Hans-Joachim Stuck is an esteemed addition to the IMSA Hall of Fame this year but make no mistake, this man from Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria belongs to the world. His travels and successes have been global, which in the long run further legitimizes his HOF inclusion.  

As if Stuck’s racing credentials need any sort of boost. 

His IMSA resumé alone -- after all, that’s what got him into the Hall of Fame -- reflects, at its core, longevity and versatility. From 1975-2003, Stuck competed in multiple exotic prototypes and production-based cars. That alone isn’t rare. To be a champion in both, however … no ordinary occurrence.  

But Hans Stuck, always, was extraordinary. 

Start with sheer star power. Big personality. Stuck had it -- and he fit right in; remember, in his day, he raced with and against top-tier folks like Hurley Haywood, Derek Bell, Al Holbert, Bob Wollek, Geoff Brabham, fellow 2026 IMSA Hall of Fame inductees Brian Redman and Lyn St. James, among many others. One-off appearances by NASCAR and IndyCar drivers were commonplace. 

“When the IMSA GT circuit came to town, it was a big deal,” recalls IMSA Hall of Famer Scott Pruett. The well-worn promotional phrase “more than a race” applied to every IMSA event back then. Fans got a big-time show before the green flag was even close to dropping. Stuck played a leading role. 

Regarding Stuck, there is very cool lineage to acknowledge. His father was another legend, Hans Sr., known as the “King of the Mountains” from exploits with the German Silver Arrows hill-climbing team in the 1930s.  

The father was resourceful; after World War II and a five-year banishment of Germans from auto racing, he quickly secured Austrian citizenship, to keep competing. After a nondescript go in Formula 2 he returned to the mountains, won the German Hillclimb Champions for the final time at the age of 60 -- and retired. He became an instructor at the Nürburgring where the son was an eager student.  

The 28 years Stuck raced in IMSA started dramatically. First time out, at the 1975 Rolex 24 At Daytona, he co-drove a BMW with the famed journalist/racer Sam Posey. They racked up a DNF but they qualified third. 

Six weeks later they were in Sebring’s Victory Lane after 12 hours of crude-course combat on the well-worn grounds of the Sebring Air Terminal, joined by teammates Brian Redman and Allan Moffat. They had driven a BMW 3.0 CSL fielded by BMW Motorsport to the overall win. (Redman, also a 2026 IMSA Hall of Fame inductee, had an unreal stint of seven hours.) The victory served as BMW’s debut in American racing -- and Stuck’s immediate emergence as a potential IMSA star. 

Stuck went on to win Sebring two more times, in ’86 and ’88 in Porsche 962s, which he calls his favorite race car. (Stuck calls Sebring one of his favorite layouts, a real race track because of its challenges.) He also won the Rolex 24’s GTO class to start the ’81 season in a BMW M1. Twenty years later, another major: the ’01 Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, in the GT class and in a BMW M3 GTR. 

Those were arguably the highlights of Stuck’s 22 IMSA class victories. Global-scope highlights would be three victories at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, two at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning the 1985 World SportsCar Championship and the 1990 DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) the title in his homeland. Often, the man nicknamed as “Streitzel” -- a popular honeyed pastry in his homeland -- would let loose with a sweeeet Bavarian yodel in Victory Lane. Not so sweet: 1974-79 in Formula One. At 6-foot-4, Stuck was too tall to drive F1 rocket ships comfortably. He had two podiums in 74 starts. 

“He succeeded in just about everything he did,” said IMSA Senior Director of Race Operations Mark Raffauf. “He was so fast and he was everywhere on the international scene.” 

Back to IMSA GTO and offered for your consideration: the 1989 season may stand as Stuck’s most impressive in the organization, driving all-wheel drive Audi 90 Quattros -- one of four classic cars added to the IMSA Hall of Fame this year. The Audi 90s were following up on a dominating ’88 season in Trans-Am campaigning 200 Quattros, when Haywood won the driving title, Audi won the manufacturers’ crown and Stuck won a series-high four races. The Sports Car Club of America banned the AWD and Audi headed for IMSA. 

In ’89, Stuck won seven GTO races, missing out on the driving championship only because the team skipped the endurance events at Daytona and Sebring. And then, let’s narrow this down to a single race, at another storied circuit, which personified that year for Stuck. 

The date was Sept. 24 -- the Kodak Copier 500K at Watkins Glen International, for IMSA’s GTO and GTU classes only. Stuck, co-driving with the great Rally champion Walter Roehrl, won for the fifth time in 1989, with Audi Quattro teammate Hurley Haywood finishing second. Stuck and Haywood had also finished 1-2 at the previous race. 

Said Stuck, in between yodels at the Glen: “I had to show [Haywood] who was boss … It’s been a great race day.”