The Roar Before the Rolex 24 has long provided IMSA with an opportunity to showcase the best that sports car racing has to offer to a younger audience. The tradition of inviting scouts and guides to camp in the infield through the weekend, for instance, lives on in 2025.
The ambitious IMSA STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) educational program is now active and bringing something new to the event, starting Friday in the at Daytona paddock.
A group of 30 keen high school students with STEM or automotive-related interests from two local high schools in nearby Port Orange (Spruce Creek High School and Atlantic High School) took part and were handed a golden opportunity to tour the paddock with key personnel.
Throughout the day they were taken to various areas of the circuit to get a feel for how their areas of study can be applied to a real world, competitive setting. It included visits to Michelin’s tire compound, the IMSA Engineering Center, IMSA Tech Inspection Area, IMSA Technology Lap and GTP team Action Express’ garage.
At each step, the students were given opportunities to ask pertinent questions and engage with the likes of Jim Fowler, IMSA’s supervising official; Action Express’ director of operations, Chris Mitchum; Cadillac’s LMDh tech lead Aaron Pfeifer, and IMSA President John Doonan.
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“I’m so proud that we could kick this off this year. It’s something that I think is incredibly important for the entire sport,” Doonan told reporters. “I have a personal interest and fascination with it, simply because I have had experience and been able to do this previously in IMSA.
“Now that we have — thanks to (STEM partners) Gainbridge and Konica Minolta — the resource to do it, backed up by EVERFI (custom education) and their ability to not only support us on-site, but also when the students leave and when the educators leave, then they can refer to what they experienced.
“As I said in the opening this morning, what we’re doing here is a laboratory. It’s a laboratory for the automakers. It’s a laboratory for Michelin on the tire front. It’s a laboratory for all these teams. For the students to be able to see what they’re doing in the classroom be applied in a real-world environment is really valuable.
“That gives me and all of my IMSA teammates a lot of satisfaction. These students here today, some of the top students from the Volusia County schools surrounding the Daytona area, they’re our future. We are going to do it at five other races this year and then have a web portal to allow the educators and students to follow up. For me, it’s the best of both worlds.”
IMSA’s new STEM curriculum has been developed in conjunction with EVERFI, which works with more than 60,000 teachers and their schools across the USA, providing interactive, game-based lessons to help prepare students for the world at work.
Friday’s premiere is just the beginning for IMSA STEM. The program is set to continue throughout the 2025 season, with additional experiences set to be offered to students at schools local to other selected IMSA race events.
