Paddock intrigue sparks an early silly season in IMSA
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship paddock has been boiling over with intrigue since the start of the year, and in recent weeks, a number of fascinating developments have emerged that nobody wants to touch, much less acknowledge or put their name on.
But what’s in play deserves RACER’s first IMSA silly season piece, all due to the seismic shifts taking place in its top hybrid GTP class ahead of 2025.
Let’s start with the biggest one so far, which RACER broke in March on Chip Ganassi Racing and General Motors preparing to split at the end of the season with the IMSA GTP program it runs for Cadillac Racing.
Since the end of the IMSA road for Ganassi and Cadillac will arrive in October, it means the glorious V-Series.Rs are headed to someone else’s house. And which house might that be?
The rumors for months have told the same tale and I don’t question their accuracy: With his new Cadillac relationship and their proposed partnership in Formula 1, Michael Andretti’s name has been mentioned at least a dozen times as someone working to expand his relationship with GM by representing Cadillac in IMSA GTP.
Where the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti-to-Cadillac move was spoken of as being highly likely from January through March, it transitioned to being delivered as a fact by multiple sources leading into and during the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach. It’s unclear if the deal has reached the point of a wedding ceremony, but at a minimum, engagement rings have been exchanged.
I asked one senior Andretti team leader about it on pit lane at Long Beach, and as expected, they said, “no comment.”
WTRA is said to be planning a two-car Cadillac GTP effort, which would allow a direct transfer of today’s two-car Acura ARX-06 GTP operation to the manufacturer WTR worked with from 2017 to 2020 and won the 2017 IMSA DPi championship and three Rolex 24 At Daytona victories for over that span.
Taylor, specifically, represented GM through its Pontiac and Corvette marques for more than a decade before the switch to Cadillac.
Together, with Andretti’s recent alliance with Cadillac and Taylor’s longstanding relationships with GM, the upcoming union was an easy one to predict. Andretti Cadillac in F1. Wayne Taylor Racing/Andretti Cadillac in IMSA. It makes too much sense to be untrue.
On the manufacturer side, I asked the head of Cadillac Racing’s communications to speak on the subject, and was told, “We’re focused on continuing our strong start to the season and winning the GTP championship. We’ll address 2025 when we have information to share about 2025.”
The obvious follow-up question involves WTRA and its current manufacturer partner, Acura.
Like GM with its Cadillac GTP effort, Acura is also understood to be in the second of a two-year deal with its current service provider, and like GM, Acura has sought proposals from other teams to weigh a possible move.
That recently changed from being a possibility to a necessity with WTRA seeking to leave and align with GM/Cadillac; Acura had to do more than just field inquiries; it’s needed to find a replacement for WTRA.
And the answer there should have been just as easy to identify as the reunion with WTRA and Cadillac.
As Honda’s top team in IndyCar, the Ganassi organization was expected to get the factory Acura deal and be fully aligned under the Honda Racing Corporation US banner that oversees its IMSA and IndyCar programs. But that isn’t happening.
What seemed like an impossibility last year is now in motion as the Meyer Shank Racing, which lost its factory Acura effort at the end of 2023 and exited the series — driven in part by its tire pressure scandal at Daytona — is set to reclaim the effort and make its return to IMSA and the Acura brand in 2025.
Is Meyer Shank Racing set for a return to the Acura GTP fold? Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
Speaking with an Acura Motorsports representative at Long Beach, they declined to discuss the topic, but did say, “We are committed to the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti team and look forward to what the rest of the year holds in store for Acura.”
Shank wouldn’t be drawn on the matter, but did offer a polite smile when asked about it last weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.
The IMSA GTP silly season is on fire, and there’s more to come.
