Pagenaud Confirmed at MSR for Rolex 24

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Simon Pagenaud has been confirmed as the fourth and final driver in Meyer Shank Racing’s lineup for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The Frenchman, who is joining the Ohio-based team as part of its expanded two-car NTT IndyCar Series effort this year, will team up with full-season drivers Oliver Jarvis and Tom Blomqvist as well as IndyCar stablemate Helio Castroneves in the No. 60 Acura ARX-05 DPi for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.

It will mark Pagenaud’s eighth start in the Rolex 24. 

“I love starting the year with one of the biggest challenges of the year in the 24 Hour At Daytona,” said Pagenaud. “It’s a race I came close to winning many times, just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the past.

“I am looking forward to racing with my new team MSR in endurance racing which is my roots and I have a very deep love for this series while reuniting with the Acura once again and my friends at HPD.

“With Oliver, Tom and Helio we will be a strong lineup and hopefully we can give AutoNation and SiriusXM a victory to start off the year.”

Team co-owner Mike Shank said he’s “very excited” to add Pagenaud to MSR’s sports car lineup.

“The first step was having him be a part of our full-season lineup in IndyCar and it just made sense to put him in the Acura for Daytona,” said Shank.

“He knows the car well and has worked with Helio previously, so he’s been a big asset to the team so far. With the lineup that we have I think that we have a chance to fight for a win in just a few weeks.”

As a result of Monday’s announcement, the team’s longtime Rolex 24 driver AJ Allmendinger will not be part of MSR’s lineup for the race after contesting the event in 15 of the last 16 years.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John