The fight for top-honors in the 19-car GT class is also expected to be intense, with the regular Porsche vs. Mazda vs. BMW vs. Camaro/Corvette battle seen in 2011 intensified with the addition of entries from Audi and Ferrari.

Following their podium finish at Daytona, Brumos Racing's Leh Keen and Andrew Davis will be looking for victory at Barber. (Photo: LAT)

While Magnus Racing’s Andy Lally and John Potter lead the championship race thanks to their class win at Daytona, arch-rivals TRG, now boasting a two-car full season attack led by Spencer Pumpelly (No. 67 Porsche) and Jeroen Bleekemolen (No. 68 Porsche), will also be strong.

Don’t count out defending class champions Brumos Racing, though, nor the pair of Camaro GT.Rs from Stevenson and Autohaus Motorsports, both winners in 2011. SpeedSource, now down to a single-car Mazda RX-8 effort this year, could also be in contention, as well as the singleton Turner Motorsport BMW M3.

AIM Autosport Team FXDD, APR Motorsport and Oryx Racing, the new kids on the GT block with their GT3-based Ferrari and Audis, could be considered wildcards as well, especially the Prancing Horse, which showed promising pace in the Rolex 24.

Of note, Marsh Racing, which sat out the Rolex 24, will returns to action this weekend with its Whelen Corvette for Eric Curran and Boris Said. The team could also play a factor in the outcome as well.

Official track activities kick off on Thursday afternoon, with a compact Friday schedule consisting of practice and qualifying in the morning. The Porsche 250, Round 2 of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, takes the green flag Saturday at 12:15 p.m. CT. Catch the race on SPEED beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET.

John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at