Vintage Motorsport / Historic – Syndication Server

HSR Classic 12 Hour, Pistons & Props headed for Sebring

A rare World War II warbird and an HSR Classic Endurance Championship Presented by Mission Foods in-season race-win record on the line are among the many highlights of next weekend’s Mission Foods HSR Sebring Classic 12 Hour, Pistons & Props, …

The annual dual celebration of Sebring International Raceway’s rich auto racing history and patriotic military aviation legacy returns to the legendary airport road course for the ninth time Dec. 4-8. The full weekend of competition also includes the season-ending HSR Sebring Historics that bring the curtain down on the full slate of HSR sprint, endurance and feature race series contested throughout the 2024 season.

Run for the first time in 2016, the Mission Foods HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour Sebring, Pistons and Props, is an on-track and on-the-runways celebration of the 12 Hours of Sebring and historic Hendricks Field, the World War II era military and civil aviation facility on which the famous sports car race has been held for more than 70 years.

The Mission Foods HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour is five full-days of historic and vintage sports car racing and a featured fly-in and display of equally spectacular military and civilian aircraft from the last century and older.

This year’s must-see airplane headed to Sebring next week is the Curtiss P-40N-1 Warhawk owned and flown by Tim Savage and his son Job “Jib” Savage, who have become award-winning HSR Sebring Classic regulars in recent years. The Savage family — as voted by HSR competitors — won last year’s HSR Classic Sebring Best-Plane Award with its event debuting 1945 Grumman TBM-3R Avenger (pictured below).

This year, the Savages are bringing a similar era plane two years older but equally awe-inspiring as the Warhawk is a prime example of the fast and fierce genre of World War II era fighter-bombers alongside the revered North American P-51 Mustang and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.

Built by Curtiss in Buffalo, N.Y. in the middle of 1943, the Warhawk’s constructor number was 399 and the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) assigned serial number 42-104827 as a P-40N-1-CU. The plane was immediately shipped overseas to aid the Allied powers in the Pacific to start an incredible global saga that didn’t see the Warhawk return to the U.S. until earlier in this century. Landing at Tadji Airfield in New Guinea in April of 1944, the left undercarriage collapsed, causing the P-40 to stand on its nose, flip over and burst into flames. The pilot escaped uninjured, but the wreck relegated the plane to components and “off charge” status. The remains, which included nearly all of the major components, were ultimately abandoned after WWII.

Remarkably, the Warhawk’s wreckage remained at Tadji for 57 years. The first step in the plane’s rediscovery and journey back to the sky began in 2001 when it was recovered, exported back to Australia and sold to Pioneer Aero in New Zealand. While at Pioneer, a restoration began that continued with another owner who — after an emotional return to flight 65 years after its crash landing – shipped the Warhawk back to North America to Vintage Wings of Canada.

Tim Savage purchased the P-40 in 2021 and had the aircraft repainted in the colors of USAAF pilot John D. Landers, the livery the Warhawk carries today, along with the period correct “Skeeter” nickname. A true flying ace war hero, Landers had only 10 flying hours in a P-40 before piloting one in combat, but he still managed to take out a pair of enemy bombers in “Skeeter” in his early missions. He followed his Pacific tour in the European Theater of Operations and ended WWII with 14.5 aerial aircraft shootdowns to his credit.

On the four-wheel front at the HSR Classic 12 is a team that matched an HSR Mission Classic Endurance milestone earlier this month that can now set a record they would hold exclusively next weekend at Sebring.

Driving the Matador Motorsports No. 02 Cadillac DPi with co-driver Eric Foss, Pierce Marshall finally broke through for his first HSR Classic Daytona 24 Hour victory with one of the most dominating wins of the race in Run Group F. With HSR Classic Run Group awards from Sebring (2022) and Watkins Glen this year already on the shelf, Marshall and Foss convincingly captured a Classic 24 win after nearly a decade of trying.

With the Daytona win, Marshall and his Matador teammates are just the second HSR competitors to win all three of the current Mission Foods HSR Classic races at Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen with the same team, car and driver line-up. They join all-time HSR Classic race winners Gray Gregory, and his co-drivers Randy Buck and Ethan Shippert, who were the first to sweep the current trio of endurance races in Gregory’s 1974 No. 26 Chevron B26.

