Doonan Seeking “New and Fresh” IMSA Event for 2028

Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

IMSA President John Doonan said the sanctioning body is seeking a “new and fresh” event to be part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar for 2028.

Doonan’s latest comments come as his strongest yet in an effort to organize a new race, ideally in the Pacific Northwest, to reach a currently untapped market.

“I think we’ve had a lot of date and venue equity, which is great, but I also think we need to look at other opportunities,” Doonan told reporters at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

“We ask our community all the time about where do they want to activate and market.

“We take that in. I’ve said it many times but I’d love to go to the Pacific Northwest. [We’re] looking at opportunities there with the Amazon’s, the Boeing’s, the Microsoft’s, the Starbuck’s of the world.

“That is also a very car culture, enthusiast marketplace. We will find something there.

“We’re constantly in contact with our NASCAR colleagues on where we can join them.

“Obviously they’ve done San Diego, they’ve done Chicago and who knows what else is possible with them.

“I think the opportunity for something new and fresh, which is what we tried to do with the six-hour at Road America, going into 2028 is a huge goal of ours.”

A possible NASCAR tie-in could come with a race on a U.S. military base, following the success of the NASCAR San Diego event in June on the Coronado Naval Base.

While that event is again planned for next year, in early August, an initiative is underway to have it be held on a different military base in 2028.

“Just adding another event is difficult for everyone, from a budget standpoint,” said Doonan. “It would have to fit into the rubik’s cube of the season.

“Adding a venue that celebrates the men and women of the military is always special.

“We’ll have to wait and see how that shapes out for them. We watched those events and San Diego, for them, was unbelievable.

“Obviously as a Chicago boy, I’d love see us race in the streets of Chicago.

“We know the interest is there to keep the schedule fresh and exciting.”

When asked about the possibility of a rotation of venues for some events, similar to what Formula 1 has done, Doonan said that’s also “absolutely on the table.”

He also suggested the possibility of sending other IMSA-sanctioned series to NASCAR events, pointing to the expansion of Michelin Pilot Challenge to a second standalone weekend next year at Lime Rock Park.

IMSA will welcome its sixth single-make series, McLaren Trophy America, next year, which has led the sanctioning body to look for creative ways of filling schedules.

With some of IMSA’s permanent road courses facing sellout crowds, Doonan believes an additional event in a major metropolitan city could also help expose the sport to a new audience.

“It’s a good mix because what we’re seeing at the natural terrain circuits, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Road America… We’re seeing huge crowds at those traditional tracks,” he said.

“But at the same time, as we continue to grow, we’re going to have to continue to put the property in front of bigger audiences, maybe in metro areas that they’ve never been to a car race and never certainly have seen a sports car race.

“If we could be part of things like that, it would be amazing. So much has to happen for that to become a reality. But I think a good mix of that is really important.”

When asked if he could see a future street race in the Pacific Northwest, Doonan said they’d “look at all options.”

“There’s some other very cool venues in the U.S., but we have to look at where they fit in the schedule, the costs associated with it for the teams,” he said.

“I’ve even said, if we ever did anything else on the West Coast, I’d want it to align with Long Beach and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, so the teams can just make one swing out to the West.”

Should a new event be integrated into the WeatherTech Championship calendar, work would need to begin shortly as Doonan reiterated plans to release the 2028 calendar in or around next year’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, in what has now become a yearly tradition.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John