Two IndyCar drivers join exclusive club with signature win

IndyCar drivers and Indy 500 champions Alexander Rossi and Helio Castroneves joined an exclusive club by winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The #10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 DPi secured the victory in the 2021 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona at Daytona International Speedway by just 4.704 seconds over the #48 Action Express Racing/Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R.

The winning Wayne Taylor Racing team consisted of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, Alexander Rossi and Helio Castroneves.

Taylor and Albuquerque had both won the race before, with the former doing so in 2017 and the latter doing so in 2018. But for Rossi and Castroneves, this win was their first. As a result, they joined an exclusive club of drivers who have won both the Indy 500 and the Rolex 24.

Only 13 drivers had ever done so heading into 2021.

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Castroneves and Rossi are the two most recent Indy 500 rookie winners; Castroneves is a three-time winner, having won it in 2001, 2002 and 2009, while Rossi won it in 2016.

The most recent Indy 500 winner to win the Rolex 24 had been 2008 Indy 500 champion Scott Dixon, who won the Rolex 24 last year. But that win was his third, so the most recent driver to join this exclusive club had been Tony Kanaan. Kanaan won the Indy 500 in 2013 and the Rolex 24 in 2015.

The 15 drivers who have won both races include Mark Donohue, Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., Bobby Rahal, Al Unser Jr., Arie Luyendyk, Dan Wheldon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Buddy Rice, Dixon, Kanaan, Rossi and Castroneves.

Here’s a list of when each driver won the Indy 500.

A.J. Foyt: 1961, 1964, 1967, 1977
Mario Andretti: 1969
Al Unser Sr.: 1970, 1971, 1978
Mark Donohue: 1972
Bobby Rahal: 1986
Arie Luyendyk: 1990, 1997
Al Unser Jr.: 1992, 1994
Juan Pablo Montoya: 2000, 2015
Helio Castroneves: 2001, 2002, 2009
Buddy Rice: 2004
Dan Wheldon: 2005, 2011
Dario Franchitti: 2007, 2010, 2012
Scott Dixon: 2008
Tony Kanaan: 2013
Alexander Rossi: 2016

And here’s a list of when each driver won the Rolex 24.

Mark Donohue: 1969
Mario Andretti: 1972
Bobby Rahal: 1981
A.J. Foyt: 1983, 1985
Al Unser Sr.: 1985
Al Unser Jr.: 1986, 1987
Arie Luyendyk: 1998
Dan Wheldon: 2006
Scott Dixon: 2006, 2015, 2020
Juan Pablo Montoya: 2007, 2008, 2013
Dario Franchitti: 2008
Buddy Rice: 2009
Tony Kanaan: 2015
Alexander Rossi: 2021
Helio Castroneves: 2021

Next. Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time. dark

This year’s Indy 500 is the 105th running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, and it is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 30 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with NBC set to provide live coverage beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET.