Every January, sports car racing's season opens with its hardest day: the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 24 hours on the speedway's road course — part oval banking, part infield circuit — shared at once by four classes of cars, from GTP prototypes to production-based GTs. The 2026 race was the 64th running. Winners receive an engraved Rolex watch, which the drivers in these films talk about the way other athletes talk about rings.

IMSA: Win The Weekend Presented by Michelin | S4:E1 | Rolex 24 At DAYTONA

IMSA Official

IMSA's 'Win The Weekend' feature on the Rolex 24 at Daytona — the season-opening 24-hour race told from inside the paddock. Porsche Penske hunts a GTP three-peat, Corvette Racing defends in GTD Pro, and a post-qualifying tech ruling sends two contenders to the back before the all-night fight begins.

Key takeaways
  • The Rolex 24 opens the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season every January
  • Winners receive a Rolex watch — 'if everything lines up, you take the win and get a really nice watch'
  • The race runs day into night into morning: 'sleep is optional'

2026 IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona | Highlights | WeatherTech SportsCar Championship | Daytona Beach, FL

IMSA Official

IMSA's official highlights of the 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona — the 64th running of the race. A first-lap multi-car crash in LMP2 sets the tone for 24 hours of class battles, night running on the banking, and daring passes for the lead.

Key takeaways
  • The 2026 race was the 64th running of the Rolex 24
  • Four classes — GTP, LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD — share the track at once
  • The opening lap brought a multi-car LMP2 crash

The Best Rolex 24 at Daytona Finishes of All Time! | IMSA

IMSA Official

IMSA counts down the best finishes in Rolex 24 history — last-lap duels in LMP2 decided by inches, the Corvettes' photo-finish era, and Pipo Derani's star turn in the 2016 race. A compact history of why this race so often comes down to the final lap.

Key takeaways
  • The Rolex 24 has produced multiple last-lap, win-by-inches finishes
  • Class battles (LMP2, GT) often out-duel the overall fight
  • The 2016 race is remembered for Derani's breakout drive

The race itself

IMSA's official highlights of the 2026 edition open with a first-lap multi-car crash and run the full cycle — daylight battles, night running on the banking, daring passes at dawn. The finishes countdown explains the race's legend: last-lap duels decided by inches, class battles out-dueling the overall fight, Pipo Derani's 2016 star turn. Scott Pruett — five overall wins, ten class wins — anchors the feature on what winning demands: precision, traffic management, calm under chaos.

The race explained, and seen from above

The explainer film sets the Rolex in endurance racing's informal triple crown with Le Mans and Sebring, on a speedway opened in 1959, with Porsche as its most successful marque. The spotters film is the page's hidden gem: at night, the 'big eye in the sky' becomes the driver's rearview mirror, weighing every radio call against the distraction it causes.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona: Precision, Perfection, and The Road To Victory (IMSA Endurance Racing)

Motorsport Com

Motorsport.com's feature on what the Rolex 24 demands: drivers and team figures — including five-time overall winner Scott Pruett — explain the precision, traffic management and calm-under-chaos it takes to win the race every driver wants, and the Rolex watch that comes with it.

Key takeaways
  • Scott Pruett won the Rolex 24 overall five times, with ten class wins
  • Winners receive an engraved Rolex — 'every other race you go to, you win a trophy'
  • Multi-class traffic is the race's defining challenge

Rolex 24 at Daytona EXPLAINED

FJ Endurance

FJ Endurance breaks down the Rolex 24 in full: North America's longest sports-car endurance race, its place alongside Le Mans and Sebring in endurance racing's triple crown, the speedway's 1959 opening, the multi-class format, and how Porsche became the race's most successful marque.

Key takeaways
  • The Rolex 24 is part of endurance racing's informal triple crown with Le Mans and Sebring
  • Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959
  • Porsche is the race's most successful manufacturer

How Race Car Drivers See Their Blind Spots | Behind the Scenes with Spotters at The Rolex 24

IMSA Official

Behind the scenes with the spotters at the Rolex 24 — the 'big eye in the sky' who talk drivers through blind spots and traffic for 24 hours. They explain how the job changes at night, when a spotter becomes the driver's rearview mirror, and the split-second judgment of what is worth saying on the radio.

Key takeaways
  • Spotters watch five or six corners ahead of their car
  • At night, spotters effectively become the driver's rearview mirror
  • Every radio call is weighed against the distraction it causes

More than the race

IMSA's own tour covers the fan village — a mile of manufacturer displays its president calls 'the modern auto show,' where fans sit in the newest performance cars — and the grassroots film shows the infield as the hardcore live it. The Sights & Sounds film closes the page with pure atmosphere, no commentary: prototypes at speed through the day-night-day cycle.

Sources: the 9 videos on this page, from IMSA's official coverage and Motorsport features on the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Watch: Rolex 24 At Daytona, guided

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

The Rolex 24 Experience | Everything Else to Do Besides the Race

IMSA Official

IMSA's tour of everything else to do at the Rolex 24 besides watch the race: the fan village's mile of manufacturer displays — billed as the modern auto show — where fans can sit in the newest performance cars from Cadillac and the other IMSA marques.

Key takeaways
  • The Rolex 24 fan village stretches about a mile of manufacturer displays
  • IMSA's president calls it 'the modern auto show'
  • Fans can get hands-on with the latest performance cars

IMSA Sights & Sounds | 2026 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA | A Cinematic Kick-off to 2026

IMSA Official

IMSA's Sights & Sounds from the 2026 Rolex 24 — pure race atmosphere: prototypes and GT cars at speed through the day-night-day cycle, with no commentary.

The Grassroots Motorsports Experience at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona

Grassroots Motorsports

Grassroots Motorsports' fan-side experience of the Rolex 24 — the race as the hardcore enthusiast crowd lives it, from the infield and the fences.

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