Track Talk: Racing Season is Here!

Racing season has begun! It’s the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and from teams to drivers this year’s race is stacked with IndyCar flavour. We take a look at the IndyCar drivers & teams participating in this year’s race.

Ryan Hunter-Reay: The former IndyCar and Indy 500 champ trades his Honda for a Cadillac, and will co-drive the Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi that’s starting on pole.

Spencer Pigot: Recently promoted from part time to full time driver at Ed Carpenter Racing, Spencer Pigot kicks off his 2018 season as co-driver of the # 55 Mazda DPi.

Team Penske: With their brand new (and fantastic looking) Acura DPi, Team Penske brings 4 current, part time, and past IndyCar drivers. Helio Castroneves and Graham Rahal will co-drive the # 7 car, while Simon Pagenaud and Juan Pablo Montoya team up in the sister entry.

Chip Ganassi Racing: Like Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing also splits its time in the IMSA WeatherTech series. Scott Dixon has been drafted from Ganassi’s IndyCar team, while Dale Coyne Racing driver, Sebastien Bourdais, moonlights as one of their part-time drivers for the longer endurance races. Both drivers will park their Dallara Hondas for a Ford GT in the GTLM class. IndyCar alum, Ryan Brisco, will team with Dixon in the # 67 car,

Michael Shank Racing: One of the new IndyCar teams, Michael Shank Racing will also field an Acura NSX GTshared by IndyCar alumni, Katherine Legge and AJ Allmendinger.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: While one of the top Honda teams in IndyCar, RLL Racing also fields a pair of BMW M8’s in the GLTM category.

Fernando Alonso: While there are no plans for him to saddle up in an IndyCar this year, the 2017 Indy 500 rookie is using this race as a potential test run for the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

Victor Genova is the host of the Media People Podcast and a freelance racing writer. You can follow him on Twitter at @VicGenova