Grassroots Motorsports: Американский журнал для автолюбителей

Grassroots Motorsports (GRM) is an American print and digital periodical devoted to hardcore sports cars, driving skill improvement, technical advice, and amateur motorsports such as road racing, autocross and rallying. It was established in 1984 and is published eight times a year. The magazine's parent company, Motorsport Marketing Inc., is based in Holly Hill, Florida and also publishes Classic Motorsports magazine. The company also publishes various event guides and other print materials for select clients. Motorsport Marketing is also an event company, hosting or sponsoring large annual events under the banner of one or both magazines. Some of its past and present Grassroots centric events include the Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge presented by Grassroots Motorsports, GRM Speedfest at the Classic Motorsports Mitty, the Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge and the GRM Experience at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Staff members are also present at most large national and regional automotive enthusiast events involving modern or vintage sports cars.

Grassroots Motorsports was originally called "Auto X" and started in 1984 in Deland, Florida by publisher Tim Suddard and his wife, Margie. The name was changed to Grassroots Motorsports a few years later.

Grassroots Motorsports magazine's "Project Cars" section focuses on a wide variety of staff owned road and track cars. It presents in depth technical information from a very hands on, do it yourself point of view. Past GRM project cars include a Mazda MX 5 24 Hours of LeMons racer and autocrosser, a MINI Cooper S race car, a BMW M235i track day car, a Volkswagen New Beetle multi purpose car, and a LeGrand Mk. 18 race car built for autocross. One of the most famous project cars in the magazine's history is the Ro Spit, a 200 plus horsepower, rotary powered Triumph Spitfire.

The regular subscription price for one year (eight printed issues) of Grassroots Motorsports is $29.99. The company occasionally holds sales, sometimes offering subscriptions during the holidays for as little as $19.99 per year. The magazine is also available as an e publication that can be viewed on personal computers and mobile devices. It includes all the same content as the print version but is enhanced with hyperlinks to relevant information mentioned in its pages. Digital subscriptions come at a slightly lower cost than print: One year, for example, is $19.99.

The magazine holds an annual competition referred to generally as the Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge. When referring to a specific running of the event, the name changes to reflect the year it was held (i. e., $2015 Challenge in 2015). The main goal of the Challenge is to demonstrate that fun, capable and attractive cars do not have to be expensive. The total budget for entries cannot cost more than the year in American dollars (i. e., $2015 in 2015), hence the name. The competition consists of an autocross competition, a quarter mile (0.4 km) dragstrip time trial and a concours d'elegance. A special points system determines the final rank of each entry based on its performance in each segment of the competition. Along with first , second and third place trophies, other awards are distributed to deserving competitors, including "Most Spectacular Failure," "Challengers' Choice," and "Editors' Choice." The first Challenge event was held in 1999, before the staff instituted the "year as the budget" naming convention; the budget cap for cars in that event was $1500. According to the magazine's longtime art director, J. G. Pasterjak, the $1500 Challenge was intended to feature staff built cars as a way to create editorial content for the magazine: "Well, originally it was supposed to be just a staff thing. Then readers got wind of it and wanted to come." The second Challenge event was held in 2001 with the budget cap set at $2001. The event then became annual, with the budget cap increasing by one dollar each year—the idea being to account for inflation. The $2015 Challenge overall winner was Andrew Nelson and his V8 powered Volkswagen Beetle. Nelson and his family have been attending the event with their homebuilt creations for the past 11 years.

In 2007, Grassroots Motorsports added another competition to its lineup with the Ultimate Track Car Challenge. The goal of the UTCC is to discover the fastest track car in a field governed by minimal classifications. After that, it became an annual event held every summer at Virginia International Raceway. Thirty six cars competed at the Virginia International Raceway North Course in 2007. The overall winner was a Dodge Viper Competition coupe with pro driver Tommy Archer at the wheel. In 2008, the event moved to Buttonwillow Raceway Park, and Bart Carter took first place overall in his Radical SR8. In 2009, the event was held at the Virginia International Raceway Full Course; Marc Goossens beat out a field of more than 50 cars to take the overall win in his Riley Technologies Track Day Car. As of 2023, the UTCC's date and location have changed; it will occur each year in October at NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, KY as part of the SCCA Time Trials Nationals.