Founded in 2007, the team won Le Mans and Daytona classes, ran in IndyCar, and came within a race of the 2025 GTD Pro championship before leaving IMSA after 2026.
DragonSpeed is an American team founded in 2007 by Elton Julian. It has raced in IndyCar, the Pirelli World Challenge, the European Le Mans Series and IMSA, won a Le Mans class and three Daytona LMP2 races, and leaves IMSA after the 2026 season.
DragonSpeed is an American racing team founded in 2007 by driver Elton Julian. It has raced in sports cars, IndyCar and the FIA World Endurance Championship, winning its LMP2 Pro/Am class at Le Mans in 2021 and taking three LMP2 wins at Daytona. In 2026 the team left IMSA and moved to a single-marque Ferrari Challenge programme.
Who founded DragonSpeed and how did it start?
DragonSpeed was founded in 2007 by racing driver Elton Julian, who was still team owner in 2026. Its debut came four years later at the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona, where a Ferrari F430 Challenge entered the GT field and finished 15th in class.
The team missed the 2012 season and returned in 2013 in the Prototype Challenge class of the American Le Mans Series. Running an Oreca FLM09 with Chevrolet power on a part-time schedule, it finished sixth in the season standings.
Those early years gave the team a foothold in sportscar racing, and they led to the European and American programmes that followed.
A small team that came within one race of a GTD Pro title, then chose to leave the series it had spent years building in.
How did DragonSpeed move into European racing?
DragonSpeed raced in the Pirelli World Challenge from 2014, using a Ferrari 458 GT3 and later a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, before moving to Europe for the 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series. In 2016 it bought an Oreca 05 to race in LMP2 in the European Le Mans Series.
In 2014 Henrik Hedman finished ninth in the Pirelli standings, while Mike Hedlund ran only three rounds and ended 22nd. In 2015 the squad moved to a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, with Frank Montecalvo and Eric Lux at the wheel, and Montecalvo took the GTA category title.
Its 2015 programme was the Pro-Am Cup of the Blancpain Endurance Series, using a Ferrari 458 GT3 with Hedman, Julian and Thomas Kemenater as drivers. That season marked its first step into the European paddock.
In 2016 the team bought an Oreca 05-Nissan and ran Hedman, Ben Hanley and Nicolas Lapierre. The car produced four podiums from six starts, among them a victory at Spa, and the team finished fourth in LMP2.
What were DragonSpeed's best European Le Mans Series years?
DragonSpeed's strongest European Le Mans Series years were 2017 and 2019. In 2017 it ran two Oreca 07-Gibson cars, and the G-Drive branded car won the title after five podiums in six races. The #21 car finished fifth in both 2018 and 2019.
The 2017 programme was built around two cars. Car #21 kept the Hedman, Hanley and Lapierre line-up, while car #22, branded as G-Drive Racing, had Memo Rojas and Leo Roussel as full-time drivers. Ryo Hirakawa missed the Red Bull Ring and Paul Ricard rounds because of Toyota commitments, and Nicolas Minassian stood in for him.
The team recorded its first double at the Monza round, and the G-Drive car built on that momentum through the rest of the season.
Later seasons were less kind. In 2018 the #21 kept its line-up and collected two podiums. In 2019 Lapierre was replaced by James Allen, and the car added a single victory to its fifth-place finish.
The 2020 line-up of Memo Rojas, Ryan Cullen and Timothe Buret worked with Racing Engineering, but the entry of Hedman and Hanley was disqualified from the fourth round. In 2021 the team contested only four rounds and finished two of them. The 2023 line-up of Hedman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Sebastian Montoya brought the team back to seventh in the LMP2 Pro/Am standings.
| Series | Period | Notable result |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Hours of Daytona (GT) | 2011 | 15th in class, 29th overall |
| American Le Mans Series (Prototype Challenge) | 2013 | Sixth in the season standings |
| Pirelli World Challenge | 2014 | Hedman ninth; Hedlund 22nd |
| European Le Mans Series (LMP2) | 2017 | Series title with the G-Drive branded car |
| FIA World Endurance Championship (LMP2) | 2021 | Le Mans LMP2 Pro/Am subclass win |
| IndyCar Series | 2019 | Best qualifying 12th, best finish 18th |
| IMSA (LMP2, Daytona) | 2019, 2020, 2022 | Three LMP2 wins |
| IMSA (GTD Pro) | 2025 | Second in the championship |
What happened in the FIA World Endurance Championship?
DragonSpeed entered LMP1 in 2018 with a BR Engineering BR1-Gibson, driven by Henrik Hedman and Ben Hanley, with Pietro Fittipaldi for the first round. The car was retired after the 2018/2019 season, and the team returned in 2021 in LMP2, winning its class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Fittipaldi's first round ended in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, where an accident left him with fractures in both legs. Renger van der Zande became the third driver, and James Allen was on call when required. In LMP2 the team fielded Roberto Gonzalez, Pastor Maldonado, Nathanael Berthon and Anthony Davidson, with Davidson taking over from Berthon after the 2018 Le Mans race.
