Fans can look forward to seven full-time IndyCar drivers in the 24 Hours of Daytona this year.
Familiar Faces, Familiar Names: IndyCar Stars in the 2025 Rolex 24
Each year drivers from various racing series come together in Daytona, Florida to race at the 24 Hours of Daytona. This event usually marks the first major automobile race of the year in North America.
Last year, Josef Newgarden and his Porsche Penske teammates took home the overall victory. Can any of his fellow IndyCar Series teammates take home the honors?
Here’s everything you need to understand about the Rolex 24, which IndyCar drivers will be competing, and how to follow along.
24hr of Daytona Explained:
The 24-hour sports car endurance race is held at the Daytona International Speedway. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout, a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) combined road course that uses most of the tri-oval plus the infield road course.
There are 61 cars, split among 12 Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), 12 Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), 15 Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), and 22 Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) entries.
At the end of the race, an overall podium is awarded but so are the top three teams of each class.
GTP:
The top class is the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP). These custom-built vehicles feature engines based on those offered by the manufacturer. Manufacturers include Cadillac, Porsche, BMW, Acura, and Lamborgini.
This class will feature three current IndyCar drivers in two separate Acura ARX-06s, thanks to the Acura and Meyer Shank Racing partnership.
Coming off of back-to-back championships Alex Palou will return to the endurance race for a third time driving in Car No. 93. Palou showed speed in 2022 when he recorded the fastest lap in the field.
Car No. 60 will feature Felix Rosenqvist and Scott Dixon. The six-time IndyCar champion has competed in sportscar endurance competitions for 25 years and is seeking his fifth Rolex 24 victory, winning in 2006, 2015, 2018, and 2020.
“Goal number one is just to win and hopefully we can do that out of the gate at Daytona. It’s a fun race and I love doing the endurance races. I’m really excited to get going and from what I’ve seen so far it’s quite the outfit and excited with what Acura has done” Dixon said in the press release from Meyer Shank Racing.
Car No. 60 will also include Colin Braun and Tom Blomqvist, who were part of the winning lineup in 2023 and appeared in the American Open-Wheel Series.
LMP2:
The next-fastest class is called LMP2. The cars resemble GTP cars, but they all share the same engine, a British-made Gibson V-8, and the same chassis from Oreca. Each LMP2 team must include some amateur drivers in their lineup.
Pratt Miller, long regarded for its GT program with Corvette Racing, adds an LMP2 entry that includes Callum Ilott and Pietro Fittipaldi. This will be Ilott’s first Rolex 24 but not his first endurance race. The British driver competed in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship where he won at the Circut of the Americas.
Ed Carpenter Racing driver Christian Rasmussen joins AO Racing. He looks to repeat last year’s running as he led Era Motorsport to victory in the same class.
The last full-time Indy driver in the LMP2 class is CrowdStrike Racing by APR has two-time Rolex 24 winner Colton Herta. In 2019, he made his debut and helped BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) win in GTLM. In 2022, he moved to the LMP2 category and put on an exciting performance, taking the lead with 11 minutes left to secure the victory for DragonSpeed. The next year he made a jump again to the GTP and finished sixth overall.
GTD Pro:
GTD and GTD Pro classes might look alike on the track, as both use vehicles that resemble road cars. However, they have different driver rules. GTD Pro allows only professional drivers, while GTD includes some amateur drivers.
Trackhouse Racing and ZF Sport will field a Corvette GT3 with a lineup that includes IndyCar rising superstar Scott McLaughlin.
“When the opportunity came up from General Motors to run with Ben (Keating), Connor (Zilisch) and Shane (Van Gisbergen), I jumped at it straight away. I’ve always wanted to run an endurance race in a Chevrolet Corvette, and I could not imagine a better group to join. I am confident we have a real chance of winning a Rolex with this team.”
NEWS: We're partnering with @OfficialTFSport & @CorvetteRacing to enter the Rolex 24 Hours of @DAYTONA!
🇳🇿 @shanevg97
🇺🇸 @ConnorZilisch
🇳🇿 @smclaughlin93
🇺🇸 @keatingcarguyDetails: https://t.co/rd3sPqNh9G pic.twitter.com/6uE1M7VT3L
— Trackhouse Racing (@TeamTrackhouse) December 12, 2024
Also in the GTD Pro, a familiar face is veteran driver and commentator James Hinchcliffe.
All the IndyCar drivers in the 24 Hours of Daytona will take the track on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 1:40 PM ET and finish Sunday at 1:40 PM ET.
