DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. In a classic battle of iconic American car brands, Dennis Olsen drove the Ford Multimatic Motorsports No. 65 Ford Mustang GT3 to the models first global victory, besting Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class Sundays season-opening IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race.

Considered one of the worlds greatest endurance events, the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 absolutely lived up to its reputation with both Grand Touring classes of competition ultimately decided by less than two-seconds after 24 grueling, eventful hours on the Daytona International Speedways 3.56-mile, 12-turn combination of speedway high banks and traditional road course winds and turns.

While Ford celebrated in victory lane in the 15-car GTD PRO class, the Corvette was victorious in the 22-car GTD class with British driver Matthew Bell ultimately steering the No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R to the win by 1.454 seconds over the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).

This Detroit special in the GTD PRO class featuring Ford and Chevrolet in a dramatic trophy duel during the closing minutes of competition was not only significant for Fords new GT3 brand but also a sentimental victory between these two longtime rivals.

While it marked the Mustangs 20th victory in the race, it was the first for the new GT3 model introduced in 2024. The winning No. 65 Fords sister car the pole-sitting No. 64 Mustang completed the GTD PRO podium.

I think it is quite historical, said Belgian driver Frederic Vervisch, who shared the car with Norwegian Olsen and German Christopher Mies. Yesterday we met (Ford CEO) Jim Farley and he said, Whatever you do, you have to be in front of Chevrolet. He was joking, of course. They were extremely strong and so super proud to be ahead and perhaps out-strategize them.

At no point was there an odds-on favorite to hoist the trophy in the end. There were 10 different race leaders in the GTD PRO class with the winning No. 65 Mustang taking the lead for good on a final restart with only 42 minutes remaining.

Olsen got a little breathing room in those last laps as the No. 3 Corvette driven by Sims had to fend off Englishman Sebastian Priaulx in the other Ford. Olsen conceded after the race that both the Corvettes and BMWs speed concerned them.

The fourth-place finishing No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW was also among the mix leading nine times for 187 of the races 723 laps ultimately being spun from a podium finish by the No. 4 Corvette and driver Nico Varrone with less than 12 minutes remaining.

Only an hour earlier, the No. 1 BMWs sister team, the No. 48 was penalized for impeding the Corvettes move forward and their fight for the lead. Out of competition for the win since a multi-car accident late Saturday night, the No. 48 BMW was 55 laps off pace but raced the Corvette hard ultimately causing an off by the No. 4 Corvette that drew a penalty from IMSA.

Trackhouse Racing

Another all-star GTD PRO entry fielded in part by NASCAR team owner Justin Marks the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing by TF Sport Corvette featured NASCAR stars Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch, IndyCar winner Scott McLaughlin and IMSA veteran Ben Keating. It finished ninth in class after a comeback drive to get near the podium with a little more than an hour remaining.

Its been so much fun bringing Trackhouse to IMSA and getting to run the Rolex 24 with this team, said the 18-year-old Zilisch, who sought to defend his 2024 Rolex 24 win in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2).

All my teammates were a blast to be teammates with and also to hang out with off the track. I had a lot to learn and Im very grateful I got to race with these guys and learn from them. Frustrated with how the race ended, but looking back on the last two weeks, I had so much fun.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Tower Motorsports found itself atop the pylon at the end of a competitive, chaotic and dramatic Rolex 24 At Daytona within the 12-car Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class full of ORECA LMP2 07 cars.

The quartet of Sebastien Bourdais, John Farano, Sebastian Alvarez and Job Van Uitert shared the winning No. 8 ORECA, emerging almost clear of trouble while contenders rose and fell like the temperatures over the 24-hour endurance classic.

Three such challengers dropped out in the eighth hour when Louis Deletrazs No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R spun and came back on course exiting Turn 2. The resulting contact eliminated the No. 2 United Autosports USA and No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports ORECAs, while despite incurring damage the No. 8 Tower car kept going.

