Rolex 24 at Daytona Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Mazda Team Joest had one of the fastest cars at the 57th Rolex 24 at Daytona but their pole-sitting No. 77 RT24-P suffered turbocharger failure just before seven hours were completed while the No. 55 machine had a brief fuel leak causing some lost time. Timo Bernhard was behind the wheel when suddenly the car had no drive and flames came out of the exhaust system. The car was towed to the garage and after a quick once-over, the decision to retireRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2019) – After two-and-a-half weeks as unofficial track record holders, Oliver Jarvis and Mazda Team Joest can finally, officially, call themselves track record holders on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road circuit after qualifying for this weekend’s 57th Rolex 24 At Daytona. With six minutes and 10 seconds remaining in the 15-minute qualifying session Thursday afternoon, Jarvis took the Motul Pole Award with a lap of 1 minute, 33.685 seconds (136.792 mph) in the No. 77 Mazda RT24-P DPi car. AndRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2019) – No other manufacturer has had more success at Daytona International Speedway – and the Rolex 24 At Daytona in particular – than Porsche. And when the green flag flies Saturday at 2:35 p.m. ET (live NBCSN coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET), it’ll be a Porsche leading the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT field to the green flag. Thanks to a record-setting run by Nick Tandy on Thursday, the manufacturer will go for a 70th Rolex 24 class winRead More

By Holly Cain, IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When it comes to past success and high expectations, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more heralded group of teammates than the Acura Team Penske lineup for the Jan. 26-27 Rolex 24 At Daytona. As it has done seamlessly in the past, the team has brought together a diverse and accomplished group of drivers to contend for the season-opening trophy in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s annual twice-around-the-clock event. Penske’s high-achieving lineup this year features three Indianapolis 500 winners, aRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s finally here. Ten days from now, on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET, the green flag will fly over a 47-car field in the 57th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. It marks both the start of the IMSA 50th Anniversary Celebration and the beginning of an exciting new era for the sanctioning body and its flagship IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The field will include 47 cars spread across four classes of competition: Daytona Prototype international (DPi) – forRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The 2019 edition of Roar Before the 24 At Daytona International Speedway commenced Friday, and the main headline around the paddock focused on two-time CART champion and Paralympic gold medalist Alex Zanardi’s return on American soil. Zanardi will be co-piloting the No. 24 BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan GTLM shared by John Edwards, Jesse Krohn and Chaz Mostert, in the Rolex 24 at Daytona Jan 26-27. While the entry ended up ninth in class during both Friday sessions with a time of 1:45.642 from the secondRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The stories from the 50th Anniversary season of IMSA will be told in more detail than ever before through robust talent lineups on both NBC Sports and IMSA Radio. NBC Sports announced late Thursday that veteran play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey is returning to his sports car racing roots as the lead announcer. He’ll be joined in the booth by longtime sports car analyst and former driver Calvin Fish and a newcomer to the analyst ranks, A.J. Allmendinger, the 2012 Rolex 24 AtRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Following last month’s announcement of the 47-car entry list for this weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona, more than 150 drivers were unveiled in an updated entry list today to participate in this weekend’s annual three-day test session for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. “The Roar” as it’s become known over the past several years, serves as the kick off to the upcoming season. This year, it takes on added significance, as the IMSA 50th Anniversary Celebration that will takeRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As a sports car racer, Townsend Bell has accomplished quite a bit throughout his career. He’s won the “triple crown” of endurance racing with victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He’s a champion of both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. And in 2019, after three years of part-time activity, he’s returning as a full-time driver in theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Fernando Alonso will take another stab at winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2019 as he secured a seat with the Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R entry. Alonso will race alongside returning drivers Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande but there will be another new driver in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac as Kamui Kobayashi joins the team for Daytona. “First, I have to thank Konica Minolta for yet again supporting WTR, and that I am extremely excited to have added Fernando AlonsoRead More