Former IMSA owner, chief executive officer (CEO) and competitor Charlie Slater passed away last Saturday in South Florida following an extended illness, IMSA announced. He was 69.

"IMSA, at its core values, has always been a culture of family––the IMSA racing family," said IMSA President John Doonan. "The loss of Charlie has hit all of us hard. The positive impact he has had on the IMSA community over the years has been discussed and recognized by so many legends of IMSA in recent days. It is with heavy hearts that we will go racing this week at VIR, but also with the same 'IMSA family' spirit that Charlie represented. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of Charlie's family and loved ones."

A hugely successful and ground-breaking engineering executive, Slater purchased IMSA in 1993 and guided the sanctioning body through 1996––including the transition from the GTP prototype headlining class to the open-cockpit World Sports Cars. He is credited with bringing aboard Exxon as a primary series sponsor before ultimately selling the IMSA series in the Fall of 1996.

Slater's deep love of the sport and respect for those in the paddock never wavered through the decades whether he was a part of the starting grid, according to the sanctioning body, leading the series' executive meetings or there to support someone else.

The Fort Lauderdale native drove Porsches and shared cockpits with some of the biggest names in the sport like Bill Auberlen, Tommy Kendall and Kevin Jeannette.

He podiumed in two Rolex 24 At Daytona starts––finishing third in the GT3 class in 1998 standing alongside a star-filled podium that included Auberlen, Boris Said and Peter Cunningham.

Four times Slater competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing the cockpit of the Konrad Porsche with Kendall and Jürgen von Gartzen in 2000 and earning what would be his best ever finish in the race, 14th overall.

For more on Slater's life and career, see IMSA's full tribute to Slater on imsa.com.

Image courtesy of IMSA