North America’s top sports-car teams start turning laps that count today at Daytona International Speedway.
Rain or shine, by the way (more on that shortly).
Along with some practice sessions and an actual preliminary race, the day’s headliner is the 90-minute IMSA WeatherTech Championship qualifying window to set the lineup for all four classes of cars ready to race in the 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona, which starts Saturday afternoon at 1:40.
Here’s the rundown:
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The “rain or shine” issue will likely come into play today, since the forecast suggests we’ll be dodging showers while enduring stout winds and, by our standards, cool temperatures. When Friday arrives, however, the forecast promises sunshine the rest of the way, through the Sunday conclusion of Daytona’s annual twice-around-the-clock endurance classic.
Check back for live updates.
We still have to wait, obviously, to see who hits the checkers first at the 24-hour mark Sunday, but we know who will lead the 61-car field to green for Saturday’s start of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Belgian racer Dries Vanthoor, driving the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8, turned in a fastest lap of 1:33.895, nearly three-tenths of a second faster than Nick Yelloly in the No. 93 Acura prototype.
Felipe Nasr, in a Roger Penske-prepared Porsche prototype, was third. Cadillac and Porsche rounded out the top five fastest speeds.
Vanthoor’s Acura is part of the two-car effort of Meyer Shank Racing, the three-time Rolex 24 champ that missed last year’s race. Meyer Shank’s other Acura, with Tom Blomqvist, was sixth fastest.
Daniel Goldburg, driving for United Autosports USA, outdueled ironman Ben Keating for top starting spot in the LMP2 class during Thursday’s Rolex 24 qualifying.
Goldburg’s fastest lap during the 15-minute session was 1:38.676. Keating, driving for Mathiasen Motorsports in LMP2 as well as co-driving a GTD Pro Corvette this weekend, had a fastest lap of 1:39.000 around the 12-turn, 3.56-mile Daytona road course.
The LMP2 class, like the GTD class that qualifies next, features 12 cars for the Rolex.
GTD Pro cars dominated GTD qualifying, with veteran road-racer Mike Rockenfeller putting the No. 64 Ford Mustang at the point.
Rocky’s lap of 1:45.523 was comfortably faster (by racing standards), by a “whopping” three-tenths of a second, than the Mustang wheeled by Frederic Vervisch.
Both of the fastest GTD Pro cars are out of the Ford Multimatic Motorsports camp. Rounding out the GTD Pro top five were BMW, Corvette and Lamborghini.
GTD was paced by Elliott Skeer in the No. 120 Porsche 911 of Wright Motorsports. Skeer’s fastest lap of 1:46.634 was less than two-hundredths of a second faster than Phillip Elliss in the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG.
Next up are the prototypes, 15 minutes each for LMP2 followed by 15 for the marquee GTP cars.
Caution tape blocked off the outside of the yellow garage that caught fire Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway. Char marks adorn the outside of the garage, and debris from the roof can be found scattered around the perimeter.
Shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday, flames broke out. Multiple trucks from Daytona Beach Fire Department responded and extinguished them. No injuries were reported.
Qualifying has ended for Friday’s four-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Daytona.
Luca Mars, co-driving with Jan Heylen, will start up front in a Porsche 718, alongside the Mustang GT4 co-driven by Sam Paley and Jenson Altzman. Mars turned a fastest lap around the 3.56-mile Daytona road course in one minute, 52.117 seconds, a half-second faster than Paley’s Mustang.
While a Porsche and Mustang will lead the field as well as the Grand Sport class, the Touring Car class will be led off the start by Bryson Morris in a Hyundai Elantra. Harry Gottsacker, also in a Hyundai, was second fastest in the TCR class.
The BMW M Endurance Challenge begins Friday afternoon at 1:45.
Next up today at Daytona is qualifying for the Rolex 24. Each of the four classes of cars will get the track for 15 minutes, starting at 2:10.
This weekend, Connor Zilisch will join teammates Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen in Trackhouse’s No. 91 GTD Pro ride at the Rolex 24. In March, he’ll make his Cup Series debut.
Zilisch, 18, announced he’ll run the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on March 2 at Circuit of the Americas Thursday. It will happen with Trackhouse in the No. 87 car.
“It’s just a different level in the Cup Series,” he said. “Obviously, I want to get my feet wet in it as early as possible and get an understanding of what my future may look like. I’m really excited for that. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Wednesday, Daytona International Speedway announced Abbie Stockard as an honorary event official for the Rolex 24 this weekend.
Stockard, a 22-year-old Auburn University student, was crowned Miss America earlier this month. She became Miss Alabama last summer.
“I’m thrilled to be attending the Rolex 24-hour race in Daytona,” Stockard said in a statement. “It’s my first time there, and I can’t wait to experience the perfect blend of Miss America and Rolex glamour and the empowering, high-intensity 24-hour race that pushes drivers to their limits.”
IMSA and Daytona International Speedway named the honorary starter of the 2025 Rolex 24 Thursday morning. Honda Racing Corporation Global President Koji Watanabe will wave the green flag at 1:40 p.m. Saturday.
Watanabe joined Honda Motor Company in 1987, serving in a variety of leadership roles since then. In 2022, he was promoted to his current position.
Also, the Acura Integra Type S will be the race’s official safety car.
“We are excited to have Acura and HRC represented for this year’s prestigious Rolex 24 in such a significant way,” Honda Racing Corporation USA President David Salters said in a statement.
“Acura electrified ARX-06 race cars on track, our sleek Acura Integra Type S cars pacing the race, and our Global President of Honda Racing Corporation, Koji Watanabe, all being involved in this legendary race just shows our commitment to this sport. We truly value IMSA and the Rolex 24 and especially the partnership we have with them.”
The cars of the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series are in the final minutes of today’s first practice session. Twenty minutes after they leave the track, the first official practice stint begins, at 10:05, for the WeatherTech Championship cars that will make up the 61-car field for the Rolex 24.
The Michelin cars open the 2025 season Friday afternoon with a four-hour race. The Michelin Series has two classes of cars — Grand Sport (GS) and Touring Car (TCR). GS features many of the same makes you see in the GTD classes for the Rolex, including Porsche, Mustang, and BMW. TCR includes the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra and Audi RS3 among its roster of international makes.
Streaming: Peacock
Rolex 24 qualifying will stream live on Peacock, an NBC subscription service.
As of Wednesday night, here is the National Weather Service forecast for the next few days through Sunday’s checkered flag.
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