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76-715: The car raced in Grand-Am competition from 2012 through 2013 as a Daytona Prototype and then continued in the P class in the IMSA Tudor SportsCar Championship Series, now called the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship . With the change to IMSA racing, the car was updated to compete against ex- ALMS P2 cars. These included carbon brakes, carbon clutch, large rear diffuser (not part of Grand-Am rules), dual element rear wing, and other aerodynamic upgrades. For 2015, an aesthetic upgrade included

152-456: A heart bypass surgery , forcing him to rethink his priorities. He began to realise that the Camel GT series was in danger of becoming oriented toward the factory-backed teams and less to the privateers as Bishop originally intended. Rules were modified to accommodate the factory teams, which wanted to get into the series, despite Bishop's belief that such changes would be unfavorable to the series in

228-419: A stock car division from 1956 to 1984. * The inaugural season featured two subtitles: Pacific Coast (won by Sam Hanks ) and Short Track ( Troy Ruttman ). From 1958 until 1962, USAC sanctioned a road racing championship. It was held for sports cars from 1958 to 1961, and adopted Formula Libre rules in 1962. TORC: The Off-Road Championship was founded in 2009 by motocross racer Rick Johnson and it

304-466: A C7 style grille, headlights, and taillights. The 5.5 L port injected LS based GM small-block engine was built by ECR Engines and features individual throttle bodies and a dry sump oil system. (key) Races in bold indicates pole position . Races in italics indicates fastest lap. (key) Races in bold indicates pole position . Races in italics indicates fastest lap. IMSA The International Motor Sports Association ( IMSA )

380-679: A Silver or Bronze categorization from the FIA . The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama is a one-make series dedicated to the Porsche 911 GT3 , similar in concept to the Porsche Carrera Cup , held since 2005. Drivers are allowed to race in two different classes, Platinum and Gold. The entries were allowed in the American Le Mans Series starting in 2009 , in the GTC Class. The series became

456-564: A common points structure for a season-long championship. The 2012 season did not award a national champion, however the respective regional champions were honored at USAC Night of Champions. National Champions Regional Champions USAC started the Speedway Motors Lightning Sprint National Championship in 2017 for local tracks running Lightning Sprint cars. The points format counts the 12 best races at USAC sanctioned tracks. Pirelli World Challenge ,

532-550: A new prototype-only series for both LMP3 Gen 1 and Gen 2 cars called the IMSA HSR Prototype Challenge. A minimum 20-car grid was announced as the requirement for standalone races to be held, if not incorporated into races with other prototypes. The six-event calendar will follow HSR's usual events, including the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona and the Classic 12 Hour at Sebring. These are the series that were formerly run by

608-507: A pair of Jean Rondeau -built Inaltera 's to compete as "special prototypes". They became the foundation of the newly formed Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) category in 1981 , with separate rules similar to Group C (Bishop was unhappy with the fuel consumption formula of the latter). In 1984 , Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA), the organizers of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), attempted to unite

684-543: A race at the Trenton Speedway in New Jersey , eight USAC officials, plus the pilot, were killed when their 10-seat Piper Navajo Chieftain crashed during a thunderstorm 25 miles southeast of Indianapolis . Killed were: The incident closely followed the death of Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman. The plane crash came at a time when Indy car owners and drivers were demanding changes from USAC. Aside from

760-540: A race car. The series entered a sanctioning agreement with IMSA beginning with the 2021 season. In July 27, 2023, Ford and IMSA announced that the 7th Generation Mustang would have its own spec-racing series called Mustang Challenge, IMSA will sanction the championship with the organization of Ford themselves via the Ford Performance Racing School. On October 24, 2023, it was announced that HSR (owned by IMSA since January 2022) and IMSA were forming

836-446: A variety of ways. The inaugural championship, 2005, was decided by a two-race series (one dirt, one pavement). Subsequent national champions were determined by a single "national championship race" held at various locations. This format was used until 2010. In 2011, a points system was instituted to determine the national champion. Counting only a drivers twelve best finishes, the system allowed drivers from multiple regions to compete under