Now, Pierce, Foss and the No. 02 Matador squad are in line to become the first to win the current trifecta of HSR Classic races with the same team, car and driver lineup in a single season. With the recent win at Daytona and a P1 in June’s Classic Watkins Glen 6 Hour in the books, Matador needs to secure the overall Run Group C victory next weekend to seal the perfect in-season win record.

Even better, Pierce and company could equal another HSR Mission Classic record for consecutive wins in the endurance series. The No. 02 team won the Classic Sebring 12 last year, and a repeat next weekend would be a fourth-straight HSR Classic Endurance win for the same, team, driver and car. David Porter was the first to pocket the four-pack of consecutive HSR Classic wins when he swept the Daytona and Sebring races in both 2019 and 2020.

On-track historic race car action at the HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour, Pistons and Props, begins Wednesday, with an unofficial test session.

Official competition gets underway Thursday, Dec. 5, with the weekend’s featured HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour starting at 1 p.m. ET Saturday when each of the four Run Groups will take to the three times in succession in a rotation that races into the night with the day’s final checkered flag just before 10 p.m. ET.

Classic Sebring 12 Hour competitors return to the track Sunday at 12 p.m. ET with each Group getting one final segment to decide this year’s winners. Overall Run Group winners will be presented with all-new and custom-made Wall Clocks from B.R.M. Chronographes. Displaying the same dial design as B.R.M.’s unique time pieces, the oversized clocks have been a big hit this year with the race winners at The Glen and Daytona.

Still in part an active airport, the featured vintage aircraft will be landing on the Sebring runways throughout the day on Friday. At 5:15 p.m. ET that day, the parade of planes will taxi along parts of the actual Sebring race course to the paddock where they will be on display alongside the historic race cars through Sunday morning at 11:10 a.m. ET.

More information on both the HSR Classic 12 and HSR Sebring Historics events, including entry lists, ticket purchases and the event schedule, can be found on the official event page by clicking here.

Lunch with In-N-Out Burger President Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson latest MSHFA charity fundraiser

The latest online charity fundraiser for the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is live now and open for bidding on BringATrailer.com. This truly priceless charity auction offers its winner and one guest a unique behind-the scenes experience: sitting down for lunch with In-N-Out Burger President Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson. The one-on-one lunch will take place in her office at the California headquarters of In-N-Out Burger in Baldwin Park, Calif., around 20 miles east of Los Angeles, and will be followed by a tour of the facilities and participation in a training course at In-N-Out Burger University.

The winning bid for this no-reserve auction, including the BaT buyer’s fee, will be donated to the Motorsports Museum & Hall of Fame of America Foundation Inc, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson In-N-Out experience auction is available exclusively on automotive auction industry leader Bring a Trailer (BaT) from now through next Monday. Click on https://bringatrailer.com to register on BaT and bid directly on this rare and exclusive opportunity.

Snyder-Ellingson’s grandparents, Harry and Esther Snyder, founded In-N-Out Burger in 1948, and she began her career with the company at age 17 as a store associate before working in other departments. Snyder-Ellingson became president and owner of the company in 2010 and has since founded several philanthropic organizations, including the Slave 2 Nothing Foundation, as well as joined the company band and authored The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger: The Inside Story of California’s First Drive-Through and How it Became a Beloved Cultural Icon. In this role, she has led the company through successful growth with the number of In-N-Out locations nearly doubling, from fewer than 250 stores to over 400 in eight states.

With strong ties to California’s car culture, having been the first drive-thru in the state, In-N-Out Burger invested in the development of Irwindale Drag Strip in the mid-1960s and sold burgers and fries in the concession stands during race events. Lynsi attended track events with her father and has been a longtime competitor in the NHRA, where she currently campaigns a 1969 Chevy-Hemi-powered Chevelle in the Top Sportsman class. She showcased her father’s 1941 Willys Hot Rod on an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage in 2015, and more recently, In-N-Out Burger was named the title sponsor of both the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip and the In-N-Out NHRA Finals in 2023. Lynsi has been named a 2024 recipient of the Bob Russo Heritage Award from the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America for her efforts to preserve the future of drag racing in the United States.

