Jeff Gordon To Drive In 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona
NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon will keep racing, next in sportscars as Gordon will compete in IMSA’s Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race in January.
NASCAR fans will want to keep an eye on January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, as NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon announced this week that he’ll be participating in IMSA‘s season-opening endurance race.
Gordon will co-drive for Wayne Taylor Racing, replacing Rubens Barrichello in the No. 10 Chevrolet Corvette DP alongside IMSA veterans Jordan and Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli.
Adding the four-time Cup series champion as their fourth driver is a massive boost to WTR’s already favored entry, which finished second overall in the 2015 Rolex 24 at Daytona and has an impressive resume.
The Taylor brothers were runners-up in this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship standings, including three victories at Long Beach, Belle Isle and Austin. Angelelli won the 2005 edition of the 24 Hours at Daytona with their father Wayne Taylor. So of all the teams Jeff Gordon could have chosen to compete with, he certainly picked one of the best if not the best.
But what fans may not know is that this isn’t Gordon’s first foray into endurance racing.
He previously contested the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2007, also for Wayne Taylor Racing, and finished third overall driving with Angelelli, Wayne Taylor and Jan Magnussen. You can watch the finish of that race below:
Gordon issued a statement this week announcing why he’d chosen to return to the Rolex 24 after what will be a decade away from the race.
“When I announced I would no longer be competing full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, my hope was that I would get an opportunity like this to compete again in such a prestigious event – with Konica Minolta and Wayne Taylor Racing – with the hopes of winning it this time,” he said. “I know that Ricky and Jordan are super-fast, and I believe it will be a very strong combination.”
He’s not the only NASCAR driver to have contested the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson have driven in multiple Rolex 24’s for Chip Ganassi Racing, and they helped win the event for CGR in 2015. Other past competitors with NASCAR experience include Scott Pruett and Juan Pablo Montoya.
The Rolex 24 at Daytona is intriguing for that reason – it attracts drivers from seemingly every major motorsports league to compete alongside the IMSA regulars. Current IndyCar drivers Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Sebastian Bourdais and Graham Rahal all participated in the race last year.
Jeff Gordon’s addition to the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona automatically makes the Wayne Taylor Racing team the favorite going into January. But aside from winning the race, his presence could be even bigger – if his being there gets NASCAR fans to check out the premier endurance racing event in the United States.
The 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona takes place Jan. 26 to Jan. 29, 2017 at Daytona International Speedway.
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