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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Open-Wheel Stars Dominate Rolex 24 Entry List
Major NASCAR stars once highlighted the Rolex 24 At Daytona entry list, but in 2012, that honor goes to past and present open-wheel drivers.
Former Andretti Autosport teammates Tony Kanaan, middle, and Ryan Hunter-Reay, right, are confirmed for the Rolex 24 at Starworks, while Marco Andretti, left, could drive for a different team. (LAT)
If you can’t wait for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series to start, just turn your attention towards Daytona Beach during the weekend of Jan. 27-29.
With the heavy influx of current and former open-wheel drivers at the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, fans can get a glimpse of today’s best taking on some of the bigger Indy car stars who’ve moved on to different forms of racing, and others who stood out on the open-wheel ladder before switching to sports cars.
Most of IndyCar’s top teams will be represented, with Chip Ganassi Racing—the defending race winners, Team Penske, Andretti Autosport and KV Racing amongst those that will have drivers in the field.
NASCAR drivers have often headlined the event, with champions Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart serving as the most frequent participants, but this year, the heavy presence of Sprint Cup drivers has given way to an impressive list of open-wheelers.
“Obviously, [NASCAR drivers] have twice as many races as we do and their season starts in like a month, so it’s not maybe as easy a choice as it is for the open-wheel guys,” said Tony Kanaan.
“For me, I’ve always wanted to do the race with GRAND-AM, but it’s also a busy time for me. I’m trying to close all of my IndyCar deals right now, but I scheduled some of them around the testing and race weekends so I could make it.”
Kanaan’s off-season has also been busy with triathlons and constant travel, but the chance to drive with some familiar faces at the Starworks Motorsports outfit was too good to pass up.
“You get to an age where you don’t want to do it just to do it,” he said. “You want to do a race like this with a good team, and Starworks is a good team, no question. I get to race with two of my teammates—[Ryan] Hunter-Reay and [E.J.] Viso, who was at KV with me last year. It’s also going to be a challenge because I’ve never driven the Daytona Prototype before. I did some ALMS races and really loved those cars, but I’ve always wanted to try the Daytona Prototypes, so now I get to do it with a team that can win.”
Along with the three IndyCar regulars at Starworks, Ganassi’s effort will feature four-time series champion Dario Franchitti, two-time series champ Scott Dixon, 2011 Rolex 24 winner Graham Rahal, 1999 CART champion/current Cup driver Juan Montoya, CART winner Scott Pruett and former ladder participant Memo Rojas.
Ryan Briscoe returns to the SunTrust Racing team, Action Express Racing features a pair of CART winners in Christian Fittipaldi and Max Papis, and Michael Shank Racing, which will expand into the IndyCar Series this year, has a two-car lineup comprised almost entirely of open-wheel drivers.
Anchored by Dale Coyne Racing’s Justin Wilson, Champ Car-turned-Cup driver AJ Allmendinger and former Indy Lights driver Ozz Negri, Shank will run a trio of young guns alongside the veterans.
Gustavo Yacaman and Jorge Goncalvez, the fourth- and fifth-place finishers in the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights championship, will partner with 19-year-old Brazilian phenom Felipe Nasr, the reigning British F3 champion, who completes MSR’s lineup.
More IndyCar drivers could be confirmed for the Rolex 24 in the days ahead, with Marco Andretti a leading candidate for one particular DP team. Paul Tracy is also believed to be in the running for a GT seat.
The deals that get done between guest drivers and GRAND-AM teams each year for the Rolex 24 are rather impressive, but behind the scenes at the series’ headquarters, the deals that come close to happening and eventually fall apart are often far more interesting.
Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Raikkonen had DP rides sorted for this year’s race while they were free agents, but with the Finn now signed to drive for Lotus in F1 and the Brazilian trying hard to stay in the series, extracurricular activities like the Rolex 24 got the axe.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was also in contact with GRAND-AM about driving in the great endurance race this year, but has recently gone quiet.
Members of the Red Bull F1 collective nearly signed to race at Daytona this year, with former driver/brand ambassador David Coulthard and car designer Adrian Newey looking set to share a GT Audi before the opportunity disappeared.
Two years ago, the Red Bull’s most dynamic Rolex 24 lineup fell through after the energy drink’s management team initially approved then backed out from an F1-meets-NASCAR foursome of Sebastien Vettel, Mark Webber, Scott Speed and Brian Vickers.
A unique grandfather/grandson combo of Mario and Marco Andretti driving a GT Ferrari was also pitched for this year’s race, but the Indy car legend said he’d rather wait until Ferrari builds a Daytona Prototype—provided Maranello ever chooses to do so—to make it happen.
The 14-car DP field boasts other familiar names like Champ Car driver Ryan Dalziel (Starworks), Atlantic drivers Joey Hand (Ganassi), Joao Barbosa (Action Express) and Alex Gurney (Gainsco), two-time Atlantic champ Jon Fogarty (Gainsco), 1995 British F3 champion Oliver Gavin (Spirit of Daytona), former F1 driver Ricardo Zonta (Krohn), ex-Ganassi CART driver Memo Gidley (Gainsco) and a host of other drivers who made their mark in everything from F2000 to Italian F3.
