Two IRL IndyCar® Series champions and the reigning Indianapolis 500
champion will be among the star-studded field of drivers in the 43rd Rolex 24 at
Daytona this weekend
source:
paddocktalk.com
"It's my ninth or 10th 24 Hours, and it's one of the fullest fields I've ever
seen," said Scott Sharp, who kicked off his 1996 IRL IndyCar Series
co-championship by winning the Rolex 24 with Jim Pace and Wayne Taylor. "There's
NASCAR drivers and several champions from other forms of racing, including from
our series."
Joining Sharp in the twice around the clock endurance event are seven other
IndyCar Series stars: Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Bryan Herta,
Darren Manning, Buddy Rice, and Dan Wheldon.
Rice, the first reigning Indianapolis 500 winner to compete in the event since
Arie Luyendyk won the race in 1998 said the race is a chance to add a win at
Daytona to his racing resume.
"I have never run the 24 Hours of Daytona, and it is such a legendary race,"
said Rice, who will share the No. 67 Krohn Racing/TRG Pontiac Riley with Tracy
Krohn, Nic Jonsson and Boris Said. "I know that Bobby (Rahal) won it in the
1980s (1981), so that would be a thrill to win. Our team has won the race
overall and in class so they know what it takes to win it. To be honest, I'm
pretty pumped up for this race, and for the IROC race too at Daytona. Just like
Indy, Daytona is a famous track, and I think every driver wants to race there,
so it will be cool for me to compete this year."