Second IMSA Hall Of Fame Class Led By Jack Roush

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The International Motor Sports Ass’n has announced the second class of inductees for the IMSA Hall of Fame in advance of the 62nd Rolex 24 at Daytona, headlined by iconic team owner Jack Roush.

Much like the inaugural class, the Class of 2024 features an mix of both competitors and cars that helped define North America’s premier sports car organization.

The IMSA Hall of Fame lives digitally at www.imsahalloffame.com, with inductees chosen from a larger group determined by a nominating committee comprised of past and present IMSA executives and members of the media. BDO, a corporate partner of IMSA, validates the HOF voting.

The new class will be showcased during the WeatherTech Night of Champions on Oct. 13 at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga.

Saturday’s announcement as part of IMSA’s season-opening weekend at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

“Our second round of inductees is a fantastic follow-up to last year’s debuting class,” IMSA President John Doonan said. “We feel like we’ve landed on a great formula for determining inductees; in IMSA both the drivers and the cars are the stars – always has been, always will be.

“That makes for an amazing hall of fame.”

Class of 2024 Inductees

– A star internationally in endurance sports car racing, Englishman Derek Bell became one of IMSA’s marquee names in the 1980s and ‘90s, primarily behind the wheel of another HOF inductee – the Porsche 962. One of those 962s, sponsored by Lowenbrau, remains one of the most popular cars in IMSA history.

Bell had 19 overall victories in IMSA, including three in the Rolex 24 (1986, ’87, ’89). He also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times.

– Sports car excellence in the late 1980s and early ‘90s was defined by Australian Geoff Brabham. The son of three-time Formula One World Champion Jack Brabham won four consecutive IMSA GTP titles from 1988-91, driving a car that is also inducted this year – the Nissan GTP.

A 24 Hours of Le Mans champion in 1983, Brabham won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring twice (1989, ’91), two of his 25 IMSA race victories.

– Jim Downing’s racing success – and his influence on safety initiatives – form an impressive resume. On track, he was a force in the Radial Sedan class and then dominated in GTU production cars and Camel Lights prototypes; he posted 24 IMSA victories in his driving career.

In his “spare” time, Downing co-invented the HANS (Head and Neck Restraint System) which revolutionized auto racing and has saved many lives.

– They rightfully called the late Gianpiero Moretti “Mr. MOMO”: he was the man who brought the Ferrari 333SP to IMSA, a car that won 56 races worldwide from 1994-2003, including three victories at Sebring (1995, ’97, ‘98) and one at the Rolex 24 (1998).

Moretti was one of IMSA’s most successful “gentleman” drivers, co-driving to 10 overall victories.

– This is a case where the inductee’s name speaks for itself. Bob Riley designed numerous IMSA cars over the years, most notably the Riley & Scott open-cockpit prototypes and later, the Riley Daytona Prototypes. Riley chassis have won seven Rolex 24 championships, all with different engines.

Riley founded Riley Technologies in 2001 with his son, Bill, who continues to be a championship winning IMSA team owner and operator today.

– Before he became one of NASCAR’s most prolific team owners, Jack Roush – known affectionately in the paddock as the “Cat in the Hat” – prowled the IMSA garage, with most of his success coming with Ford Mustangs. The Roush Racing team, with NASCAR legend Mark Martin as a key driver, captured five Rolex 24 class victories between 1989-‘95 – concurrent with Roush’s rise in NASCAR’s Cup Series.

Fittingly, the Roush Ford Mustang is also a 2024 IMSA Hall of Fame inductee.

– Here’s your imagery of the Nissan GTP: bright blue, Nos. 83 and 84, becoming one of the winningest cars in IMSA history. Geoff Brabham, also being inducted this year, was the official main wheelman but he had first-rate help in the form of co-drivers like Chip Robinson.

As previously referenced, Brabham drove Nissans to four consecutive IMSA GTP championships.

– The Porsche 935 was a staple in IMSA from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, before the exotic GTP category was unveiled. Drivers in those cockpits included Hall of Fame inductees Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood. Porsche 935s won the Rolex 24 and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring six times each.

– The production-based Roush Racing Ford Mustangs dominated IMSA’s GTO class for most of the 1980s. The ever-evolving driver lineup was likewise remarkable, including Tommy Kendall, Mark Martin, Dorsey Schroeder, Lyn St. James and IMSA Hall of Fame inductee Scott Pruett.

– All-American Racers, a company founded by the late Dan Gurney, one-upped Nissan’s IMSA success by winning 21 of 27 races the team entered from 1991-93 with the Toyota Eagle MkIII GTP prototype, including 17 consecutive victories.

Juan Manuel Fangio II – nephew of the great Formula One champion – led the driver lineup.