By the halfway point, it appeared the second United entry, the Motul Pole Award-winning No. 22 car, along with defending class champions Inter Europol Competitions No. 43 car and AO Racings Spike No. 99 car were set to challenge. Penalties took the No. 22 and 43 down the order and heartbreak befell the No. 99 once the final couple hours happened.

AOs No. 99 car, with Christian Rasmussen driving, dropped out of the fight with just over 80 minutes remaining. The car pitted with a low battery warning and the team diagnosed the issue under the rear deck lid, losing several laps and ending Spikes victory charge. This car led a race-high 280 of 765 laps.

Era Motorsport, then, appeared in position to repeat its 2024 win with an adjusted lineup in its No. 18 ORECA, courtesy of a strategic move to take fuel only on its final stop before the last 40 minutes. Those hopes went away when Mathias Beches No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports car hit Paul-Loup Chatins No. 18 Era car into a spin at Turn 1. Beches No. 52 car was assessed a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility.

That promoted the Tower car, which kept enough relative momentum alive to stay in contention, back to the lead. Bourdais added his third Rolex 24 win, first in LMP2 to pair with a Prototype and overall win in 2014 and a GT Le Mans win with Ford in 2017, while his trio of teammates, Farano, Alvarez and Van Uitert all secured their first victories and combined to lead 118 laps.

Bourdais even admitted post-race that the rough-and-tumble affair extended to his co-driver Farano, who fought through back pain to keep driving and complete his stints.

I was part of the big one, big time, Bourdais explained. The car over my left fender, a car over my right fender and I dont think I had time to back off because I made contact because I was in the gearbox of the Pratt Miller car and it all came to a stop. It was like Days of Thunder.

Yeah, honestly, when it all cleared in front of me and the car still had four wheels on it and the steering wheel was straight, I was like, man, this is just a miracle.

For Bourdais, its also his second straight IMSA win albeit in a very different driving situation. With the end of the Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing program in GTP after the 2024 Motul Petit Le Mans season finale, Bourdais shifted into the highly competitive LMP2 class to remain in the IMSA paddock.

Its almost like it was awarded to us in some respect because it seemed for a minute that nobody wanted to win it, Bourdais laughed. Ive rarely seen someone torpedo another car like Beche did with Paul-Loup. It was just one incident like this after another in front of us or behind us or around us.

It was a weird race, but we had hopes at times. Sometimes it felt like it was a bit hopeless, and to come out on top no matter how you got there at some point, its just one of those races where nobody remembers how you got there, and personally its my third, but it never gets old winning. Im really happy that we could bring the result for John whos been running after that Rolex for a little while.

Despite some setbacks throughout, the No. 22 United car rebounded to a runner-up finish, courtesy of polesitter Daniel Goldburg sharing the car with Paul Di Resta, Rasmus Lindh and James Allen. That car finished 44.697 seconds in arrear of the Tower car.

Riley completed the podium with its No. 74 LMP2 entry, co-driven by Felipe Fraga, Gar Robinson, Josh Burdon and Felipe Massa.

CHICAGO Before getting too far into the New Year, lets recognize Chicago area track and association champions for the 2024 season.

Eddie Hoffman racked up another late model championship at the Grundy County Speedway his record ninth at the third-mile paved oval. Piloting his familiar Chevy No. 8 to two feature wins during the campaign, the second-generation racer now has 155 career wins at the speed plant. Hoffman has won five of the last seven track championships at Grundy, including two-in-a-row.

Blake Brown, James Gregait, Dave Gentile Jr and D.J. Weltmeyer finished behind Hoffman in the standings.

Grundy crowned 10 track champions. In addition to Hoffman, champions were Kevin Murphy (Mid-Am sportsman) his third career title, Ryan Dawson (street stocks), Landon Hocking (pure stocks-four cylinders), Jake Gille (Big 8 late models), David Einhaus (Crown Vic), Alex Treptow (enduro), Jason Martindale (High School Racing Assn), Jason Van His (sixers) and Hocking again (super cup).

