Naveen Rao is a racing driver from United States who competes in IMSA WeatherTech for Era Motorsport. Rao is a one-time champion (2020), with 3 wins and 9 podiums from 35 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 4,743 ranks Rao 1501th of 40,349 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the high 8,000s. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file.
| 2026-10-03 | Road Atlanta LMP2 | P3 | +105 |
| 2026-08-02 | Road America LMP2 | P10 | −90 |
| 2026-06-28 | Watkins Glen International LMP2 | P3 | +110 |
| 2026-03-21 | Sebring International Raceway LMP2 | P4 | +88 |
| 2026-01-24 | Daytona International Speedway LMP2 | P9 | −15 |
| Rating won | Race | Series | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| +141 | Roar Before the Rolex 24 2020 | IMSA Prototype Challenge | P2 |
| +140 | 4 Hours of Sepang 2025 | Asian Le Mans Series | P5 |
| +136 | Virginia International Raceway 2020 | IMSA Prototype Challenge | P1 |
| +134 | 4 Hours of Sepang 2025 | Asian Le Mans Series | P5 |
| +125 | 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi 2025 | Asian Le Mans Series | P2 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | ▸IMSA WeatherTech | Era Motorsport | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P15 | +198 | 4,743 |
| 2025 | ▸Asian Le Mans Series | Nielsen Racing | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P5 | +728 | 4,545 |
| ▸IMSA WeatherTech | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P28 | −22 | ||
| ▸WEC | Nielsen Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | −127 | ||
| 2024 | ▸Lamborghini Super Trofeo NA | Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P12 | −118 | 4,240 |
| ▸Porsche Carrera Cup NA | MDK Motorsports | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P14 | −194 | ||
| ▸WEC | COOL Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | +41 | ||
| 2021 | ▸IMSA Prototype Challenge | WIN Autosport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P11 | +9 | 4,237 |
| ▸IMSA WeatherTech | WIN Autosport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P26 | −93 | ||
| 2020 | ▸IMSA Prototype Challenge | K2R Motorsports | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P1 | +630 | 4,330 |
| ▸IMSA WeatherTech | Inter Europol Competition | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P18 | ↑584−154 | ||
| 2019 | ▸IMSA Prototype Challenge | K2R Motorsports | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P13 | +2,185 | 3,535 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Dan GoldburgFIA Bronze | 4,903 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 65% |
| 🇸🇪 Rasmus LindhFIA Silver | 4,835 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 60% |
| 🇺🇸 Jeremy CLARKEFIA Bronze | 5,370 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 50% |
| 🇬🇧 Alex QuinnFIA Gold | 5,315 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 29% |
| 🇫🇷 Tom DillmannFIA Gold | 5,685 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 23% |
| 🇺🇸 Tonis KasemetsFIA Silver | 4,209 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 62% |
| 🇺🇸 David GrantFIA Bronze | 3,223 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 69% |
| 🇺🇸 Jon BrownsonFIA Bronze | 3,187 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 85% |
| 🇺🇸 Keith GrantFIA Bronze | 3,032 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 69% |
| 🇬🇧 Stevan McAleerFIA Gold | 4,361 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Kyle KirkwoodFIA Gold, 3× champion | 6,648 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 75% |
| 🇩🇪 Maro EngelFIA Platinum, 1× champion | 6,319 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% |
| 🇰🇾 Kyffin SimpsonFIA Gold, 1× champion | 5,946 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| # | Driver | Series | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,491 | 🇬🇧 Josh Cook | BTCC | 4,748 |
| 1,492 | 🇬🇧 Sascha Maassen | FIA GT Championship | 4,748 |
| 1,493 | 🇯🇵 Ukyo Sasahara | Super GT | 4,748 |
| 1,494 | 🇯🇵 Hayanari Shimoda | Formula V8 3.5 | 4,747 |
| 1,495 | 🇫🇮 Niko KARI | Formula 3 | 4,747 |
| 1,496 | 🇮🇹 Brando Badoer | Formula 3 | 4,746 |
| 1,497 | 🇧🇷 Eduardo Barrichello | WEC | 4,746 |
| 1,498 | 🇦🇹 Walter Grubmüller | Formula V8 3.5 | 4,746 |
| 1,499 | 🇲🇨 Hugo De Sadeleer | GT World Challenge Europe | 4,745 |
| 1,500 | 🇫🇮 Sami-Matti Trogen | Nürburgring 24 Hours | 4,745 |
| 1,501 | 🇺🇸 Naveen Rao | IMSA WeatherTech | 4,743 |
| 1,502 | 🇺🇸 Brenden Queen | NASCAR Truck | 4,741 |
| 1,503 | 🇯🇵 Richard Bradley | European Le Mans Series | 4,740 |
| 1,504 | 🇳🇱 Xavier Maassen | GT World Challenge Europe | 4,740 |
| 1,505 | 🇫🇷 Marvin Klein | 24H Series | 4,739 |
| 1,506 | 🇺🇸 Ryan Reed | NASCAR Truck | 4,738 |
| 1,507 | 🇫🇷 Lilou Wadoux Ducellier | IMSA WeatherTech | 4,737 |
| 1,508 | 🇧🇪 Thierry Tassin | FIA GT Championship | 4,736 |
| 1,509 | 🇮🇹 Tommaso Mosca | GT World Challenge Europe | 4,736 |
| 1,510 | 🇬🇧 Keita Sawa | Super GT | 4,735 |
| 1,511 | 🇨🇦 Mikhail Goikhberg | IMSA WeatherTech | 4,735 |
Naveen Rao is a professional driver, rated 4,638, and graded FIA Bronze, the amateur rung of that scale on which he races alongside full professionals. His racing is multiclass sportscar competition, mostly prototypes, spread across the United States, Asia and the WEC's international endurance calendar. His main team by starts is K2R Motorsports, with whom he won the 2020 IMSA Prototype Challenge title; his current drive is with Era Motorsport, running LMP2 machinery in IMSA WeatherTech, and he has also raced for Nielsen Racing in the Asian Le Mans Series and WEC.[1]
Rao's largest body of work is in IMSA Prototype Challenge's LMP3-based classes, where thirteen starts for WIN Autosport produced two wins and five podiums alongside the 2020 championship for K2R Motorsports. He moved into IMSA WeatherTech with Era Motorsport, taking a podium from nine starts across the LMP2 and LMP3 classes there, and has recently paired that with sports car outings further afield: a podium in six Asian Le Mans Series starts for Nielsen Racing, and a pair of WEC starts for the same team. He has also stepped into GT-style one-make racing, winning once and taking a second podium in two Lamborghini Super Trofeo starts for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, and ran two rounds of Porsche Carrera Cup North America with MDK Motorsports. Era Motorsport has announced him alongside Sargeant and Habsburg for the 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona.[2]
Rao's most frequent opponents in IMSA WeatherTech are Dan Goldburg, a Bronze-graded professional with extensive WeatherTech and Prototype Challenge mileage, and Rasmus Lindh, a Silver-graded professional who has also raced Indy Pro 2000 and Indy NXT; Rao runs closely matched with both across their regular meetings. Against stronger opposition his best results stand out: he has finished ahead of Maro Engel, a Platinum-graded professional and 2024 GT World Challenge Europe champion, five times, and ahead of Kyle Kirkwood, an IndyCar racer and champion in Formula Regional Americas, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy NXT, on three occasions.