NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon will take part in the Rolex 24 at Daytona next January with the Wayne Taylor Racing team.
Gordon, a four-time Sprint Cup champion, will share a Cadillac DPi-V.R with Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli at the season-opening race.
It will be the 45-year-old’s first race appearance since his retirement from the NASCAR circuit at the end of 2016.
The race will also mark a return to sportscars for Gordon, who drove a Wayne Taylor Racing-entered Riley DP in a 2007 one-off with Angelelli, Wayne Taylor and Jan Magnussen.
“We are excited to have Jeff back in the lineup with us for the 2017 Rolex 24,” said team boss Taylor.
“He was with us when we started this race team back in 2007 and he helped us finish on the podium.”
“We have kept in close touch ever since and have always been looking for another opportunity to have him join our driver lineup. That opportunity is finally here after his retirement from full-time competition in NASCAR and we are very much looking forward to working with him again.”
Wayne Taylor Racing has a chequered past at the Rolex 24, finishing second in 2013, 2014 and 2016. The 2017 event will signal the race debut of the Cadillac DPi-V.R., based on the Dallara LMP2 chassis, at the start of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship campaign.
“I really enjoyed racing in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2007 with Max, Wayne and Jan,” added Gordon.
“When I announced I would no longer be competing full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, my hope was that I would get an opportunity like this to compete again in such a prestigious event – with Konica Minolta and Wayne Taylor Racing – with the hopes of winning it this time. I know that Ricky and Jordan are super-fast, and I believe it will be a very strong combination.”
The 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona takes place on January 28-29, three weeks after the pre-season ‘Roar’ open test.
