New Perks for IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship

The recipient of the next IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship will have added tools at their disposal to further their racing career and grow their personal brand.

The application process for the scholarship to be awarded covering the 2024-25 IMSA seasons is now open.

This is the third year that IMSA is offering the scholarship worth more than $250,000. As in the past, benefits include a full-season premium prepaid entry fee for the first year (in this case 2024) to drive in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Michelin Pilot Challenge or VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, and 50 percent of the prepaid entry fee for the second season in one of those series.

Support for the scholarship also comes from IMSA partners Michelin, VP Racing Fuels, OMP, Bell, Recaro and LAT Images.

New perks this year include a series of learning modules made available to candidates selected from the application pool to bolster their off-track skills and make them stronger candidates in the final step of the process to determine the scholarship winner and two alternates.

Subjects of the learning modules include IMSA marketing and sponsorship resources, business development, social media best practices, networking and enhancing interview skills.

“The IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship has already proven successful in advancing the racing careers of a pair of talented, diverse drivers, and the added benefits will only make it more valuable,” said Brandon Huddleston, vice president, IMSA Partnership Marketing and Business Development.

“The more we can help these young drivers build their skills in marketing themselves to teams, manufacturers and sponsors in the IMSA paddock while also advancing their skills on the racetrack, the better the chances are for them to have long and successful IMSA careers.”

To be eligible for the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship, candidates must be female or a member of an ethnic minority classification with a strong desire to compete in IMSA, have outstanding previous race results and/or proven on-track potential in junior racing categories, and the ability to create a compelling strategy to compete in a full season of one of the three IMSA-sanctioned series mentioned above.

The scholarship includes tools to bring deserving drivers into IMSA and position them for holistic success both on and off the racetrack.

Jaden Conwright was the first IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship recipient a year ago and is applying his second-year benefits to another WeatherTech Championship season in 2023.

Courtney Crone was named the 2023-24 scholarship winner and is competing in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, where she earned a podium finish Jan. 22 in the season-opening weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

Applications for the 2024-25 scholarship are accepted through March 24. Candidates will be announced in early April, allowing them time in the spring and summer to complete the learning modules, attend team integration opportunities hosted by IMSA at race events and complete their final scholarship applications by Sept. 1 with the scholarship recipient announced this fall.

Click Here for more information and to apply for the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship.