A pair of NASCAR mainstays are working towards reviving a version of IROC — The International Race of Champions.
Held annually from 1973 to 2006, IROC contested a series of races, usually four, over the course of the motorsports season that pitted champions from a variety of disciplines in identically prepared stock sports cars.
The races were generally NASCAR event companion races but also featured champions from Indy car, sports car, rally and numerous other categories. Intending to use classic IROC cars from the past in competition, car collectors and racers Ray Evernham and Rob Kauffman have acquired the branding and aim to host an event in 2024.
The company will be hosted in Mooresville, North Carolina, where both are located. Evernham is a NASCAR Hall of Famer most associated with his tenure serving as crew chief for Jeff Gordon in the 1990s at Hendrick Motorsports. Kauffman is a venture capitalist who previously served as a co-owner in both Michael Waltrip Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing while also serving on the board of the Race Team Alliance.
Evernham was also responsible for overseeing the IROC cars during a stretch in the 1990s and was tasked with keeping the cars equal for those of competed under the banner. Evernham founded Superstar Racing Experience in 2020 with Tony Stewart but has since left that organization.
SRX is very much a spiritual successor to IROC but instead competes on short tracks and dirt tracks across the country.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.