Dane Cameron
Dane Cameron may have arrived at Acura Team Penske with less fanfare than his teammates, but the longtime racer is now the newest champion driver for Roger Penske as he and Juan Pablo Montoya captured the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class. After helping establish a solid foundation for the future of the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 Prototype in 2018, Cameron and Montoya scored three wins in 2019 while riding a streak of seven-consecutive podium finishes to claim the team's 11th sports car championship in its 54-year history.Along the way, Cameron became the 51st driver to win a race for Roger Penske's racing organization when he and Montoya captured the checkered flag in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in May of 2019. The duo of Cameron and Montoya will look to be the first team to win back-to-back IMSA WeatherTech DPi championships in five years when they return to the grid in 2020. Simon Pagenaud will continue as the No. 6 car's third driver for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans endurance races.
Cameron joined the Acura Team Penske DPi program after three successful seasons with Action Express Racing, which included winning the 2016 IMSA Prototype Championship. Cameron was also the 2014 GT Daytona class champion, racing for Turner Motorsports. He began his career with Team Penske as the second-winningest driver since the merger of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, with 10 victories (overall and class) to his credit.
A native of Glen Ellen, Calif., Cameron has always felt at home at a racetrack as his father, Rick Cameron, is a race engineer with over 40 years of experience in motorsports. For the last three seasons, the two have competed against each other in the Prototype class, with the elder Cameron serving as the lead engineer for the Spirit of Daytona and JDC-Miller racing teams. Growing up with a race-winning engineer as a father, Cameron brings a unique knowledge of car setups and how to maximize performance to his skill set as a top sports car driver.
Cameron's racing career began in karting and advanced to cars in 2005 when he produced six race victories and won the Formula Russell Series championship as a rookie. In 2006, he finished as runner-up in the F2000 National Championship and earned a Team USA Scholarship to participate in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy in Europe, which he won.
In 2007 Cameron competed in the Star Mazda series and captured the title with three race wins. He also made his sports car racing debut, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in a Daytona Prototype. He graduated to the Champ Car Formula Atlantic open wheel series in 2008 - as he scored a second-place finish from the pole in his debut race. Cameron switched his full-time focus to sports cars in 2009, competing in the Rolex Series GT class while driving the Racers Edge team. He scored six top-10 finishes while racing with 10 different co-drivers.
By 2011, Cameron began to make his mark - earning the pole, fastest race lap, most laps led and a race victory for Genoa Racing in the LMPC class at Sebring. He also finished seventh in the GT point standings for Dempsey Racing. In 2012, Cameron scored his first Grand-Am Rolex Series GT win on his way to finishing sixth in the GT standings for Team Sahlens. Cameron also made two American Le Mans (ALMS) starts with Dempsey Racing in LMP2 and recorded the fastest LMPC lap at Sebring.
For 2013, Cameron graduated to a full-season Daytona Prototype class opportunity with Team Sahlens. Cameron's speed was impressive as he won the pole and dominated the race at Road America before suffering a driveshaft failure. He also earned the pole and led laps in the final prototype race at Lime Rock Park. Cameron joined the PR1 Mathiesen Motorsports team for the final four races of the ALMS season to co-drive with Mike Guasch. Cameron made his presence felt immediately as he captured three poles and produced superb race stints to help clinch the LMPC class championship.
In 2014, Cameron dominated the GTD class championship in the newly formed IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and he quickly ascended back to the Prototype level, where he remains one of the sport's top competitors.
Cameron's hobbies include cycling and turning laps at the Go-Pro Motorplex in Mooresville, NC. He and his wife Sarah reside in Charlotte, NC with their two sons.
Cameron Key Accomplishments