The 44-car GT field is filled with drivers who once populated the open-wheel ranks, and also contains one major surprise.
With the heavy influx of current and former open-wheel drivers at the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, fans can get a glimpse of today’s best taking on some of the bigger Indy car stars who’ve moved on to different forms of racing, and others who stood out on the open-wheel ladder before switching to sports cars.
Most of IndyCar’s top teams will be represented, with Chip Ganassi Racing—the defending race winners, Team Penske, Andretti Autosport and KV Racing amongst those that will have drivers in the field.
NASCAR drivers have often headlined the event, with champions Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart serving as the most frequent participants, but this year, the heavy presence of Sprint Cup drivers has given way to an impressive list of open-wheelers.
“Obviously, [NASCAR drivers] have twice as many races as we do and their season starts in like a month, so it’s not maybe as easy a choice as it is for the open-wheel guys,” said Tony Kanaan.
“For me, I’ve always wanted to do the race with GRAND-AM, but it’s also a busy time for me. I’m trying to close all of my IndyCar deals right now, but I scheduled some of them around the testing and race weekends so I could make it.”
Kanaan’s off-season has also been busy with triathlons and constant travel, but the chance to drive with some familiar faces at the Starworks Motorsports outfit was too good to pass up.
“You get to an age where you don’t want to do it just to do it,” he said. “You want to do a race like this with a good team, and Starworks is a good team, no question. I get to race with two of my teammates—[Ryan] Hunter-Reay and [E.J.] Viso, who was at KV with me last year. It’s also going to be a challenge because I’ve never driven the Daytona Prototype before. I did some ALMS races and really loved those cars, but I’ve always wanted to try the Daytona Prototypes, so now I get to do it with a team that can win.”
Along with the three IndyCar regulars at Starworks, Ganassi’s effort will feature four-time series champion Dario Franchitti, two-time series champ Scott Dixon, 2011 Rolex 24 winner Graham Rahal, 1999 CART champion/current Cup driver Juan Montoya, CART winner Scott Pruett and former ladder participant Memo Rojas.
Ryan Briscoe returns to the SunTrust Racing team, Action Express Racing features a pair of CART winners in Christian Fittipaldi and Max Papis, and Michael Shank Racing, which will expand into the IndyCar Series this year, has a two-car lineup comprised almost entirely of open-wheel drivers.
Anchored by Dale Coyne Racing’s Justin Wilson, Champ Car-turned-Cup driver AJ Allmendinger and former Indy Lights driver Ozz Negri, Shank will run a trio of young guns alongside the veterans.
Gustavo Yacaman and Jorge Goncalvez, the fourth- and fifth-place finishers in the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights championship, will partner with 19-year-old Brazilian phenom Felipe Nasr, the reigning British F3 champion, who completes MSR’s lineup.
More IndyCar drivers could be confirmed for the Rolex 24 in the days ahead, with Marco Andretti a leading candidate for one particular DP team. Paul Tracy is also believed to be in the running for a GT seat.
The deals that get done between guest drivers and GRAND-AM teams each year for the Rolex 24 are rather impressive, but behind the scenes at the series’ headquarters, the deals that come close to happening and eventually fall apart are often far more interesting.
Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Raikkonen had DP rides sorted for this year’s race while they were free agents, but with the Finn now signed to drive for Lotus in F1 and the Brazilian trying hard to stay in the series, extracurricular activities like the Rolex 24 got the axe.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was also in contact with GRAND-AM about driving in the great endurance race this year, but has recently gone quiet.
Members of the Red Bull F1 collective nearly signed to race at Daytona this year, with former driver/brand ambassador David Coulthard and car designer Adrian Newey looking set to share a GT Audi before the opportunity disappeared.
Two years ago, the Red Bull’s most dynamic Rolex 24 lineup fell through after the energy drink’s management team initially approved then backed out from an F1-meets-NASCAR foursome of Sebastien Vettel, Mark Webber, Scott Speed and Brian Vickers.
A unique grandfather/grandson combo of Mario and Marco Andretti driving a GT Ferrari was also pitched for this year’s race, but the Indy car legend said he’d rather wait until Ferrari builds a Daytona Prototype—provided Maranello ever chooses to do so—to make it happen.
The 14-car DP field boasts other familiar names like Champ Car driver Ryan Dalziel (Starworks), Atlantic drivers Joey Hand (Ganassi), Joao Barbosa (Action Express) and Alex Gurney (Gainsco), two-time Atlantic champ Jon Fogarty (Gainsco), 1995 British F3 champion Oliver Gavin (Spirit of Daytona), former F1 driver Ricardo Zonta (Krohn), ex-Ganassi CART driver Memo Gidley (Gainsco) and a host of other drivers who made their mark in everything from F2000 to Italian F3.
The 44-car GT field is filled with drivers who once populated the open-wheel ranks, and also contains one major surprise.
2013 INDY 500 Practice
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