World Racing League Announces New Ownership

World Racing League announced yesterday that they're now under new ownership. Curt Swearingin—himself an avid racer and also a part of Tracks Unlimited—has acquired World Racing League. And with the acquisition comes a name change: World Racing League, LLC will now be known as World Racing League, Inc. The series will continue to run as it has in the past, and the first race under the new management team will be the US Endurance Championship at COTA November 22-24. Expect next season's tracks to be announced tonight, October 31.

Read the full press release below and leave a comment.

World Racing League, LLC is excited to announce that it has been acquired by Curt Swearingin as of October 23, 2019. The series will continue to operate the endurance races you love under the same name, “World Racing League.” The new company, “World Racing League, Inc.” has identified its new management which will be in place for the US Endurance Championship at COTA November 22-24, 2019.

“The past 6 years have been an incredible journey for WRL full of fun, growth and spectacular racing, and even more opportunity lies ahead led by the new ownership. It has been a pleasure watching this series grow and none of it would have been possible without our staff, sponsors and our amazing racers and fans. We couldn’t have done it without you.” Said Joey Todd, Series founder.
The concept and rules for WRL came to life in 2013 led by Mr. Todd and a hand-picked team of racers from various backgrounds. The goal was to strike a balance between professional-level racing and the accessibility of the budget endurance series, offering racers a high level of competition, prestige and safety on an amateur racing budget. Support for the series has been rock-solid from pros like Ross Bentley and Randy Pobst, to up- and-coming drivers who cut their teeth in the budget series, along with experienced HPDE drivers wanting to move into wheel to wheel competition.

“This is a bittersweet moment in my life” Todd continued; “Words can never express how much I love and appreciate the racers who have supported the series over the years. I know they will throw their support behind the new management team and that loyalty will be rewarded with even better events and higher regard for the series and its racers within the racing community.”

Rest assured, the goal of creating an accessible “pro-racing” experience will remain the focus as WRL moves forward. The proprietors of World Racing League, Inc. are not new to motorsports or WRL, campaigning successful multi-car team efforts in IMSA GT3 Cup USA, PCA and supporting customers in a variety of disciplines under their sister company ACI Motorsports. They’re racers who cut their teeth in amateur endurance racing and climbed the ladder to the pro level giving them the depth of experience required to push WRL forward.

If you’ve been with WRL for any length of time you will already be familiar with the “new” faces of the series as they’ve been operating WRL races in the Southeastern US for the past three seasons. “Without a doubt World Racing League, Inc. has the expertise, the tools and the drive to grow the series beyond its current footprint.” Series founder, Joey Todd states, “They have already secured a date at VIR for 2020 and are in the final stages of securing the rest of the schedule prior to its release. It’s a process, but World Racing League, Inc. is fully invested in making WRL the premier amateur endurance series in the US.”
WRL Southeast has been operated for the last three seasons by Tracks Unlimited. Founded in 2006 by Michael Peden, Tracks Unlimited was built on the idea that on-track experiences should be accessible to everyone. Michael was joined in 2015 by avid endurance racers Curt Swearingin, Adam Thomas, Jason Bergstrom and RJ Till. In 2016 Tracks Unlimited shifted focus from HPDE events to operating WRL endurance races in the Southeast. Tracks Unlimited Southeast events will be operated as part of the new company WRL, Inc. beginning with the 2020 season.

“After a few years of HPDE I went through WRL’s approval process and actually participated in my first W2W race at NCM in 2015.” Said new series president Curt Swearingin, “After a full and successful season with WRL we were so excited about the potential of the series that we decided to jump in headfirst and help Joey expand to the Southeast. Our goal is to take the already great formula WRL has and push forward to a more unified and consistent series with a focus on driver development." Curt credits his success in IMSA and FIA sanctioned series to the experience he gained racing in WRL, stating; "World Racing League is an excellent platform to prepare you for the next level. The competition, driver skill and format help build great drivers and even better teams."

The 2020 WRL schedule will be released on October 31st. 2019 at 8:00p EDT and will include favorites like Barber, Road America, Road Atlanta, Daytona, COTA and more. A draft version of the 2020 rules will be released in the coming weeks. “Expect a few minor adjustments on the existing ruleset—the goal is to clarify and remove ambiguity and make enforcement easier without upsetting the applecart or forcing our racers to make big changes.” Says President Curt Swearingin.

RJ Till will be serving as Vice President of WRL. Commenting on the 2020 season he said, “World Racing League, Inc. is excited to move forward and continue to build on the foundation that Joey built. In 2020 we’re focusing on reinforcing and perfecting the core of what makes WRL great. We’ve worked hard to provide a schedule that’s racer friendly and free of overlap at the tracks that you ask for most. We’re working hard to continue the ruleset, operations, customer experience, and consistency improvements you’ve asked for. We think you’ll be excited with what’s on the horizon for World Racing League!”