The 2021 return used an Oreca 07 with Hedman, Hanley and Juan Pablo Montoya as the regular drivers. The No. 21 car took that Le Mans win, added three other podiums, and finished third in the LMP2 Pro/Am standings. By 2022 the team had shifted its focus to IMSA and the European Le Mans Series.
What happened in the IndyCar Series?
DragonSpeed joined the IndyCar Series in 2019 on a five-race schedule, including the 103rd Indianapolis 500, with Ben Hanley driving a Chevrolet-powered No. 81. Visa problems cut the first campaign to three races. The team closed its IndyCar programme in October 2020 and sold its assets to Meyer Shank Racing.
On debut at the 2019 St. Petersburg race Hanley qualified 12th and finished 18th, two laps down. The team then finished 21st at Alabama. At the 103rd Indianapolis 500 the car qualified 27th, but a mechanical issue ended its race early and Hanley finished 32nd.
Plans for 2020 shrank as the year went on. The team had hoped to run ten races and then six, but COVID-19 cancelled four of the planned events, and no entry went to Texas. Hanley qualified 33rd and last for the Indianapolis 500 that August, and he finished 23rd. Team owner Julian said the pandemic had taken the team back two years.
DragonSpeed returned for the 2022 Indianapolis 500 in a joint entry with Cusick Motorsports, with Stefan Wilson driving a chassis leased from A. J. Foyt Enterprises.
How successful was DragonSpeed in IMSA?
DragonSpeed had earlier one-off IMSA entries, including fourth overall at Sebring in 2016, but it became a regular competitor from 2019. It won the LMP2 class at Daytona that year, won it again in 2020, and collected a third LMP2 win in 2022.
The 2017 Daytona prototype finished tenth but did not complete the race. The switch to a full IMSA programme came in 2022, when Hedman and Montoya placed fourth in the driver standings and the No. 81 was fifth in the team standings with Daytona included.
In 2024 the team entered the last two races of the season in a Ferrari 296 GT3, running in the GTD class at Indianapolis and the GTD Pro class at Road Atlanta. For 2025 it committed to a full GTD Pro campaign with the No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3.
How close did DragonSpeed come to the 2025 GTD Pro title?
DragonSpeed finished second in the 2025 GTD Pro championship, with Garcia and Sims of Corvette Racing ahead of it. The team had far fewer resources than its rivals and almost no testing, yet it won a race at Mosport and lost the title only in the final race.
Julian's team worked with Risi Competizione, which helped run the car. Albert Costa drove the full season, Giacomo Altoe joined for sprint races and Petit Le Mans, and Ferrari factory driver Davide Rigon took the endurance rounds.
The team qualified at the front regularly, took four pole positions and scored six podiums, including one win at Mosport over factory-supported rivals. Costa and his co-drivers ran second in the standings into the last races, and a narrow shortfall in the final race cost them the title.
Who were the key people behind DragonSpeed?
Elton Julian founded the team in 2007 and remained its owner through its IMSA years. Henrik Hedman was the most constant driver, appearing from the Pirelli years through the 2026 season, and he was joined over time by Ben Hanley, Montoya and Albert Costa.
Hedman's 2026 season ended early after an undisclosed injury in a high-speed crash at Sebring. Giacomo Altoe and Casper Stevenson stayed on the car, while Alec Udell and Sebastien Bourdais filled in for him at other rounds.
Why did DragonSpeed switch from Ferrari to Corvette?
For 2026 DragonSpeed left Ferrari for a Corvette Z06 GT3.R, working alongside General Motors to field the car in GTD. The move made the team eligible for the Bob Akin award, which brings an invitation to Le Mans. The car replaced the Ferrari 296 GT3 the team had used in 2025.
The 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona saw full-season drivers Hedman and Altoe joined by Matteo Cairoli for the race, while Casper Stevenson took the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds. The first two races of the season went badly after incidents.
In July, Hedman was injured and missed the rest of the year. Alec Udell replaced him at Road America and Indianapolis, and Sebastien Bourdais stood in at Road Atlanta, where the team also moved to the GTD Pro class for its final race.
Julian said a paying client would take over the car after Road America, while Altoe and Stevenson kept their seats. At the Canadian round, Stevenson deputised for Hedman.
What is next for DragonSpeed after IMSA?
DragonSpeed has said it will leave the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship when the 2026 season ends, citing rising costs, a lack of sponsorship and long weekends. The team is moving to one-marque racing in Ferrari Challenge North America, with William Hedman, son of Henrik, as the only confirmed driver so far.
Earlier, the team had planned a Corvette entry in the Pro class at the Indianapolis eight-hour race, with Sims, Green and Stevenson as drivers. It withdrew a week before the event, citing imperfect conditions.
