IMSA Announce Hall Of Fame Initiative

IMSA have today launched their Hall of Fame, unveiling the official logo as well as the nomination committee for the inaugural class to be inducted later this year.

The logo is a predominantly black shield with white and red accents. It incorporates the official red, white and black IMSA logo, as well as some design elements similar to the new-for-2023 IMSA corporate branding.

“Our IMSA Hall of Fame logo represents a modern yet classic look befitting of a world-class motorsports Hall of Fame,” said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett. “As we embark on our journey to celebrate and pay tribute to our rich heritage and the people and machines who contributed substantially to IMSA’s success, this logo will serve as the perfect emblem to commemorate their accomplishments.”

A 12-member nomination committee has been established to identify not only the people who have earned the right to be considered for induction into the inaugural class, but also the significant race cars worthy of the same honor. The IMSA Hall of Fame – which will live in an online environment – will include both.

Four members of the nomination committee are also members of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) board: Jim France, Ed Bennett, John Doonan and Mike Helton.

The nomination committee includes three former IMSA presidents: current IMSA Senior Director of Competition, Mark Raffauf, whose IMSA career spans six decades; Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS) President, George Silbermann; and Scott Atherton, who retired from his post as IMSA president in 2019. Mitch Bishop, son of IMSA co-founders John and Peggy Bishop, also is a member of the nomination committee.

Four media members complete the nomination committee for the inaugural class: NBC Sports Analyst Calvin Fish, motorsports journalist Marshall Pruett, IMSA Radio Commentator Jeremy Shaw and longtime sports car racing publicist Judy Stropus. Other media representatives will rotate into the nomination committee in future years.

“Our nomination committee faces a difficult task to narrow down so many personalities and iconic race cars from more than 50 years of IMSA competition into an inaugural IMSA Hall of Fame class,” said Doonan. “However, we believe that all of them possess the knowledge and experience to arrive at a representative group for induction later this year.”

Inductees for the inaugural IMSA Hall of Fame class, along with details surrounding a planned induction ceremony will be announced as part of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring race week in March.