| California Native Moves into IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for 2026 Season |
| BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 9, 2025) – 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. “Nicky is a very deserving recipient of the IMSA 3D Scholarship,” said Brandon Huddleston, vice president, IMSA partnership marketing and business development. “He’s been impressive to watch through the IMSA ladder this year as he’s gained greater sports car experience. He also impressed the scholarship committee with the way he applied the feedback the IMSA team provided on last year’s submission to the 2026 program he pulled together. IMSA is proud to name him as the newest recipient of this important initiative.” 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. Business plans are nothing new to Hays who has already developed an entrepreneurial business mindset outside of motorsports and owns and operates his own small business. He also credits his mother with giving him the mentality to keep pushing and raising funds to pursue his racing career. “She pushed me to apply to things twice if you don’t succeed at first and to not give up,” said Hays, who was a previous scholarship finalist in 2024 and reapplied this year once he gained more sports car racing experience. “She came to America [from the Philippines], lost everything, but has made a success for herself. It’s helped to push me to make a career in the industry when it may be out of reach for most people.” Hays’ racing career follows a somewhat traditional path of newer sports car entrants, who have an open-wheel background before shifting into sports cars. He raced in both Europe and America in single-seaters, developed some coaching opportunities, went through multiple sports car academy programs and made a pair of Porsche Carrera Cup North America starts in 2023. He has raced the ProAm season of Lamborghini Super Trofeo this year alongside Antoine Comeau with ANSA Motorsports. Hays’ pass for the class win at Watkins Glen’s second race this year stands out as one of the top passes and moments of the season for that series. Talent alone doesn’t provide opportunities and so it was a networking moment that ultimately propelled Hays forward in the scholarship process proceedings, thanks to meeting another of IMSA’s 2025 breakout stars: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship driver Kenton Koch. Hays explained the outreach. “I’d reached out to Kenton in May because I saw he was racing with Random Vandals as well in another championship,” Hays said. “I’d met him earlier this year and asked him if they had any interest in being in IMSA once again, because I knew they’d been in Michelin Pilot Challenge before. “It’s funny, he then asks for my contact details and then the next day I get a text from Paul Sparta [team principal]. We hopped on a call, learning more about the scholarship and what the team’s plans might look like. He started watching my races in Super Trofeo, and we went back and forth, and he was a huge supporter and advocate. With his business background, he can sell anybody on anything in the best way. I was really confident.” “I’d met him early on and I was pretty impressed,” Sparta said. “He’s in Super Trofeo now but we started talking and connected early on for what it’d take to do a full season in Michelin Pilot Challenge. I’d heard about the scholarship for the last couple years. It’s a great program with great value. I think they’ll be instantly competitive.” Hays highlighted two other Californians that stood out for him as racing mentors in Phil Giebler and Patrick Long, the latter who’s become Porsche’s top American driver ambassador in recent years after his multi-championship and major race-winning sports car career. He also noted Manny Pacquiao’s impact from the Filipino side as a sporting icon he watched growing up. “On the Filipino side, Manny Pacquiao is such a cultural hero and was one of the best boxers to do it; he was in his peak popularity from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s,” Hays said. “That’s kind of the same thing where he came from nothing and became one of the best, arguably the best in the world.” Hays made natural steps forward from year one to year two to garner this opportunity. “I took what I learned from 2024 to try to tick every box this year,” Hays said. “There’s so many people to thank, from Kenton who didn’t need to do what he did, to Paul, to Catlin [girlfriend], to my family and to IMSA. I have to thank everyone there who puts so much time and effort into this. It’ll open your eyes into what you need to do to grow as a driver if you want to continue to have a career.” The IMSA 3D Scholarship promotes and empowers drivers from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to participate in an IMSA-sanctioned series; eligible series this year included WeatherTech Championship, Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge and Mustang Challenge. The scholarship includes benefits from IMSA and a number of its corporate partners: Michelin, VP Racing Fuels, OMP, Bell, Recaro, RAFA Racing Club and LAT Images. The application process for the 2027-28 IMSA 3D Scholarship will open in January 2026. |
