When the IMSA WeatherTech
SportsCar Championship rolls into
Sebring International Raceway
for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of
Sebring Presented by Advance
Auto Parts, fans will get a chance
to step into IMSA’s past and celebrate
its future as a part of its 50th
anniversary season.
IMSA, the International Motor Sports Association, has a
long history as the premier sanctioning body for sports
car competition in North America.
The sanctioning body was founded
in 1969 by John Bishop with the
assistance of NASCAR President
Bill France Sr. Bishop was a 12-year
employee of the Sports Car Club of
America, who elected to follow his
own vision for professional road
racing. Bishop and his wife, Peggy,
brought a family-style feel to the
organization, based in Bridgeport,
Connecticut.
Looking Back
The rst IMSA-sanctioned race was
at Pocono International Raceway in
October of 1969, a Formula Ford and Formula Vee event
that paid $3,000 and attracted 348 spectators. Bishop
S P E R S E B R I N G 2 0 1 9
96
50 Years
of IMSA
Half a Century
of Legendary
Sports Car Racing
Art by Simon Ward. See the original artwork in
the Gallery of Legends building.