While the illustrious history of IMSA is littered with great cars and great drivers, it’s easy to forget that the series also catered to young, up-and-coming drivers, racing on a budget, in much less “exotic” machinery. What follows is the first of a two-part tale of these fascinating IMSA undercards, from the new book “IMSA 1969–1989: The inside story of how John Bishop built the world’s greatest sports car racing series” by Mitch Bishop & Mark Raffauf.
IMSA RS—Racing for the Little Guy
The starting field for the first IMSA RS/Baby Grand race at Daytona in January 1972. IMSA Collection/International Motor Racing Research Center
A Charlotte race in May 1971 marked the beginning of the IMSA Baby Grand series. Only twelve cars showed up, but the concept proved to be a winner. The series was geared to take advantage of the boom in subcompacts being sold in the United States and a wide range of cars were eligible: Ford Pinto, Dodge Colt, AMC Gremlin, and Chevy Vega, among others.