Austin McCarty captured six feature wins on his way to winning the DIRTcar Pro Late Model title at Kankakee County Speedway. McCarty won his first Kankakee championship ahead of Chase Osterhoff and two-time division titlist Matt Hammond. Steven Brooks was the tracks modified champion, winning five times at the quarter-mile dirt oval. Jason Hastings and Travis Kohler finished behind Brooks, who was the speedways champion in 2022.

Deece Schwartz became a four-time champion of the tracks DIRTcar Pro Modified class. Also winning the championship in 2023, 2022 and 2020, Schwartz, with six feature wins to his credit, bested Ryan Kohler and Tom Knippenberg in points. Schwartz was also the DIRTcar Racing Pro Modified national champion, winning 15 features in 33 starts and grabbing his fourth straight national title.

Other Kankakee track champions were Braiden Keller (stock cars), Trevor Bitterling (factory stocks), Evan Eckhoff (sport compact), Matt Prodehl (Crown Vic) and Shannon Shutter (vintage).

Veteran Titus Sneed took home top honors in the limited late model division at Sycamore Speedway. Sneed, whose racing experience dates back to Santa Fe Speedway, captured five feature wins on the three-eighths clay oval and finished ahead of Corey Trump and four-time division champ Greg Cantrell.

Zach Zuberbier won his fourth Sycamore street stock championship, repeating titles that he won in 2022, 2018 and 2017. Other Sycamore champions were Alex Adams (pure stocks), Kevin Wolf (spectators), Brandon Ricker (socker stocks), Jaime Ricker (powder puff) and Joe Jackson (bonestock demo).

Jamie Lomax was the modified champion at Indianas Shadyhill Speedway. Lomax claimed seven feature wins on the dirt quarter-mile oval, winning his fifth speedway crown since 2018. Lomax finished ahead of Jake Straka and Jordan Danford in the final points. Jace Owens was the tracks Rebel Late Model titlist, finishing ahead of Donita Hines and Chris Joseph.

Other Shadyhill champs were Lee Hobbs (stock cars), Hayden Lomax (bombers) and Ryker Shidler (four bangers).

In its third year back as a paved raceway, Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway saw Andrew DeVrees win the tracks outlaw late model crown. Other champions at the 0.375-mile paved oval were Cody Lollar (street stocks), Jonathon Gattor (modifieds), Zeek Gaeta (front wheel drive stocks) and Derek Danley (Factory Fords).

Fairbury American Legion Speedway crowned the following DIRTcar Racing champions: McKay Wenger (late models), Austin Freidman (modifieds), Steve Mattingly (sportsman) and Braiden Keller (street stocks).

The Interstate Racing Assn winged sprint car series saw Scott Thiel win the championship, scoring four feature wins along the way. Zach Raidart claimed the Wisconsin WINGless sprint car crown. Four feature wins propelled Wisconsin speedster Parker Jones to the Badger Midget Auto Racing Assn championship.

Jim Anderson won the Midwest Mayhem Midgets championship, winning five times and finishing ahead of Nick Grommes and Jim Hines. All 10 of the series programs took place at the Grundy County Speedway.

Wisconsins Gabe Sommers captured the ASA Midwest Tour late model championship for the second straight year, winning one main event on his way to another title. Michael Bilderback claimed his fifth career Big 8 Series late model crown.

Chicagoland driver Scotty Gardner captured the Mid-Am Racing Series stock car title and was also named the series rookie of the year. Gardner won two Mid-Am headliners in 11 starts. Chase Burda was the ASA CRA Super Series titlist with Blake Rowe winning the ASA CRA Jegs All-Stars championship. Casey Roderick was the ASA STARS National Tour titlist.

Illinois Jason Feger was the DIRTcar national late model champion for the second straight year. Winning the title also in 2009, Feger won 16 features in 61 starts. Another Illinois racer, Michael Long, won the DIRTcar national modified championship.

