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IMSA pioneer John Bishop gone at 87
John Bishop, one of the most important and influential figures in North American sports car racing, has died at age 87.
Bishop and his wife Peggy co-owned and co-founded the International Motor Sports Association in 1969 with NASCAR's Jim France, taking the small outfit from a series featuring muscle cars, lightly modified sedans and small open-wheel cars, to a world class organization with renowned manufacturer participation and its famed, awe-inspiring GTO and GTP machinery.
At its peak in the 1980s, IMSA rivaled Indy car racing for popularity and attendance. Under Bishop's direction, IMSA leapt to national prominence, due in part to the emergence of cable TV where its coverage on ESPN and TNN, among others, expanded its fan base overnight. Bishop's IMSA is also credited for fostering an explosion in street races across the country as the emerging series sought to bring its product to new markets in downtown venues.
With key figures like Mark Raffauf tasked with managing IMSA's technical growth, Bishop presided over what many regard as the golden era of modern sports car racing. Brutally fast turbocharged and naturally-aspirated prototypes and mind-blowing GT machinery from Europe, Japan and America traded punches from coast to coast. Heavy sponsorship involvement and activation ensured IMSA was represented in print and TV commercials, as well as packing its grandstands.
For some, IMSA's high water mark came in 1989, the final season the Bishops maintained their ownership stake in the series. Factory efforts from Audi, Chevy, Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota mingled with privateers campaigning cars from Kudzu, Porsche, Spice, and a litany of others who found IMSA to be fertile grounds for car sales, business dealings and employment.
Bishop had a profound impact on the countless drivers, team owners and crew members he came in contact with, and many, including current IMSA team owner Bobby Rahal, credit John and Peggy Bishop for advancing their careers.
Domestic and international sports car stars, and their cars, found a welcoming envionment in IMSA under Bishop's reign."When I came back from racing in Europe, I did a lot of sports car racing before my Indy car career took off and its where, frankly, I really had a chance to show what I could do against some of the biggest names of the day," said Rahal, who scored six IMSA wins, including the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, from 1981 to 1988. "John was a guy who, from the first day I met him as a driver, he and Peggy welcomed you like family. They ran a tight ship, but it was really like you were a member of the Bishop family. He was one of the good guys – one of the last ones left who were there from the 1960s who built the foundation we stand on today."
Reflecting on Bishop's stature, Rahal says IMSA's leader was elevated to a place very series owners and officials few achieve.
"What I respected about John is you never heard any criticism or sniping about him," Rahal added. "He could discipline folks quietly, it was never mean-spirited, and he always did what was best for racing. And when he said something, people went along with it. I don't recall a single person denigrating him because there was such respect for him and the organization he created. He did so much for sports car racing in the 1970s; he took it from nowhere to how big it was by the late 1980s. It was as big if not bigger than Indy car and NASCAR, and every manufacturer wanted to be involved. How many other series can you say that about these days?"
All American Racers owner Dan Gurney found great success in Bishop's IMSA series, working up through GTU, GTO and GTP as his team fielded innovative GTs and prototypes for Toyota.
"John was old-fashioned enough to believe the freedom to do creative things was very important to the fans," said Gurney, who became synonymous with IMSA and its embrace of technology. "They didn't come up with rules trying to govern every little thing. The speeds we went and records we set were incredible, and there was a great excitement from those who became fans of IMSA. The recipe we were following was a good one."
By the end of 1993, IMSA had run its course as an elite series; a financial recession and the high costs to compete saw factory participation dwindle. AAR's Eagle Mk IIIs closed the chapter on the GTP era, earning two consecutive titles along the way, and with its reduced status during the mid-90s, Gurney says IMSA real power – during its heyday – became easy to appreciate.
"There was a time where sports cars, under John's care, came to be very famous," he noted. "He was in charge during its big rise in popularity, and subsequently, a lot of renewed interest in endurance racing followed. Today's 24 Hours of Le Mans racing and World Endurance racing probably owes John a debt of gratitude. They wanted to see IMSA go away; IMSA overwhelmed their competitors, and without IMSA, the other series took off.
With equal focus on high tech and the interests of the fans, IMSA showed the way forward for sports car racing."He withstood lot of competition from Indy car and NASCAR and other forms of road racing, too, and both of those series had a much easier time when IMSA tapered off. John did a lot for the passion our lives are caught up in, and deserves a lot of credit for the organization he brought forth."
IMSA would eventually make its way into the hands of Dr. Don Panoz who, through the formation of the American Le Mans Series, honored what IMSA originally built by promoting technology and taking a fan-first approach – hallmarks of the series John Bishop took from a simple idea to a powerhouse that has yet to be equaled.
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R.I.P. John Bishop