The In-N-Out experience follows a one-on-one lunch and GM Global Tech Center tour with GM President Mark Reuss early this year, a Team Penske VIP Tour of its North Carolina headquarters auctioned this summer and most recently a dual Skip Barber Racing School and 2025 MSHFA induction ceremony experience as the first three major auction fundraising initiatives the MSHFA has introduced with the kind support of top leadership, organizations and corporations in the motorsports and automotive industries.

“Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson has already done more to preserve the heritage and history of American motorsports than most people and organizations do in a lifetime,” said MSHFA President George Levy. “She is equally as driven and dedicated to supporting charitable and philanthropic causes, and we are deeply moved and honored that her gracious support of our latest online fundraising initiative embraces two of her primary passions. She and In-N-Out join a growing and influential list of fellow MSHFA supporters such as Mark Reuss, Team Penske and the Skip Barber Racing School, and we also are delighted to extend once again our gratitude to Bring a Trailer for their constant support of our critical fundraising efforts. All of these great people and organizations share our mission and dedication of preserving the great legacy of American motorsports for generations to come, and we truly couldn’t do it without all of their selfless support.”

The auction winner and a guest will sit down for a one-on-one lunch with Snyder-Ellingson at the In-N-Out headquarters. Following lunch, the winning bidder and their guest will also tour the headquarters and participate in a training course at the In-N-Out University led by the resident historian.

Upon completion of the auction, the winning bidder will directly pay the Motorsports Museum & Hall of Fame of America Foundation Inc, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The package does not include lodging or transportation to or from Baldwin Park, California. The winning bidder is responsible for selecting a date in 2025 for the experience, which is subject to the host’s availability.

New issue of Vintage Motorsport showcases forgotten gems – and celebrates a lost star

It was always our intention to feature the Ford Mustang GTP in the new issue of Vintage Motorsport (December-January 2024-’25) and put it on the front cover, but it now feels particularly poignant and appropriate following the passing of its genius …

During our photoshoot, I snapped a pic on my phone and sent it to Bobby Rahal, one of the aces who’d had the opportunity to race it in period. His response: “Great car, just in need of a great engine.” You’ll probably reach the same conclusion on reading the story.

Now that 3 Dog Garage has restored this magnificent beast, it’s probably running better – and more reliably! – than in period, meaning it can be savored by all those who missed seeing its brief (1983-’84) racing campaign.

If you get the chance to see – and hear – the Mustang GTP in the years ahead, grab the opportunity. Also, crouch down to cockpit height and see the vast acreage of hood and ponder how the likes of Rahal, Klaus Ludwig, Geoff Brabham, Tim Coconis and others, were able to place the car at an apex with a degree of accuracy.

In the context of some of Riley’s more prolific winners, it feels right to include the Mustang GTP in a “Forgotten Gems” issue. Whether Davy Jones would appreciate having that tag hung on him is debatable, but we feel that considering his huge potential, Davy was strangely overlooked in his prime and isn’t remembered enough now.

On reading or hearing Jones’s name, you may automatically think back to him wringing out a Castrol- or Bud Light-liveried Jaguar XJR while battling Brabham in the mighty Electramotive Nissan. But his rise to prominence – a consistent thorn in the side of Ayrton Senna and Martin Brundle in British Formula 3 back in 1983 – should have garnered more attention, especially when it became clear that Senna was a generational talent. And let’s remember, too, that in the eight months before the vicious accident that effectively ended his career, Jones had just finished second in the Indianapolis 500 and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans!

Greg Moore is of course the outlier in this issue of Vintage Motorsport, because he’s anything but forgotten. Friends such as Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan jumped at the chance to reflect on the Canadian’s short, but spectacular career, 25 years after he died at a dreadfully young age.

The man who won the race on that grim day at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., was Adrian Fernandez. We spoke with him about his favorite race, and he delved deeper into his past than we expected.

As Formula 1 approaches its 75th anniversary season, we also felt it was time to highlight a forgotten period in grand prix racing history – those years immediately before the advent of the Formula 1 World Championship in 1950.