A high-profile performer was Illinois Bobby Pierce, who won 38 times in dirt late model action. Other notable performances were Mike McKinney capturing 18 main events in modified competition, Derek Losh winning 16 times in the modifieds and Brad DeYoung visiting 15 different tracks in eight states and winning eight modified features.

The year was not without sorrow as several members of the racing community passed away including legends Fred Lorenzen and Paul Goldsmith, who both had roots in the area. Others that passed included stock car drivers Dan Herhold, Tom Pasek, Dean Cicuto, Chuck Bostick, Terry Hull, Tootie Weyrauch, Dave Pries, Rick Wilson, Larry Steen, Roger Myers, Jim Henson, John Garrett, Denny James (Kwiatkowski), Merle Perzee, Tommy Kroll, Jack Annen, Jerry Welch, Bob Meyer, Mel Dorland and Joe Brueggmann.

Midget racers and supporters who left us include Dennis Dorsey (Dori), Ed Harman, Jim Piccirilli, Bob Guess, Al Harris, Laura Shreffler, Bernie Shreffler, Mark Schuck, Eleanor Vogler and Mickey Mikuska in addition to stock car owners, mechanics and sponsors Junior Marino, Bob Suttner, Bob Doherty and Fred Roempler.

Add to the list race official George Kuecker and members of the press Phil Rider and Pete Vercauteren, along with race car lettering artist Art Dexter.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Its the era of back-to-back for Team Penske.

In a two-year period where Roger Penskes racing teams and drivers have claimed a Rolex 24 At Daytona victory, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) title, and back-to-back wins in the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series championship, Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, and Laurens Vanthoor clinched a second consecutive overall and GTP class victory for Porsche Penske Motorsport in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Nasr crossed the finish line of Daytona International Speedways famed 3.56-mile tri-oval in the No. 7 Porsche just 1.335 seconds ahead of Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 he shared with Colin Braun, Scott Dixon, and Felix Rosenqvist. The No. 6 Porsche with a driver lineup of Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell, and Kevin Estre finished third, 4.423 seconds back after 24 hours of hard racing.

Blomqvist passed Campbell for second with just over four minutes remaining, denying Porsche its first 1-2 overall finish at the Rolex 24 since 1987, when the German marques iconic 962 model swept the first six places. Porsche has scored overall victory at Daytona on 24 occasions.

The modern iteration of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships GTP class with its hybrid-powered prototypes is proving to be every bit as compelling as the legendary original, which ran from 1981 to 93. The Porsche 962 took overall victory at the Rolex 24 five times in that period.

Now the Porsche 963 could be on its way to compiling a similar record. The No. 7 car made the trip to Daytonas Victory Lane for the second consecutive year, on the heels of Nasr and Dane Cameron winning the GTP class championship in 2024.

Winning the championship last year was just the start of it, said Penske. This Porsche car we have has just been amazing, and to think we did it two years in a row is a credit to all the people from Porsche in Germany and our team here. Were truly one organization.

READ: Tower Tops Tumultuous, Rough-and-Tumble LMP2 Affair

Nasr qualified the No. 7 Porsche third fastest and took the lead for the first time midway through the third hour. Meanwhile, the No. 6 moved up quickly after starting 10th. Once they reached the point, the Penske Porsches stamped their authority on the event, leading 517 of the 781 laps completed.

The No. 7 ran out front through most of the night before the No. 6 took command, leading a total of 210 laps to pace the field into the final hour.

Nasr lined up in third place for what turned out to be the final restart of the race (there were 14 caution periods). He pushed the No. 7 past Dries Vanthoor (the younger brother of Laurens) in the Motul Pole Award-winning No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 with 38 minutes to go.

A furious battle between the two Porsches ensued until the 20-minute mark, when Nasr slipped past Campbell in the No. 6 at the Le Mans Chicane to take the lead. Campbell fought hard before finally conceding the position, causing some discomfort on the timing stand for Penske.

