There are some familiar and very fast faces here in the Road Atlanta paddock for the ten hours of Petit Le Mans.

Like armies reloading for battle, many of the top TUDOR Championship teams have rolled in reinforcements for the final race of the season.

For some, like Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, Risi Competizione Ferrari’s Olivier Beretta and BMW Team RLL’s Joey Hand, whose teams are a bit back in the championship battles, the mission is straightforward; Help their team win the race.

The assignment is more complex for 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay at Dodge Viper, Corvette Racing’s Ryan Briscoe, and Porsche’s Joerg Bergmeister. Their job is to help take their Manufacturer or Team to a TUDOR GTLM Championship.

The two TUDOR Championship protagonists in the Prototype class have also brought in their trump cards, Sebastien Bourdais at Action Express and Max Angelelli at Wayne Taylor Racing.

There is no point in championship contenders adding a driver who may be a drag in terms of race prep, set ups, strategies or pace. While it is possible to run the ten hour race with just two drivers, a third driver can help spread the workload and keep the two primary drivers fresh. Some are especially adept in traffic, chase down, darkness or a specific tactical mode.

The third drivers for the championship contenders are typically well integrated within the team, and test and race at the longer events such as the ROLEX 24 at Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Critical stages of the race may arise at any time and having a skilled driver aboard to deliver is what wins races and championships.