01/25/26 01:05:00
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01/25 13:04 CST Roger Penske's team wins third consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona
in thrilling finish
Roger Penske's team wins third consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona in thrilling
finish
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) --- Roger Penske opened the 60th anniversary of his
team with a win in the first race of the year --- a three-peat, no less, in the
Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The Penske squad became the third team in the 64-year history of the most
prestigious endurance race in the United States to win three in a row. His
Porsche Penske Motorsports team joined Chip Ganassi Racing and Wayne Taylor
Racing as the only teams to win three straight sports car races at Daytona
International Speedway.
It was the 21st victory in the event for Porsche.
What's most impressive for Penske is that the team has won three years in a row
with three different lineups; Brazilian driver Felipe Nasr, the Penske closer,
is the only mainstay on all three entries.
Nasr's feat makes it six consecutive years that a Brazilian driver has been
part of the winning team. Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves
was part of the winning team in 2021, ?22 and '23.
It didn't come easy for Nasr, driving in front of what Daytona officials called
the largest Rolex crowd in race history, as he held off the Cadillac from
Action Express Racing over the final hour to win the overall title. Action
Express is owned by NASCAR and IMSA chairman Jim France, and the car originally
won the pole but was disqualified in post-qualifying inspection.
That forced the No. 31 Cadillac to start last in class, and the lineup of Jack
Aitken, Earl Bamber, Mercedes Formula 1 driver Fred Vesti and NASCAR rising
star Connor Zilisch weaved their way to second over the 24 hours.
Nasr and Aitken closed the races for their respective teams and Aitken got
several good looks at passing Nasr for the win in the final 25 minutes, but
Nasr closed the door on him at every chance.
Nasr cruised to victory in an overhauled No. 7 Porsche 963 with teammates
Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich. The Porsche beat the Cadillac by 1 minute,
.569 seconds.
The No. 24 BMW M Team WRT finished third in the top GTP class with the quartet
of Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Robin Frijns and Rene Rast.
The caution was thrown for foggy conditions shortly before 1 a.m. and lasted
for a race-record 6 hours, 33 minutes, 25 seconds covering 120 laps. The
caution was so long that Penske, who prides himself on staying awake and on the
pit stand the entire 24 hours, actually took a midrace break.
The Rolex marks the unofficial start of the motorsports season, and this year's
race features 60 cars from 12 different automakers, 228 drivers from 32
countries and no clear favorite.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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