IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship Application Window Open
Applications are currently being accepted for the 2025-26 IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship. The scholarship has grown every year, and this fourth year is no exception. With Skip Barber Racing School coming onboard as a new partner, the potential worth of the scholarship is now more than $300,000.
As in the past, scholarship benefits include a full-season premium prepaid entry fee for the first year (in this case 2025) to drive in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge or IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, and 50 percent of the prepaid entry fee for the second season in one of those series. Support for the scholarship also comes from IMSA partners Michelin, VP Racing Fuels, OMP, Bell, Recaro and LAT Images.
A popular new element last year that will be returning during the 2024 selection process was a series of learning modules made available to candidates selected from the application pool to bolster their off-track skills. Subjects of the learning modules include IMSA marketing and sponsorship resources, business development, social media best practices, networking and enhancing interview skills.
The new element this year? If the Diverse Driver Development Scholarship recipient enters into an agreement to drive for the Skip Barber Racing team – part of the Skip Barber Racing School, which currently fields an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in the Grand Sport (GS) class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge – the scholarship recipient will receive a $50,000 seat credit for the first year of their scholarship.
Ken Fukuda (shown at right), the 2024-25 IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship recipient, played a significant role in Skip Barber Racing School’s expanded relationship with IMSA. Fukuda, who is a lead instructor at the school “Where Drivers Become Champions,” helped pave the way for Skip Barber Racing to enter a car into IMSA competition for the first time, with Fukuda as co-driver. The school’s interest in participating in the scholarship and helping future recipients stemmed from there.
“The Skip Barber Racing School was already an IMSA partner, but through the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship and current scholarship recipient Ken Fukuda, we have had the opportunity to broaden that relationship,” said Brandon Huddleston, vice president, IMSA Partnership Marketing and Business Development. “The addition of the $50,000 seat credit brings added value to the scholarship and makes it even more appealing for aspiring sports car racers.
“We are so grateful to all of our partners who support the scholarship,” Huddleston continued. “Not just through the benefits offered to the scholarship recipient, but also those who share their time, knowledge and experience with all of the candidates during the learning modules.”
To be eligible for the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship, candidates must be able to demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and/or describe how they have overcome obstacles to reach goals. They must possess a strong desire to compete in IMSA, have outstanding previous race results and/or proven on-track potential in junior racing categories, and the ability to create a compelling strategy to compete in a full season of one of the three IMSA-sanctioned series where scholarship recipients may race. The scholarship includes tools to bring deserving drivers into IMSA and position them for holistic success both on and off the racetrack.
Courtney Crone (shown at left), the 2023 IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship recipient, had a successful 2023 season in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge where she earned six podium finishes in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) class. In 2024, Crone will take on a new challenge in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America.
Applications for the 2025-26 scholarship are being accepted through March 22. Candidates will be announced March 29, allowing them time in the spring and summer to complete the learning modules, attend team integration opportunities hosted by IMSA at race events and complete their final scholarship applications by Aug. 9 with the scholarship recipient announced this fall.
