Tony Kanaan will make his debut at the wheel of a Ford GT in next month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, with the former Indianapolis 500 and Rolex 24 overall winner confirmed as part of Chip Ganassi Racing’s four-car Ford GT lineup for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener.
The 41-year-old Brazilian will join the team’s FIA World Endurance Championship regulars Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell in the No. 69 Ford in the Florida endurance classic, making up one of Ford’s three-driver lineups in the GT Le Mans class.
Fellow IndyCar ace Scott Dixon will return to the No. 67 Ford alongside full-season WeatherTech Championship drivers Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE-Pro class-winning trio of Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Sebastien Bourdais being reunited in the No. 66 car.
2016 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge GS class champion Billy Johnson, meanwhile, will make his first start in a Ford GT since Le Mans, teaming back up with WEC drivers Stefan Muecke and Olivier Pla in the No. 68 car.
For the first time in recent memory, neither of Ganassi’s NASCAR stars Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson will be taking part in the Rolex 24, with Ford and Ganassi utilizing its full-season drivers or IndyCar talent instead for the expanded four-car factory effort for Daytona.
Ford’s Rolex 24 Driver Lineups:
No. 66 Ford:
Joey Hand
Dirk Mueller
Sebastien Bourdais
No. 67 Ford:
Richard Westbrook
Ryan Briscoe
Scott Dixon
No. 68 Ford:
Olivier Pla
Stefan Muecke
Billy Johnson
No. 69 Ford:
Andy Priaulx
Harry Tincknell
Tony Kanaan