The International Race of Champions returns in vintage form, with big names behind the wheel.

By Dave Faries, Monterey County Now, Aug. 14, 2025 //

The cars stood out, identical but for their individual pastel colors. The names were emblazoned on the doors – Unser, Fittipaldi, Earnhardt – each one a legend. But most of all, there was the idea.

“People still ask the question: Could this guy beat that guy in equal cars?” says Ray Evernham, the Hall of Fame NASCAR crew chief. “Who wouldn’t want to see that?”

The International Race of Champions – IROC – did not always live up to its lofty billing, but over its three-decade span, the series attempted to answer motorsports’ nagging mystery. IROC began in 1974, launched by a team including Roger Penske, with top drivers from what is now IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula 1 and sports car racing going head to head.

Such was the appeal of the series that it spawned a production car in the 1980s, the IROC Z – an optional performance package offered on the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 at the time. But by the time the series ran its course in 2006, it had long since faded into a largely NASCAR sideshow.

Now IROC is back, revived as a vintage racing class. Some 27 original cars, coaxed out of collections and restored to period-correct racing trim, will take part in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion – one of two firsts. The series never visited WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca during its run. And examples of every generation of cars used by IROC have never before gathered at the same location.

Evernham and venture capitalist Rob Kauffman acquired the rights to the brand in 2024 and started hunting down the old cars. He says it was not difficult to attract drivers, particularly to Laguna Seca.

“I told them I’d drive whatever they wanted me to,” says NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin. “The whole thing is going to be fantastic.”

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