JANUARY 28, 2026

(IMSA)

Team Penske kicked off its 60th anniversary season Sunday with the overall victory in the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona – Penske’s third straight win in the sports car race. It featured an all-time Rolex 24 record attendance at the Daytona International Speedway road course to kick off the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Brazilian Felipe Nasr drove the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 across the finish line 1.569 seconds ahead of Brit Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, after a particularly spirited battle through the final hour between the two. The No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 was third, 21 seconds behind the winner, in the team’s first race running the IMSA BMW GTP program. “The driving that he’s done for us and at the end there, probably one of the best drives I’ve seen,” Penske said of Nasr. “You know for our 60th it’s a big deal, and here at Daytona, to have three wins here is certainly special. Starts out the year the right way.” Watch the Extended Race Highlights from NBC here. (Thank you to Holly Cain/IMSA Wire Service)

(Porsche)

(IMSA)

CrowdStrike Racing by APR claimed victory in a very competitive 13-car LMP2 class at Daytona, overcoming a first-lap incident seconds into the 24-hour race to regroup and win. The No. 04 recovered from that Lap 1 incident Saturday – collected in a multi-car melee heading into Turn 1 – but went on to lead often and convincingly. Its healthy 5.590-second win over the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA marked the largest margin of victory in the four classes competing in the 60-car field. Inter Europol’s second entry, the No. 343 ORECA, completed the LMP2 class podium. (Thank you to Holly Cain/IMSA Wire Service)

(IMSA)

Starting from the rear of the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) field at the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona turned out to be a minor setback for Paul Miller Racing. Neil Verhagen’s front-row qualifying effort in the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO for the classic IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance race was disallowed after the car was found to have camber in excess of the permitted limit. But despite starting 15th and last, Verhagen and his co-drivers Connor De Phillippi, Max Hesse, and Dan Harper prevailed to win by 2.223 seconds over the No. 75 Mercedes-AMG GT3 fielded by 75 Express and driven by Kenny Habul, Maro Engel, Australian Supercars champion Chaz Mostert, and IndyCar star Will Power. It was class victory No. 2 for Paul Miller Racing at the Rolex 24, the other coming in GTD in 2020 with a Lamborghini Huracán GT3. It was also PMR’s second consecutive GTD PRO win in WeatherTech Championship competition, as Hesse, Harper and De Phillippi shared PMR’s then-No. 48 BMW to cap off the 2025 season at Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service)

(IMSA)

Phillip Ellis called his late-race battle with Nicki Thiim for the lead and the ultimate Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class victory at the Rolex 24 At Daytona “a little stressful.” Ellis, in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, fought door-to-door with Thiim’s No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin GT3 EVO through Daytona International Speedway’s famous tri-oval with 10 minutes remaining in the annual 24-hour endurance contest. Slight contact between the cars sent both cars into lurid slides, caught masterfully by the drivers.

Ellis maintained a slim advantage under braking into Turn 1 and fought off another concentrated attack from Thiim before finally pulling away to a 1.367-second advantage over Thiim at the checkered flag. Ellis shared his winning car with Russell Ward, Indy Dontje and Lucas Auer while Thiim sought to deliver a win in the Magnus Aston he shared with past Rolex 24 class winners John Potter, Spencer Pumpelly (who entered with a race-high 24 starts, although not consecutive) and team newcomer Madison Snow. Tom Gamble, Zacharie Robichon, Mattia Drudi and Dudu Barrichello (the 24-year-old son of former Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello) claimed third place in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service)

(Audi)

Audi Tradition kicks off its 2026 event season with three highlights on a single weekend: At the end of January, the Bremen Classic Motorshow, the F.A.T. Ice Race in Zell am See and the Concours event “The I.C.E.” in St. Moritz are all on the schedule. The Audi museum mobile in Ingolstadt, Germany, welcomes visitors to International Museum Day on May 17 and Night of the Museums on September 12. Regular updates and additional information on all events at which Audi Tradition showcases the history of the four rings and their historic brands are available in the Audi Tradition app.

Editor's Note: This is our dearly departed billboard, which we had at Road America for several years. Peter gifted the phrase "America's National Park of Speed" to the track, which now uses it proudly in all of its communications. -WG

Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG