One thing that makes IMSA’s Daytona 24 Hours special is that, much like the Daytona 500 in NASCAR, it’s both the biggest race of the season, and the first. But also, this Daytona race truly feels like a ‘Race of Champions’ or an All-Star Game in that it attracts drivers from NASCAR, IndyCar, and other series to compete with the IMSA regulars.
No entry in the 2025 Daytona field embodies this spirit better than the much-hyped, much-anticipated collaboration between the rapidly-growing Trackhouse Racing team run by past Daytona 24 Hours class winner Justin Marks, and Surrey’s stalwart sports car racing team TF Sport.
All Marks, Armando Christian “Pitbull” Pérez, and their investors have done since rocking up to NASCAR in 2021 is expand the team’s footprint beyond sports car racing into the MotoGP World Championship with fanfare and success at all levels. And all Tom Ferrier’s team has done is rack up Le Mans wins and titles in multiple racing series from British GT to the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Together with its all-star quartet of drivers, Trackhouse by TF Sport is racing for honours in the GTD PRO category with a fresh-looking, WeatherTech-sponsored Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Where do we even start to build the excitement? How about the union of two Kiwi racing legends in their prime which once seemed impossible: Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen, together in the same car.
He can cheer me on in IndyCar, I can cheer him on in NASCAR. We’re friendly, and it’s always how it’s been
SVG has made the jump from the Supercars Championship in Australia, where both drivers first made their name, to NASCAR. This year he’ll be a Trackhouse driver in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series as a full-time driver. Scotty Mac made the more ambitious leap from Supercars to IndyCar with Penske Racing, as he enters his fifth full season.
But for many years, they were the leaders of warring factions in perhaps the most ill-mannered rivalry in professional motor racing: Ford versus Holden.
There was needle, but always respect between the two drivers even going back to the days when McLaughlin was at DJR Team Penske and Van Gisbergen had started with Triple Eight Racing. “Our teams hated each other, so it was always awkward,” as McLaughlin recalls. “But at the end of the day, we would always be in the bar having a beer together, talking s—t, whatever. We always had that respect for each other – and the media and how they do, they always try and beef it up. But we always sort of just got over that.”
Their reluctant rivalry produced a combined six Supercars Championships, and 137 wins including four at the Bathurst 1000. But now, entrenched in their new careers, they don’t have to hide being each other’s biggest supporters.
“Now it’s totally different,” says McLaughlin of his bond with Van Gisbergen. “I remember I had dinner with him the week before Chicago last year, and I was like, ‘You’re gonna win the race this weekend because it’s raining, it’s a street circuit, and then you’re gonna be in America the year after.’ And it happened!
“And I’m so happy for him, and it’s cool now because he can cheer me on in IndyCar, I can cheer him on in NASCAR. We’re friendly, and it’s always how it’s been, but now we can hang out without that awkward tension. I’m excited to share a car and have a blast to start the year.”
Van Gisbergen, who stunned the NASCAR Cup Series with his sensational win on debut on the streets of Chicago in 2023, recounts a similar experience – and that’s why he’s excited to race with his friend at Daytona. “With us, we grew up friends, and then we were hard enemies, I guess, in Supercars,” he says. “And now friends again, moving here to the States. And since we both left Supercars, we always thought it’d be cool to go race in the [Bathurst] 1000 or any other race together. So, yeah, it’s a really cool moment.”
It’s fun to drive and fun to hang out and we’re just having a blast
McLaughlin will be in his third Rolex 24 Hours, his first in a GT3 car – in contrast to his friend SVG, who already boasts a famous win at the 2016 Bathurst 12 Hour Race and a GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup title before his Supercars career reached its peak.
McLaughlin gave an honest assessment of his first ride in the Corvette. “Takes a bit to get used to the ABS and all that jazz, but it’s been a long time, probably eight years since I’ve driven a car with ABS,” McLaughlin said after the Roar Before The 24. “So it’s like, nice to get back in and just feel it out and stuff. But I’m learning a lot, and honestly, all the Chevy guys have been really cool and helpful. So it’s a nice thing.
“It’s enjoyable, but it’s frustrating too. You can make a mistake and you lose two-tenths quickly – like that – but it’s very precise, and you’ve got to be really good with everything, really smooth with everything. But I’m learning. It’s fun to drive and fun to hang out and we’re just having a blast.”
He has leaned on the knowledge of the team around him, including Van Gisbergen. “I’ve texted Dani Juncadella a couple of times just about a couple of driving things and stuff, but the Chevy guys have been a huge help with the technical department and stuff like that, tuning a few things here and there, whether my TC is different to other people… But it’s also all about experimenting myself, as well.
“I’m sort of leaning a bit on Shane with that because he’s got a little bit more experience in these sort of GT cars than I do. But the whole Chevy programme is amazing, the way that they’ve integrated us and welcomed us like we’re just a normal GT team.
“And then on top of that, we’ve got TF who are stellar. So the engineering you don’t have to worry about it. All you got to do is just worry, from your perspective, what you need to do to drive the car fast, and that’s a good thing.”
