That is an astonishing scale of growth. According to Motorsport.com, Hanley Motorsports Incorporated and DXDT Racing are joining forces to unleash a massive, multi-tier IMSA program for the 2027 season, competing under the HMI banner across the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge.
This is not a modest toe-in-the-water exercise. As a BMW-supported operation, the squad will tackle three separate tiers of North American GT racing: GTD and GTD Pro in the premier IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, alongside the GS class in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. To anchor this sprawling effort, HMI is taking over the operational assets and the shop in Buford, Georgia, from Paul Miller Racing, inheriting the footprint of the squad that captured the 2026 IMSA GTD Pro championship with drivers Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen, while a new permanent facility is built down the road in Flowery Branch.
BMW Motorsport is happy to welcome Hanley Motorsports to our racing family,
Team founder Robert Hanley has orchestrated a stunning evolution from his dirt racing roots over 30 years ago, through his 2019 return to win a Masters Championship and entries in Porsche Sprint Challenge and SRO in 2023. During the 2026 season, Hanley deepened his sports car involvement through a minority partnership with DXDT Racing in IMSA's GTD category, alongside a joint venture with Bryan Herta Autosport and PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports in LMP2. “This is a dream come true for me,” Hanley stated.
DXDT brings a proven foundation to the partnership, with HMI taking a majority stake in the effort. Founded by David Askew, DXDT transitioned full-time to the WeatherTech Championship in 2025 following a dominant eight-win SRO GT3 Pro campaign in 2024, securing six top-10 finishes in its debut season followed by its first pole at Long Beach and a podium at Petit Le Mans in 2026. “This is such a great opportunity for all of us at DXDT Racing to grow and become something bigger than our initial foray into the IMSA paddock,” Askew said.
To steer the operation, HMI has named Mitchell Simmons as Team Principal and former IMSA champion Bryan Sellers as Competition Director. Simmons brings a deep engineering background, including software development for Formula 1 programs and over a decade at Paul Miller Racing, most recently helping secure an IMSA GTD Pro title earlier this year. Sellers transitioned to management at DXDT at the end of 2024 following a legendary driving career that included two IMSA GTD titles and victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, Motul Petit Le Mans, and three consecutive wins at Long Beach.
The team's expanded factory backing from BMW Motorsport will support the squad's GTD Pro campaign with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO alongside its GTD and GT4 efforts. “BMW Motorsport is happy to welcome Hanley Motorsports to our racing family,” said Adam McGregor, BMW NA Motorsport & Customer Racing Manager. HMI will make its official competitive debut at Daytona International Speedway in January 2027, with driver lineup announcements expected in the coming months.
