The Rolex 24 is a long car race that lasts for 24 hours. It's held at a famous racetrack in Daytona, Florida, and many different types of cars compete in it.
LMP2 is a type of race car used in endurance racing, like the famous Le Mans race. These cars are built to certain rules and are usually less expensive than the fastest race cars.
LMP class refers to a type of race car used in endurance racing, like the famous Le Mans race. These cars are specially designed to go fast for long periods.
IndyCar is a type of car racing that takes place mainly in the United States. The cars are very fast and race on different types of tracks, including circular ones and those with turns.
Formula 1, or F1, is a very popular and high-tech type of car racing that happens all over the world. The cars are some of the fastest and most advanced in the sport.
Meyer Shank Racing is a team that participates in car racing events, mainly in IndyCar. They have a reputation for being competitive and successful in the races they enter.
FAP Motorsports is a team that races cars in competitions. They often use fast cars like Lamborghinis to compete in special racing events.
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Hey, let's talk about IndyCar drivers at the Rolex 24-hour race.
If you're not familiar with the Rolex 24, it's a 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway's
road course. It's put on by IMSA, a different racing body, but since it's 24 hours long,
which is longer than their normal races, IMSA teams go looking for additional drivers.
Well, where do you find fast guys on a road course? In IndyCar, of course.
And IndyCar drivers are busy in January, so it makes a perfect fit. So I'll give you a brief
description of IMSA, and then we can talk about what drivers are in the race. So you can find out
if you can watch your favorite. So there's four classes of cars in IMSA. And for fastest to slow,
as they are, there's GTP. People call it prototype glass. And these are hybrid-powered,
V8-powered prototypes. So kind of like an IndyCar, but a little bit slower and full body,
not open-wheel cars. So they're the fastest class. The next fastest class is LMP2. So this is,
I think, the P2. LM stands for Le Mans. P2 is like prototype 2. And these are a spec chassis
and a spec engine. So they don't require the manufacturer's support of the GTP cars,
but they're still pretty quick, not quite as fast. Then there's sports cars, the GTD classes.
There's GTD Pro, which is sports cars with professional drivers. And then there's GTD,
which is sports cars that have some amateur drivers on the team. Now, by sports cars,
I mean like Porsche 911s, BMWs, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Mustangs, and Corvettes are
what you'll see out there. So some fast cars. So let's talk about what drivers are in what class.
For our current drivers, we'll see three drivers that drove an IndyCar last year in the GTP class.
And those three are Scott Dixon. He'll be driving the number 60 Meyer Schenker. And then
there's Alex Palau. So we've got some heavy hitters here. Alex Palau will be driving the
93 Meyer Schenker. So they're both driving for Meyer Schenker, but not in the same car.
Colton Herda. He will be in the number 40 Cadillac, you know, because he's aligned with Cadillac.
All three of those cars have the capability of winning the race, if they do it right.
In the LMP class, we have Christian Rasmussen, who's been in the LMP class before,
and Nolan Segal. Even before Nolan was an IndyCar driver, he was driving in
MSA classes, in MSA prototype classes. In GTD Pro, Kyle Kirkwood is in there, and Alexis,
and Will Power is in there as well. In GTD class, you'll find Scott McLaughlin,
and in a Corvette, and Callum Isleot, and a Porsche. There's also some past IndyCar
drivers in the race. And we could talk about them. We've got Kevin Magnussen,
who drove a couple races in IndyCar, and a bunch of races in F1, and he'll be in there.
Tom Blomquist, who was an MSA GTP driver for Meyer Schenker, and he came over to IndyCar for
a short period of time, and he went back and he'll be in the race. A.J. Allmendinger,
who was a successful IndyCar driver that went on to NASCAR, who he's done quite well,
will be back with Meyer Schenker as well. So Meyer Schenker is pulling out the stops
and has some heavy hitters. Other past IndyCar drivers in LMP2, Sebastian Bordeuil will be there.
So that's pretty cool. I'm a big fan of his. He was multi-time IndyCar champion.
Other drivers in LMP2 will be Jacob Able, Pietro Fittipaldi, Toby Salary, and Hunter
McElroy. In GTD Pro, we'll see Benjamin Peterson, who used to drive for Foyt,
Yuri Vips, who's been involved with Ray Hall-Wetterman for quite a while and has
done races for them. A past racer named Jack Hawksworth, who you might not be familiar with,
but he did two seasons in IndyCar and did okay. And then James Hinchcliffe, of course,
who did well and now commentates. He's not on the official entry list, but he has said that
he'll be in the race for FAP Motorsports, which I think fields a Lamborghini. So in GTD,
Roman Grozian will be in there. So a couple of Indy next drivers will be in the field too,
Enzo Fittipaldi and James Rowe. And then there's still some openings on some of the teams. So we
might see one or two or three additional IndyCar drivers. Here's my nominees for drivers that aren't
in the field yet, but could be. Kiffin Simpson has done some prototype racing and endurance racing
in the past. He's good at it. So he'd be a good candidate. Felix Rosenquist was in the race
last year. He's a good candidate. And Joseph Newgarden won the race for Penske. And Penske
seems like they might have an opening. Now I know Joseph's wife's either having a baby or had a baby,
so it gets tricky. So more details about the race. The race starts one PM on January 24th and ends
at one PM on January 25th. The start and finish will be broadcast on NBC. The entire race is on
IMSA TV, which you can catch on Peacock and you can catch on YouTube. So if you're attending
in person, it's quite a party, but be ready. It's a party the last 26 plus hours because pre-start
activities are a lot of fun. You'll get to meet your driver and then it gets cold in the night.
I went last year. I made it till about one AM and then I just had to go home. I was just
exhausted. So, but there are party animals that can handle the whole thing and I hope you're
one of them. Otherwise, let's watch the race and cheer on our favorite drivers. I'm Tom.
They call me IndyCarDad. I write blog posts about IndyCar. I'm a big fan and I try to look
up things other people might not have the time to look out. So you'll find me on YouTube.
You'll find me on Instagram where I post funny memes and I also share my videos on Reddit.
So I hope you see me at all of those locations. Thanks for watching.
About this episode
IndyCar drivers are set to make a splash at the upcoming Rolex 24-hour race at Daytona. With a mix of current and former IndyCar stars, the episode breaks down which drivers will compete in various IMSA classes, including GTP and GTD. Notable names like Scott Dixon, Alex Palau, and Colton Herta are highlighted, alongside past IndyCar talents like A.J. Allmendinger and Kevin Magnussen. The episode also discusses the race format, viewing options, and the excitement surrounding the event, making it a must-know for fans eager to follow their favorite drivers.
The Rolex 24 hour race at Daytona is the first big race of the year and it is arguably IMSA's biggest race of the year. A lot of Indycar drivers participate in the Rolex 24. I spent some time looking over the entry list and created this podcast. In the podcast I cover the drivers, their racing class, and more. It is a great listen if you plan to watch the Rolex 24 or if you are just ready for the off-season to end.
