Charlie Slater Passes Away at 69

Former IMSA owner, CEO and competitor Charlie Slater passed away last Saturday in South Florida at the age of 69 following an extended illness.

“IMSA, at its core values, has always been a culture of family – the IMSA racing family,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “The loss of Charlie has hit all of us hard. The positive impact he has had on the IMSA community over the years has been discussed and recognized by so many legends of IMSA in recent days.

“It is with heavy hearts that we will go racing this week at VIR…but also with the same ‘IMSA family’ spirit that Charlie represented. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of Charlie’s family and loved ones.”

That ‘family’ spirit was evident among a mix of past and present IMSA competitors as word circulated in the industry of Slater’s passing.

Those he worked alongside, shared a cockpit with and competed wheel-to-wheel with spoke of what a quality person Slater was – respected in business, in racing and remembered fondly as a friend.

A hugely successful and ground-breaking engineering executive, Slater purchased IMSA in 1993 and guided the sanctioning body through 1996 – including the transition from the GTP headlining class to the open-cockpit World Sports Cars.

He is credited with bringing aboard Exxon as a primary series sponsor before ultimately selling the IMSA series in the Fall of 1996.

Slater’s deep love of the sport and respect for those in the paddock never wavered through the decades whether he was a part of the starting grid, leading the series’ executive meetings or there to support someone else.

The Fort Lauderdale native turned his lifelong love of cars into sports car competition – driving Porsches and sharing cockpits with some of the biggest names in the sport like Bill Auberlen, Tommy Kendall and Kevin Jeannette.

He podiumed in two Rolex 24 at Daytona starts – finishing third in the GT3 class in 1998 standing alongside a star-filled podium that included Auberlen, Boris Said and Peter Cunningham. Later, Slater would share a Porsche with Auberlen and develop a close friendship.

The all-time wins leader with 65 in IMSA’s top championship, Auberlen said Monday he was deeply saddened to receive news of Slater’s passing.

“Honestly, I had to sit down,” Auberlen conceded. “For those that knew Charlie, they knew he was a kind, giving, gentle guy. When I say he would give you the shirt off his back, that is an understatement.”

Auberlen, who competes in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Samantha Tan in the No. 38 ST Racing by Random Vandals BMW M4 GT4 EVO, credits one singular act of Slater’s kindness as essentially changing his own racing trajectory.

While racing in New Orleans, Auberlen crashed his Mazda RX-7 in practice and it couldn’t be repaired in time for green flag – a heart-breaking development as Auberlen was competing for the class championship at the time.

“It seemed all was lost,” Auberlen said. “Along walks up Charlie Slater. I knew of him but didn’t know him personally. He looked at me and we spoke a bit and after 10 minutes of talking, he gave me his personal Alex Job GTU Porsche to race for the New Orleans Grand Prix.

“I mean, who does that? The answer was Charlie Slater. Oddly, I got the pole and won the race and honestly – because of Charlie Slater and Alex Job – I was seen by BMW in that race and it was the catalyst for my entire racing career.

“I owe Charlie my entire racing life. I will miss him deeply and the light on this planet is a shade dimmer without him here.”

As with Auberlen, Job is a longtime friend of Slater’s. His company, Alex Job Racing, has 10 class wins at Sebring over a 20-year period. Job prepared cars for Slater, his team fielded cars for Slater and through decades of interaction, the two became such close friends that Job frequently visited even when Slater was in declining health.

He speaks proudly of the success Slater enjoyed behind one of his Alex Job Racing Porsches – including a class win at Sebring (1995 in GTS-2 with Auberlen and Joe Cogbill as co-drivers) – and the lengthy friendship he cherished.

“Charlie was just always a race enthusiast and sports car enthusiast,” Job said. “Talk about a bright mind. He was an engineering mind, an incredibly bright mind, incredibly good businessman.

“I don’t know if that history with our team would have played out the way it did if it wasn’t for Charlie Slater joining Alex Job Racing and becoming a close personal friend, an awesome customer and a supporter of AJR,” Job added. “Charlie was a huge part of it.”

Four times Slater competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing the cockpit of the Konrad Porsche with Kendall and Jürgen von Gartzen in 2000 and earning what would be his best ever finish in the race, 14th overall.

The two did not really know one another before the race, but Kendall was impressed with not only Slater’s preparation and work behind the wheel, but his demeanor and kindness out of the car.

“I learned he’s an incredibly accomplished, very bright guy that had no airs about him,” Kendall recalled. “He didn’t need you to know he was a big sot. He was just a normal guy that loved his racing. He was very unassuming and no need for you to know who he was, so you had to pry accolades out of him.

“I really enjoyed the weekend with him and think about it often,” Kendall said, offering his condolences.

A longtime familiar face and name in the IMSA paddocks, a gentleman who goes by the name “Stretch” was particularly close to Slater. The two were dear friends, restoring classic cars late into many nights prone to enjoying racing stories and contemplating life in general.

He recalls Slater’s generous heart and insistence on making a real difference in life – something Stretch saw him do discreetly for others on a regular basis through the years.

“Charlie was more than a friend, he was a brother, a confidant, adventurer, companion and one of the most generous individuals I have ever known,” Stretch said Monday.

“He always had the sense of curiosity and wonder about him and he took this into every aspect of his daily life.

“I will miss my dear friend and I will miss our conversations. Charlie Slater was a very bright light, a soul that gave and gave. In my opinion, another heaven and another earth will pass before we will see his kind again.”