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912-574: Is USAC's Competition Director. When the American Automobile Association (AAA) withdrew from auto racing after the 1955 season, citing the Le Mans disaster and the death of Bill Vukovich at Indianapolis as contributing factors, both the SCCA and NASCAR were mentioned as its potential successor. Ultimately, USAC was formed by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman . It became

988-748: Is a grand touring and touring car racing series run by the International Motor Sports Association. The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge was the support series for GRAND-AM's premier offering, the Rolex Sports Car Series . In 2014 it became the support series for the United SportsCar Championship series upon the merger of the Rolex Series and the American Le Mans Series . The series branded as

1064-515: Is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida , under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA . It was started by John Bishop, a former executive director of SCCA (Sports Car Club of America), and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France Sr. of NASCAR . Beginning in 2014, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship ,

1140-512: Is earned in USAC racing when a driver claims all three national championships (silver crown, sprint car, and midget car). Only two drivers, Tony Stewart (1995) and J. J. Yeley (2003), have achieved the triple crown in a single season. Six other drivers, Pancho Carter (1972–78), Dave Darland (1997–2001), Jerry Coons Jr. (2006–08), Tracy Hines (2000, 2002, 2015), Chris Windom (2016, 2017, 2020), and Logan Seavey (2023-2024) have claimed each of

1216-468: The 510 and 200SX . Many drivers would cut their teeth in this series such as Don Devendorf, of Electramotive fame, Jim Downing , of Kudzu, and Bobby Rahal . The final season was run in 1984 before it was replaced by the IMSA Showroom Stock class the following year, while retaining its sponsor until 1988. As with most now-defunct racing classes, there are revival races run for this category and

1292-598: The Baby Grand Series , in 1971. Originally sponsored by B.F. Goodrich (therefore known as Goodrich Radial Challenge ) until they dropped sponsorship midway through 1975 (or 1976) and then by Goodyear (becoming the Goodyear Radial Challenge ), and later as Champion Spark Plug Challenge . The initial race held was in 1969 at Talladega Superspeedway Road Course. Gaston Andrey was first overall in an Alfa Romeo Giulia Super sedan. The Series' first year

1368-563: The Grand American Road Racing Association was created with full support of NASCAR's France family and other motorsports notables and had its inaugural season in 2000 . Grand-Am struggled early on, but proved to be a formidable competitor to the ALMS in later years with a different philosophy based on lower-tech cars, most notably its prototype category Daytona Prototype , giving larger fields and closer competition. Much like

1444-717: The IMSA Prototype Challenge series. Races in this series are usually run in support of events for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Events consist of two 45-minute sprint races with no pit stops or driver changes. Unlike its predecessor series, the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge features multi-class racing with prototypes and GTs on track at the same time. As the series is a development series for higher tier series among IMSA's championships, drivers are required to hold either

1520-595: The Porsche Carrera Cup North America beginning in the 2021 season. The Ferrari Challenge is a one-make series dedicated currently to the Ferrari 488 , which was previously sanctioned by Grand-Am prior to the merger. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo is a one-make series dedicated currently to multi-class racing, showcasing both the new Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo and the Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo that

1596-430: The SCCA sanctions events for mostly-stock and all-stock cars. The American Challenge (in full, Kelly American Challenge ), otherwise abbreviated as AAC was a category for US-built cars and throughout the series, it was always run as a support race to the premier GT series. Starting in 1977, the series ran until 1989. In 1992, the premier GTO category was renamed to GTS due to sponsor reasons, and rather than leaving

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1672-719: The Western States Midgets in 1982 utilizing the same cars & engines that race in the USAC National Midgets. The series solely races on dirt ovals across California and Arizona but in past raced on pavement ovals as well. The series does run co-sanctioned races with USAC's National Midget Series (including the historic Turkey Night Grand Prix race) and the Bay Cities Racing Association Midgets. Champions Source: USAC sanctions several regional 360 c.i.d. non-wing sprint car series across

