 | |
| Category | Stock car racing |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Inaugural season | 1973 |
| Drivers | 12 |
| Constructors | Porsche, Chevrolet, Dodge, Pontiac |
| Drivers' champion |  Tony Stewart |
| Official website | https://www.iroc-racing.com/ |
International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an American-motorsports equivalent of an all-star game. Despite its name, IROC was primarily associated with North American oval track racing.
Drivers raced identically-prepared stock cars set up by a single team of mechanics in an effort to make the race purely a test of driver ability. It was run with a small field of 12 invited drivers. It was created and developed in 1972 by David Lockton, the developer of the Ontario Motor Speedway, launched in 1973, with Mark Donohue being the first driver to win the championship, in 1974. The cars used that year were Porsche Carrera RSRs. Donohue's win in the fourth and last race of that season was his last win, as he died in a Formula One crash at the Österreichring in practice for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. The series was not run in 1981, 1982, or 1983.
In 2007, IROC could not find a sponsor and postponed the first two races, at Daytona and Texas.[1] IROC went on hiatus in 2007 hoping to return with a sponsor in 2008, which did not happen. In March 2008, IROC auctioned off its tools, equipment, cars, and memorabilia, and went out of business.[2] On January 8, 2024, Ray Evernham alongside Rob Kauffman announced the series would relaunch in 2024 with the intent of one race while exploring future opportunities afterwards.
- ^ IROC SERIES DELAYS START OF 2007 SEASON : Series Seeking Title Sponsorship Archived 2007-03-09 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved March 9, 2007
- ^ Race2Win Archived 2008-06-23 at the Wayback Machine IROC Goes to Auction