Golden Era of Street Stock Series Road Racing Announced as Featured Marque of 37th HSR Mitty Presented by Hagerty

SEBRING, Florida (March 7, 2025) – Ready to celebrate everything from IMSA RS/IS to SCCA Showroom Stock to the IMSA Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship and more, Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) announced today that the golden era of Street Stock series road racing in North America will be the Featured Marque at next month’s 37th Running of the HSR Mitty presented by Hagerty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (MRRA), April 25 – 27. The announcement was made from Sebring International Raceway where a record entry of more that 260 competing cars in this weekend’s HSR Sebring Classic 12 Hour presented by Mission Foods includes several that meet the criteria to participate in the Mitty presented by Hagerty Featured Marque on and off-track activities.

Eligible entries include authentic cars that competed in the IMSA RS/IS/Radial Challenge, Champion Spark Plug Challenge and Firestone Firehawk series, SCCA Showroom Stock, World Challenge and the Playboy/Escort Endurance series, Motorola Cup North America and Grand-Am Cup, the Rothmans Porsche Turbo Cup and more.

“The Street Stock road racing boom that began in the 1970s and stayed strong straight into this century has been integral to the introduction of manufacturers, racing teams, drivers and engineering and mechanical personnel into professional sports car racing for decades,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “Even in my previous role with Mazda before joining IMSA, we placed – along with other major OEMs – a strong emphasis on our grassroots programs that were greatly focused on Street-Stock based series. A huge number of teams, drivers, engineers and mechanics that first started racing in what can generally be called Street Stock series are today operating at the top levels of sports car racing around the world. It’s time we acknowledge the great Street Stock era that produced much of this talent – and some fantastic racing – and next month’s Featured Marque celebration at The Mitty presented by Hagerty is one that shouldn’t be missed!”

Known for incredibly close racing and massive grids, sometimes numbering from 75 to well over 100 cars, Street Stock road racing and RS/IS were first introduced by the SCCA and IMSA, respectively, in the 1970s. The IMSA RS/IS series was first to make its mark with huge fields of the increasingly popular small sedans and coupes of the day that emerged in response the U.S. energy crisis of the ’70s.

Street Stock competition was strong out of the box in the ’70s, but the true breakout decade was the 1980s. The SCCA was soon joined by SCCA Pro Racing, IMSA and other sanctioning bodies as more “straight-from-the-showroom” endurance race events and series were added to the format.

Street stock endurance road racing also played a major role in defining production-based sports car racing as it is known today. The “World Challenge” moniker was first used by SCCA in its Escort series in the early 1990s, and today World Challenge has evolved into a global GT3 series contested in America, Europe and Asia.

The lineage of IMSA’s popular Michelin Pilot Challenge championship can be traced back to a Street Stock series at the turn of this century. The Canadian-based Motorola Cup became Grand-Am Cup 25 years ago and, after respective sponsorships from KONI Shocks and Continental Tire in the following years, evolved into IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2019.

Tickets for the 37th HSR Mitty can be purchased online at: https://am.ticketmaster.com/ral/buy/Mitty2025.

For more information on The Mitty and other HSR events, please visit http://www.HSRRace.com where the official 37th HSR Mitty presented by Hagerty Event Page will be available in the coming days.

About Hagerty (NYSE: HGTY): Hagerty is an automotive enthusiast brand committed to saving driving and to fueling car culture for future generations. The company is a leading provider of specialty vehicle insurance, expert car valuation data and insights, live and digital car auction services, immersive events and automotive entertainment custom made for the 67 million Americans who self-describe as car enthusiasts. Hagerty also operates in Canada and the U.K. and is home to Hagerty Drivers Club, a community of over 865,000 who can’t get enough of cars. For more information, please visit http://www.hagerty.com or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About HSR: Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) is the premier vintage and historic racing series in North America. It was formed in the mid-1970s with an inaugural event at Road Atlanta and became a part of International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) in 2022. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate and enjoy the racing cars from the past. As a “time machine” of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at race tracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions eight vintage and historic racing events at some of the world’s most renowned race tracks, including Daytona International Speedway, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Watkins Glen International and more. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR’s website at http://www.HSRRace.com. Look for the HSR Channel on YouTube and follow HSR on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/HSRrace/, on Twitter X @HSR_race and on Instagram @HistoricSportscarRacing.