IndyCar star Alex Palou during Rolex 24 driver intros (Photo: Jared Bokanoski)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Rolex 24 never ceases to bring in a strong contingent of drivers from disciplines all over the world and one of the series that always finds itself well represented is the NTT IndyCar Series. 2026’s rendition of the race twice-around-the clock will see ten active drivers in IndyCar taking part in the sportscar ranks for the season opening Rolex 24.
Spanning all four classes that will take the green on January 24th, two drivers will compete in the GTP class, three in LMP2, two in GTD Pro and the remaining three drivers filing into the GTD class.
IndyCar Champions Join Meyer-Shank Racing:
The two drivers that will enter the top class of the Rolex 24 are two drivers who are both no strangers to success, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou and Scott Dixon will both join Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian for the second consecutive season.
Palou, who’s dominance could make what the University of Indiana is doing in the college football ranks look tame has won everything there is to win in the NTT IndyCar series, the four-time series champion who’s won 19 races, has podiumed in almost half of his career starts and cemented his legacy by becoming the defending champion of the Indianapolis 500 will enter his fourth Rolex 24 at Daytona.
He will once again pilot the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 alongside Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly and Kaku Ohta, a quartet who finished eighth in class a year ago after a rear suspension failure in the middle of the race.
Scott Dixon will see himself in the No. 60 once again alongside Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun and in for 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Driver AJ Allmendinger, looking to finish one spot higher following a runner-up finish last year.
Dixon, the six-time IndyCar champion, Indianapolis 500 champion and four-time winner of the Rolex 24 will look to continue to add to his legacy looking to win this race for the first time since his 2021 victory with Wayne-Taylor Racing.
Rasmussen, Siegel, Simpson all Take to LMP2:
A trio of IndyCar’s up and coming talents all find themselves taking to the LMP2 class in 2026, 25 year-old Christian Rasmussen will be joined by a pair of 21 year-olds in Nolan Siegel and Kyffin Simpson as part of the all Oreca 07 grid for the 2026 Rolex 24.
Rasmussen, a member of the 2024 LMP2 Rolex 24 champions Era Motorsports, will once again see himself joining IMSA’s most popular team AO Racing. He will share the driving duties of the No. 99 Spike the Dragon LMP2 with the returning trio of PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron and Jonny Edgar following their top-five finish in class last year.
Siegel will join a one-off second car for Inter-Europol in the No. 343 car alongside Jakub Smiechowski, George Kolovos and Formula E star Nick Cassidy.
The McLaren IndyCar driver will make his first start in the LMP2 class at Daytona following three starts in the former LMP3 category, in which he finished runner-up with Sean Creech Motorsports.
However it won’t be his debut in the LMP2 category as Siegel is a two time class winner, taking wins at the 2023 Sahlen’s Six-Hours of the Glen and Motul Petit Le Mans with Crowdstrike Racing by APR.
As for Kyffin Simpson, it’ll be his fourth Rolex 24 and third in the LMP2 categories, he will be returning to Tower Motorsports who he competed with in 2023, winning the Twelve Hours of Sebring alongside John Farano and Scott McLaughlin.
For 2026 he’s joined by Farano once more, as well as Sebastain Alvarez and former IndyCar Driver Sebastien Bourdais.
Kirkwood, Power in GTD PRO Drives:
Kyle Kirkwood is no stranger to the Rolex 24 at Daytona, entering his seventh Rolex 24 with Vasser Sullivan Racing behind the wheel of the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 he will join the pairing of Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth after competing in both of the teams Lexus entries across both GT classes last year.
For Power, it’s been a long time coming to get the 44 year-old IndyCar legend to the Rolex 24 at Daytona. After a drive that signed and ready to go was nixed to take care of his wife following surgery, Power will finally take to the highbanks of Daytona with 75-Express Racing in the GTD PRO class as he will be joined by Kenny Habul, Mercedes works driver Maro Engel and defending Australian Supercars champion Chaz Mostert.
GTD Sees Ericsson, Ilott, McLaughlin:
The final three active IndyCar drivers in the field all find themselves with drives in the GTD class.
For the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, this will be his first foray into the GT ranks at Daytona following a pair of starts in the prototype classes in 2022 and 2024. He’ll be within the ranks of the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 with Danny Formal, Trent Hindman and Graham Doyle.
Callum Ilott will partake in a double campaign in 2026, running IndyCar with PREMA alongside a full-season IMSA campaign with the Wright Motorsports squad in the No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) with teammates Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer and Tom Sargent.
The final IndyCar representative is Scott McLaughlin, once again returning behind the wheel of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R this time with DXDT Racing following competing with the incredible popular Trackhouse Racing by TF Sport entry in the GTD PRO class last year.
For McLaughlin, this will be his fourth Rolex 24, following two years with the Tower Motorsports LMP2 outfit and last season’s aforementioned Trackhouse Racing entry.
You can find the full Rolex 24 entry list here
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