1748-634: The American Le Mans Series. Don Panoz renamed the sanctioning organization back to the International Motor Sports Association and was the official sanctioning body of the ALMS, as well as its support series, the Prototype Lites , the Star Mazda series, GT3 Cup Challenge and the Panoz GT Pro series. IMSA became part of Panoz Motorsports Group, which included the ALMS, Elan Motorsports Technology and Mosport, Sebring and Road Atlanta race tracks. Scott Atherton

1824-603: The CRL if they wanted to keep officiating the Indy 500. After USAC's attempt at a 500-mile race at Pocono Raceway  – which was boycotted by the CART teams, forcing USAC to fill the field with silver crown cars – USAC and CART eventually settled into a relatively peaceful co-existence, with USAC continuing to sanction the Indianapolis 500 and no other Championship car races, and CART including

1900-503: The GTO category redundant, the title was reallocated to the former American Challenge cars. As a result, they would be run alongside GTS cars. This series started the careers of Irv Hoerr , Kenny Irwin Jr. , Patty Moise , Clay Young , Lyn St. James and Paul Gentilozzi . United States Automobile Club The United States Auto Club ( USAC ) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in

1976-495: The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, with Continental Tire having been title sponsor since the 2010 season until 2018. In 2019 Michelin replaced Continental Tire as supplier and title sponsor. This series uses TCR Touring Cars and GT4 cars. The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge is a development series featuring LMP3 and GT4 cars. The series was introduced in 2023 as a replacement for

2052-613: The IMSA organization. The International Sedan Series was short-lived and the genesis of the Radial Sedan Series . It is unclear if the 1969 inaugural IMSA Sedan race held at the Talladega Superspeedway Road Course was designated International Sedan Series or not . That being the only race held in 1969 details are sketchy , but over the winter of 1969–70 rules were officially promulgated for this Series. It

2128-519: The IMSA organization. The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was created in 2014 through the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series . It debuted under the name Tudor United SportsCar Championship on January 25–26, 2014 at Daytona International Speedway . For the 2016 season title sponsorship changed from Tudor to WeatherTech. This series currently features LMDh , LMP2 , and GT3 cars. The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge

2204-839: The IRL itself, which was renamed the IndyCar Series in 2003. Since 2022, the United States Auto Club has sanctioned the USF Juniors , USF2000 Championship , and USF Pro 2000 Championship series, which serve as a ladder series to Indy NXT, along with the Radical Sportscars North American Championships, Skip Barber Racing School , as well as continued sanctioning of the GT World Challenge America and Porsche Sprint Challenge North America under

2280-417: The Indianapolis 500, USAC events were not well attended, and the owners felt that USAC poorly negotiated television rights. The owners also wanted increases in payouts, especially at Indy. Though some think the plane crash was used as an opportunistic way to force change in the sport, it was merely an unfortunate coincidence. The seed of dissent had been growing for several years before the accident, and claims

2356-549: The Indy 500. After 1983, however, the Gold Crown schedule would consist of only one event per season (Indy 500), and the Gold Crown title would be regarded largely as ceremonial. The winner of the Indianapolis 500 would be the de facto Gold Crown champion, as it was the lone points-paying event. The title and the "series" were retired after the 1994–1995 season with the advent of the Indy Racing League . USAC featured

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2432-593: The Midwest and the East. * As of the end of the 2020 season The USAC/CRA AMSOIL Sprint Car Series debuted in 2004 utilizing the same cars and 410ci engines that race in USAC's AMSOIL National Sprint Car Championship at dirt oval tracks across California and Arizona. The series also features combination races with the AMSOIL USAC Sprint Car National Championship. Champions Source: USAC started

2508-626: The United States on both dirt & pavement oval tracks. With exception to the engine, the cars used are the same as National & Western States Midget cars. The powerplants currently used are 4-cylinder production-based engines with stock internal dimensions to save costs for competitors. The series started out as a spec engine class, originally with Ford supplying their Zetec engine from 2002 to 2012, and then HPD supplying their K24 engine starting in 2013. National Championship The Speed2 Midget Series National Champion has been determined in

