Westin Workman has made winning a habit in 2026, and the Charlotte native’s latest achievement was confirmed on Thursday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta where he was named the IMSA Diverse Driver Development (3D) Scholarship recipient for 2027-28. Workman will receive benefits worth up to $300,000 to compete in one of four IMSA-sanctioned championships in 2027. Workman has selected IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, where he will continue with RAFA Racing’s race- and championship-winning Toyota program in the Grand Sport (GS) category. For Workman, a multi-time finalist for the 3D Scholarship, the stars finally aligned from all aspects to back up what has been an excellent on-track season to date. Entering the Michelin Raceway finale weekend, Workman has won nine of 10 Grand Sport X (GSX) races and all 10 pole positions in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge aboard the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 and held a 480-point lead over 2023 IMSA 3D Scholarship recipient Courtney Crone.

One of the more impressive under-the-radar drivers of the 2025 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season will have a chance to expand his IMSA career into IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2026. Nicky Hays’ perseverance and patience paid off as he’s been named the latest IMSA Diverse Driver Development (3D) Scholarship recipient. Hays, a Huntington Beach, California native who holds dual citizenship from the Philippines, was awarded the scholarship for 2026-27. It provides benefits worth up to $380,000 to compete in one of four IMSA-sanctioned series, with support from IMSA and multiple corporate partners. Hays emerged from a talented pool of 12 finalists who attended IMSA-led modules that cover topics such as marketing, business development, personal branding, media training and nutrition. The process concluded with the submission of a business plan detailing the program they put together for 2026. For Hays, that is a seat with Random Vandals Racing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) class, as Paul Sparta’s team will return to the IMSA paddock after a year away.

Celso Neto has been a fan of IMSA racing since his early teen years. As the newest IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship recipient, he’ll now get the chance to compete in one of IMSA’s sanctioned series. Neto, a native of Salvador, Brazil, now living in Orlando, was today awarded the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship for the 2025-26 seasons. The program includes benefits of more than $250,000 to assist the recipient in competing in a full season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge or IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, with additional benefits extending to a second year of racing. Neto was selected from a talented pool of nine finalists. The 20-year-old has already secured a ride with Precision Racing LA for the 2025 Michelin Pilot Challenge season in the Touring Car (TCR) class.

Ken Fukuda is 36 but has never given up on his dream to become a professional race car driver. He was named recipient of the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship for the 2024-25 seasons. Fukuda said he has wanted to become a racer since the age of 10, when he spotted an IMSA scale-model car at a shopping mall. Even after graduating from UCLA and joining the Peace Corps, becoming a teacher and principal at a school in Liberia and learning Swahili, the urge to race never went away. After attempting to kickstart a racing career in Germany and Japan with no success, he pivoted to becoming a mechanic, then a racing instructor, and is now a lead instructor for the Skip Barber Racing School. He landed a ride in the TC Americas series and earned a podium finish at Indianapolis.

California’s Courtney Crone has been awarded the prestigious 2023 IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship and landed a fulltime ride in the new IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. The 21-year-old driver from Corona, California, who was a finalist for the inaugural award in 2022, will take the wheel of the No. 99 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine D08 Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) for the single-driver sprint series. “This really is an honor and it shows that a lot of my hard work has paid off,” Crone said. “For IMSA to recognize me and my hard work to move forward in IMSA is really a pleasure. “This will be my third season driving an LMP3 car,” added Crone, who raced the past two seasons in the IMSA Prototype Challenge development series for LMP3 teams and drivers. “They have proven to be a very good race car and a decent endurance car. I’m really excited to feel it out in the sprint-race format. I really can’t wait to do a whole race on my own.”

Jaden Conwright doesn't want to be remembered as the first winner of the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship. He wants to be the first in a long line of recipients who help open the door to people from all backgrounds interested in pursuing a career in sports car racing. IMSA named Conwright the recipient of the inaugural Diverse Driver Development Scholarship today. It helps provide the 22-year-old from Newark, California, the opportunity to race in the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Conwright was among 10 finalists selected from scholarship applicants, with criteria based on drivers having a strong desire to compete in IMSA, outstanding previous race results and/or proven on-track potential in junior racing categories and the ability to build a compelling business plan for securing the remaining funding needed to compete for a full season in 2022.