On January 29 a record 61 cars came to Daytona International Speedway for the annual start of the IMSA racing season.  Originally only a three hour race, the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona has become one of the biggest races of the season.  This year marks the 60th annual race.

A 24 hour endurance race, each team has three or four drivers who which off during the race.  Two hundred and thirty five drivers will take part in this year’s race from all manor of racing series.

Previously the Rolex 24 Hour Race featured four classes of cars, but this year a new class has been added – GTD Prototype – to join the DPI, GTD, LNP2, and LNP3 classes running around the 3.56 mile road course. 

A very prestigious racer, the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona brings in races from all over the world including Formula One, NASCAR, IndyCar, and IMSA.  Seven time NASCAR Cup Series champion and current IndyCar driver Jimmie Johnson is making his ninth start in the 24 Hours race.  Johnson is being joined by fellow IndyCar drivers Scott Dixon, Sebastian Bordais, Alex Palou, Helio Castroneves, Alexander Rossi, Marcus Ericsson, Simon Pagenaud, Devlin DeFrancisco, Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward, and Kyle Kirkwood.

Austin Cindric is the lone NASCAR driver entered this year.

The 2022 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona waved the green flag at 1:41pm with defending race champions Wayne Taylor Racing sitting on the pole and bringing the field to green.

By the time the checked flag drops on Sunday afternoon, the drivers would have run several hundred miles – over half of them under the lights.