Keep an Eye on These Guys: NASCAR Stars, Ex-F1 Drivers and Young Phenoms
By Mark Robinson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Now that the field of drivers for the Rolex 24 At Daytona later this month is nearly complete, it’s a good time to sift through the more than 230 names to look at a baker’s dozen who may have an impact on the 63rd twice-around-the-clock marathon at Daytona International Speedway, largely beyond those that immediately come to mind competing in the leading Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class.
Some of the drivers boast lengthy racing resumes; some you may not have heard of before. All, though, bear watching when they’re in their respective machines during the Jan. 25-26 opener to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
Austin Cindric (No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3, Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class: The NASCAR star and 2022 Daytona 500 winner was a late addition to the lineup as a substitute for the injured Ben Barker. Cindric has competed in eight WeatherTech Championship races since 2017, most recently in the 2023 Rolex 24 for Rick Ware Racing in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class. His last effort in a GT3 car came in the 2022 Rolex 24 with Proton Competition, and he’ll add the Ford to previous runs in a Lexus RC F GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Pipo Derani (No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class): The two-time season champion in the top class of the WeatherTech Championship will make his GTD class debut in a one-off with DXDT as he focuses on development of the new Genesis Magma Racing LMDh car set to begin competition next year. Derani already has an overall Rolex 24 win (2016); can he add a class victory to go with it?
Malthe Jakobsen (No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07, LMP2): The dynamic Dane’s star is shining brighter in 2025, as he’s been named a Peugeot factory driver for its Hypercar lineup in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). He returns to the No. 04 CrowdStrike LMP2 entry for Daytona, where he’s paired with nearly the identical lineup that finished second in class in 2024 for a second straight year. George Kurtz and Toby Sowery are back with Jakobsen, with two-time Rolex 24 class winner Colton Herta replacing Colin Braun this time around.
Parker Kligerman (No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, GTD): The NASCAR driver/broadcaster is making his series and Rolex 24 debut. He tested with the team at Daytona in November and will be surrounded by winning talent. Co-drivers Franck Perera (2018 GTD) and Misha Goikhberg (2016 Prototype Challenge) each have a Rolex 24 win, and third co-driver Mario Farnbacher is a two-time WeatherTech Championship GTD season champion with 10 career race wins.
Kamui Kobayashi (No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class): The mega-fast and popular Japanese driver is back with the team he helped to consecutive Rolex 24 overall victories in 2019 and ’20. Of course, he still has that full-time job as team principal for Toyota Gazoo Racing in WEC, where he was the season champion in 2019-20 and 2021, as well as capturing victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in ‘21.
Andy Lally (No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, GTD): The active driver with the most Rolex 24 wins (five) is becoming inactive after this year’s race, as he’s announced his retirement from full-time driving. The 2025 race will mark Lally’s 23rd consecutive start, and he’ll do it alongside longtime friend and co-driver John Potter – they won at Daytona together in 2012 (GT) and 2016 (GTD) – as well as two-time Rolex 24 winner Spencer Pumpelly and Aston Martin works driver Nicki Thiim.
Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch (No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, GTD PRO): We label this as a co-entry because this talented trio is together in the No. 91 Corvette along with one of the best Bronze-rated drivers in the world, Ben Keating. McLaughlin was a three-time Supercars champion in Australia before joining the IndyCar Series, where he’s won seven races over the past three seasons and finished third in the championship the last two years. Fellow New Zealander van Gisbergen was also a three-time Supercars champ before taking the NASCAR world by storm, winning the Chicago street race in his 2023 Cup Series debut. Zilisch is well-known in IMSA circles for his Mazda MX-5 Cup prowess and winning his first two races in the WeatherTech Championship last season in LMP2 (Rolex 24 and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring). The 18-year-old is already a NASCAR shooting star with one Xfinity Series and five ARCA Menards Series wins last year.
Felipe Massa (No. 74 Riley ORECA LMP2 07, LMP2): The former Formula 1 driver (11 wins in 15 seasons) returns for a second crack at the Rolex 24 and is back with the same team and lineup. He and co-drivers Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Josh Burdon reached the podium in 2024 with a third-place showing and look to bump up to the top step this time around.
Kakunoshin “Kaku” Ohta (No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06, GTP): The 25-year-old is a rising star in the Honda development program, with manufacturer backing since 2019. He’s raced almost exclusively in Japan to date, in the F4, Super GT, Super Formula and Super Taikyu (endurance) series, but will make his WeatherTech Championship debut in the Meyer Shank Acura GTP. He tested with the team at Daytona in November.
Lorenzo Patrese (No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, GTD PRO): The 19-year-old son of retired Formula 1 driver Riccardo Patrese isn’t even the youngest driver in the No. 47 Ferrari quartet. That honor goes to 17-year-old Nicola Lacorte, with Nicola’s dad Roberto Lacorte also in the lineup. The team has a pretty solid anchor driver in Antonio Fuoco, who was victorious in the Ferrari Hypercar at last June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Nico Varrone (No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, GTD PRO): The Argentinian joins full-season No. 4 drivers Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg for the Rolex 24, in a reunion with Catsburg. The duo, along with Ben Keating, earned the 2023 WEC LMGTE Am season championship as well as seizing the class win at Le Mans. Varrone made it back-to-back Le Mans victories last year when he teamed with Ben Barnicoat – yes, he of the Vasser Sullivan Lexus in GTD PRO – and Francois Perrodo to take LMP2 Pro-Am honors.
Featured image: IMSA
