Here's the thing about January: while open-wheel fans are still waiting for the single-seaters to fire back up, the absolute royalty of the NTT IndyCar Series are packing their bags for Florida to conquer sports cars. A heavy-hitting contingent of open-wheel stars is descending on Daytona International Speedway for the 64th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, taking place across the January 22-25 weekend. This grid is not messing around—it includes five of the seven race winners from the 2025 series.
Let's talk about the hardware for a second. We are looking at IndyCar champions Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, Will Power, and Sébastien Bourdais chasing fresh wristwatches, a group that collectively boasts 16 series titles, including an unbroken streak covering the past six years. Palou, coming in as a four-time and reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion with three consecutive crowns under his belt, is locked into the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 for Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian. Beside him in the top class, his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dixon will pilot the team’s No. 60 machine. Considering that NTT IndyCar Series drivers have claimed the overall win in five of the last six Rolex 24 events, you already know these two are prime threats for the outright victory. Right now, Palou and Dixon stand alone as the only full-time NTT IndyCar Series drivers fighting in the premier GTP class.
That said, the rest of the open-wheel talent pool is stacked across the classes. Colton Herta—who departed IndyCar after seven full-time seasons to become a reserve driver for the Cadillac F1 Team and race in FIA Formula 2—is slated to race the No. 40 Cadillac for Wayne Taylor Racing. Meanwhile, the initial entry list rolls out an impressive tally featuring 11 Grand Touring Prototypes (GTP), 14 Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), 15 Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), and 21 Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) machines.
Over in LMP2, Bourdais is teaming up with Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyffin Simpson to share the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA 07. Bourdais, sharing that four-time IndyCar title status with Palou as the man who famously grabbed four straight from 2004 to 2007, is embarking on his 17th Rolex 24 start. Simpson brings past endurance muscle to the garage, having won the 12 Hours of Sebring while running the Michelin Endurance Cup with Tower in 2023. They are joined in LMP2 by INDY NXT by Firestone standouts Enzo Fittipaldi, who shares the No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports entry with his brother, Pietro, James Roe in the No. 18 machine for Era Motorsport, and Christian Rasmussen piloting the No. 99 entry for AO Racing.
Andretti Global is sending every single one of its NTT IndyCar Series drivers into the twice-around-the-clock classic. Kyle Kirkwood, fresh off taking three of his five career NTT IndyCar Series wins last season, jumps back into the GTD PRO category in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus, while team newcomer Power makes his Rolex 24 debut in the class with the 75 Express team. Marcus Ericsson joins the fray in the No. 45 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 for Wayne Taylor Racing in GTD for his third start in the event, carrying his status as a four-time IndyCar race winner and the 2002 (sic) Indianapolis 500 champion. More active drivers from the NTT IndyCar Series and INDY NXT by Firestone are expected to join the party soon.
If you are following the team side of things, full-time NTT IndyCar Series outfits like Team Penske (GTP), Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian (GTP), and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with Arrow McLaren (GTD PRO) are all bringing their operational weight to sports cars. Andretti Global operates under the TWG Motorsports umbrella alongside Wayne Taylor Racing, meaning both WTR's GTP and GTD entries fall under that exact same banner.
