Neil Verhagen

Neil Verhagen (born February 18, 2001) is an American racing driver. He has been part of the BMW factory driver roster since 2023. His biggest career accolade is winning the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTD Pro class.

Verhagen is the youngest driver to win the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, having accomplished this in the Formula F category.

Early career

Karting Neil started indoor karting along with his brother Alex. The duo trained and raced at the Grand Prix New York facilities in Mount Kisco, New York, under the instruction of racing driver Stevan McAleer. McAleer raced many classes and won the 2015 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge in the ST class. After racing at the Oakland Valley Race Park club scene, Verhagen joined the WKA and various Rotax Max racing series. In 2012, he finished second in the Florida Winter Tour Minimax series. Verhagen beat many hopefuls such as Logan Sargeant, Patricio O'Ward and Trenton Estep.

To increase their sons chances at a successful racing career, the Verhagen family moved form Ridgefield, Connecticut, to Mooresville, North Carolina, in 2014. The family exchanged the WKA scene for the United States Pro Kart Series.

Lower formulae The Tatuus Formula Renault 2.0 car as raced by Neil Verhagen in the 2017 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Spa-Francorchamps round. Verhagen made his auto racing debut at Road Atlanta in the Skip Barber Winter Series. The young driver won the first three races of the championship at Road Atlanta and Sebring International Raceway. Verhagen, racing a Mazda powered Reynard chassis, finished second in the championship. Later in 2015, Verhagen debuted in the F1600 Championship Series. At the Pittsburgh International Race Complex Verhagen competed in a Spectrum. At the F2000 Championship Series finale at Pittsburgh, Verhagen finished tenth in a RFR F2000.

For 2016, Verhagen joined K-Hill Motorsports in the F1600 Championship Series. He won the championship beating teammate Peter Portante both racing Mygale SJ11 chassis. Verhagen also competed in the SCCA club racing scene. Winning the SCCA Majors Tour Northeast Conference, Verhagen qualified for the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Verhagen went on to become the youngest driver to win the Runoffs at 15 years and 242 days. Winning the Runoffs, Verhagen qualified for the 2016 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout.

Formula Renault In 2017, Verhagen was inducted into the Red Bull Junior Team and moved up to the Formula Renault Eurocup with MP Motorsport, alongside fellow Red Bull Junior Richard Verschoor. He had one podium at Hungaroring and finished the season eleventh, behind his Dutch teammate.

The following year, Verhagen returned to the Eurocup with Tech 1 Racing, where he finished the championship eleventh.

BRDC British F3 In 2019, Verhagen lost his backing from Red Bull and moved to the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Double R Racing. He ended the season fifth overall, having taken seven podiums throughout the campaign.

Sportscar career

2020: Victorious GT debut Verhagen moved to sportscar racing in 2020, driving for Walkenhorst Motorsport as part of the BMW Junior Team in two rounds of the Nürburgring Endurance Series. This included the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, which the American won in the SP8T category driving a BMW M4 GT4.

2021: Nürburgring Endurance success For the 2021 season, Verhagen stepped up to the SP9 Pro class to partner Daniel Harper and Max Hesse in a full-time campaign of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, where the trio would compete in a BMW M6 GT3 car. Verhagen ended up second in the standings, having taken two victories.

2022: GT World Challenge The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup would be Verhagen's destination in 2022, racing for the BMW Junior Team with ROWE Racing, once more alongside Harper and Hesse. After taking their first points in Imola with a fourth-placed finish, the trio ended up fifth in the 24 Hours of Spa, beating their teammates in the sister car. A further points finish at the Hockenheimring left the American eleventh in the championship, one place ahead of the more experienced line-up of the other Rowe Racing entry.

As a result of their accomplishments, Verhagen, Hesse and Harper were introduced as fully-fledged BMW works drivers before the 2023 season.

Racing record

Racing career summary

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status 2016 Mid-Ohio Mygale SJ11 Honda Fit Formula F 1 1 Running

American Open-wheel racing results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

F1600 Championship Series Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Rank Points 2016 K-Hill MotorsportsATLATLATLWGLWGLWGLVIRVIRVIRMOHMOHMOHPITPITPITNJMPNJMPNJMPVIRVIRVIR 1st 832

Complete Formula Renault NEC results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DC Points 2017 MP Motorsport MNZ1 MNZ2 ASS1 ASS2 NÜR1 NÜR2 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 HOC1 HOC2 14th 47 2018 Tech 1 Racing PAU1 PAU2 MNZ1 MNZ2 SPA1 SPA2 HUN1 HUN2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HOC1 HOC2 13th 31

Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Pos Points 2017 MP Motorsport MNZ1 MNZ2 SIL1 SIL2 PAU1 PAU2 MON1 MON2 HUN1 HUN2 HUN3 NÜR1 NÜR2 RBR1 RBR2 LEC1 LEC2 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 CAT1 CAT2 CAT3 11th 59 2018 Tech 1 Racing LEC1 LEC2 MNZ1 MNZ2 SIL1 SIL2 MON1 MON2 RBR1 RBR2 SPA1 SPA2 HUN1 HUN2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HOC1 HOC2 CAT1 CAT2 11th 59

Complete BRDC British Formula 3 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pos Points 2019 Double R Racing OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 SIL11 SIL12 SIL13 DON11 DON12 DON13 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 SIL21 SIL22 SIL23 DON21 DON22 DON23 5th 357

Complete Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie results †As Verhagen was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results

Complete GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup results Season still in progress.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)