IMSA Tag

By Jeff Olson, NASCAR / IMSA Wire Service SEBRING, Fla. – It’s been nearly 46 years since a NASCAR entry competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Jim France remembers talking to driver Dick Brooks shortly afterward. “He said, ‘No. 1, the fans love the car,’” said France, NASCAR’s chairman and CEO. “‘No. 2, it was a fantastic experience. No. 3, it’s a hell of a challenge.’”  NASCAR is about to relive that Le Mans challenge. In conjunction with Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet, IMSA and Goodyear, NASCAR intends to fieldRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Arrow McLaren SP confirmed Thursday afternoon that NTT IndyCar Series rookie Oliver Askew won’t be competing in next weekend’s Harvest Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway GP Circuit. The announcement comes after INDYCAR Medical Team deemed Askew unfit to drive after reporting of having balance and coordination issues at Mid-Ohio. With him sitting out, he’ll now have to go through the sanctioning body’s Return to Racing Protocol as he had two significant crashes in a span of a week last month. “This was an incrediblyRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jimmie Johnson made it clear that he’s entirely focused on his final full-time NASCAR Cup Series season, but he left the door open to run in other motorsports disciplines following 2020 which includes the NTT IndyCar Series. The seven-time champion was in the house during INDYCAR’s Spring Training at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas Tuesday, meeting up with the likes of McLaren CEO Zak Brown, the Team Penske drivers, and veteran driver Graham Rahal to name a few. The veryRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer John Andretti, 56, passed away after his long and courageous battle with colon cancer Thursday. The nephew of Mario Andretti has raced in multiple disciplines such as open wheels, dirt sprint cars, stock cars, sports cars and even drag racing throughout his four-decade long career. Accolades include an overall win in the 1989 24 Hours at Daytona, a single Indy car victory at Surfers Paradise in 1991, and winning two NASCAR Cup Series races while driving for the sport’s greatest legends — Cale Yarborough in 1997Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer IMSA and the ACO have announced a preliminary set of rules that will see sports car teams be able to compete in both 24 hour races at Daytona and Le Mans in the same prototype car. The new category, called LMDh (Le Mans, Daytona, yet to be identified h), is built around both IMSA’s DPi and the ACO’s Hypercar formula. From the IMSA release, the new LMDh car: “Based on a new chassis common to both ACO and IMSA, using elements of the Le Mans HypercarRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer (Editor’s note: This story originally indicated that Black Swan Racing would be withdrawing from the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team subsequently acquired a chassis and as such, updates have been made.) DAYTONA — After an incident in Thursday’s morning practice session for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Black Swan Racing was ready to withdraw from the first race of the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. However, Wright Motorsports has stepped in and the Black Swan Racing team is pulling an all-nighter to build a carRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DragonSpeed confirmed Monday that they’ll be entering its No. 81 10 Star Chevrolet, piloted by Ben Hanley, at the season opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg March 15. The 34-year-old British drove three races last season with those being St. Peterburg, Barber and the Indianapolis 500 with only an 18th in their NTT IndyCar Series debut being their best result. With some experience in the series, Hanley said the team vibe is a lot different than last year because they’ve had time to be moreRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Mazda Team Joest confirmed its 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship lineup Thursday with former NTT IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay being among the headlining drivers. Hunter-Reay will participate in the Michelin Endurance Cup, piloting the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P. He’ll be joining co-pilots Jonathan Bomarito and Harry Tincknell, who’ll be sharing the ride together for the third straight year. The INDYCAR veteran drove the No. 55 entry at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last year, finishing third overall. Hunter-Reay said that the moment he strapped himselfRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Rising star Hailie Deegan has jumped ship from Toyota to Ford after signing a multi-year developmental contract Tuesday. The 18-year-old will run the entire ARCA Menards Series campaign for DGR-Crosley, unveiling her brand new black No. 4 Monster Energy Fusion at the Ford Performance Technical Center in Concord, North Carolina. Tuesday’s announcement further bounds the racing family as Hailie’s father, Brian Deegan, drove a Ford in the Global Rallycross Championship, the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series and was a gold medalist in the Rallycross category at theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The latest twist to the NTT IndyCar Series off-season involves four-time Indy car champion Sebastien Bourdais as Dale Coyne Racing released him Friday. First broken by RACER and later confirmed by the team, they’ll be eyeing for another driver heading into the 2020 season, leaving Bourdais out of a ride. Coyne thanked Bourdais for his tremendous contributions, highlighted with back-to-back victories at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in 2017 and 2018. “I want to thank Sebastien for having the confidence to come back fromRead More