Porsche Penske Motorsports won the Rolex 24 at Daytona for a third consecutive year, giving Roger Penske a victory in the opening race of his team’s 60th anniversary season.
The team became the third in the 64-year history of the race to win three in a row. Porsche Penske Motorsports joined Chip Ganassi Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing as the only teams to record three straight victories in the sports car race at Daytona International Speedway.
The win was Porsche’s 21st in the event and Penske’s 46th IMSA victory. Penske has won the race three years in a row with three different lineups, with Brazilian driver Felipe Nasr the only mainstay across all three winning entries.
"The driving he's done for us, at the end, that was probably one of the best drives I've ever seen," Penske said Sunday.
Nasr, driving the No. 7 Porsche 963, shared the winning car with Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich. They finished 1 minute, 0.569 seconds ahead of the No. 31 Cadillac of Action Express Racing.
Action Express Racing, owned by NASCAR and IMSA chairman Jim France, had originally won the pole but the No. 31 Cadillac was disqualified in post-qualifying inspection and started last in class. The car was driven by Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Mercedes Formula 1 reserve driver Fred Vesti and NASCAR rising star Connor Zilisch.
Nasr and Aitken closed the race for their teams. Aitken had several opportunities to pass in the final 25 minutes, but Nasr stayed ahead over the closing stages.
"It's a moment I dreamed of -- the desire to win is what makes you go beyond and further," Nasr said. "I love this sport, I love this series, and the 24-hour being decided in the last few minutes is just incredible."
Nasr’s victory made it six consecutive years that a Brazilian driver has been part of the winning team in the race. Helio Castroneves was on the winning team in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The No. 24 BMW M Team WRT finished third in the GTP class. The car was driven by Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Robin Frijns and Rene Rast.
The race included a caution for fog shortly before 1 a.m. that lasted a race-record 6 hours, 33 minutes, 25 seconds and covered 120 laps. Penske, who is known for remaining awake and on the pit stand for the full 24 hours, took a midrace break during the extended caution.
