DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Media release by: Paul Kelly | Published: Jan 23, 2025

Don’t be surprised if a full-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver stands on the top step of the podium for the overall finishers in the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 26 at Daytona International Speedway.

After all, that’s exactly what has happened every year since 2020 in the most prestigious sports car endurance race in North America and the season opener for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The parade of NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers claiming overall victory in a prototype sports car started with Scott Dixon in 2020 with Wayne Taylor Racing. Fellow Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi was part of the WTR team that repeated in 2021, along with Helio Castroneves, who won the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for the fourth time that May in a part-time drive with Meyer Shank Racing.

Castroneves started his full-time return to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2022 with a repeat Rolex 24 victory, this time with Meyer Shank Racing and fellow Indianapolis 500 winner and full-season INDYCAR SERIES driver Simon Pagenaud. Castroneves earned a Rolex 24 three-peat in 2023 with MSR, again with Pagenaud as part of the driver lineup at Daytona.

Josef Newgarden started his magical 2024 season – featuring his second straight Indy 500 victory – with his first Rolex 24 overall victory in a Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.

So, who are the likely candidates to continue that streak in the twice-around-the-clock classic that starts at 1:40 p.m. ET Saturday on the 3.56-mile road course and ends at 1:40 p.m. Sunday?

Fans should zero in on the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, which features 12 of the 61 cars in the field. Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist – who drives for MSR’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES team – are part of the four-driver lineup along with past NTT INDYCAR SERIES competitors Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun.

The No. 60 was quickest in practice Jan. 23, .176 of a second ahead of MSR’s No. 93 sister Acura, which includes reigning and three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou in its lineup. But a few hours later, the No. 24 BMW Rahal Letterman Lanigan team won the GTP pole, with Palou’s No. 93 team qualifying second and the No. 60 including Dixon and Rosenqvist qualifying sixth.

Blomqvist and Braun joined Castroneves and Pagenaud in the team’s 2023 overall winning lineup, and Dixon has six wins in 50 career IMSA starts, including four wins in the Rolex 24 (overall in 2006, 2015, 2020; GTLM class winner in 2018).

Judging by his team’s strength in practice and qualifying, Palou also should be in the running for his first Rolex 24 victory in MSR’s No. 93 Acura. Two-time Rolex 24 overall winner Renger van der Zande also is a teammate to Palou, giving the team valuable winning experience.

It’s probably a long shot, but an active INDY NXT by Firestone driver also could earn overall Rolex 24 honors. Bryce Aron of HMD Motorsports is part of the four-driver lineup for the No. 85 Porsche 963 fielded by JDC-Miller MotorSports. That team is a privateer effort, without the top factory backing of other teams.

Drivers in the Le Mans Prototype 2 class probably won’t contend for overall victory, but they’re still going for class honors in the “race within a race” format of four classes competing at the same time in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship events.

Three full-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers and one INDY NXT by Firestone driver are racing Saturday and Sunday in LMP2.

Colton Herta of Andretti Global is driving the No. 04 No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA, aiming for his third career class victory at Daytona. PREMA Racing’s Callum Ilott and INDY NXT by Firestone standout James Roe of Andretti Global are among the four drivers sharing the No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports ORECA along with former INDYCAR SERIES driver Pietro Fittipaldi.

Christian Rasmussen of Ed Carpenter Racing is driving the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA as he tries to earn a second straight LMP2 victory. He won last year with Era Motorsport after impressive stints behind the wheel. AO’s fortunes will be helped by the addition of former Team Penske sports car driver Dane Cameron, who has won IMSA season championships in four different classes.

The production-based GT Daytona PRO (GTD PRO) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes also feature healthy INDYCAR representation.

Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global is driving the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3. It will be a hectic weekend for Kirkwood, who is double-dipping by also driving the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 in the GTD class.

Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske continues to expand his sports car experience behind the wheel of the No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The team features a potent lineup including sports car veteran Ben Keating, NASCAR Cup Series winner and former Australian Supercars driver Shane van Gisbergen and teen sensation Connor Zilisch.

There’s also an interesting sidelight to follow in the GTD PRO class – a battle of the broadcasters. FOX INDYCAR SERIES booth analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will compete against each other in the premier production-based class, with Bell behind the wheel with Kirkwood in Vasser Sullivan’s No. 14 and Hinchcliffe part of the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 team.

Live coverage of the Rolex 24 At Daytona starts at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC, with coverage continuing on USA Network and Peacock. Visit IMSA.com for the complete broadcast schedule.