World War II cost some great racing careers their prime years, but that contributed to the 1946-’49 period providing much intrigue in the grand prix ranks. Pre-War aces such as Tazio Nuvolari and Achille Varzi had their last rolls of the dice, Giuseppe Farina became a top-rank star, there was the exciting rise to prominence of future F1 legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Ascari, and there was one already fully-rounded ace in Jean-Pierre Wimille. It must be said, too, that the dominance of Alfa Romeo’s 158 and Maserati’s 4CL/4CLT made the job of sifting through images an absolute pleasure.

Less than 40 years later, Formula 1 enjoyed another significant year. The 1985 season saw Alain Prost score his first World Championship title, and Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell score their first GP victories. Meanwhile, Keke Rosberg, Niki Lauda, Michele Alboreto and Elio de Angelis scored their final wins at this level, and so, too, did the Brabham marque.

The full tale of that pivotal 1985 season can be found in the new issue of Vintage Motorsport, along with reports from Velocity Invitational, Goodwood Revival, Luftgekühlt 10 at Universal Studios, and much more.

The December/January 2024-25 issue of Vintage Motorsport is now mailing to subscribers and is already available to read in digital format. We hope you enjoy it. Single copies can be purchased at our online store HERE. Vintage Motorsport magazine is also available at Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide.

MAVTV to broadcast GAA Classic Cars Auto Auction live

MAVTV will broadcast the next GAA Classic Cars Auto Auction live starting Friday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. ET. Ryan ‘Rocket Man’ Newman and Bob Varsha will be part of the on-camera coverage team. Auction highlights include a 1969 Dodge Charger, a …

MAVTV will broadcast the next GAA Classic Cars Auto Auction live starting Friday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. ET.

Ryan ‘Rocket Man’ Newman and Bob Varsha will be part of the on-camera coverage team.

Auction highlights include a 1969 Dodge Charger, a one-of-a-kind 1971 Plymouth Barracuda 340 Convertible, a rare 1971 Buick GSX, a stunning 1965 Cobra 427, a 1969 GTO Judge and a 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS L78

Three-hour LIVE coverage air times on MAVTV:
Friday, Nov. 8 from 1 – 4 p.m. ET
Saturday, Nov. 9 from 12 – 3 p.m. ET

Available via cable providers including YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Spectrum, DirecTV, Verizon, U-verse and many more. Check MAVTV.com for full schedule.

Wolf Motorsports wins HSR Prototype Challenge at Daytona

Winning teammates Alex Koreiba and James French drove the No. 25 Wolf Motorsports Ligier JS P320 to a series-leading third Historic Sportscar Racing Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA overall and Pro-Am race win Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. The 90-minute race set the stage for the start of this weekend’s HSR Classic Daytona 24 Hour Presented by Mission Foods which is currently in its final hours of competition at DIS.

Round five of the inaugural six-race HSR Prototype Challenge presented by IMSA season, Koreiba and French added the convincing victory at Daytona to earlier triumphs this season in the HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and at the HSR Watkins Glen Classic 6 Hour weekend in June.

Koreiba started from the pole and lost some ground early with a balky shifter issue, but he rebounded to retake the lead. He joined French in taking control of the race for the final hour, although their nearest championship rivals, John Reisman and Eric Curran in the No. 74 Hudson Historics Ligier JS P320, typically kept the pressure on until the end. Curran was closing on French in the race’s final minutes, but the Wolf Motorsports driver withstood the pressure for a 2.536s margin of victory.

“I was thinking at the start that we were going to have to go to Sebring to win a championship with our shifting issue. All confidence went out the window when I went into Turn 1 and I couldn’t get out of sixth gear,” said Koreiba. “I just did everything I could in the car, was even doing heel-and-toeing at one point trying to make a downshift, but when we got some temperature in there the problem cleared itself in a way. The plan was to run as long as possible to give James the best car he could have at the end with fresh sticker tires and low fuel. Wolf Motorsports has given us an unbelievable car. It’s hard to believe it’s our first year in an LMP3 car. They have absolutely mastered this car. I can’t thank the team enough for all that they have done.”

Third in Pro-Am and overall went to the sister Hudson Historics No. 47 Ligier JS P320 of Bob Neapole and Guy Cosmo who matched their season-best finish after previously securing a third-place showing at The Glen in June.

