The series originated in Canada as the Motorola Cup before being taken over by Grand-Am in 2001, when it was rebranded as the Grand-Am Cup. The series filled a similar role to rival IMSA's Firehawk series, which had ceased operations around the same time.
KONI became title sponsor at the start of the 2007 season, giving the series its identity as the KONI Challenge Series. A further rename followed ahead of the 2009 season, when it became the KONI Sports Car Challenge. For 2010, Continental Tire took over as naming rights holder, and the series ran as the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge for nearly a decade.
The series underwent its most recent rebrand ahead of the 2019 season, when Michelin was selected as the new official tyre supplier. The series simplified its branding by adopting the Michelin Pilot Challenge name, removing the "Sports Car" descriptor.
The Michelin Pilot Challenge uses a traditional sports car format in which two or more classes race simultaneously on track in a combined race. Races are generally two hours in length and require a driver change. At shorter venues such as Lime Rock Park, split-class formats with separate races for each class are used.
The series originally used two classes: the Grand Sport class for large-displacement sports cars with six-, eight-, ten-, or twelve-cylinder engines as well as small-displacement forced-induction models; and the Street Tuner class for smaller-engine sedans, hatchbacks, coupes, and convertibles. From 2017, IMSA permitted cars built to SRO GT4 regulations from mainstream automotive manufacturers to compete in the Grand Sport category. By 2018, the original Grand-Am GS format had been phased out entirely. TCR Touring Cars were introduced as a third class in 2018, with the intention of replacing the Street Tuner class — a transition that was completed the following year. The current format therefore consists of the GT4-based Grand Sport class and the TCR class.
The series was broadcast on Fox Sports 1 (previously Speed Channel) until 2013. From 2019, NBC Sports carried delayed race broadcasts while IMSA TV provided live coverage via the Peacock streaming platform. International rights in selected markets are held by IMSA TV through NASCAR's broader international media rights arrangements, which cover NASCAR's national series, the two major IMSA series, and American Flat Track racing.
The Continental Challenge and its successors served for many years as the support series for Grand-Am's premier Rolex Sports Car Series. Upon the 2014 merger of the Rolex Series and the American Le Mans Series into the United SportsCar Championship — subsequently renamed the IMSA SportsCar Championship — the series transitioned to supporting the unified top-tier IMSA programme, a role it continues to fulfil.
The Michelin Pilot Challenge provides a pathway for GT4 and TCR competitors at a level below the full IMSA SportsCar Championship, combining accessible machinery with endurance-format racing that demands both outright pace and reliability over two-hour stints with mandatory co-drivers.