2584-516: The United States. When this initially failed, as a result Don Panoz and Barber departed to affiliate themselves with PSCR. In the spring of 1998, Don Panoz created a partnership with the Automobile Club de L'Ouest (ACO), the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans , to begin a 10-hour race in the spirit of Le Mans, dubbed the Petit Le Mans to be held at Panoz's Road Atlanta facility. After

2660-639: The United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship , and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500 . USAC serves as the sanctioning body for a number of racing series, including the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Cars, National Midgets, Speed2 Midget Series, .25 Midget Series, Stadium Super Trucks , and Pirelli World Challenge . Seven-time USAC champion Levi Jones

2736-448: The arbiter of rules, car design, and other matters for what it termed championship auto racing , the highest level of USAC racing. For a while there was a separate series of specifications for championship cars designed to be run on dirt, rather than paved, tracks. Today, USAC sanction open-wheel racing series such as the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Car Series , National Midget Series , and Quarter Midgets . The "triple crown"

2812-484: The championship and the 2010 winner received $ 40,000. Points are accumulated in the three national series: sprints, midgets, and silver crown. Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana claimed the inaugural championship, topping runner-up Levi Jones by 14 points. As of 2013 it has been known as the Mike Curb "Super License" National Championship Award. USAC national drivers champions On April 23, 1978, returning from

2888-401: The circuit management and asked them to block IMSA from racing there. The event was held, although IMSA had to pay an additional $ 10,000 in rental fees. The race had an attendance of 328 spectators. The organization soldiered on despite the small crowds, and another ten races were planned. Bill France, suffering from financial setbacks, brought on new investors to take over part of his stake in

2964-597: The club's magazines and event programmes. He became well known in the motorsport scene and enjoyed a good relationship with the organization's president and Kimberly-Clark heir, James H. Kimberly. In 1958, things changed for Bishop as the SCCA experienced internal changes. A new executive director position was created, to which each regional executive reported. This position was taken by Hugo Rush, who later became instrumental in Allen's departure. Although Bishop's relationship with Rush

3040-821: The country. USAC's West Coast Sprint Car Series was launched in 2009 by Santa Maria Speedway promoter Chris Kearns, and joined forces with USAC in 2010. The West Coast series primarily races at tracks across California while also having special event races in Nevada. USAC's Southwest Sprint Car Series was launched in 1991 as the Arizona Sprint Car Racing Association. The series joined forces with USAC in 2012. The Southwest series primarily races at tracks in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico while also having special event races in Arkansas, Kansas & Oklahoma. The Southwest series

3116-460: The crash was an immediate cause for the 1979 CART/USAC "split" are considered for the most part unfounded. Also unpopular were the attempts of USAC to keep the aging Offenhauser engine competitive with the newer, and much more expensive, Cosworth DFX engine using boost-limiting "pop off valves" and limiting the amount of fuel that could be used. Finally, most car owners banded together to form Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1978, with

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3192-415: The dispute by announcing that turbochargers and fuel restrictions would be phased out by 1989 (excepting naturally aspirated engines below 3.5 liters). This attempt failed, as did another in 1991, in which with chassis ballast penalties for turbocharged cars rendered them uncompetitive, except at Le Mans. IMSA continued to have success with its own Camel GT series. In 1987, John Bishop had to undergo

3268-445: The exhaust systems and shock absorbers were free. Later rules regarding headlights, seats, upholstery, window cranks, original springs, and other stock elements were loosened up somewhat. From the beginning, engine modifications similar to Sports Car Club of America B Sedan were permitted, with the main difference being that over-boring cylinders was not allowed, and stock carburetors being required, but modifications allowed. The series

3344-683: The field, with their protruding wheels rubbing Racey's "immaculate" Alfa Romeo . Infuriated, Feezell quit and never ran another IMSA RS race after that. The idea was to attract racers who did not have the budgets that were required in the GT category as well as an emphasis on compact sedans such as the AMC Gremlin and the Opel Manta . There were two classes from 1970 through 1973: Class A for under two liters and under 1.6 liters with overhead cam and Class B for over 1.6 L with overhead cam and over two liters up to

