Image by Levitt/Motorsport Images
Breakthrough for IMSA's internationals
IMSA teams received a welcome alert Thursday night that offers a significant breakthrough for its international drivers and key personnel.
According to the bulletin, Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf met with the series’ leadership on Wednesday at the International Motorsports Center in Daytona Beach, and confirmed motorsports has been included in the DHS order from May 22 “that exempts certain foreign professional athletes who compete in professional sporting events organized by certain leagues, including their essential staff and their dependents, from proclamations barring their entry into the U.S.”
With almost half of the IMSA paddock represented by drivers, mechanics, engineers, manufacturers, and other support staff who cross into the United States to participate in its endurance racing events, the update from Acting Secretary Wolf means IMSA, and any other domestic series with multi-national participants, can get back to racing with its full membership body onsite.
Prior to the successful breakthrough on the sport’s behalf by IMSA with the DHS, the NTT IndyCar Series and the SRO Motorsports America group were also facing the specter of returning to action with international drivers and personnel missing from the events.
IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series is due to resume its season in July at Daytona International Speedway.
“Sports are vital to the economic reopening of America and to reigniting the American spirit,” Wolf said. “We look forward to IMSA returning to racing at your upcoming event on July 4 at Daytona.”
The new inbound travel exception does come with a recommended 14-day self-quarantine, which led to IMSA’s request for its incoming participants to arrive by June 18, at the latest, to provide enough time to complete the quarantine prior to on-track activity for the Daytona race.
Marshall Pruett
The 2026 season marks Marshall Pruett's 40th year working in the sport. In his role today for RACER, Pruett covers open-wheel and sports car racing as a writer, reporter, photographer, and filmmaker. In his previous career, he served as a mechanic, engineer, and team manager in a variety of series, including IndyCar, IMSA, and World Challenge.
Read Marshall Pruett's articles
Latest News
Comments
Comments are disabled until you accept Social Networking Cookies. Update cookie preferences
If the dialog doesn't appear, ad-blockers are often the cause; try disabling yours or see our Social Features Support.