Sports car ace Tommy Kendall, who won two two titles in IMSA GTU in a Mazda RX-7, is part of the 2015 inductee class of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Two-time Mazda IMSA GTU champion Tommy Kendall was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America last night (Thursday, June 18), part of the 2015 class that also included Indy car racer Lloyd Ruby, motocrosser Ricky Carmichael, off-road racer Walker Evans, drag racer Warren Johnson, NASCAR legend Mark Martin and mid-century open-wheel racer Duke Nalon.

Kendall, of course, went on to collect many more victories and championships after his 1986-’87 GTU titles in a Clayton Cunningham RX-7, including four Trans-Am championships and two victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona. But here at MazdaMotorsports.com, it’s those years in an RX-7 that we remember most fondly.

Kendall was just 19-years old when he started racing professionally in the IMSA GTU Series. Another manufacturer picked him up after his first two championships in the Mazda in 1986-’87 and took him to Trans-Am after another season in GTU. He did a stint in IMSA GTP before he went back to win three more Trans-Am championships with Roush Racing. He also made several starts in NASCAR and raced in the IROC series.

Incidentally, Kendall owns the RX-7 in which he won those two GTU titles.