IMSA Racing Series Quiz

The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. IMSA was started by John Bishop, a former executive director of SCCA, and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France Sr. of NASCAR. In 2014, IMSA became the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, 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. IMSA began as a Formula Vee and Formula Ford event at Pocono Raceway in October 1969. In 1971, the Grand Touring (GT) season introduced international endurance racing to North America. In 1999, the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) began, replacing the Professional Sports Car Racing championship as PSCR's headline series. IMSA became part of Panoz Motorsports Group, which included the ALMS, Elan Motorsports Technology, and Mosport, Sebring, and Road Atlanta race tracks. In 2012, Don Panoz sold the 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. In 2021, IMSA and the ACO announced the historic alignment of technical regulations for sportscar racing, 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. IMSA currently manages and sanctions the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Michelin Pilot Challenge, the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America, and the Ferrari Challenge.IMSA's Current and Defunct Racing Series

• The Lamborghini Super Trofeo is a one-make series showcasing the new Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo and the Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo.

• The Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires is the signature spec series for the Mazda Road to 24.

• The IMSA organization previously ran the IMSA GT Championship, American Le Mans Series, IMSA IS, IMSA RS, American Challenge, IMSA Renault Cup, IMSA Showroom Stock, and IMSA Bridgestone Supercar Championship series.

• The International Sedan Series was short-lived and the genesis of the Radial Sedan Series.

• The IMSA RS Series began as the Baby Grand Series in 1971 and became dominated mostly by Mazda's rotary-powered RX-2 and RX-3.

• The American Challenge was a category for US-built cars and ran as a support race to the premier GT series from 1977 to 1989.

• The Renault Cup was a one-make racing series that ran between 1982 and 1985, with an East Coast and West Coast series, as well as an overall championship.

• The IMSA Showroom Stock series was an endurance series restricted to current models of cars available for retail sale in dealerships throughout the US.

• The IMSA Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship, commonly known as the Firehawk Series, was sponsored by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company and ran from 1987 to 1998.

• The IMSA Bridgestone Supercar Championship was for higher-end sports cars and was run between 1991 up until 1995.IMSA Support Series

• The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) organizes various support series for different motorsports events.

• The series includes Formula BMW USA, Atlantic Championship, Panoz Racing Series, Ultra 94 Porsche Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama, and IMSA Prototype Challenge.

• Formula BMW USA is the North American version of the open-wheel series supported by BMW, serving as a stepping stone for formula car drivers moving into higher international series.

• Atlantic Championship was sanctioned by IMSA for two seasons before coming under SCCA Pro Racing sanction in 2012.

• Panoz Racing Series began as Women's Global GT Series, formed by Lyn St. James in 1999, which was an invitational affair with forty-one drivers selected out of four hundred applicants to participate in the Women's Global GT Series.

• Ultra 94 Porsche Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama was created by IMSA in 2011, which races in support of major Canadian motorsports events.

• IMSA Prototype Challenge was a series featuring two classes of single-seat prototype cars racing simultaneously, with each class having an overall championship, a master's championship for drivers at least 40 years of age, and a team championship.

• In 2017, the series became the IMSA Prototype Challenge presented by Mazda, featuring LMP3 cars and L1 cars re-branded as MPC (Mazda Prototype Challenge).

• In 2023, the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge replaced the IMSA Prototype Challenge, featuring LMP3 and GT4 in their respective classes with shorter race distances.