RELATED: Full Rolex 24 schedule
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway has traditionally marked the start of Speedweeks and ushered in the beginning of the American motorsports season. This year it will also coronate IMSA’s new prototype race cars billed as “the fastest, most technologically advanced machines ever in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.”
It’s a big week, to say the least.
The 55-car field will set the starting grid today (Thursday) during pole qualifying on the 3.56-mile Daytona road course.
The twice around-the-clock race starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday (coverage begins on FOX) and will feature NASCAR superstar and four-time champion Jeff Gordon among a long list of highly-decorated sports car stars like his Wayne Taylor Racing co-drivers Max Angelelli and brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor. It’s Gordon’s second Rolex start after finishing third overall with the team in 2007.
New full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor Austin Cindric will compete in the Daytona GT class. Longtime NASCAR road course racing standout Boris Said and IndyCar stars like Sebastien Bourdais, Indy 500 champions such as Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay to Indy 500 polewinner and Dancing With the Stars talent, James Hinchcliffe are on the entry list.
They will all compete with sports car’s best like five-time Rolex winner Scott Pruett whose driving in the GT Daytona (GTD) class — at 27 entries the largest of the four classes – and longtime prototype driver Scott Sharp.
Six-time winner Chip Ganassi Racing — the winningest team in Rolex history — will field four cars with an all-star lineup in the GT LeMans class. Former Rolex winner Joey Hand will co-drive with sports car star Dirk Mueller and three-time IndyCar champ Bourdais. Open-wheel star-turned-sports car driver Ryan Briscoe will co-drive with Dixon in another car and former Indy 500 champ Kanaan will be among four drivers splitting the time in two Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK cars.