Lone Star Steps Up to Full Season Effort for Hodenius, Roe

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

Lone Star Racing will make the step up to a full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entry, with Lin Hodenius and James Roe as drivers in the team’s GTD class Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

Announced on Tuesday, the Texas-based squad is set to embark on its first full-time WeatherTech Championship effort, having contested the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds for the last three years.

“We’re super excited to jump off our first full season in the WeatherTech Championship,” said team manager and technical director AJ Petersen.

“We started in 2016 doing GTD sprint rounds in IMSA and continued in ’17 and ‘19. We came back in ’24 with endurance in ’24, ’25 and ’26.

“To put it together for a full season effort is what we’ve been working towards for years. Working to do with proper partners, and we’re looking forward for years to come. It’s a solid foundation we’ve assembled.”

The Dan Knox-owned team recorded top-ten class finishes in all five rounds of the Endurance Cup this past season.

“I think it came about because of good finishes in ’26,” added Petersen. “It’s all the credit to the team, top to bottom. Been good to have the season we’ve had. Mercedes-AMG manufactures a great car, and it’s another good opportunity with a proven platform.”

It will mark both drivers’ full season campaigns as well, with Mercedes-AMG junior driver Hodenius set to lead the charge.

“I am very excited of course to continue with Lone Star Racing after our first full year together and kind of a half season in 2025,” he said.

“We showed really good progress this year and we definitely hope to achieve more in 2027 in the full season.

“I think it is a good opportunity for me to grow and the team as well as one unit really.”

Former open-wheel driver Roe, meanwhile, is coming off two Endurance Cup seasons, with Pratt Miller Motorsports’ LMP2 entry in 2025 and with Lone Star this year.

“This is a huge opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited to contest the full IMSA season with Lone Star Racing and Mercedes-AMG,” he said.

“We ended last year knowing there was a lot more we could accomplish together, so having the opportunity to return, build consistency and compete at every round is incredibly motivating for me as a driver.

“We proved we could fight at the front in 2026, and our goal for 2027 is to turn that pace and potential into podium finishes throughout the season.”

The team’s third driver for the Endurance Cup rounds, as well as fourth for January’s season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, has yet to be announced.

Source: Sports Car 365