Bill Freeman was a professional racing driver, race team owner, motorsport racing enthusiast, race car manufacturer, and business entrepreneur.
Bill Freeman was a professional racing driver, race team owner, motorsport racing enthusiast, race car manufacturer, and business entrepreneur.
In 1978 Paul Newman and Bill Freeman formed a racing partnership to compete in various forms of auto racing. The Racing Team was based in Santa Barbara, California. As the team's Managing Partner, Freeman managed all aspects and operations for this professional automobile racing company. In 1979, Bill Freeman negotiated a new home at Laguna Seca Raceway for the Newman Freeman Racing Can-Am team. Construction was completed in the early ‘80s and the new shop and offices in the pit area became a permanent home for the Budweiser sponsored team”.
The building has been used for two permanent driving schools since the ‘90s, and it’s still used today as a garage, media center and classrooms.
The company specialized in Indy Cars, Can-Am, and other high-performance motorsport racing. The team raced in Chevrolet-powered Spyder NF's, sponsored by Budweiser.
The "Newman Freeman Racing" team dominated North America's Can Am series in its Budweiser sponsored Lola team. The partnership attracted several drivers who would go on to become legends in the future, included Keke Rosberg, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Teo Fabi, and others. Driving for Newman Freeman Racing, these drivers won many competitions including the Can-Am Team Championship of 1979.
Bill Freeman is credited as the man who introduced Paul Newman to professional auto racing. In addition to the team management, Bill Freeman and Paul Newman drove many S.C.C.A. and I.M.S.A. events together, including the Sebring 12 hour endurance sports car race. [9] [10] [11]
Freeman was General Manager and Team Manager for Gurney Freeman Racing Indianapolis 500 CART championship racing team and partners with Dan Gurney at All American Racers in Santa Ana, California. [12] [13]
In 1984 Freeman also formed Fine Sports Cars with partner Ashton Marshall, to remanufacture, restore, and offer for sale legendary sports racing cars. The company was based in San Diego, California, with a showroom, The Fine Car Store, located in La Jolla, California. [8] [15] [16]
In 2009 the company was expanded to include both sanctioned and certified cars and established a global network of workshops and suppliers. [14] [17]
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout, a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) combined road course, utilizing portions of the tri-oval and an infield road course. Since its inception, it has been held on the last weekend of January or first weekend of February as part of Speedweeks, and it is the first major automobile race of the year in North America. The race is sanctioned by IMSA and is the first race of the season for the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Riverside International Raceway was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Riverside and 50 miles east of Los Angeles, in 1957. In 1984, the raceway became part of the newly incorporated city of Moreno Valley. Riverside was noted for its hot, dusty environment and for being a somewhat complicated and dangerous track for drivers. It was also considered one of the finest tracks in the United States. The track was in operation from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989, with the last race, The Budweiser 400, won by Rusty Wallace, held in 1988. After that final race, a shortened version of the circuit was kept open for car clubs and special events until 1989.
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive director of SCCA, and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France Sr. of NASCAR. Beginning in 2014, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier series resulting from the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series. IMSA is owned by NASCAR, as a division of the company.
Bill Adam is a Canadian racing driver born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Road Atlanta is a 2.540 mi (4.088 km) road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams. The track has 12 turns, including the famous "esses" between turns three and five; and Turn 12, a downhill, diving turn. The track is owned by IMSA Holdings, LLC through its subsidiary Road Atlanta, LLC, and is the home to the Petit Le Mans, as well as AMA motorcycle racing, and smaller events throughout the year. Michelin acquired naming rights to the facility in 2018.
Peter Holden Gregg was an American race car driver during the golden age of the Trans-Am Series and a four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. He was also the owner of Brumos, a Jacksonville, Florida car dealership and racing team.
Alvah Robert "Al" Holbert was an American automobile racing driver who was a five-time champion of the IMSA Camel GT series. He once held the record with the most IMSA race wins at 49.
Lehman McGrath Keen III is an American racecar driver born in Dublin, Georgia, who competes in the United SportsCar Championship. He most recently drove the No. 22 Alex Job Racing WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT America in the United SportsCar Championship GTD class with co-driver Cooper MacNeil.
William Theodore Ribbs Jr. is a retired American race car driver, racing owner, and sport shooter known for being the first African-American man to have tested a Formula One car and to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Ribbs competed in many forms of auto racing, including the Trans-Am Series, IndyCar, Champ Car, IMSA, and the NASCAR Cup Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series. After retiring, he became a sport shooter in the National Sporting Clays Association.
Jan Heylen is a championship-winning Belgian racing driver, based out of Tampa, Florida.
John Lee Paul Jr. was an American racing driver. He competed in CART and the Indy Racing League competitions, but primarily in IMSA GT Championship, winning the title in 1982.
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long-distance races.
IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States, and occasionally in Canada.
The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is an annual event held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Its purpose is to provide an event in which historic racecars can compete. It takes place over the course of one weekend every mid-August. It was first established by Steve Earle in 1974 as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Earle organized the meeting for his friends to race their cars at Laguna Seca. The event acts as a part of Monterey Car Week, which includes the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and other events.
João Barbosa is a Portuguese auto racing driver. He currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Sean Creech Motorsport in the LMP3 class. Before the 2021 Six Hours of the Glen, Barbosa's teammate, Lance Willey, left Sean Creech Motorsport, forfeiting their entry in the race.
The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) is an American automobile club and sanctioning body that supports vintage racing in the United States. The organization was founded in 1981, and is regarded as the premier vintage racing organization in the U.S.
The 2012 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge was the twelfth season of the Grand American Road Racing Association's support series. It began on January 26–27 at Daytona International Speedway. The entire season of the CTSCC was tape-delayed on Speed, but shown live in its entirety on speed2.com.
The 2013 American Le Mans Series was the fifteenth and final season of the International Motor Sports Association GT Championship being labeled as the American Le Mans Series, before merging up with the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in 2014.
The 2019 24 Hours of Daytona was an International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned endurance sports car race held at the Daytona International Speedway combined road course in Daytona Beach, Florida, on January 26–27, 2019. It was the 57th running of the race, and the first of 12 races in the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, and the first of four rounds of the 2019 Michelin Endurance Cup. The race was ended ahead of the 22nd Hour, due to heavy rainfall. The race was won overall by Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor, Fernando Alonso, and Kamui Kobayashi in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R. The LMP2 class was won by the #18 DragonSpeed Oreca 07, piloted by Pastor Maldonado, Roberto Gonzalez, Sebastián Saavedra and Ryan Cullen. The GTLM class was won by the #25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE of Connor de Phillippi, Augusto Farfus, Philipp Eng, and Colton Herta. The GTD class was won for a second consecutive year by the #11 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo of Rolf Ineichen, Mirko Bortolotti, Rik Breukers, and Christian Engelhart.
The 2020 24 Hours of Daytona was an endurance sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The event was held at the Daytona International Speedway combined road course in Daytona Beach, Florida, on January 25–26, 2020. This event was the 58th running of the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the first of 12 races across multiple classes in the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as well as the first of four rounds in the 2020 Michelin Endurance Cup.