When January rolls around, so too does the Rolex 24 at Daytona - among the racing highlights of the year and a perfect kickoff to the North American road racing schedule for a new season.
The timing is usually such that besides the regulars, who you get to see for the rest of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, there’s always a high volume of IndyCar and NASCAR stars moonlighting for a cameo appearance.
As such, with the official release of the 2016 Roar Before the Rolex 24 entry list on Monday, the 2016 field is no exception.
These drivers competed in at least one Verizon IndyCar Series race during the 2015 season, or are scheduled to compete in the 2016 season. Here’s their IMSA team and class:
- Simon Pagenaud, No. 31 Action Express Racing Corvette DP, Prototype
- Mikhail Aleshin, No. 37 SMP Racing BR01 Nissan, Prototype
- Spencer Pigot, No. 55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda Prototype, Prototype
- Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 90 Visit Florida Racing Corvette DP, Prototype
- Scott Dixon, No. 02 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Riley-Ford, Prototype
- Tony Kanaan, No. 02 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Riley-Ford, Prototype
- Jack Hawksworth, No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Oreca FLM09, Prototype Challenge
- Sebastien Bourdais, No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT, GT Le Mans
- Ryan Briscoe, No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT, GT Le Mans
- Graham Rahal, No. 100 BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE, GT Le Mans
- Townsend Bell, No. 11 O’Gara Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3, GT Daytona
The NASCAR contingent is the same three drivers as competed last year and who traditionally compete at Daytona:
- Jamie McMurray, No. 02 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Riley-Ford, Prototype
- Kyle Larson, No. 02 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Riley-Ford, Prototype
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ligier JS P2 Honda, Prototype
There’s a wealth of other notable drivers on the list, beyond the full-season drivers.
The full entry list is linked here. Testing takes place this weekend with the Roar test Friday through Sunday, with the Rolex 24 at Daytona race itself taking place on January 30-31.