The 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway will kick off the year at the World Center of Racing with a typically rich tapestry of sports cars in fresh storylines.
Past winners of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener have returned with new teams, manufacturers and motivations.
Here are some pertinent details you need to know ahead of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener Jan. 25-26 at Daytona International Speedway:
Who is racing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona?
The Rolex 24 field will feature 61 cars racing across four categories: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP, 12 cars), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2, 12 cars), GT Daytona Pro (GTD Pro, 15 cars) and GT Daytona (GTD, 22 cars).
Among the notable storylines:
—After a one-year absence, Meyer Shank Racing has returned to IMSA as a two-car Acura program. The team won the Rolex 24 at Daytona back to back in 2022-23 but missed the 2024 season opener after a tire pressure manipulation scandal sidelined its sports car program.
—Wayne Taylor Racing, which won three consecutive Rolex 24s from 2019-21, has switched from Acura back to Cadillac. Kamui Kobayashi, who won consecutive Rolex 24s with the team in 2019-20, also will return with the team for his first Daytona start in three years.
—Porsche Penske Motorsport has switched up its driving lineup after winning the Rolex 24 and Grand Touring Prototype championship last year.
After winning last year’s Rolex 24 in the No. 7, Felipe Nasr will be joined by Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor as both move over from Penske’s No. 6. Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet, who were part of the GTD Pro-winning entry at Daytona in 2022, will be paired on the No. 6 with Kevin Estre.
—Trackhouse Racing will field a one-off Corvette in the GTD Pro category with NASCAR Cup Series rookie Shane van Gisbergen, IndyCar winner Scott McLaughlin and rising star Connor Zilisch. Former Rolex 24 and 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Ben Keating rounds out the lineup.
Click here for the preliminary 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona entry list (the full entry list is expected to be released Jan. 8).
How many IndyCar drivers are in the Rolex 24?
There will be at least six full-time IndyCar drivers in the Rolex 24 field. Among the superstar crossovers will be three-time champion Alex Palou (who is in the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06), Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and six-time champion Scott Dixon (in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06).
IndyCar winners Colton Herta (No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing) and Sebastien Bourdais (No. 8 Tower Motorsports) will race in LMP2 as will IndyCar veterans Pietro Fittipaldi and Calum Illott (who are teamed in the No. 73 of Pratt Miller Motorsports).
Scott McLaughlin, a seven-time IndyCar winner for Team Penske, will be racing in GTD Pro, and indyCar winner and TV analyst James Hinchcliffe returns with Pfaff Motorsports. Two-time winner Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global is expected to return in a Vasser Sullivan Lexus.
Are there any NASCAR drivers in this year’s Rolex 24?
There actually will be a NASCAR team in the race. Trackhouse Racing, which will be expanding to three cars in the Cup Series this year, will field the No. 91 Corvette Z06 GT3.R as a one-off entry in the GTD Pro category.
Trackhouse driver Shane van Gisbergen will be paired with McLaughlin, a fellow New Zealand native, and Connor Zilisch, a rising star who has won in NASCAR and IMSA. Van Gisbergen, the 2024 Xfinity Series rookie of the year, will team with Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez while racing full time in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.
Austin Cindric was announced Jan. 6 as the second full-time Cup driver in this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Team Penske driver will be making his sixth start in the Rolex 24, substituting for injured Ben Barker in the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3.
NBC Sports analyst Parker Kligerman, who drove full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series the past two seasons, will make his Rolex 24 debut with Forte Racing’s No. 78 Lamborghini
Huracan GT3 EVO2 in GTD.
Who won the Rolex 24 at Daytona last year?
Ending a 55-year drought for team owner Roger Penske, Nasr took the win in the No. 7 963 for Porshce Penske Motorsport with Matt Campbell, Dane Cameron and Josef Newgarden.
Nine months later, the No. 7 would cap the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship with the GTP title.
In addition to the 2024 Rolex 24 victory and series championship, Penske’s racing teams also have won the past two Indianapolis 500s and the past three NASCAR Cup Series championships.
How many laps and miles are completed in Rolex 24 at Daytona?
As a 24-hour timed race, the distance is determined by how many laps are completed during the window.
Last year, the top five finishers completed 791 laps and more than 2,800 miles on the 12-turn, 3.56-mile infield road course at Daytona International Speedway. The race was slowed by 15 caution flags for 89 laps.