3420-590: The first race to be run in 1979 . USAC tried unsuccessfully to ban all CART owners from the 1979 Indianapolis 500 , finally losing in court before the race began. Both the USAC and CART ran multi-race schedules in 1979. Indianapolis Motor Speedway president John Cooper was instrumental in forming a joint body of CART and USAC with the creation of the Championship Racing League in March 1980. However, in mid-1980, Cooper forced USAC to renounce their agreement with

3496-465: The largest permitted engine being the 232 cubic inches (3.80 L) AMC Gremlin. In 1974 all cars were placed in one class, with the only parity for the smaller engines being free carburetion for under 1.6 liters. Limited preparation was permitted, and since the entrants were meant to be street-driven race cars, the original rules required the retention of headlights, seats, upholstery, window cranks, stock brakes and original springs and radial tires. Only

3572-686: The long run, especially if they failed to meet their objectives. In January 1989, the Bishops sold the company to Mike Cone and Jeff Parker, owners of the IMSA Grand Prix of St. Petersburg . Bishop shortly stepped down as the organisation's president in favor of Mark Raffauf, his deputy president and the organisation's representative on the ACCUS (Automobile Competition Committee for the United States), an FIA recognised sporting body. Cone and Parker in turn sold

3648-656: The new series, operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of NASCAR. On September 19, 2019, Scott Atherton announced retirement from his position as the President of the International Motor Sports Association at the end of 2019. He had held that role since the merger of IMSA's American Le Mans Series with the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in 2014. One month following that announcement, then-director of Mazda 's motorsports program in North America, John Doonan,

3724-412: The new series, so he tried to ensure that the rules were not biased in their favor. He was in favor of looking after privateer teams and helping them to become competitive. As European cars began to dominate, a new series was formed in 1975 called All American Grand Touring (AAGT) to give equal latitude to foreign cars. Turbocharged cars were permitted in 1977 . In the same year, Bishop invited

3800-562: The new sponsor of the GT series and the sedan series became known as the B.F. Goodrich Radial Challenge. In 1973 , the 12 Hours of Sebring joined the IMSA GT Championship's schedule. Later that year, the organization gained recognition from the ACCUS and the FIA. IMSA was scheduled to sanction the 1974 24 Hours of Daytona , but the race was cancelled because of the oil crisis. Bishop did not believe that factory teams would stick with

3876-479: The newly formed Road Racing Division under the direction of Randy Hembrey . Beginning in 1971, all dirt races were split from the National Championship. From 1971 to 1980, the series was named "National Dirt Car Championship", then renamed "Silver Crown Series" in 1981. * As of the end of the 2022 season From 1956 to 1960, USAC's National Sprint Car Championship was divided into two regional divisions in

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3952-496: The organization to businessman Charles Slater by the early 1990s. In 1996 Slater sold the organization with previously accumulated debt to Roberto Muller (ex-CEO of Reebok ) and Wall Street based portfolio manager for Bill Gates , Andy Evans , who also was an IndyCar owner and owner/driver of the Scandia World Sports Car team. These changes would lead to the departure of many of the executive board members. Evans

4028-695: The premier series resulting from the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series . IMSA is owned by NASCAR, as a division of the company. John Bishop, a Sikorsky employee, first became involved in motorsport in the 1950s when he met Dave Allen, a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) staff member. Allen offered Bishop a management position on the SCCA Contest Board, which Bishop quickly accepted. Bishop moved to Westport, Connecticut shortly thereafter. Bishop's duties consisted of defining technical rules and general administration of SCCA competition, as well as providing artwork for many of

4104-444: The race in its schedule between other CART-sanctioned races. USAC continued to sanction the Indy 500 until 1997, when the Indy Racing League (itself product of the second American open-wheel split in 1996) terminated the sanctioning agreement following two consecutive officiating controversies that year; subsequent Indy 500s (and IRL races, as USAC was also involved in IRL's racing-related matters up to that point) were sanctioned by

4180-634: The series. The USAC also sanctions the American Rally Association , Nitro Rallycross , King of the Hammers and Great American Shortcourse . Starting in 1981, USAC scaled back their participation in Indy car racing outside of the Indianapolis 500. The preeminent national championship season was instead being sanctioned by CART . USAC developed a split-calendar season, beginning in June, and ending in May with

