IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is back in action after a nearly one-month break, and once this weekend’s Chevy Sports Car Classic in Detroit is complete, the series will go into another stretch of inactivity with the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans break.

For the sake of personal entertainment, it means that if you’re an IMSA fan, don’t miss the Friday-Saturday action on the streets of Belle Isle because the next opportunity won’t arrive until June 29 in Watkins Glen.

Beyond the pure enjoyment of watching IMSA’s Prototype, PC and GT Daytona classes do battle (GT Le Mans has the weekend off for the pre-event test at Le Mans), the rough, crash-happy event is also important for where it lands on the calendar.

Getting to the checkered flag unscathed at Detroit can make a big difference in how the championship plays out. And ending up in the wall – which is all but inevitable for some of the title contenders – with the halfway point in the championship right around the corner can knock some drivers and teams out of contention.

For those at the top of each class like the Taylor brothers in Prototype (22-point lead), James French and Pato O’Ward in PC (pictured below, 20-point lead) and Jeroen Bleekemolen and Ben Keating in GTD (24-point lead), taking a win on Saturday would seriously complicate the plans of those who intend to emerge as series champions.

A crash, extra pit stop to repair broken bodywork, or punctured tire among the class leaders could also bring those holding second or third in the standings into the frame before the WeatherTech Championship takes off with seven races to run from The Glen to Petit Le Mans on October 7.

As odd as it might seem, Detroit is a place to make a push and create separation, or revitalize sputtering title hopes, and the unforgiving barriers at Belle Isle are waiting to serve.

“We’ve had good results at Detroit and I actually enjoy the track,” defending GTD champion Christina Nielsen told RACER. “But at the beginning of the season, you are so focused on doing well at the big races and coming away with good points, the middle races like Detroit and their importance is sometimes overlooked. You just want to get to the end of the season, but you have to get out of a track like Detroit intact or it can really hurt your chances.”

The Dane and her Italian teammate/co-champion Alessandro Balzan will need fortune to smile on their No. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3 after the semi-works Mercedes-AMG GT3s from Riley Motorsports have claimed three wins on the trot. Of all the outcomes during Saturday’s one-hour, 40-minute race, Nielsen knows something spectacular will need to happen to draw down the significant points deficit to Bleekemolen and Keating in the No. 33 Mercedes.

“If there’s one thing I’ve noticed, every team can have one DNF,” she said. “We can’t have any more; we had ours at Daytona. And the Mercedes team hasn’t had one, so if we keep our heads down and keep working, they’re going to have theirs and then we can hopefully be right with them in the championship.

“I think the Mercedes has had some very good runs, and everyone will have their chance to shine in the championship, and we have three podiums so far but we need that light to shine on us to get a win. The earlier it happens, the earlier the pressure will rise.”

So, what does Nielsen and her Scuderia Corsa team have planned for Detroit? Play it safe and hope the other GTD contenders make mistakes?

“Not at all. I do not have a single nervous bone in my body. We are going for the win,” she said. “I believe 100 percent in this program. I know that no matter where we end up, we’ll give it our all.”