While Koreiba, French and the Wolf team have won three of the year’s five Pro-Am races to date, PC Challenge parity has been the order in the Am division. The fourth different winner of the season emerged at Daytona with veteran and versatile road racing driver Mirco Schultis co-driving to the class win and fourth overall with Lucas Lasserre in the the No. 70 Mishumotors Ligier JS P320.

“This was our first time in Prototype Challenge and we just came here to have fun and to look into next season,” said Schultis. “It was a night race, here in Florida and we had to do it. I like the championship a lot. It’s a nice format.”

The victory came in the PC Challenge series debut for Schultis and his Mishumotors team while their teammate Lasserre had a successful first visit to Daytona in just his second career race in the United States. A native of France, Lasserre is a winning competitor in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. His only previous racing appearance in the U.S. was 15 years ago when, as a multiple European stock car champion, he earned an invitation to compete in the Toyota All-Star Showdown stock car race at Irwindale Raceway in California.

Second in Am and completing the overall top five was the duo of Gary Ball and Nigel Greensall in the in the No. 73 Ligier JS P320. Greensall took the checkered flag one spot ahead of the No. 86 One Motorsports Ligier JS P3 of Dave House and Mikel Miller, who were sixth overall and third in Am.

Am championship leaders Tobias Lutke and Travis Hill in the No. 22 TWOth Autosport Ligier JS P3 finished fourth in class at Daytona but join only the Pro-Am leaders Wolf Motorsports as multiple race winners this season. Both class points leaders will go into next month’s season-ending race at Sebring International Raceway with “champion-elect” status after garnering enough points at Daytona to secure the titles in both divisions.

The Sebring three-hour season finale takes place Sunday, December 8 as a feature race that is part of the year-end Mission Foods HSR Classic 12 Hour Pistons & Props, Presented by Allen Jay Automotive Network.

Daytona 24 Hour Classic hits halfway

The 10th running of the Historic Sportscar Racing Classic Daytona 24 Hour Presented by Mission Foods cruised through the Midnight hour and straight to the halfway mark early Sunday morning at Daytona International Speedway where some first-time race leaders and former HSR Classic 24 race winners alike stepped up to set the pace in their respective Run Groups at mid-race.

As usual, contenders have emerged, and heartbreak has occurred as teams, drivers and cars from around the world compete in six different Run Groups in a twice-around-the-clock succession of 24 back-to-back segments. Each Run Group — from A through F — takes to the track four different times over the course of the two-day event.

Familiar and former HSR Classic winners who have answered the early call to lead at Daytona include Todd Sloan in his ex-Michael Shank Racing 2006 No. 60 Riley XX Daytona Prototype in Group D.

A popular entry has taken the lead in Group B with Jim Norman and former HSR Classic Daytona winner Scooter Gabel co-driving the Alegra Motorsports 1980 No. 00 Interscope Porsche 935 K3. Norman and Gabel, who also have Rolex 24 At Daytona class victories on their racing resumes, and the European-supported Alegra team have not put a wheel wrong in the first half of the race. A victory come Sunday morning would remarkably be a first for a Porsche 935 in the 10-year history of the HSR Classic races.

Group F saw the Matador Motorsports 2017 No. 02 Cadillac DPi of co-drivers Pierce Marshall and Eric Foss step up to lead the fastest collection of cars in the race at halfway. Marshall and Foss are focused on an HSR Classic 24 Hour race win after previously winning both the HSR Classic races at Sebring and Watkins Glen.

Group E has emerged as a production-based GT battleground with the British duo of Mike Jordan and his son Andrew Jordan leading by a scant 7.337 seconds at the mid-race mark in their Jordan Racing Team 2011 No. 77 Porsche 997.2 GT3 Cup.

Longtime historic and vintage racing team Autometrics leads the way in Group C after two rounds with team drivers Cory Friedman and Travis Bedson maintaining a more than 3 minute lead in the 1995 No. 14 Autometrics Porsche 993 RSR.

In Group A, defending winners Iconic Racing and team drivers Gérard Lopez and former professional sports car racing World Endurance Champion Marcel Fassler are halfway home to a second-consecutive victory in the Iconic Racing 1969 No. 60 Lola T70 Mk III. Lopez and Fassler maintained a 40 second lead at the halfway mark.