What do Rolex 24 winners get?
Every winning driver in each of the four categories (plus the race’s grand marshal) will receive a steel and yellow gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona (with a white dial). The watch’s retail price starts at more than $10,000.
The tradition started in 1992.
HOW DO I WATCH THE 2024 ROLEX 24?
The 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona will be streamed on Peacock, which will have coverage of the event from flag to flag. (Click here for information on how to sign up for Peacock.)
Broadcast coverage of the race coverage will begin Saturday, Jan. 25 at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock before moving to USA Network and Peacock from 2:30-6:30 p.m. and then will be exclusively on Peacock and IMSA.TV and YouTube until noon on Sunday, Jan. 26, The conclusion of the Rolex 24 will run from noon through 2 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.
Leigh Diffey, Brian Till and Dave Burns will announce the race alongside analysts Calvin Fish, Townsend Bell and Dale Jarrett.
Marty Snider will anchor coverage from the Peacock Pit Box with Jarrett. Kim Coon, Kevin Lee, Dillon Welch, Chris Wilner and Matt Yocum will be the pit reporters.
Other events that will be streamed on Peacock from Daytona during January (all times ET):
Jan. 18: IMSA VP Racing Sports Car Challenge, 1:55 p.m.
Jan. 19: IMSA VP Racing Sports Car Challenge, 1:15 p.m.
Jan. 23: IMSA Rolex 24 qualifying, 2:05 p.m.
Jan. 24: BMW M Endurance Michelin Pilot Challenge, 1:40 p.m.
ROLEX 24 DAILY SCHEDULE, START TIMES
Here’s a rundown of everything happening at Daytona International Speedway over the last two weeks in January, starting with the Roar test session. Rolex 24 start times and full schedule:
Friday, Jan. 17
8:35-9:15 a.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge practice
9:30-10:45 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
1:15-2:45 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
3-5 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
5:20-6 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge practice
Saturday, Jan. 18
8:40-9:15 a.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge qualifying
9:30-11 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
1:55-2:45 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Race 1 (Peacock, IMSA.TV, YouTube)
3:10-4:10 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
4:30-5:30 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
6:30-8:30 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
Sunday, Jan. 19
9:45-10:45 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
1:15-2:05 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Race 2 (Peacock, IMSA.TV, YouTube)
2:30-4 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Rolex 24 practice
Wednesday, Jan. 22
1-1:40 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 practice
3-4 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
4:15-4:45 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 practice
Thursday, Jan. 23
8:45-9:45 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
10:05-11:35 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
11:55 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 qualifying
1:15-1:50 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying
2:05-3:40 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying (Peacock, IMSA.TV)
3:55-4:45 p.m.: Mazda MX-5, Race 1
6:30-8 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
Friday, Jan. 24
9:25-9:55 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
10:10-11 a.m.: Mazda MX-5, Race 2 (IMSA.TV, YouTube)
11:20 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
1:40-5:45 p.m.: BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona, Michelin Pilot Challenge (Peacock, IMSA.TV, YouTube)
Saturday, Jan. 25
1:40 p.m.: The 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona (starting on NBC from 1:30-2:30 p.m. ET; USA Network from 2:30-6:30 p.m.; streaming flag to flag on Peacock, IMSA.TV, YouTube)
Sunday, Jan. 26
1:40 p.m.: Finish of the 62nd Rolex 24 at Daytona (NBC from noon-2 p.m.; streaming flag to flag on Peacock, IMSA.TV, YouTube)
RECENT ROLEX 24 RESULTS
2019: Wayne Taylor Racing wins with Fernando Alonso
2020: Wayne Taylor Racing wins second consecutive Rolex 24
2021: Wayne Taylor Racing makes it three in a row
2022: Helio Castroneves delivers Rolex 24 win to Meyer Shank Racing
2023: Two in a row as Meyer Shank Racing opens GTP era with victory
2024: Porsche ends 55-year drought for Roger Penske in Rolex 24
NBC SPORTS COVERAGE
Daily schedule for the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona
Austin Cindric will make his sixth start in the Rolex 24
Trackhouse Racing will field Corvette for Shane van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin, Connor Zilisch
Kamui Kobayashi returning to Rolex 24 with Wayne Taylor Racing
PRACTICE SPEEDS
Check back here for results from every session at Daytona International Speedway, starting Friday, Jan. 17.
