Finalists Named for 2027-28 IMSA 3D Scholarship

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

The field has been narrowed to 15 finalists for the 2027-28 IMSA Diverse Driver Development (3D) Scholarship. The recipient, to be named in the fall, will receive benefits worth up to $300,000 to compete in one of four IMSA-sanctioned championships in 2027.

The IMSA 3D Scholarship promotes and empowers drivers from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to participate in select IMSA-sanctioned series.

The finalists chosen possess a desire to compete in IMSA, have strong previous race results and/or proven on-track potential in junior racing categories, plus the ability to create a compelling strategy to compete in a full season in one of four IMSA-sanctioned series: the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Michelin Pilot Challenge, VP Racing SportsCar Challenge or Mustang Challenge.

The scholarship includes financial assistance from IMSA and is supported by a growing number of corporate partners: Michelin, VP Racing Fuels, OMP, Bell, RAFA Racing Club and Lumen Digital Agency.

Finalists will now work on IMSA-developed modules.

Previous topics included marketing, business development, personal branding, media training, nutrition, peak race day performance, and how to approach teams and represent an automotive manufacturer.

The final step for finalists is the submission by Aug. 14 of a business plan and securing a full-season ride with a team in one of the four participating IMSA-sanctioned series for the following season, which can be contingent on winning the scholarship.

The 15 finalists were selected from a pool of candidates who submitted their applications starting in January.

The list of finalists consists of eight men and seven women, four of whom were finalists in past years. Listed in alphabetical order with hometown, here are the 2027-28 finalists (*-designates a finalist in a previous year).

Maddie Aust, 21
Fort Worth, Tex.

In 2025, Aust spent her first Pilot Challenge season in the No. 9 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR as part of its “incubator” talent development car in TCR. She finished eighth in points with a best finish of fourth on debut at Daytona, and shifts to the team’s No. 98 entry for 2026 alongside IMSA veteran and 2019 TCR champion Mark Wilkins. In four years of racing, Aust has also competed in SRO, GR Cup, F4 and club racing. Outside the car, she was a competitive cheerleader, enjoys art, running, fitness and racquetball, and is a mechanical engineering student.

Gian Buffomante, 17
Naperville, Ill.

A young Illinois native, Buffomante enjoyed a strong 2025 season that included his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start, a fourth-place finish in the Trans Am championship and an FE2 class win at the SCCA June Sprints held at Road America. He’s advanced from karting into various SCCA classes in the previous few years. He’ll plan to major in finance in college, golfs on his high school team and shifted to racing after eight years playing hockey.

Andre Castro,* 27
New York, N.Y.

A multi-time finalist, Castro has a diverse range of stock car, sports car and open-wheel experience. He made his Pilot Challenge debut in the No. 98 BHA Hyundai at the 2026 Daytona season opener, where he finished fourth in TCR. Castro has five career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts, his most recent on the Chicago Street Course in 2025. In open-wheel he’s raced in Skip Barber F2000, USF2000, F1600, Formula Ford, F4 U.S. and USF Juniors. He holds an economics degree and won the Team USA Scholarship in 2021, which allowed him to race abroad in the Formula Ford Festival.

Chloe Chambers, 21
Inverness, Ill.

Chambers is balancing studying business administration with an expansive racing career, having been a part of the F1 Academy for the last two seasons. Chambers finished third in the 2025 F1 Academy championship with two wins and five podium finishes as part of the Red Bull Ford Academy program. Prior to her presence in that series, Chambers won seven races in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and won both poles and races in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship in 2023. Her early years driving occurred in the W Series, WRL, F4 and karting.

Sabre Cook,* 31
Carmel, Ind.

Cook has a wide range of experience after completing her third season in Porsche Carrera Cup North America in 2025 and announcing a return with JDX Racing for 2026. A consistent top-ten finisher, Cook’s best finish was seventh on three occasions in the Pro class in 2025. She’s been a winner in WRL, SCCA and formula car racing after a successful, championship-winning karting career. She qualified for the inaugural W Series season as well after formative years in the North American junior open-wheel ladder. Cook has a mechanical engineering degree and has regularly served as a commentator and driving instructor as part of a well-rounded background.

Julian DaCosta*, 18
Myakka City, Fla.

DaCosta is a past scholarship finalist and enjoyed a wide range of racing opportunities in 2025. He raced in Trans Am where he finished fifth in points, along with appearances in WRL, Pro Late Models and the ARCA Menards Series. DaCosta has impressed in Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin; he posted a fifth place to start 2026 at Daytona in BSI Racing’s No. 95 entry and was eighth in the standings as a rookie in the 2024 season with a best finish of second.

Ismaeel Ellahi, 19
Mountain Lakes, N.J.

