Team Penske president Jonathan Diguid has clarified the reasons behind leaving Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin off the 2026 Team Penske Daytona 24 lineup, despite their notable performances in IMSA testing and past races. The changes come after both drivers participated with Porsche Penske in previous events, including Newgarden’s 2024 Daytona victory and their collaborative IMSA test last November.
Porsche Penske’s Driver Choices for the Daytona 24
Both Newgarden and McLaughlin played critical roles in Porsche Penske Motorsport’s GTP entries during their IMSA tests and logged significant laps in the No. 6 and No. 7 cars. In 2023, they debuted together at the Daytona 24 with Tower Motorsports as teammates, and Newgarden’s win in the 2024 Daytona 24 cemented their credibility as elite endurance drivers.
Despite these achievements, Team Penske decided not to assign either as the fourth driver for the GTP team for the 2026 event. Instead, the team stuck with a three-driver approach. Jonathan Diguid offered insight into the difficult decision:
“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.”
McLaughlin’s Move and the Chevrolet Connection
After being left out of the Porsche Penske roster, Scott McLaughlin made a move to DXDT Racing’s GTD lineup, shifting focus but remaining active in the event. Notably, McLaughlin is still tied to Team Penske’s IndyCar engine supplier, Chevrolet, and for this race, will compete in a Corvette rather than a Porsche. Diguid pointed out the broader context of McLaughlin’s switch:
“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.”
Ultimately, McLaughlin is staying within the Team Penske and Chevrolet “family,” even though he will not be representing Porsche Penske in the main GTP lineup at Daytona.
Administrative Factors Led to the Decision
Jonathan Diguid emphasized that the choice to leave out Newgarden and McLaughlin was not based on their race pace or competitiveness, but rather stemmed from administrative considerations. Balancing driving duties, setup, and fairness became increasingly complex as team sizes changed, making a streamlined, three-driver system the logical choice for this event.
“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.”
Diguid made it clear that performance compromise was not a factor and that the process was meant to maintain balance and efficiency for the team, given the evolving demands and intensity of the GTP class within IMSA. At present, only McLaughlin will compete at Daytona with a different team, while Newgarden will not enter the 2026 Rolex 24 with another lineup.
Newgarden Reflects on Daytona Triumph and Teamwork
Josef Newgarden, following his victorious run at Daytona in 2024, expressed the depth of team spirit and shared achievement after testing at the Daytona circuit last November. He spoke about the sense of responsibility and respect felt when competing with a tightly-knit endurance team and the pride that comes from mutual effort:
“When you drive this car, you have such a feeling of respect, input-wise,” Newgarden said via IMSA. “You don’t want to be the weak link. You need to know your role. (Winning) was different; it felt like being a proud sibling in a way. I was more proud of the work everyone else did!”
“I did a tiny part, but the race was won on the backs of the team, the manufacturer, and the other drivers. To be watching rather than doing is different, but enjoying it,” the two-time IndyCar champion added.
As Newgarden wraps up the final year of his current contract with Team Penske, his focus remains on the 2026 IndyCar season, preparing alongside Will Power at the Phoenix Raceway during Firestone tire testing. The upcoming season will commence on March 1 at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, marking a pivotal phase for Newgarden’s racing career and for Team Penske’s IndyCar ambitions.
What This Means for Team Penske and Its Drivers
The decision to streamline the Team Penske Daytona 24 lineup underscores the intense administrative and strategic planning involved at the top levels of endurance racing. With ever-increasing competition in the IMSA GTP class, choices about driver rosters now reflect a balance between talent and operational efficiency. While McLaughlin continues racing in the event with a new team, and Newgarden sets his sights on the IndyCar championship, both remain central figures in the ongoing narrative of Team Penske’s competitive edge and unity in motorsports.
