Doonan says IMSA fans can expect a capacity grid for 2027 season

Despite a number of tenured, accomplished IMSA teams announcing plans to either pause or cease participation in the series, IMSA President John Doonan told RACER that fans can still expect to see another capacity grid for the 2027 Rolex 24 At Daytona and the rest of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to come.

Doonan said this weekend, “If you said today, ‘John, how many cars want to come to the Rolex 24 in January?’ It’s nearly 80, and we all know that there’s only 61 spots. That’s the reality of what we have, as well as interested teams that have reached out to us and said, ‘I want to be on the grid at the Rolex.’

“I think over the next several months, you’re going to see a huge flow of announcements in the spirit of the same momentum that we’ve been experiencing for the last six or seven years.”

In recent years, that entry list will have been revealed in the State of the Sport address at Petit Le Mans, but this year the 2027 IMSA field will be completely divulged in early December, leaving ample time for individual teams will announce their participation over the coming days and weeks.

Doonan has had to confront staple teams like Meyer Shank Racing, Pfaff Motorsports and DragonSpeed all reveal that they won’t return next season, but knows that potential new programs are also coming to help regenerate the series.

“Things, as always in our sport, evolve. You’re seeing an evolution with long-time teams that are choosing to go do something different,” he said.

“But we also see someone new who is expressing interest in being in the top category, purchasing a team or the equipment to stand up their own team, and that’s exciting.

“There’s a tremendous amount in the pipeline that I think people are going to be excited about.”

Not only will the Rolex 24 be oversubscribed with a substantial list of teams on the confidential reserve list – but Doonan has also said the interest in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge is at the level where the second-level championship could have waiting lists for events, let alone the top-level WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

And there will still be avenues for those teams left off the grid in Daytona to participate in 2027.

“Relative to people on the waiting list, they may be on the waiting list for the Rolex, but the fortunate thing is that we have the Michelin Endurance Championship – so if they don’t necessarily make the Rolex, they may be able to do one of those events. They may choose to do some sprint races with us to either get their feet wet or add value to their corporate partners, so it varies.

The 29th Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is trending towards another sellout, though new infrastructure and roadways which have been built since last year’s sell-out event to accommodate more people. The State of the Sport address will still have substantial announcements even without a complete 2027 entry list.

Meanwhile, Doonan has said that it is likely that IMSA will reveal the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s 2028 calendar at the 2027 Twelve Hours of Sebring, following the series’ recent trend of being the first major sports car racing series to reveal its dates for the following year.