Unfortunately, Iconic’s bid to be the first team in HSR Classic history to pull off “double double” finishes in consecutive years was cut short early when Lopez encountered a slower GT-class competitor in the infield early in the first Group F race. Neither driver was injured in the contact incident that ensued, but both the GT entry and the Lopez and Fassler ex-JDC Motorsports 2019 No. 5 Cadillac DPi were eliminated from the race. In addition to Group A in the Lola, Lopez and Fassler drove the Cadillac to a Group win last year, but any chance to get both cars back in the winner’s circle again will have to wait another year.

Another early setback was endured by four-time HSR Classic race winner Toni Seiler in his Waite-N-See Motorsports 1969 No. 7 Lola T165 in Group A. After winning the opening segment, Seiler’s Lola encountered carburetor issues early in the second Group A round and finished six laps behind the winning Iconic Lola. Seiler and his repaired Lola will mount a rebound bid to get back in contention as the Classic 24 begins its second half of 2024 competition early Sunday morning.

The 10th HSR Classic Daytona 24 continues through morning hours and straight to just before 1pm ET Sunday when the final checkered flag of the weekend will bring the race weekend to a close.

10th HSR Daytona Classic 24 Hour set for this weekend

A quality and sure-to-be competitive field of more than 140 vintage and historic sports cars from the last 60-plus years has converged on Daytona International Speedway for the 10th running of the HSR Daytona Classic 24 Hour Presented by Mission Foods this weekend, Oct. 30-Nov. 3. A stout entry of defending and former race winners and debuting contenders is set for the Classic 24 Saturday and Sunday in addition to a strong lineup for the HSR Daytona Historics, which is a points-paying event for HSR’s season-long racing series and championships.

First held in 2014, the immediate success of the inaugural HSR Daytona Classic 24 called for a second running in 2015. After a year off, the 24-Hour classic race on the 3.56-mile DIS road course returned in 2017 and is now an annual and premier fixture on the HSR calendar.

The HSR Classic Daytona 24 features six different Run Groups competing in succession for a full 24 hours on the DIS road course. The various period-correct classes within each Run Group combine to make almost all closed-wheel competition sports cars from the last six decades eligible for Classic 24 competition.

Among the long list of intriguing in-race stories to follow is the “double-double” bid by Iconic Racing to score twin repeats of its 2023 Group A and Group F triumphs. Iconic team drivers Gérard Lopez and former professional sports car racing World Endurance Champion Marcel Fassler combined to secure overall victories in both Run Group A and Run Group F last year.

Lopez and Fassler, who was making his HSR debut, put in a pair of competitive and controlled runs in 2023, leading all four race segments in both Run Groups to give Lopez his first HSR Classic Daytona Group A triumph since 2017 in the Iconic Racing 1969 No. 60 Lola T70 Mk III.

The Iconic duo then backed up the Group A win with an equally stellar performance in the team’s debut in Run Group F, which is home to modern Prototype machines retired from active competition. Iconic ran a former JDC Motorsports 2019 No. 5 Cadillac DPi that Lopez and Fassler wheeled to another victory to complete last year’s practically perfect Classic 24 weekend.

Lopez, Fassler and Iconic, who were the first team and drivers to score a Classic 24 Run Group overall double victory since Paul Reisman and his son John Reisman accomplished the feat with Hudson Historics in the inaugural race in 2014, now look to be the first team in HSR Classic race history to pull off back-to-back double Run Group race wins in successive years. The team has returned to Daytona with the same winning 1969 Lola and 2019 Cadillac DPi.

The five-day schedule of historic and vintage competition at DIS began Wednesday with a test session for all Run Groups and classes in both the Classic 24 and Daytona Historics.

A highlight was 1992 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of The Year and longtime women in motorsports advocate Lyn St. James — the first woman to break the 200mph barrier on a closed circuit race course — who drove her final and farewell laps in a race car Wednesday afternoon in the 2008 No. 2 Doran Racing Ford GT Mk 7. St. James co-drove the same car to a Group E victory in the E4 class with Brad Jaeger and Memo Gidley in the 2017 HSR Classic Daytona 24.

