 IndyCar…: Yaktatel, Public domain, cropped and resized.
- A pit stop for the No. 15…: Staff Sgt. Cory Bush, Public domain, cropped and resized.
- The opening lap of a GT500 race…: Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized.
- Two Supercars, led by a Ford Mustang,…: Kytabu, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- A Ford Mustang leading a Mercedes-AMG at…: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Ott Tänak on the Ouninpohja stage of…: Antti Leppänen, CC BY 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Kimi Antonelli in the No. 12 Mercedes…: Lukas Raich, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.