It’s the Rolex 24 at Daytona. From teams to drivers to manufacturers, #TrackTalk recaps the NTT IndyCar series participants entered in the race.
The Manufacturers
Honda: Through its Acura brand, Honda has a strong presence in both the DPi and GTD classes. In DPi, they’ll be represented by the Team Penske prepared ARX-O5, while Meyer Shank Racing will co-field a pair of NSX-GT3 EVOs in the GTD class.
Chevrolet: The Corvette C7R is a favourite to win the GTLM class while sister brand Cadillac, will have six DPi-V.R cars duking it out for the DPi class and overall win.
The Teams
Team Penske: Arguably the flagship Chevrolet IndyCar team, in sportscar racing Team Penkse leads Acura’s IMSA challenge.
Chip Ganassi Racing: Chip Ganassi Racing has a storied history in sportscar racing. For 2019, they return as the factory Ford team running a pair of GTs in the GTLM class.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: Joining Ganassi Racing in the GTLM category is Indy 500 winning team, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Outside of their IndyCar efforts, RLL also fields BMW M8 GTE’s in the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship.
Juncos Racing: Ricardo Junos’ ambitions for global racing domination just got a bit bigger. The veteran Road to Indy and third-year IndyCar team will add sportscar racing to their resume, fielding a Cadillac DPi.
DragonSpeed Racing: They’re yet to make their first IndyCar series start, but newcomers DragonSpeed Racing are no strangers to sportscar racing and will field a pair of ORECA prototypes in the LMP2 class.
Vasser Sullivan: The Vasser Sullivan in the ‘Dale Coyne with Vasser Sullivan’ make their first foray into sportscar racing, entering a pair of Lexus RC F GT3 cars in the GTD class.
Scuderia Corsa: The 2018 one-off Indy 500 entry led 16 laps with Oriol Servia at the helm, and had their gamble with strategy paid off then we might be calling them the 2018 Indy 500 champs. For now, IndyCar is their part time job. Their day job is racing Ferrari 488 GT3s in IMSA’s GTD class.
Current IndyCar Drivers Entered: Simon Pagenaud, Alexander Rossi, Fernando Alonso, Kyle Kaiser, Rene Binder, Colton Herta, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, and Helio Castroneves.
IndyCar Alumni Entered: Juan Pablo Montoya, Mike Conway, Christian Fittipaldi, Tristan Vautier, Rubens Barrichello, Sebastian Saavedra, Jan Magnussen, Alex Zanardi, Ryan Briscoe, Ryan Dalziel, Townsend Bell, Jack Hawksworth, Katherine Legge, Ana Beatriz, Simona De Silvestro, and AJ Allmendinger.
Past IndyCar Champions: Simon Pagenaud, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Alex Zanardi.
Past Indy 500 Winners: Alexander Rossi, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Victor Genova is a freelance motorsports writer and the host & founder of the Media People Podcast. You can follow him on Instagram @vicgenova