The IMSA season is set to resume in just a few weeks. The WeatherTech Sportscar Championship continues with the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring on 16 March and DSC will be there to cover the build-up and the event itself.
Our notebook is a catch-up on some of the news that’s been happening in IMSA’s supporting series – mainly some noteworthy team and driver announcements – plus news about the upcoming IMSA Diverse Driver Scholarship selection that will be announced at year’s end.
StarCom Racing resurfaces in Pilot Challenge; Andy Lally & Nick Tucker to drive in Sebring debut
Three years after shutting down its operations in the NASCAR Cup Series, StarCom Racing has resurfaced on the scene to run a part-time IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season starting at Sebring International Raceway next month.
StarCom was one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ more recognisable ‘minnows’ of recent memory, participating from 2017 until 2021. For its resurgence in multi-class endurance racing, StarCom Racing will partner with Nitro Motorsports to enter the #12 Hyundai Elantra N TCR in five rounds of the MPC season – Sebring, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Mosport), Road America, Indianapolis, and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Headlining the lineup for StarCom’s IMSA debut at Sebring is three-time Grand-Am Series champion and 2014 Sebring 12H class winner, Andy Lally. His co-driver will be Nitro Motorsports owner Nick Tucker, who is confirmed to drive for the full season.
Derrike Cope, a long-tenured NASCAR veteran best known for winning the 1990 Daytona 500, will reprise his role as StarCom Racing Team Manager as he did during the team’s NASCAR years.
Cope, Lally, and Tucker all have ties to the NASCAR circuit: Lally won Cup Series Rookie of the Year honours in 2011, while Tucker has raced in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series earlier in his career.
Southern Paley Motorsports first to declare Mustang Challenge entry
The first team to officially declare its entry into the inaugural 2024 Ford Mustang Challenge is Southern Paley Motorsports. Founded by John Paul Southern Jr. and Sam Paley, the Tampa, Florida-based team will begin the 2024 season with a single Ford Mustang Dark Horse R with plans to expand soon after the series begins at Mid-Ohio in June.
SPM has also struck a strategic alliance with TKG Motorsports, which competes in the SCCA Spec MX-5 Series, to serve as the next step in the rung for its MX-5 drivers.
Southern, who’s spent the last three seasons racing in ADAC GT Masters, ADAC GT4, and DTM Trophy – and also managed T3 Motorsport Germany’s efforts in the 2022 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona – commented: “I’m extremely excited to start this new endeavour and happy to be able to provide a great product to future customers. I’m a racer at heart, and I love the sport so much. I believe our hard work in the paddock will pay off. We have big plans for the future with SPM, and I believe we will achieve great things not only this year but in the years to come.”
“This is something that JP and I have been talking about for a couple years, and I could not be more excited to see it coming into fruition,” said Paley, the 2021 Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year and team principal of TKG’s Spec MX-5 programme. “The Mustang Challenge will be one of the most exciting racing series in the United States, and it’s fantastic to see Ford’s commitment to building purpose-built race cars. We are looking to grow our Mustang Challenge programme in the years to come.”
Jordan Wallace set for landmark Porsche Carrera Cup campaign at Kellymoss
Jordan Wallace will make history during the Sebring 12 Hours weekend when he becomes the first African-American driver to race in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series. Wallace has joined Kellymoss for the 2024 PCCNA season, with backing from Vision Motorsports, to drive the #23 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the Pro-Am class.
Wallace began his sportscar career in 2021 after a career as a driving instructor and in karting. In his debut year, he became the first African-American race winner in the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America series with two wins at Indianapolis. The 36-year-old from Texas has since raced in DTM Trophy for FK Performance Motorsport from 2022-2023 and raced in the SRO GT4 European Series last year with Allied-Racing.
“It’s a dream come true!” Wallace said of his upcoming series debut. “I am so grateful to Vision Motorsports, Kellymoss, and my sponsors for enabling me to race in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America. I’m honoured by their belief in my dream and talent and their commitment to helping break down barriers to entry, making the sport more accessible for all.”
“Not only are we pleased to welcome Jordan to our team because of his promising racing track record, collaborative team spirit, and incredible drive to perform and grow, we are thrilled to lead once again with important first steps in one of our foundational Porsche racing series,” said Victoria Thomas, CFO and co-owner of Kellymoss.
“At Kellymoss, a critical component of our mission is to generate growth in motorsports. We know that expanding diversity, enhancing accessibility, and creating opportunity for all – drivers, teams, sponsors, and fans – is key to the future of this vibrant and robust industry. Seeing more minority participation in high-level racing series is an important step in the right direction.”
IMSA Diverse Driver Scholarship Applications Open Through 22 March
IMSA has announced that applications are open for the 2025-26 IMSA Diverse Driver Scholarship, through 22 March.
With the addition of Skip Barber Racing School as a new partner, the potential value of the two-year scholarship has risen to $300,000 USD. That increase comes in the form of a $50,000 USD credit incentive to drive for the Skip Barber Racing team, which currently fields an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in the Michelin Pilot Challenge GS Class.
2024-25 scholarship recipient Ken Fukuda was a key figure in Skip Barber Racing School’s expanded commitment to the programme – coming from his background as a driving instructor at the school, to his current role as a Michelin Pilot Challenge driver in 2024. 2023-24 scholarship winner Courtney Crone had a successful first season in the VP Racing Sportscar Challenge, earning six LMP3 podiums – and has now made the switch to Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America for her second scholarship year.
To be eligible for the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship, candidates must be able to demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and/or describe how they have overcome obstacles to reach goals. They must possess a strong desire to compete in IMSA, have outstanding previous race results and/or proven on-track potential in junior racing categories, and the ability to create a compelling strategy to compete in a full season of one of the three IMSA-sanctioned series where scholarship recipients may race. The scholarship includes tools to bring deserving drivers into IMSA and position them for holistic success both on and off the racetrack.
“The Skip Barber Racing School was already an IMSA partner, but through the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship and current scholarship recipient Ken Fukuda, we have had the opportunity to broaden that relationship,” said Brandon Huddleston, vice president of IMSA’s Partnership Marketing and Business Development. “The addition of the $50,000 seat credit brings added value to the scholarship and makes it even more appealing for aspiring sports car racers.
“We are so grateful to all of our partners who support the scholarship,” Huddleston continued. “Not just through the benefits offered to the scholarship recipient, but also those who share their time, knowledge and experience with all of the candidates during the learning modules.”
Candidates will be announced on 29 March and the 2025-26 scholarship recipient will be announced this autumn.
