Twice Around the Clock: 24 Hours of Daytona

America's Premier Endurance Race

In the world of motorsport, there are particular events that stand out as legendary, known even to people that don't care for auto racing. Formula 1 has the Monaco Grand Prix, also known as Monte Carlo. IndyCar has the Indianapolis 500. NASCAR has the Daytona 500. WEC has the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Of course, even folks that know nothing of racing can tell you that the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a major endurance race. Here in the United States, our big endurance race is the 24 Hours of Daytona, and it's nearly upon us.

I presume long-time race fans already know about the 24 Hours of Daytona, but there's folks that are just getting into racing and then I'm sure there's folks that were maybe a fan of one particular motorsport but might be branching out, looking into other series and forms of auto racing.

To get newer fans up to speed, of course Daytona is known for being a 2.5-mile oval down in Daytona, Florida, and famously hosts NASCAR's Daytona 500. However, Daytona isn't just a big oval, but rather a "roval". That means that it's an oval but with a road course section wiggling around in the infield. This course includes most of the oval, but also deviates a couple times through the infield, first for a longer road section and then later on for a brief excursion through the "bus stop" chicane. This roval measures in at 3.56 miles (including the oval sections) and because of the much lower speeds through the tighter and very flat corners the lap times are much longer than on just the oval.

This Year's Event

This upcoming 24 Hours of Daytona will be the 64th running, with the inaugural race being held way back on February 5 and 6, 1966. The 1966 race was won by a Ford GT40 Mk II - an iconic motorsport legend. This year's running is scheduled for January 24 and 25, featuring a field of 60 cars across multiple classes ranging from high-tech prototypes to more relatable GT sports cars. For those with limited familiarity, this isn't actually unfair, as lower classes aren't directly competing with higher, faster classes, but rather their main rivals are those in class, though they are also ranked overall as well, and cars in higher classes can end up lower than cars in lower classes if they have a rough weekend.

GTP: The Battle of the Titans

The Grand Touring Prototype class, or GTP, is the top, fastest, most advanced class, and here refinement is the name of the game. Following years of development, the hybrid powerplants driving GTP are more reliable than ever, so the win should come down not to reliability but raw pace and solid pit strategy. The #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 is one to watch this year, as they are looking for redemption after a good run in 2025. Meanwhile, the Porsche Penske team has streamlined their operation, putting WEC standout drivers Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor in the #6 Porsche 963 to challenge the Cadillac and BMW factory cars.

Global Star Power

We're also seeing crossover talent at Daytona, including a wave of open-wheel racing stars. F1 alum Logan Sargeant is set for LMP2 duty for Era Motorsport. He will be up against endurance legends like Ben Keating, often seen as the "King of Daytona". In the GT field keep an eye out for NASCAR's Daniel Suarez and IndyCar's Will Power.

Fan Favorites

Younger fans should continue to enjoy characters like AO Racing's "Spike the Dragon" LMP2 livery, which I will admit does look cool, as well as the Rexy and Roxy liveries. For fans of manufacturing battles, watch out for Corvette versus Mustang in the GTD PRO class, with Pratt Miller's Corvette Z06 GT3.R aspiring to defend their home turf against the Multimatic Mustangs.

How's the Weather?

I would like to think it wouldn't take too much convincing that weather absolutely matters in a race, and when a race spans 24 hours you can have a lot of weather. The projected forecast, as of this time, looks like a high of 74 and a low of 59 for Saturday, which is mild for January and should help maintaining tire temperatures at night. On Sunday, however, there's currently a 35% chance of showers, but with a high of 71. Sunday winds could be around 16 MPH, which can affect the aerodynamics of the prototypes. The wind and rain could throw a wrench in during the closing stages of the race.

How to Watch

The green flag drops at exactly 1:40 PM ET on Saturday, January 24, and ends 24 hours later on Sunday afternoon. NBC will air the start and the finish, but not the full 24 hours. Peacock will provide full flag-to-flag coverage, for those of us hardcore endurance fans. Admittedly, I normally don't see all 24 hours of it, but drop in and out, though I do typically see the bulk of it. I hope you all will get to catch this year's running of America's biggest endurance race!