Wednesday night, St. James will be the guest of honor in a special VIP reception recognizing her 50 years in motorsports. The event is being made possible by DIS, NASCAR, IMSA and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, where the reception will be held in the MSHFA Museum outside of NASCAR Turn 4 at DIS just off of International Speedway Blvd.

More information on both the HSR Classic 24 and HSR Daytona Historics events, including entry lists, ticket purchases and the event schedule, can be found on the official event page — click here.

For a direct link to HSR Classic 24 race tickets, please click here.

HSR adds Mission Foods as long-term partner

The Historic Sportscar Racing organization has signed a new long-term sponsorship agreement with Mission Foods to serve as the presenting partner for the HSR Classic Endurance Championship. The aptly named ‘HSR Classic Endurance Championship …

The Historic Sportscar Racing organization has signed a new long-term sponsorship agreement with Mission Foods to serve as the presenting partner for the HSR Classic Endurance Championship.

The aptly named ‘HSR Classic Endurance Championship Presented by Mission Foods’ launches in 2025 and brings together a new dynamic to historic racing with a well-known sponsor — one that can be found from Formula 1 to IndyCar — lending its support to events that celebrate the sport’s past.

“We are very excited to partner with Historic Sportscar Racing to launch the new HSR Classic Endurance Championship,” said Mission Foods CEO Juan Gonzalez. “It’s exciting to be part of the first major endurance championship in the U.S. for vintage and historic race cars, and it’s an honor to support HSR and all its participants and fans.”

The Classic Endurance Championship fits within HSR in the same way IMSA’s Michelin Endurance Championship exists within the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship where participants in the longer events earn points towards capturing endurance crowns in the various HSR classes.

HSR’s upcoming Classic Endurance Championship calendar with Mission Foods includes the Sebring Classic 12 Hour from March 7-9 at Sebring International Raceway, the Watkins Glen Classic 6 Hour from June 12-14 at Watkins Glen International, the Road Atlanta Classic 10 Hour from September 25-28 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and closes with the Daytona Classic 24 Hour from November 5-9.

“The passion Juan Gonzalez and his team have as the world’s leading brand of tortillas and wraps is mirrored by Mission Foods’ strong motorsports support that clearly reflects their energy and drive as a leader in both the food industry and at the track,” said IMSA president John Doonan, who oversaw the series’ purchase of HSR earlier in the decade.

“It’s hard to believe Mission Foods has only been a motorsports sponsor for five years as its familiar branding and logo is seemingly everywhere today across a vast array of high-speed four-wheel and two-wheel disciplines. Juan has been a successful driver himself in HSR for years, winning both the Mission Foods presented HSR Sebring Classic 12 and HSR Daytona Classic 24 in the past, and it is an honor to now have the fine corporation he leads with us in the HSR partnership family.”

Boatman, Tifft win HSR NASCAR Classic classes at Charlotte

A first-time winner that foreshadowed Sunday’s results of the NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400 secured the victory in Saturday’s HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Petty’s Garage race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In his HSR NASCAR Classic debut, Adam Boatman broke through for the victory in Saturday’s 16-lap feature race in his 2018 No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

Boatman’s Chevy carries the same Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 and HendrickCars.com livery as the more contemporary Camaro of NASCAR superstar Kyle Larson drove to victory in Sunday’s Bank of America 400 on the same Charlotte ROVAL circuit.

Reflecting Larson’s dominating drive a day later, Boatman captured both overall and Pro-class honors on Saturday. He shared the victory lane podium with former NASCAR star “Front Row” Joe Nemechek who finished second in Pro and overall in his 2007 No. 47 Chevrolet Silverado prepared by Nemechek Motorsports & Engineering.

A third Pro-class competitor, Camden Murphy, completed the overall podium with a third-place showing in his 2013 No. 46 Toyota Camry.

The SCB class victory went to Matt Tift in his 2006 No. 57 Dodge Charger along with a solid fourth-place overall finish that edged out two Pro-class competitors and the SCA division winner.

Ryan Gemmell completed the top five in his Pro-division Nemechek Motorsports & Engineering 2009 No. 6 Toyota Camry. Gemmell took the checkered flag one spot ahead of Justin Marks, the former NASCAR national series driver who is now best known as the owner and founder of top NASCAR Cup series team Trackhouse Racing. Marks crossed the line sixth in his second race of the season in the Petty’s Garage 2006 No. 45 Victory Junction Dodge Charger.