4256-479: The series. At the end of the 1970 season, Bishop helped to establish the foundations of the FIA ( Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ) "J appendix" for World Championship for Makes sports cars. For the end of the 1970 season, he advertised a new championship for Group 2 and Group 4 cars with equity between competitors. The 1971 Grand Touring (GT) season introduced international endurance racing to North America . In 1972 , Camel Cigarettes became

4332-510: The split between Champ Car and the IRL , this split was seen by many as being detrimental to the sport as a whole. In 2012, Don Panoz sold the Braselton, Georgia-based ALMS to Grand-Am Road Racing , in turn owned directly by NASCAR and helped organize a merger between the ALMS and the Rolex Sports Car Series . In 2013 the unified series was announced as the Tudor United SportsCar Championship (now IMSA SportsCar Championship ). The announcement also confirmed that IMSA will manage and sanction

4408-524: The success of the inaugural Petit Le Mans as a part of the 1998 Professional SportsCar Racing Championship season , Panoz announced a new full season championship for 1999 , to be known as the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) which adopted the ACO's rulebook under PSCR sanction. The new series replaced the Professional Sports Car Racing championship as PSCR's headline series. Under tremendous pressure from team owners and management, Evans sold Professional Sports Car Racing to Don Panoz in 2001, to solidify

4484-546: The technical rules for the newly formed Pro Racing program. The SCCA had now taken the big step up to professional racing. By 1962, the SCCA was tasked with managing major World Championship for Makes rounds, particularly at Daytona , Sebring , Bridgehampton and Watkins Glen . The club was also involved in the US Grand Prix . Bishop helped to create the USRRC ( United States Road Racing Championship ) series for Group 7 sports cars to recover races that had been taken by rival United States Automobile Club (USAC). Bishop

4560-431: The three championships at least once in their careers. In 2012 Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian became the only car owners to win the triple crown by winning all three championships in the same year. USAC had awarded a national championship until A. J. Foyt won his seventh title in 1979. It has announced that it will begin awarding a national championship starting in 2010. A driver's best 25 finishes are counted toward

4636-418: The two organizations by scrapping the existing formula and adopting IMSA rules. This did not please Porsche , which was spending vast sums of money on engine development at the time. Porsche responded by boycotting the 24 Hours of Le Mans of that year . FISA responded by abandoning the rule change for the time being. In 1987 , FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre almost made a successful attempt to settle

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4712-459: Was actually 1970 with only two races, the inaugural race was at the newly constructed Summit Point Motorsports Park on Memorial Day weekend; Rasey Feezell was first overall in an Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super sedan; the second race was held at the Montgomery Speedway , Alabama, Red Farmer won in a specially prepared Datsun 510 . Feezell didn't fare too well having to drive against the local four-cylinder "beater class" cars brought in to fill out

4788-404: Was also instrumental in founding the SCCA Trans-Am series and the SCCA/ CASC Can-Am series. In 1969, the tension and in-fighting caused Bishop to resign. Bill France Sr. was instrumental in the creation of the International Motor Sports Association. France founded NASCAR as a professional oval track series and wanted to do the same for road racing. After discussions with Bishop, IMSA

4864-411: Was appointed President of Panoz Motorsports Group and he appointed Tim Mayer to manage IMSA. IMSA's main series, the ALMS focused on manufacturer entries along with top privateers with the worldwide prestige of championship greatly increasing. After the 1999 USRRC season was cancelled halfway through its schedule due to a lack of competitors, a second attempt at a new sports car sanction body known as

4940-443: Was born and Bishop was given the sole control of the organization (like NASCAR, there was no board of directors). France financed the majority of the organization and owned 75% of the stock; Bishop owned the remaining 25%. The articles of incorporation were filed in Connecticut on June 23, 1969. The first race to be organized by IMSA was a Formula Vee and Formula Ford event at Pocono Raceway in October 1969. The SCCA threatened

