The sophisticated machinery often draws the focus in sports cars, but there also are more than 230 drivers across the 61 entries in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The 63rd running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener annually draws motorsports stars hailing from racing series around the globe, ensuring Daytona International Speedway lives up to its billing as “The World Center of Racing.”
Here are some of the famed names from other racing series who will be driving in the 2025 Rolex 24, which will begin Saturday afternoon on NBC and Peacock:
Austin Cindric
Age: 26
Country: United States
Series: NASCAR
Rolex 24 team: No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 in the GTD Pro category
Rolex 24 experience: Fifth start and fourth in a GT class; best finish is fifth in class
Notable: 2022 Daytona 500 winner … 2020 Xfinity Series champion … Two-time Cup winner with playoff appearances in 2022, ’24 … Made Rolex 24 debut at 18 in 2017.
Scott Dixon
Age: 44
Country: New Zealand
Series: IndyCar
Rolex 24 team: No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) category
Rolex 24 experience: 22nd start; four victories (overall prototype in 2006, ’15, ’20; GT in ’18) rank second among this year’s field
Notable: Six-time IndyCar champion with Chip Ganassi Racing … 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner … Winningest active driver in IndyCar and ranks second all time 57 victories.
Romain Grosjean
Age: 38
Country: France
Series: IndyCar (reserve driver), Formula One (2009-20)
Rolex 24 team: No. 63 Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse Lamborghini SC63 in the GTP category
Rolex 24 experience: Third start, first in the prototype class
Notable: Raced full time in Formula One until a fiery crash at Bahrain in 2020 … Raced primarily in IndyCar from 2021-24 with three poles and six podiums. … Expected to race IMSA endurance rounds with Lamborghini in 2025 while also a PREMA reserve driver in IndyCar.
Colton Herta
Age: 24
Country: United States
Series: IndyCar
Rolex 24 team: No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 in the LMP2 category
Rolex 24 experience: Seventh start and fourth in a prototype class; two victories (GT in 2019 as a rookie; LMP2 in 2022)
Notable: Has nine victories and 14 pole positions in six IndyCar seasons, finishing a career-best second in the points standings last year … Youngest winner in IndyCar history (18 at Circuit of the Americas in 2019).
Kamui Kobayashi
Age: 38
Country: Japan
Series: World Endurance Championship
Rolex 24 team: Wayne Taylor Racing No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R in the GTP category
Rolex 24 experience: Fifth start, first since 2022; two overall prototype victories in 2019-20 (his first two starts at Daytona)
Notable: Led Toyota Gazoo Racing as the team principal … 24 Hours of Le Mans winner in 2021 and three-time WEC champion … Made NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2023 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course … Raced Formula One from 2009-14.
Kyle Kirkwood
Age: 26
Country: United States
Series: IndyCar
Rolex 24 team: Vasser Sullivan No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 in GTD Pro and No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 in GTD
Rolex 24 experience: Fifth start, all in GT with Vasser Sullivan; best finish of fourth in 2022
Notable: Two-time IndyCar winner with Andretti Global, earning breakthrough victory at Long Beach in 2023 … 2021 Indy Lights champion … Endurance driver the past four seasons for Vasser Sullivan, contributing to class wins at Detroit (2022) and Sebring (’24).
Parker Kligerman
Age: 34
Country: United States
Series: NASCAR
Rolex 24 team: No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 in GTD category
Rolex 24 experience: Debut
Notable: Two-time truck winner … Made Xfinity Series playoffs the past two seasons … Stepping back from full-time driving to focus on broadcasting.
Kevin Magnussen
Age: 32
Country: Denmark
Series: Formula One (2014, 2016-20, 2022-24), IMSA (2021), WEC (2025-)
Rolex 24 team: No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8
Rolex 24 experience: Third start; fifth in his 2021 debut with Chip Ganassi Racing
Notable: After three stints in Formula One, moving full time into WEC and IMSA endurance races with BMW this year … Finished a career-best second in his 2014 F1 debut.
Felipe Massa
Age: 43
Country: Brazil
Series: Formula One (2002-17)
Rolex 24 team: No. 74 Riley ORECA LMP2 07 in the LMP2 category
Rolex 24 experience: Second start; finished third in his debut last year with the No. 74
Notable: An 11-time winner at Ferrari and former teammate of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher … Finished a career-best second in the 2008 F1 championship.
Scott McLaughlin
Age: 31
Country: New Zealand
Series: IndyCar
Rolex 24 team: No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sports Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the GTD Pro category
Rolex 24 experience: Third start and first in GT; finished fifth in LMP2 with Tower Motorsport the past two years (and also won with the team at Sebring in 2023)
Notable: Won three Supercars championship in Australia before moving full time to IndyCar in 2021 … Has seven victories and 19 podiums in 68 IndyCar starts … Also has nine pole positions, including last year’s Indy 500
Alex Palou
Age: 27
Country: Spain
Series: IndyCar
Rolex 24 team: No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 in the GTP category
Rolex 24 experience: Third start, all in the premier prototype class; best of seventh in 2022 debut
Notable: Two-time defending IndyCar champion has won three titles in the past four seasons (2021, ’23-24) as an 11-time winner … Also has six pole positions, including the 2023 Indy 500.
Felix Rosenqvist
Age: 33
Country: Sweden
Series: IndyCar
Rolex 24 team: No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 in the GTP category
Rolex 24 experience: Fourth start, first in the premier prototype class; best finish of 11th in 2016 as an LMP2 rookie
Notable: Entering his seventh consecutive full-time season in IndyCar with two top-10 finishes in the points and a victory … Three-time winner in Formula E.
Shane van Gisbergen
Age: 35
Country: New Zealand
Series: NASCAR
Rolex 24 team: No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sports Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the GTD Pro category
Rolex 24 experience: Sixth start, first in prototype (and first in five years); second in GTD at the 2015 Rolex 24
Notable: Three-time Supercars champion stunned NASCAR by winning inaugural Chicago Street Race in his debut … Made 2024 Xfinity Series playoffs with three victories as a rookie … Moving full time into Cup this season.
Pascal Wehrlein
Age: 30
Country: Germany
Series: Formula E, Formula One (2016-17)
Rolex 24 team: No. 85 JDC Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 in the GTP category
Rolex 24 experience: Debut
Notable: Reigning Formula E champion, earning three of his seven career victories last season … Made 40 starts in F1 with a best finish of eighth … 2015 champion of the DTM series.
Connor Zilisch
Age: 18
Country: United States
Series: NASCAR
Rolex 24 team: No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sports Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the GTD Pro category
Rolex 24 experience: Second start, first in GT; won as a 17-year-old in LMP2 debut last year (and made it two victories in a row at Sebring)
Notable: Entering Xfinity Series full time this season with JR Motorsports … Scored 11 victories across three national series last year: IMSA, ARCA, Xfinity … Nine MX-5 Cup victories and a runner-up in the 2022 championship as rookie of the year.