Doonan: IMSA Had Nearly 90 Entry Requests for Rolex 24

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

IMSA President John Doonan has revealed the sanctioning body had “close to 90” entry inquiries for next month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, which had to be narrowed down to a capacity grid of 61 cars.

Released on Tuesday, the entry list for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener marks another bumper field for the Florida endurance classic, filled with star-studded lineups in all four classes of competition.

“At one point, based on inquiries for entries, we were close to 90,” Doonan told reporters during a IMSA-hosted Zoom session on Wednesday. “We were mid-to-upper 80s with teams wanted to come.”

Doonan said determining the grid, which is undertaken by the IMSA selection committee, is a well documented process with multiple factors and levels of commitments by teams all taken into consideration.

“I will say it’s not an easy decision,” he said in narrowing down the grid to the 61-car capacity.

“I’m grateful to my staff. They’ve established an entry process through an entry committee, and I will commend them for building out a process.

“Obviously, we look at full-season teams that are committed to the championship. We look at teams that are committed to the Michelin Endurance Cup.

“And then from there, teams that maybe have developed a very special marketing program around there, their effort for the Rolex 24 only, that type of theme. And I’m just really proud of where we are.

“It’s not an easy process because we had so much interest, but at the same time, and you know, when it comes down to it, we want to put the most competitive field that we can on track.

“And I think you’re going to see that across the board.”

Doonan added: “One of the beauties, and I’m so proud of our staff for this, is that they had individual meetings with every single entrant.

“Whether that’s Acura Meyer Shank Racing in a GTP program, or 13 Autosport out of Canada, TDS [Racing], Tower [Motorsport], you name it.

“These teams, they sat down with every team to understand their marketing plans, their driver lineups, the association with the manufacturer, and that’s hopefully what makes IMSA different is a personal relationship with those who want to come and race with us.

“We’ll continue that, and we’ll continue to try to find ways to give new people a chance, especially as they come up through the IMSA system.”

Ahead of more GTP class entries arriving, with Genesis already confirmed for 2027, and the possibilities of both Ford and McLaren by as early as 2028, Doonan said they continue to work with Daytona International Speedway to ensure having as large of a field as possible for its curtain raiser.

“We talk to Frank Kelleher, at Daytona, nonstop specifically about Daytona,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure that we retain the quality of the show, as well as make sure we maximize things.

“I’m super sensitive to not messing up the quality just to have quantity.

“But if you roll the clock back to 2020, we had 39 entries and then the grid went up into the 40s.

“The following season, and every year since, except the year that Brad Pitt’s movie was shot, we have had 61 and I think it’s a statement about the health of our sport across the board.

“We want to keep that momentum going for as long as we can.”

Doonan “Hopeful” of Ford, McLaren GTP Commitments 

When asked directly on the prospects of Ford and McLaren coming into GTP, Doonan said they’re “hopeful” both brands will make the commitment to the WeatherTech Championship, in addition to its already confirmed FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar programs that will launch in 2027.

Both Ford and McLaren have ruled out parallel IMSA GTP efforts in the first year of its LMDh programs but have not discounted the possibility of joining the WeatherTech Championship in 2028.

“We are constant communication with all of our manufacturer partners, including Genesis, and we’ve had terrific meetings with them,” said Doonan.

“[The] same goes for Ford, and what Ford has done across all platforms of the sport is remarkable. So definitely hope so.

“And certainly, I congratulated Zak Brown and the whole McLaren family on their [Formula 1] championships over the past weekend that they put finally in the books.

“So we’ll see. I’m certainly hopeful, but I certainly can’t predict. We definitely are hopeful.”

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