5016-402: Was confirmed to be Atherton's replacement. Ed Bennett, longtime NASCAR executive, was also President and CEO of Grand-Am Road Racing from August 2011 to December 2013 during the merger period and has continued as CEO of the modern era IMSA since January 2014. At the 2021 Daytona 24 Hours, IMSA and the ACO announced the historic alignment of the technical regulations for sportscar racing, which

5092-402: Was for Sedans under 2 L., except for overhead cam engines which were limited to 1.6 L. Class B was for larger engines up to whatever IMSA decided appropriate for the Class which was the AMC Gremlin 's 232 c.i. for the duration of the 'original' RS Series. As an aside, the "Baby Grand" moniker frequently applied to these IMSA Series was just that, a nickname. Around this same time a series that

5168-405: Was further detailed in June of that year, which brought about the convergence of all sportscar regulations between the FIA, IMSA and the ACO. In January 2022, IMSA bought Historic Sportscar Racing , whose events include the Classic 24 Hours of Daytona, the Classic 12 Hours of Sebring and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion . These are the series that are currently sanctioned and managed by

5244-490: Was initially to be known as the International 100 Series as it was intended for sedans up to 100 c.i or 1600 cc., however was revised prior to the start of the 1970 season to include larger engines and presumably the name change to International Sedan Series . The next year, 1971, the Series was revamped and became the Radial Sedan Series with the revolutionary innovation of requiring DOT radial tires. New rules allowed for cars over 1.6 L divided between two classes. Class A

5320-400: Was loosely based on rival SCCA Trans-Am 's Two-Five Challenge rules. The series became dominated mostly by Mazda 's rotary-powered RX-2 and RX-3 prompting IMSA to specify heavier weights than piston-engined cars and prohibited any modifications to the rotors and more importantly to intake and exhaust ports. Datsun also had a fair share of success within the series with cars such as

5396-404: Was not good, Bishop gained a vast amount of experience and began to show his qualities as a manager. Rush would later depart due to his disagreement with the club as it moved to promote professional motor sports. Bishop took his place as executive director and was now responsible for both amateur and professional programs. To ensure a more serious level of competition, he was tasked with rewriting

5472-501: Was officially designated Baby Grand (better and later known as the Goody's Dash Series ) was sanctioned by NASCAR and consisted of 4-cylinder cars purpose-built to run NASCAR ovals. A few RS regulars are known to have run both Series with the same car making minimal changes to accommodate the difference in rules. Carson Baird, driving a Dodge Colt , was one of these 'crossover' competitors. The IMSA RS Series (for radial sedan ) began as

5548-670: Was put on hold after the 2019 season and has not made its way back into the sport since then. USAC and URC Sprint Car Series promoter Curt Michael joined forces to create the USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, with the first season beginning in 2018. Champions USAC formed the Speed2 Midget Series (formerly known as the Ford Focus Midget Series, Ignite Midget Series and HPD Midget Series) in 2002 with several regional divisions running across

5624-578: Was responsible for the name change to Professional Sports Car Racing (PSCR). In 1998 the United States Road Racing Championship was revived as an alternative to Professional Sports Car Racing, involving the Sports Car Club of America and headed by a group of competitors and ex-IMSA personnel, including John Bishop, Bill France Jr. , Rob Dyson , Roger Penske , Skip Barber , and Ralph Sanchez. They wanted to keep rules within

5700-489: Was started in 1990 and switched to USAC sanctioning in 2017. The championship currently races on road and street courses across the United States and Canada with seven different classes for GT cars & Touring cars. Founded by WC Vision, the series is presently owned by SRO Group . The Stadium Super Trucks series was founded in 2013 by former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon . It is sanctioned by USAC, though Gordon and sponsorship marketing company The Elevation Group co-own

5776-625: Was the exclusive car for the first two seasons of the North America championship in 2013 and 2014. The series debuted in North America under IMSA sanction in 2013. The Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires is the signature spec series for the Mazda Road to 24. The MX-5 Cup race cars start as complete MX-5 road cars from the Mazda Hiroshima, Japan factory before being transported to engineering development partner Flis Performance in Daytona Beach, Florida , where they are transformed into

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