READ: Ford Mustang GT3 Claims First Global Win at 63rd Rolex 24

We had talked to the drivers about not racing each other, but obviously these guys are racers, Penske said. Fortunately, we didnt get into trouble.

Nasr said that electing to take four Michelin tires during the final pit stop was an important factor in the No. 7 cars win. The No. 6 had a faster final stop to maintain the lead, but Campbell was unable to match Nasrs pace down the stretch.

Nasr now owns the last two overall Rolex 24 wins and a Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class triumph in 2022.

Its always hard to know what its going to end up like, but thats what I love about the IMSA racing, Nasr said. I felt like I had the pace to go forward, and thats what I did. The clock was running, so I had to go for it. I could see that the Acura was coming quick behind us, so we had to go. I made a clean pass (on Campbell), and that was it.

I wanted to win this race for sure, and I wanted to win for the team; on a personal level, doing it back-to-back is incredible, he added.

Sundays victory helped Tandy secure an unprecedented grand slam in endurance racing, with 24-hour overall race wins at Daytona, Le Mans, Nurburgring, and Spa-Francorchamps.

READ: AWA Holds On for Rolex 24 GTD Win

Records never really dawned on me until Laurens and I won at Spa in 2020 (in a GT-class Porsche), said Tandy, who also boasts a GT Le Mans class victory in the 2014 Rolex 24. Since that day, its definitely something I wanted to check off the list. To be the first person ever to do something is quite unbelievable, really.

Winning Daytona alone anyway is a massive standalone event and Im very proud to be sat here again, he added. Just winning one of those races overall would be an incredible career, so to get four, along with a few (Motul Petit Le Mans) and a few (Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of) Sebrings, is dream come true stuff.

Without Campbell as a buffer, Nasr had to watch his mirrors over the closing three laps. But Blomqvist was not able to get his Acura close enough to launch an attack.

We kind of struggled to be honest, especially with our rear tires and traction, said Blomqvist, the 2022 and 2023 Rolex 24 winner. At one point we thought it was going to be a real long day.

For the last stint, the car was just better not much to say, really, he continued. I didnt think I was going to have anything for them, but you never give up, right? I gave it all I had, and I think that was the best we could have done today. The Porsches were really strong.

Nine of the 12 entries in the GTP class were running at the end of the 24 hours, with three on the lead lap. The pole-winning No. 24 BMW claimed fourth, while the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R rounded out the top five.

The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the 73rd running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, set for March 12-15 at Sebring Intl Raceway.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. In GTD, behind the class-winning No. 13 AWA Corvette were the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) and the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. AWA, which also won the Rolex 24 in Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) in 2023, added a fifth win for a Corvette Racing-affiliated team to the Rolex 24.

Corvette driver Bell was admittedly emotional with his first victory in the famous race. As with the GTD PRO class, the final laps and closing minutes were both dramatic and challenging.

READ: Ford Mustang GT3 Claims First Global Win at 63rd Rolex 24

It means absolutely everything to me and this team, said Bell, who co-drove with Orey Fidani, Lars Kern and Marvin Kirchhoefer. The minute the checkered flag flew at Petit Le Mans (2024 season finale), its been 24-7 putting a car together to win the Rolex 24. The Porsches gave us quite a run and I give it to the competition for that.

Asked about the race-winning move, taking the lead with 10 laps remaining, Bell joked with a smile, I dont remember a damn thing.

His co-driver, Kirchhoefer conceded it was a competitive field, but the team also insisted the GTD class kept things a little cleaner than the GTD PRO class.

It was quite intense in every category especially the 30 minutes after a restart, we know restarts are crucial in IMSA race and what the fans love to see which can be nice or sometimes not nice, Kirchhoefer said.

The emotions were running very high, and you can tell how much it meant to the whole team. Everyone was super, super happy for the result. For the fans, for everyone I think it was kind of the best race finish you could ask for.