NASCAR’s Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray To Compete In Rolex 24 In 2016
By Cole Mentzel
After being a part of the winning team last year, Chip Ganassi teammates Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray are set to compete in the 2016 Rolex 24.
The Rolex 24 is an annual racing event hosted by Daytona International Speedway. As a part of the race, teams consisting of three-five drivers take to the track and each driver takes shifts inside the car for the next 24 hours.
Throughout the period that the race occurs, the drivers experience a test like no other. As the biggest endurance race in the United States, there are high standards set and each team has to dig deep to win, not to mention the fact that the race takes place at one of America’s premier tracks.
The course is 3.56 miles and it includes parts of the oval and the infield. To make things harder, drivers have to adjust to different levels of banking while also twisting around corners on part of Daytona’s road course. With the race expanding through the night, drivers have to be prepared for night racing and a changing track.
In early 2015, Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray, teammates for Chip Ganassi Racing, teamed up with IndyCar drivers Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon to win the event. The victory gave Chip Ganassi Racing its sixth victory, the most wins for a team.
Recently, it was announced via NASCAR.com that all four drivers would be back in action for the 2016 Rolex 24 as they look to defend their title from early 2015. The announcement included a quote from team owner Chip Ganassi:
"“We’re proud to have the defending Prototype Champions from last year, along with the excitement worldwide with the reintroduction of the Ford GT,” team owner Chip Ganassi said in a team release. “I think we’ve built a very strong effort for the 2016 race in the Prototype class, which gives us two more solid chances to get to Victory Lane.”"
The “two” chances he stated was referring the fact that Ganassi will have another team made up of drivers by the likes of Alex Wurz, Brendon Hartley, Andy Priaulx and Lance Stroll (via racer.com).
The race is considered one of the most exciting and most anticipated events of the year and it’s the first major race of the year, a great way to kick things off with the Daytona 500 coming a little less than a month later.
Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan have combined for two Indianapolis 500 wins, one for each driver, and five other IndyCar championships. Kyle Larson has three NASCAR Xfinity Series wins while Jamie McMurray has seven Sprint Cup Series wins. Besides last year, all four drivers have competed in the Rolex 24 before, giving them plenty of experience.
McMurray is a driver who is on a very elite list. Being a part of the winning team in 2015 earned him a spot in a three-member club consisting of himself, Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt as the only drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and the Rolex 24.
It should be interesting to see if a group of superstar drivers can make it back-to-back Rolex 24 titles.
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If you call yourself a racing fan, you’ll want to set some time aside to watch a portion of the race as it provides plenty of thrills. The 2016 Rolex 24 is set to be another exciting event and it will begin on Jan. 30, 2016 at 2:10 P.M ET.