IMSA will allow up to 68 cars to compete in each of the North American Endurance Cup rounds, it has been revealed.

A larger-than-expected number of entry requests for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season, particularly in the four-round endurance championship, sparked the increase in car capacity, according to IMSA’s Gary Cummings.

The season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona was originally capped at 60 entires, corresponding to the maximum number of pit boxes that can be accommodated on pit lane.

While Cummings said they had considered expanding pit lane, the end result will see up to 12 cars each share a pit box with another entry for Daytona. Each box will be between 20 and 21 feet in length, roughly the same size as the GT teams from last year’s race.

Cummings said they received 80 entry requests, and a number of multi-car operations depended on gaining both entries, a factor that also contributed to IMSA’s decision to increase the field size.

The Six Hours of The Glen and Petit Le Mans, which were both also initially limited to 60 entries, will also increase to 68, as well as the Twelve Hours of Sebring, which was originally set at 63.

Cummings expects the use of both pit lanes at Road Atlanta, should they reach the new maximum capacity.