McLaughlin feels more comfortable in the car now, heading into the race weekend to come – as Trackhouse, TF Sport, the drivers and the crews optimise their attack. “We’re just tinkering,” McLaughlin adds. “It’s more for us, just getting comfortable with the car procedures, understanding electronics.
He has all confidence in the pace of himself and his team-mates. “We trust ourselves, we’ll be there,” he says. “It’s just a matter of making sure we don’t make mistakes – because we’re part-timers. Like in the pit stops, whether it’s turning the car off and not making the rear wheels spin and stuff like that.
“I think there’s more time finding that way and getting comfortable with those than trying to find outright speed because I think we have that.”
This time last year, Connor Zilisch was really only known in stock car racing’s deepest circles – as a promising young talent with the backing of Chevrolet. IMSA’s heartiest fans knew him as one of the feistiest young drivers in the MX-5 Cup Series, the metaphorical speedball of one-make racing.
By the end of last year’s Daytona 24 Hours, he was the second-youngest driver to win in any category in the race’s 62-year history, and the breakout young star of the race. Then he won Sebring in his next LMP2 start. Fans begged for him to get a last-minute call-up to Le Mans to complete the ‘triple crown’ but NASCAR conflicts meant it could never happen – because he was crushing it there too.
We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t think we had a chance to win.
Now 18, Zilisch has won on his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut the same way SVG rocked the Cup Series at Chicago, and he’ll be racing full-time with Trackhouse in the Xfinity Series to effectively succeed SVG. Red Bull has invested in Zilisch’s potential, making him a sponsored athlete.
But he always wanted to come back to try and win Daytona again.
“I went to [Justin] and told him, ‘I think me and SVG, we should do a Trackhouse effort in IMSA.’ He’s wanted to do it for a while, and wanted to make it happen, but I think that little bit of convincing sent him over the edge,” Zilisch recalls of the encounter. “He went to TF Sport and GM – obviously it had to be Chevrolet and Corvette.
“All the stars aligned for this year. I’m surprised it came together so quick – I was looking for LMP2 rides, and all of a sudden, Justin came to me and said, “We’re going to make this work this year.”
It took just milliseconds for Zilisch to take the offer, even without knowing who his teammates other than Van Gisbergen would be. “There’s no way I could say no. It wasn’t even a thought of no,” he said.
“It was late, but [I’m] really glad that we were able to do this and bring SVG, Scotty Mac, Ben Keating – and a lot of guys that I can learn from.
“It’s going to be a learning challenge for me. I’ve never driven a GT car, so I’ve got a lot to learn and I’ve got to do it on the fly. But, I’ve got a great group of guys around me to help make that happen.”
Zilisch’s first time behind the wheel of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R during the Roar was also his first hands-on encounter with driving a GT3 vehicle in the real world. It was different from his experiences driving LMP2s, MX-5s, or a NASCAR Xfinity car in many ways. For him, it was all about maximising the track time in a new environment, and understanding how he and the team communicate with one another.
He’ll come back to the Rolex 24 this weekend aiming to shake the IMSA paddock again like he did last year – he and Marks expect nothing less, after all, with the talent that’s been assembled.
“We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t think we had a chance to win,” Zilisch stated. “So definitely there are high expectations for us, and we want to go out and make the most of this opportunity. Justin Marks, he doesn’t do this for fun.
“We’ve got a lot of a lot of work ahead of us, but expectations are high, and we’re all really excited. It’s going to be a cool experience for all of us to get to team up in such a star lineup with such a cool car. It’s going to be really cool for all of us.”
And then of course, both McLaughlin and Zilisch have been nothing but complementary in the role that Ben Keating plays as the Bronze-rated ‘glue guy’ of the programme.
While he may not be expected to be the quickest man in the car, Keating has the most Rolex 24 and IMSA experience of any of the four drivers. Plus he’s won this race before in 2015 (a GTD victory in a Riley Dodge Viper GT3-R), and he has experience behind the wheel of this GT3 Corvette – and the similar Corvette C8.R platform that previously competed in LMGTE categories.
“Great guy,” McLaughlin says of Keating. “The first time I’ve really met him was this weekend (for the Roar) – fast as well. If you’re in GTD, he’s a cheat code. He’s an incredible Bronze.”
“It’s gonna be good to have Ben,” adds Zilisch. “He’s been in this car before, and knows what to expect, so that’s gonna be helpful for us, and making sure the car feels right and there are no issues. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get up to speed with him and make sure that we’re all on the same page.
“He’s got a lot of experience, and he’s very helpful for all of us – and helping make this happen.”
This isn’t just a one-off for Keating either. He will continue with TF Sport into the new WEC season in 2025, reuniting with the team with which he won the 2022 GTE AM title and the marque with which he took the final GTE AM win at Le Mans the following year. And with the reputation which precedes both Keating and Corvette Racing, they expect nothing less than success.
Sure, it’s a one-race deal with a cast of characters that are best known for racing almost everything except GT3 cars, coming in to compete against full-time programmes with years and decades of experience behind them. But as Van Gisbergen himself so rightly pointed out: “The team’s obviously good, and the car can be good… Anything can happen.”
Images © Corvette Racing
