World Racing League President RJ Till Highlights Growth, Innovation and “No-Contact” Culture During
World Racing League (WRL) President RJ Till joined EPARTRADE’s Race Industry Week to share how the series has evolved into one of North America’s premier endurance racing platforms—bridging the gap between grassroots club racing and professional motorsport, while staying true to its mission: “a professional-level experience on an amateur racing budget.”
Now entering its 11th season, WRL continues to post strong growth across its classes, expand its national footprint, and invest in technology and officiating to keep racing close, clean, and cost-conscious.
Growing Fields, Closer Racing
Till reported that 2025 has been one of WRL’s strongest seasons yet, particularly in its general production categories, with GP1 singled out for major growth. He credited Continental Tire, WRL’s spec tire partner for those classes, with helping create deep, competitive fields.
On the prototype and higher-performance side, GTU and GTO have also seen expansion, with multi-class grids delivering the kind of tight finishes more often associated with pro racing.
“More often than not, we’re finishing races down to one or two seconds at the end of eight hours,” Till said. “That’s a huge credit to our teams and competitors for putting on such a good show.”
WRL’s format centers on 8-hour endurance races, often in double-header weekends, which demand serious preparation, reliability, and strategy from teams and drivers. Drivers regularly log two to four hours per day in the car, developing the race craft and awareness that naturally come from long, multi-class runs.
A Premier Bridge Between Club and Pro Racing
Founded in Texas and now recognized nationally, WRL has carved out a unique place on the motorsport ladder.
“We’ve shifted from being at the extreme grassroots end of the spectrum to becoming the premier endurance racing league that sits between club racing and the professional series,” Till explained. “We’re taking compliance seriously. We’re taking the racing seriously. We’re bringing in high-level staff and trying to put on a pro-level event—but at a cost that’s still accessible.”
That positioning has made WRL a favorite for:
- Ambitious grassroots teams moving up from budget endurance and HPDE programs
- Pro-am efforts looking for more seat time and development
- Professional drivers and teams from NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA and SRO, who use WRL for road racing reps, coaching, and team-building
Many drivers who come through WRL have gone on to—or already compete in—professional categories, yet frequently return to the series for additional experience and competition.
Advanced Compliance: Data, Dynos and Telemetry
As competition has elevated, WRL has matched it with sophisticated compliance tools to keep the playing field level without killing creativity or driving costs out of reach.
WRL is a power-to-weight series, using DynoJet to set and verify the power levels that define class placement. That’s the first layer.
New for 2025–2026, WRL is adding a dedicated data scrutineering team made up of professionals who have worked at the highest levels of the sport and helped build many modern technical processes.
In parallel, WRL uses Flagtronics in-car systems not only for driver information—digital flag states and messages—but also as a powerful data tool:
- Speed traps across 19–25 sectors
- Acceleration and performance traces to cross-check what the car is doing on track
“We’ll be triangulating between the dyno numbers, the on-board data, and real-time telemetry,” Till said. “That lets us find out where to start looking and ensure that cars are racing within their class limits, even as things get more competitive and the cars get more complex.”
These tools will be fully integrated at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and across the 2025–2026 seasons.
Cost Control Without Killing Creativity
While WRL enforces performance parity, it also encourages creative builds—especially in the general production (GP) categories.
Using a system of modifiers tied to the power-to-weight formula, WRL balances performance and cost:
- Multi-adjustable shocks
- Aero (wing, splitter)
- Engine swaps
- Advanced transmissions and other performance upgrades
Teams can choose to build simpler, lower-cost cars and gain power or invest in sophisticated components and accept the modifiers.
The result is a wildly varied yet balanced paddock: early-2000s BMWs with eight-speed autos, LS-swapped builds, modern GT-based machinery, and more—each adjusted to fit within its class performance window.
In GTO, WRL’s most open GT class, the series is working toward a more conventional sliding Balance of Performance (BoP) for 2026, informed by all the data and experience collected from the production ranks.
A Strict “No-Contact” Culture
A signature element of WRL is its no-contact philosophy.
“Contact is not impossible in World Racing League—it’s just not permitted,” Till emphasized.
WRL employs experienced professional stewards, many from series like IMSA, to enforce standards. Over the years, the series has seen a statistical reduction in both the volume and severity of car-to-car contact, especially incidents that take another competitor out of the race.
Penalties are applied consistently, and in severe cases, drivers can be removed from the car.
“It’s hard to do, but it’s important,” Till said. “Our competitors invest a lot in their cars and time. We owe it to them to protect that. Our racers have done an excellent job upholding that standard—and that’s a huge reason the racing is so good.”
Interestingly, Till noted that drivers coming from HPDE, ChampCar, Lemons and other budget endurance series are statistically among the least likely to be involved in contact, thanks to the situational awareness developed in those environments.
National Schedule, Growing Spectators and West Coast Expansion
WRL’s calendar features a mix of:
- Iconic pro circuits – such as Circuit of the Americas, Sebring, Road America, Watkins Glen, Road Atlanta
- Top-tier club and members’ tracks – like Eagles Canyon Raceway and Utah Motorsports Campus
Eagles Canyon, near the series’ Texas roots, has become a strong partner—engaging WRL teams and even building its own multi-car effort to run in the series.
On the spectator side, WRL has doubled attendance at Road Atlanta every year for four years, now drawing crowds in the thousands. The series is planning more support series, fan features, and experiences to match that growth.
Demand from the West Coast has driven WRL to add Utah Motorsports Campus and, for 2026, the legendary Thunderhill Raceway Park, with a long-term goal of building a Western championship.
How to Get Involved
WRL’s open, power-to-weight ruleset means almost any car can be made legal:
1. Strap the car to a DynoJet to get its power figure
2. Fill it with fuel and weigh it
3. Use WRL’s classing to determine where it fits
Drivers can enter with:
- Existing licenses from pro or club series, or
- Significant HPDE or endurance racing experience (ChampCar, Lemons, AER, etc.)
Newcomers from those backgrounds can run on probation in general production, observed on Friday and through the weekend. If they complete the event cleanly, they’re granted ongoing eligibility in that class.
“Some of our cleanest drivers come out of HPDE and budget endurance,” Till said. “They’ve learned 360-degree awareness and race craft the hard way—and it shows.”
Partners and the Road Ahead
WRL continues to add strategic partners that support its teams and competitors, including:
- Continental Tire – spec tire partner for general production classes
- DynoJet – power measurement standard for classing
- Flagtronics – in-car flag and data platform
- Discovery Parts, Max Track Time, and others for parts, services, and testing
- A newly announced Ford Racing contingency program and ongoing relationship with Ford Performance Racing School
Looking ahead, WRL plans to continue investing in:
- Data-driven compliance & BoP
- Spectator and broadcast growth
- OEM and supplier partnerships that bring more value back to competitors
- Regional expansion, particularly on the West Coast
“Our goal is simple,” Till concluded. “Give anyone—from HPDE drivers to IndyCar and NASCAR racers—an honest, professional-style endurance racing experience, on a budget that doesn’t belong only to the pro paddock. We’re proud of how far WRL has come, and we’re just getting started.”
