Porsche Wins at Daytona
A Stunning Victory for Porsche as Drama Unfolds in the Final Hours of the Endurance Classic
The Rolex 24 At Daytona, one of the iconic endurance sports car races, saw an exciting conclusion this year. Felipe Nasr, driving the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, crossed the finish line 2.112 seconds ahead of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Tom Blomqvist, securing the first Rolex 24 At Daytona overall win for team owner Roger Penske in 55 years and the first for Porsche in 14 years.
Nasr, who shared the car with co-drivers Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell, and reigning Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, took the lead for the final time when the No. 7 Porsche crew gave him a quicker pit stop than the No. 31 Cadillac crew could manage for Blomqvist under a full-course caution with 43 minutes remaining. Blomqvist hounded Nasr for the last half-hour but could never get close enough to attempt a pass for the lead.
The win was historic for Penske, who last won at the Rolex 24 in 1969 when Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons drove a Lola T-70/Chevrolet to victory. Porsche's last overall win came in 2010 when the Action Express Racing Riley-Porsche, driven by Joao Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, Ryan Dalziel, and Mike Rockenfeller, triumphed. The irony is that Action Express also entered the No. 31 Cadillac that finished second on Sunday.
Blomqvist, who won in 2022 and '23 with Meyer Shank Racing, finished second overall in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class with Action Express co-drivers Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken. The No. 18 Era Motorsport won in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class with co-drivers Dalziel, Dwight Merriman, Christian Rasmussen, and Connor Zilisch. The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 claimed victory in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class, and Winward Racing's No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was victorious in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class.
The Rolex 24 At Daytona has been an exciting event for car racing enthusiasts worldwide, and the next WeatherTech Championship race is the 72nd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on the 16th of March at Sebring International Raceway.