Final Six Hours set to Thrill Following Six Hours of Safety Car Running
Almost all of the third quarter of the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona was run behind the safety car as dense fog shrouded Daytona International Speedway overnight.
The caution flag flew due to limited visibility at 12:45 a.m. and racing did not resume until 7:19, shortly before the 64th running of the classic endurance race reached the 18-hour mark. At more than 6 hours and 33 minutes, it was the longest continuous caution period in the 64-year history of the Rolex 24, with 121 consecutive laps run at reduced speed.
The weather delay was long enough that IMSA’s new-for-2026 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 safety car required a pit stop for fuel. The Rolex 24 always tests the mettle of all competitors in any condition, and the extended yellow left pit crews and even drivers in the cars struggling to remain awake.
“That was certainly something new to me. I’ve never gone slow for that long in my life, other than on the street!” said rising NASCAR star Connor Zilisch after completing a four-hour middle-of-the-night shift in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R.
At 19 years of age, Zilisch is one of the youngest among the 228 drivers in the Rolex 24 field, and his teammates Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, and Frederik Vesti were no doubt grateful for his youthful energy.
“If that’s what I’m worried about, I’ve got issues,” Zilisch laughed. “I feel like on that side of things, I’m looking pretty good. Late model races end at midnight, and I can’t go to sleep until 2 or 3 a.m. It’s tough to switch off when you have that adrenaline pumping through you.
“I’m looking forward to watching the other guys finish this thing off. Hopefully nothing crazy happens out there and they don’t need me again.”
At the 18-hour mark, the third checkpoint of the race for distribution of IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup points, the class leaders were Laurin Heinrich (No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963) in Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class and overall; Sebastien Bourdais (No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07) in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2); Tommy Milner (No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO); and Robby Foley (No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO), GTD.
The No. 7 car did have a lengthy stop within this period with the nose briefly being removed. But it remains fully in contention heading into the morning hours.
With six hours to go, 55 of the 60 starters were still running.
With the fog settling in and little likelihood of green flag racing for hours, pit crews did their best to keep their drivers alert and motivated with banter and humor, some catching a few minutes of rest while awaiting their next chance to provide service to the cars.
“We were doing mathematical jokes,” chuckled Danny Formal, who was behind the wheel of the GTD class No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 for nearly three hours overnight. “My engineer asked if I knew how many laps I had done, and I was doing calculations in the car. I was pretty close!”
Bijoy Garg nearly reached the limit of an in-stint drive time of four hours within a six-hour period, during his double stint in the LMP2 class No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 from roughly 1:00 to 5:00 in the morning.
“Very boring, to be honest, doing 100 kilometers per hour behind the safety car,” he related. “It was quite boring after 30 minutes, let alone four hours.”
“I think it’s tough for all 50 drivers out there not to fall asleep behind the wheel,” added Australian Supercar champion Chaz Mostert after a single stint in the No. 75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 competing in GTD PRO. “We all know what it’s like when we spent all night out when we were younger and tried to drive home late, but this is not quite as enjoyable as that. I’m pretty knackered, and I’ll go for some sleep now.”
Flag-to-flag streaming coverage of the Rolex 24 continues on Peacock in the U.S., with NBC joining for the conclusion of the race at noon ET. International streaming is available on IMSA.TV and the official IMSA YouTube channel.