Going a perfect three-for-three on the season, Patrick Womack finished seventh overall and first again in the SCA class on the ROVAL in his 2014 No. 11 Toyota Camry campaigned in its prime by Joe Gibbs Racing and Denny Hamlin. Womack also captured SCA honors in the HSR NASCAR Classic series debut race at VIRginia International Raceway in August and last month at Watkins Glen.

The Charlotte weekend’s final winner was Scott Dolfi, who joined Nemechek as the only Classic Stock Car Truck (SCT) competitors in the race. With Nemechek competing in the Pro division, Dolfi scored his second SCT class NASCAR Classic win in a row in his 2016 No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado. Dolfi’s Chevy pickup was driven in contemporary NASCAR Truck Series competition by Nemechek’s son, John Hunter Nemechek.

The younger Nemechek also put in some HSR NASCAR Classic track time in Charlotte, running some of the weekend’s preliminary sessions at the wheel of his Dad’s 2007 No. 87 Toyota Camry.

In addition to the classics in competition, nearly two dozen vintage and historic Stock Cars from the last 75 years took to the track for some parade lap of their own as well as being on display all weekend.

Eligible HSR NASCAR Classic stock cars include those built to previous NASCAR rule book specifications for Cup, Xfinity, Truck and ARCA competition. Current editions of the rules-eligible cars in each series, such as the Cup series Generation 7 chassis, are not eligible in NASCAR Classic competition.

Next up on the HSR NASCAR Classic schedule is the season-ending HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour weekend at Sebring International Raceway, Dec. 4-8.

McLaren IndyCar drivers, Button headline fifth Velocity Invitational

The fifth edition of the Velocity Invitational returns this weekend to Sonoma Raceway, where 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button and an array of NTT IndyCar Series and other marquee drivers will headline the historic racing event. In 2023, …

In 2023, Velocity founder Jeffrey O’Neil and the McLaren Racing Formula 1 team partnered to create an unforgettable experience where the team took over a building with an installation of eight F1 McLaren F1 cars spanning 1969-2008 and drivers like Lando Norris, Tony Kanaan, Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, Stefan Johansson and team CEO Zak Brown rotating through the machines.

In 2024, the involvement is significantly smaller, but McLaren has dispatched Kanaan, local product Nolan Siegel and, in his first official duty for the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team, Christian Lundgaard.

The trio will pilot three privately-owned turbocharged McLaren Indy cars with the 1974 M16C/D “Black Label” formerly driven by David Hobbs, Johnny Rutherford’s Gatorade-liveried 1975 M16E and the Red Roof Inns 1978 M24 being shared among the 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner and the team’s current drivers.

Kanaan achieved a lifelong dream of driving his hero Ayrton Senna’s championship-winning 1991 McLaren MP-4/6 at last year’s event (pictured above) and will prepare himself for the brutish power of an old school Indy car when he arrives on Friday.

“I don’t think anything Velocity will do ever again will top that for me, because of many reasons,” Kanaan told RACER. “So I was grateful that they invited me back, and now I can come and enjoy and be more relaxed. It’s almost like when Dan [Wheldon] won his first 500, he was all happy and stuff, and then he goes, when he won his second, ‘Man, I enjoyed the second a lot more because I was more relaxed.’ Bro, it’s the same thing to me.

“I’m going this weekend with no pressure, no butterflies about driving one of Senna’s cars. I know I’m going to drive old IndyCar. I’m going to see old friends. I’m just going to enjoy the weekend this time.”

Fellow IndyCar driver Romain Grosjean from Juncos Hollinger Racing will also be driving a few cars that have yet to be determined, and rally and drifting stars Travis Pastrana, Scott Speed and Ryan Tuerck complete the array of stars who will be in motion.

“I don’t know what I’m gonna drive yet,” Grosjean said. “I know there are really cool cars up there, so I’m not worried about getting a cool ride.

“I think it’s fantastic that a new U.S. organizer is starting an event like this that are high-end, well organized, at beautiful places. I’m excited to go; I’ve heard really good feedback from different people. It’s not a secret that I love wine and I love cars. It sounds like it’s a great fit.”