American Le Mans Series president and CEO Scott Atherton says he feels the series is hitting a high point in its ten year history after the dramatic start to the 2008 season.

In the most recent round of the season at Miller Motorsports Park, less than nine tenths of a second covered the top nine cars in qualifying while the top five cars finished on the lead lap.

With the GT2 class again having provided an enthralling battle for supremacy between Porsche and Ferrari – including a nose-to-tail 1-2-3 finish at Long Beach – Atherton admitted that the series was in rude health.

"We definitely are seeing a high point in the history of the American Le Mans Series," he said. "A number of our teams and corporate partners commented last weekend that the level of competition and overall professionalism has never been higher. And they indeed are correct. I have no doubts that the thrilling action and intense competition we all saw at Miller Motorsports Park will carry over into the second half of our season.

"There are a few high-profile teams who are targeting a return to the Series following Le Mans and potentially a few new additions that will raise the bar even higher. We have a lot of positive momentum within the Series and we are going from strength-to-strength at this time. I couldn't be more proud of our teams and the American Le Mans Series and IMSA staffs - they are the ones who have made this happen."

That view was shared by one of the longest-standing supporters of the series Rob Dyson, whose Dyson Racing team campaigns a brace of cars in the LMP2 class.

"I've been through of ups and downs with IMSA and the American Le Mans Series. I can tell you that it's never been better,” he said. "The competition is just superb. The quality of cars from top to bottom is excellent. The sponsor support and fan support is great.

"What's most gratifying is that the Series is so much more relevant that it ever has been. These are the kinds of cars and this is the kind of technology that not only can people understand, because it definitely keeps up with their road cars, but we're also doing a lot of things that are more advanced.

“The diesel Audis, all of the work we are doing with engines and the high ethanol content in our fuel - all of that is making it much more relevant. People are seeing great cars and great drivers at great venues around the country. It's just great to see how the series is getting increasingly better."