Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan named to Ganassi team for Rolex 24 at Daytona
Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan will once again be part of Chip Ganassi Racing’s effort for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, but they will be on separate teams in 2017.
Chip Ganassi Racing has officially named Verizon IndyCar Series champions Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan to its roster for the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona, but for the first time in years the IndyCar teammates will be in different cars.
Ganassi announced its complete lineup for the IMSA endurance race on Thursday; Dixon, Kanaan, Sebastien Bourdais and former IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe are all on board.
Dixon and Briscoe will co-drive the No. 67 Ford GT with Richard Westbrook, while Bourdais – who competes in IndyCar for Dale Coyne Racing – will return as co-driver of the No. 66 and Kanaan will anchor the No. 69 team.
Below is the complete Chip Ganassi Racing roster for the Rolex 24:
ICYMI: @TonyKanaan is joining @CGRsportscar as part of the 4 car, 12 driver line-up for the @Rolex24Hours @DISupdates! #FordGT pic.twitter.com/eS0JTAoIQo
— Chip Ganassi Racing (@CGRTeams) December 23, 2016
Dixon and Kanaan spent the last few years competing at the Rolex 24 in a Ford EcoBoost Riley DP effort with Ganassi’s NASCAR drivers Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray. That squad drove to the overall victory in 2015, though they struggled with a brake problem this year and dropped to 13th overall and 7th in the Prototype class.
With the move to Ford GT entries, Larson and McMurray aren’t on the team for 2017.
While it’s great that Dixon and Kanaan still are – and why wouldn’t they be considering that they have five IndyCar championships and two Indianapolis 500 victories between them – it is a little bit of a downer that they aren’t in the same car.
For fans what was so interesting about Ganassi’s Rolex 24 roster was watching the super team of Dixon, Kanaan, Larson and McMurray – four drivers who would otherwise not get an opportunity to compete together.
It makes sense from a performance standpoint that CGR would split them up, wanting each of their non-sportscar drivers to be on rosters with teammates who have sportscar experience and spreading their best-known names around. You can’t fault the organization for the roster change but at the same time it’ll be sad not to see that fabulous foursome together again in 2017.
Dixon and Kanaan will be competitive wherever they are, though, so expect a strong showing for the GTs in this ambitious campaign for CGR and Ford.
The Rolex 24 at Daytona is less than a month away, bringing in motorsports stars from various leagues to put themselves to the test in a 24-hour endurance competition. Tickets are still on sale now through Daytona International Speedway, and the green flag drops on Jan. 28.
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