Answering the call: Chris Ward’s surprising new leadership at HSR

Photography by HSR/Jessica Johnk unless otherwise credited

Debating whether you should answer an unexpected phone call? Chris Ward may be proof positive that good things can come from an unplanned ring.

Let’s back up a bit.

Ward is a Brit who transplanted himself from England to the Detroit area 25 years ago: “I came here in August of 1999 to start a marketing agency primarily to support Bentley Motors. I settled here because the owner, the Volkswagen Group, was based in Auburn Hills,” a Detroit suburb. “In 2008, Volkswagen moved to Herndon, Virginia, but I’d put down roots in Michigan and decided to stay.”

Chris Ward, President of Historic Sportscar Racing. Photography Credit: David S. Wallens

In 1998, Volkswagen acquired Lamborghini, and Ward’s agency supported that brand, too. “And the short version of a long story is that in 2012, I got a call from the then-president of Lamborghini, and he asked me to support the U.S. introduction of Lamborghini Squadra Corse, which is the umbrella name for Lamborghini motorsports globally.”

Lamborghini was sufficiently impressed with Ward’s skills that he was offered a full-time job with the brand, heading up the company’s North American motorsports activation. From that came the one-marque Lamborghini Super Trofeo series, which is sanctioned by IMSA. Then came Lambo’s very successful GT3 program in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT series, and finally, the 2024 IMSA debut of the company’s GTP car, the SC63.

In October of 2023, Ward’s contract with Lamborghini had run its course, and he decided to see what was out there. Unsure of his next move, the phone rang, and within 5 minutes, that next move was decided. On the other end of the phone was John Doonan, IMSA president and former head of Mazda Motorsports.

IMSA had bought Historic Sportscar Racing, one of the major sanctioning bodies for vintage competition in the U.S. “When we purchased HSR, one of the things Mr. France”–that would be Jim France, the head of both NASCAR and IMSA–“and I talked about was the adage: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Doonan tells Classic Motorsports.

“Our intent was to keep the staff on board, which we did, to keep David Hinton, the owner and president, and his people–they made such a great team. But then David decided he wanted to take a step back.” Hinton was also the owner of Heritage Motorsports, one of HSR’s most avid and successful prep shops, and he wanted more time to pursue that.

So Doonan was tasked with finding a new president for HSR. He made a phone call to Michigan.

“Chris knows the industry inside and out. He built Lamborghini’s racing programs here in North America,” Doonan continues. “He knows the sport, he knows the marketing and activation that’s required. He was a logical fit. And with David Hinton remaining on the board, he’s been a great advisor for Chris.”

“John called and said that a job had opened up at HSR, and I grabbed the opportunity with both hands,” Ward adds. “I don’t have the long and storied history in vintage and historic sports car racing that probably a lot of the people you talk to do, but I do have a long history in road racing. Of course, HSR on the track is very different from what I’m used to.” But Ward has proved to be a fast learner.

“I’m fortunate on so many fronts,” Ward continues. “First and foremost is that HSR is in very good health. My predecessor, David Hinton, not only left me a series that is in great condition, but he agreed to stay on in an advisory capacity for the foreseeable future. His input and knowledge of the series is invaluable, and I partake of it on almost a daily basis. Second is the acquisition of the series by IMSA two years ago–it rolled HSR into the IMSA fold, and all the resources they can provide are at our disposal.”

Ward’s primary mission is to maintain HSR’s health, and that appears to be going as planned, as measured by the all-important on-track participation. “The car count for 2024 has been up at every single event on the calendar, which is awesome,” Doonan notes. Indeed, “For the Spring Fling at Sebring, the car count in 2023 was 85, and for 2024 it’s 130. At the Mitty, one of our largest events, the count has gone from 230 to 280 cars,” Ward says.

Not far behind that is growing HSR, and 2024 was a banner year. One of those banners had “NASCAR” written all over it–“HSR NASCAR Classic,” to be precise.

[HSR NASCAR Classic: A new home for retired NASCAR stock cars]

It’s the answer to the question, “What happens to all those NASCAR stockers that are replaced every year by brand-new equipment?” In the past decade, a cottage industry has grown up around those cars as racers learned they could acquire the durable, comparatively simple machines for a fraction of the cost of many uplevel sports cars.

But where to race them? The Historic Stock Car Racing Association had the answer, as the sanctioning body assembled a schedule of events. Seeing the popularity, NASCAR and IMSA partnered with HSCRA to form NASCAR Classic, placing events next to stock car and sports car races, essentially as an opening act.

The debut of the NASCAR Classic series came at Virginia International Raceway last August 23-24, with the HSR NASCAR Classic at the IMSA Michelin GT Challenge at VIR. Petty’s Garage backed the series and arranged for King Richard Petty himself to make an appearance.

Both Ward and Doonan are delighted with the series so far. Race two was in conjunction with the NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen, with the HSR NASCAR Classic at the Go Bowling at the Glen that ran September 13-14. It was won by “Front Row” Joe Nemechek, who had 674 starts and four wins in the Cup series plus an Xfinity series season championship.

Another development last season was the creation of the HSR Classic Endurance Championship, which will combine the results of the endurance races at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and a new endurance race–the HSR Classic 10 Hour, which will take place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta–into an annual championship.

[HSR Classic Endurance Championship now presented by Mission Foods]

In all, it’s a heady environment for Ward, 62, who was a self-proclaimed “car kid” before he grew into a legitimate car guy. “I bought my first car–and I’m almost embarrassed to tell you what it was–a Fiat 126 at the age of 12, for £50, which I’d saved up from summer jobs. It was barely running, but it was just that I liked spending time in our garage.”

That likely prepared him for car number two, which he bought at age 15: a 1972 Triumph Spitfire. “And this was all before I could drive,” he adds.

Actually, he COULD drive, but just not on the street. And he found a work-around: “I had the good fortune that my father was in the British armed forces, and a number of the postings we had in the U.K. were at former Royal Air Force bases. I was blessed because my father was quite senior, and we were able to use the runways to drive on. I was able to hone my skills literally from the age of 12 onward. I’d get behind the wheel, and if I couldn’t reach the pedals, we’d put a pillow behind my back.” Indeed, he adds, “Cars have been in my blood for as long as I can remember.”

HSR, then, seems to be in good hands.