Imsa
Cadillac Racing's No. 01 entry at the Rolex 24 with drivers Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande. (IMSA Photo)

IndyCar Drivers Racing In The Rolex 24

The Rolex 24 At Daytona draws drivers from multiple different disciplines to the hallowed grounds of Florida’s Daytona Int’l Speedway every January.

From European sports cars and Formula 1 to NASCAR, the Rolex 24 features a who’s-who of motorsports. 

While a number of different series outside the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship are represented, none have a stronger presence than the NTT IndyCar Series.

This year alone, America’s premier open-wheel series boasts 13 full-time drivers competing in the prestigious twice-around-the-clock endurance race.

Beyond the drivers, IndyCar team owners will also be well represented during next weekend’s event, which features entries from Chip Ganassi, Roger Penske, Michael Andretti and Bobby Rahal. 

Here’s a rundown of IndyCar stars competing in the Rolex 24:

Ganassi’s Champions

Defending IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou joins six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon aboard Ganassi’s No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R GTP class entry.

Dixon owns a trio of Rolex watches, which are awarded to winners of the twice-around-the-clock classic, while Palou is in search of his first. Their co-drivers are four-time IndyCar champion Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande.

Andretti Ties

Andretti Global’s IndyCar team will be well represented during the Rolex 24 as all four drivers will contest the event. 

Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson join Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti’s two GTP entries. Herta will wheel the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 with co-drivers Jordan Taylor, former F-1 champion Jenson Button and Louis Deletraz.

Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner, will pilot the No. 10 Acura alongside Ricky Taylor, Brendon Hartley and Felipe Albuquerque. 

Last year’s IndyCar breakout driver Kyle Kirkwood, who scored his maiden two victories in the series, enters the GTD PRO class with Vasser Sullivan Racing. 

Kirkwood will contest the event with reigning GTD PRO champion’s Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat and Mike Conway aboard the No. 14 Lexus RC. 

Penske Power 

Reigning Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden is back with Porsche Penske Motorsports to fight for an overall victory in the Rolex 24. 

Piloting the No. 7 Porsche 963 in the GTP category, Newgarden is teamed with Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr.

Penske will field an additional entry in the event as well. 

While he won’t be competing in Penske equipment, IndyCar star Scott McLaughlin will be behind the wheel of Tower Motorsports’ No. 8 Oreca 07-Gibson in the LMP2 category. The former Australian Supercars champ will co-drive the car with John Farano, Michael Dinan and Ferdinand Habsburg. 

Other Notable Names

• Fresh off two straight overall victories in the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Meyer Shank Racing, Tom Blomqvist hunts for a third prior to his rookie season in the IndyCar Series.

After MSR halted their sports car operations to focus on IndyCar this year, Blomqvist moves over to the defending GTP champions, Action Express, with co-drivers Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken. 

• Joining Blomqvist at MSR in the IndyCar Series this year is Felix Rosenqvist. The former Arrow McLaren driver will compete for the LMP2 class victory with United Autosport and co-drivers Dan Goldburg, Paul di Resta and Bijoy Garg. 

Rossi
The Pfaff Motorsports entry driven by Alexander Rossi, James Hinchcliffe, Oliver Jarvis and Marvin Kirchhofer. (IMSA Photo)

• Entering his second season with Arrow McLaren in the IndyCar Series, Alexander Rossi joins the GTD PRO class in Pfaff Motorsports’ McLaren 720S GT3 Evo. 

The 2016 Indy 500 winner guns for a second victory in the Rolex 24 after winning the overall event in 2021. 

He’ll be racing the McLaren alongside former IndyCar veteran and current NBC Sports analyst James Hinchcliffe, Oliver Jarvis and Marvin Kirchofer. 

• Rossi’s IndyCar teammate Pato O’Ward will contest the event in the LMP2 category with United Autosport aboard a Oreca 07-Gibson. Nico Pino, Ben Keating and Ben Hanley are his co-drivers. 

• Romain Grosjean returns to his familiar Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 with Iron Lynx for a third straight year.

The former F-1 driver joins the Italian trio of Claudio Schiavoni, Matteo Cressoni and Matteo Cairoli. 

• Competing for rookie of the year honors in the IndyCar Series with Chip Ganassi Racing, 18-year-old Kyffin Simpson enters a stacked LMP2 class aboard the No. 81 for DragonSpeed. 

It’ll be DragonSpeed’s first entry in the historic event since 2022 where they topped the LMP2 category. Eric Lux, James Allen and Sebastian Alvarez will co-drive the No. 81. 

• Racing a part-time schedule in IndyCar this year for Ed Carpenter Racing, reigning Indy NXT champion Christian Rasmussen will also compete in the LMP2 division.

He’ll wheel the No. 18 Era Motorsport machine with Connor Zilisch, Dwight Merriman and Ryan Dalziel. 

• Three-time Indy 500 starter Katherine Legge, who competes full time in IMSA, will steer the Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 in GTD competition. She’s joined by Sheena Monk, Stevan McAleer and former part-time IndyCar driver Tatiana Calderon. 

• Gabby Chaves, who competed in 39 IndyCar races between 2015-’18, arrives at Daytona aboard the Andretti Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD class. 

• After two straight seasons of IndyCar competition, Devlin DeFrancesco takes on Daytona with Forte Racing in GTD for a fifth try at the famed Rolex timepiece.  

• An all-Italian driver lineup for Cetilar Racing in GTD features Eddie Cheever III, son of 1998 Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever.