IMSA: 55 years of Motorsports Influence and History (Mark Raffauf)

In this episode of The Logbook, our History of Motorsports Series, Mark Raffauf traces IMSA’s nearly 60-year evolution from John Bishop and Bill France’s founding phone call to today’s hybrid era. Raffauf recounts IMSA’s early experiments with Formula Fords/Vees, the shift to closed-wheel GT racing, the creation of Camel GT, RS/“little car” series on street tires, and All American GT, plus innovations like road-racing stock cars, Group 5, and GTP prototypes developed with the ACO to keep cars available to private teams. He highlights major manufacturers and iconic cars (Porsche 935/962, BMW CSL, Greenwood Corvette, Mazda rotary, Audi 90 GTO, Jaguar, Nissan, Toyota, Ferrari 333 SP), the growth of street races and Firestone Firehawk, rising speeds and safety limits, ownership turmoil, the IMSA split into ALMS and Grand-Am, and the eventual merger leading to today’s booming IMSA with strong OEM support and advanced hybrid prototypes.

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00:00 Meet Mark Raffauf
02:14 IMSA Origins Bishop & Bill France
03:55 First Races Open Wheel
04:53 Closed Wheel Camel GT, Small Cars w/ Street Tires
06:32 All American GT Era
10:42 American Challenge Stock Cars
11:39 Group 5 Turbo Monsters
13:48 GTP Arrives Daytona 1978
15:20 935 Evolution And Innovation
18:11 Privateers Payout Philosophy and the Road America Breakthrough
22:29 Lola T600 Ground Effects
26:14 Audi 90 GTO Quattro
28:28 Jaguars Take Over
29:11 Street Races: Miami and the Downtown street racing boom!
29:42 Wild tech experiments
30:13 GTP rules vs Group C
33:06 Firehawk showroom racers
34:47 Night racing survival
36:54 When speed got dangerous
38:46 Ownership turmoil and exports
40:57 GTP peak and aero wars
44:49 World Sports Car era
46:46 Ferrari 333SP dominance
48:11 Split into Grand Am and ALMS
50:57 Merger to modern IMSA
51:49 Hybrids and today’s grid
53:53 Closing remarks and sponsors

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This episode is part of our HISTORY OF MOTORSPORTS SERIES and is sponsored in part by: The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC), The Society of Automotive Historians (SAH), The Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Argetsinger Family - and was recorded in front of a live studio audience.