Ellahi comes from a sim racing background and advanced into his first year of car racing in 2025 after going through Skip Barber F4 School. He’s quickly adapted to racing Porsche GT4-specification machinery in both Europe and America, in the GT4 Winter Series, GT4 European Series and Porsche Sprint Challenge Deutschland. Ellahi got off to a strong start in his VP Racing Challenge debut in January, with a GSX runner-up finish in his first race at Daytona aboard Czabok Simpson Motorsport’s No. 25 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.

Hannah Grisham, 26
Scottsdale, Az.

Grisham, one of Heart of Racing Team’s “two Hannahs” alongside longtime co-driver Hannah Greenemeier, shifts to Pilot Challenge GS competition in 2026. The duo opened their season with an 11th-place finish in the 35-car GS grid aboard their No. 26 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Evo in Daytona. Grisham also won her Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America debut in class at Indianapolis in 2024. She’s gained extensive sports car experience after moving up from karting into NASA, WRL and SRO competition, and has also had her first GT3 races. Grisham won Heart of Racing Team’s scholarship in 2022, which has propelled her career development.

Nicole Havrda, 20
Courtenay, B.C., Canada

The Canadian now residing in Cresson, Texas, Havrda will join the IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge grid in 2026 as part of the Shopify Racing powered by TWOth entry in Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) competition. She’ll share the No. 2 Ligier JS P325 with Travis Hill in the four two-hour endurance rounds that count towards the LMP3 championship in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge and also race select HSR events. Havrda comes to IMSA off a season in F1 Academy in 2025 after also racing in F4 and Formula Regional Americas. Her 2023 was particularly impressive, winning the Formula Pro USA Championship and the SFR Formula Atlantic 2 Championship.

Thomas Pasquarella, 19
Boca Raton, Fla.

Pasquarella, who goes by “Rocco,” has quickly expanded his racing career from karting into Spec Miata and Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin into Pilot Challenge, where he’ll race a full season in TCR aboard the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic FL5 TCR. He finished sixth on debut in Daytona. An Eagle Scout, Pasquarella has also launched the NEXT LAP Foundation to help create additional opportunities for youth in Scouting to engage with motorsports.

Max Schweid, 19
Boca Raton, Fla.

Schweid currently competes in GR Cup after succeeding in Spec Miata and other SCCA and NASA regional competition the last several years. The majority of the Florida native’s success has come in his home state, with wins at Sebring and Homestead and podiums at Daytona. He is studying to be a mechanical engineer and has also been part of a high school robotics team.

Caitlyn Singler, 21
Paradise, Calif.

Resilience, adaptability and determination have defined Singler’s racing story after losing her home in the Paradise, Calif. wildfire. Now based in Provo, Utah and racing a BMW F82 GT4 in WRL, Singler has focused her burgeoning career across Spec Miata, NASA and WRL where she has 10 wins (nine in NASA, one in WRL) and 23 combined podiums through early 2026. Beyond driving, she has an entrepreneurial mindset co-owning two small businesses and has volunteered as both an SCCA instructor and FIA Formula E’s Girls on Track program.

Samantha Tan, 28
Stouffville, Ont, Canada

The Canadian now living in Irvine, Calif., Tan has been a rising presence in the North American sports car scene for nearly a decade. A BMW M Motorsport Global Ambassador, Tan is in her second year in the IMSA paddock, sharing the No. 38 ST Racing with Random Vandals BMW M4 GT4 EVO with IMSA’s all-time wins leader Bill Auberlen in the Pilot Challenge GS class. She won the 2025 IMSA VP Racing Challenge GTDX Bronze Cup. She has raced in GT3, GT4 and touring cars in previous years and was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 – Sports Class of 2025 recipients.

Keawn Tandon, 23
Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Tandon has made an impressive mark over several seasons in Super Trofeo North America, where he captured the 2023 Pro-Am class title in his first full season of competition. He posted a best result of third in 2025 in the Pro class at the season finale weekend in Misano. Tandon graduated into Super Trofeo straight from karting, making a sizable and strong leap into one of the faster, high-horsepower single-make series in IMSA. Outside the car, Tandon is studying data theory and specializing in AI while in college, where he’s also served as a volunteer mentor to data science students.

Westin Workman*, 21
Charlotte, N.C.

Workman’s been a multi-time finalist for this award and is off to a strong start in 2026 with a sweep of Daytona and Circuit of The Americas race weekends in his GT4 debut season, racing the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 in the GSX class of VP Racing Challenge. The 2025 GR Cup champion and multi-time winner in MX-5 Cup, including capturing rookie-of-the-year honors in 2024, has advanced quickly from karting to junior formula open-wheel cars to sports cars. Workman has also been active in volunteer leadership opportunities for several years.

Source: Sports Car 365