2026 HSR IMSA Classic Featured Era Opens Soon for Applications from Competitors with Eligible and Authentic Rolex 24 At Daytona Cars from 1990 – 2010
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (October 17, 2025) – The 2nd Annual Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) IMSA Classic will be held at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) just under 100 days from now, and HSR officials confirmed today next year’s featured era of Rolex 24 At Daytona machinery that will be in the spotlight this January at the “World Center of Racing.”
Setting the stage for the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona, January 21 – 24, the HSR IMSA Classic is a Rolex 24 At Daytona tribute race showcasing the legendary sports cars that have contested America’s premier 24-hour race since the 1960s.
The 2026 HSR IMSA Classic featured era will be authentic and period-correct sports cars between the years of 1990 and 2010 with a verifiable Rolex 24 At Daytona history. Competitors with era-eligible cars will be able to apply in the near future for entry in the 2026 HSR IMSA Classic, with the eventual field of 20 determined by a selection committee.
In this year’s inaugural HSR Classic, Tom Long drove the Mazda Heritage Collection 1991 Mazda RX-7 GTO to the overall and GT class victories while Scooter Gabel wheeled the Alegra Motorsports prepared Chevy-powered Lola Corvette GTP to second overall and first in the Prototype category. Long and Gabel went into the record books as the first HSR IMSA Classic winners in a race that featured cars from the first three decades of IMSA sports car racing from 1973 through 1993.
“The inaugural 2025 HSR IMSA Classic set the benchmark for this special Rolex 24 At Daytona tribute for many year’s to come,” said HSR President John Doonan. “The featured era in the spotlight this January is the diverse Prototypes and GT machines that took to the Rolex 24 stage from 1990 through 2010. A bit more contemporary than the debut IMSA Classic this year that showcased 1973 to 1993, the oldest cars competing next year are still 35 years old and will certainly conjure up some golden memories from the past. We look forward to opening the door to these legendary machines as well as some of the more contemporary but still memorable cars from earlier in this century.”
A full three-day race event on Rolex 24 weekend, the provisional schedule for the IMSA Classic starts with opening practice Thursday afternoon, qualifying Friday morning and a qualifying race that evening. The main event Saturday morning will be a 30-minute IMSA Classic feature race and the final on-track activity before the 64th Rolex 24 twice-around-the-clock IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.
Appropriately enough, next up on the HSR calendar of 2025 events is the 11th Running of the HSR Daytona Classic 24 Hour, presented by Mission Foods, and the HSR Daytona Historics, November 5 – 9 at Daytona International Speedway. For more information, please visit www.HSRRace.com.
About HSR: An International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) property, Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) was formed in the mid-1970s with an event at Road Atlanta. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate the racing cars from the past. As a “time machine” of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at race tracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions eight vintage and historic racing events at some of the world’s most renowned race tracks, including Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Daytona International Speedway and more. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR’s website at www.HSRRace.com. Look for the HSR Channel on YouTube and follow HSR on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HSRrace/
