Diuguid: Performance Not Factor in Three-Driver Daytona Decision

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

Penske Racing President Jonathan Diuguid has explained Porsche Penske Motorsport’s decision to opt for three-driver lineups in this month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, despite running both of the team’s IndyCar stars Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin in last November’s IMSA-sanctioned test as a potential eye to run four drivers in each factory Porsche 963.

The two-time and defending GTP championship-winning squad will field Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and reigning series champion Matt Campbell in the No. 6 entry, with the new-for-2026 full-season pairing of Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauder joined by Laurin Heinrich in the No. 7 Porsche.

While having won the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener with both three and four-driver squads, Diuguid said the decision came down to the “administrative” aspect of having four drivers per car.

“It’s a decision we didn’t take lightly,” he told Sportscar365. “Obviously Scott’s driven the car and Josef won in Daytona in 2024. They’ve proven that they’re extremely competitive and not lacking for pace.

“It’s obviously something both of them have asked to do and stuck their hand up.

“Scott’s racing with our IndyCar manufacturer partner in a Corvette, so he’s still going to be participating in the race.

“We looked at it and there’s pros and cons. In our case, there’s really no cons from a performance compromise or anything like that.

“We’re choosing from guys who are performing on an equal level. So that just comes down to administrative things as far as managing time in the car and being fair to everybody there as well.

“The competitiveness of the [GTP] class in IMSA is getting tighter. Any time you can make less compromises on the administration side, whether it’s seat [inserts] or setup compromises, that’s just what it defaulted to.

“I wouldn’t say that’s going to be our approach in perpetuity. It’s just the decision we decided to make for the Daytona 24 Hours this year.”

Diuguid stressed the decision was not performance related.

“For sure not,” he said. “The November test is difficult to glean performance stuff but I think if you did glean performance [data], Josef and Scott were if not the top performing guys in those cars, they were on part with the guys we had there.”

Unlike the Pro-Am-enforced LMP2 and GTD classes where four drivers are mandated, WeatherTech Championship teams are permitted to choose to run either three or four-driver squads for Daytona.

Porsche Penske opted for four-driver lineups in 2024, where Newgarden was part of the winning squad, before scaling back to three-driver rosters last year, which it also was victorious in.

“That gave us the information to understand what the pros and cons are of taking both approaches,” added Diuguid. “We’ve been successful in both. I don’t think it’s consistent across our competitors, either. I think some people are taking four and three.”

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