IndyCar representation runs deep at this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona

The presence of IndyCar drivers in the Rolex 24 At Daytona field is far from new, but what’s in store for this year’s edition of IMSA’s grand season-opener is nothing less than extraordinary.

As the current entry list stands, no less than 15 NTT IndyCar Series drivers will participate in this weekend’s Roar Before The 24 test at Daytona International Speedway roval and return for the January 25-28 race. If the number holds, more than 50 percent of full-time IndyCar drivers will be in action across the four WeatherTech SportsCar Championship classes.

The most heavily subscribed is Andretti Global, which has all three of its IndyCar drivers headed to Daytona. Two of those drivers – Marcus Ericsson in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 hybrid GTP, and Colton Herta in the sister No. 40 WTRA Acura – are racing with the home team while Kirkwood, who has a longstanding relationship with Lexus, is set to race in the defending GTD Pro championship-winning No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 with Vasser Sullivan (main image).

“It’s cool, no doubt about that,” Kirkwood told RACER. “I think drivers are realizing that there’s a benefit to doing the 24, which is getting easier, because I feel like some teams might have been skeptical years ago about letting their drivers go out and drive other cars. But now, IndyCar teams are actually pushing for it. Like at Andretti, they said, ‘Hey, we want you doing the 24. We want you in a car; doesn’t matter what car you’re in. We want you driving, we want you active, and a lot more drivers and teams are now on that mindset. I think everyone in the field would do it if they had an opportunity.”

Chip Ganassi will have three of its five IndyCar drivers in motion at the Roar and Rolex 24, led by Scott Dixon and Alex Palou in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R hybrid GTP entry, and Kyffin Simpson — a rookie to IndyCar, but a race- and championship-winning sports car driver — will be in the No. 81 DragonSpeed ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2.

Meyer Shank Racing, which will miss its first Rolex 24 in 20 years, will be represented by its 2022 IMSA DPi champion Tom Blomqvist, who is joining the defending GTP champions at Action Express Racing in the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, and Felix Rosenqvist, who is signed to United Autosports USA’s No. 22 ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2.

Most of the Arrow McLaren team will be in action at Daytona, with Alexander Rossi on the factory McLaren program with Pfaff Motorsports in the No. 9 McLaren 720S GT3 in GTD Pro, and former Rolex 24 class winner Pato O’Ward is chasing another Rolex watch, this time with United Autosports USA’s No. 2 ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2. Take O’Ward and former Arrow McLaren teammate Rosenqvist driving for the UAUSA team that’s co-owned by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, and Rossi in the McLaren-affiliated Pfaff team, and the papaya roots run deep.