How to watch the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona: Schedule, TV information and Here's all you need to know about game

The 62nd running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona will kick off the 2024 season for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which begins in the new year.

The 24-hour endurance race attracts an elite group of global champions and is considered the unofficial start of the major-league racing season.

10 cars from four different manufacturers—Acura, BMW, Cadillac, and Porsche—will compete for the overall triumph in the Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) class of the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) top category. A few of the grid teams will compete in the June 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Three manufacturers total—two of them new to IMSA’s top division—will compete in the GTP category. DPi category holdovers Acura (Meyer Shank Racing, Wayne Taylor Racing) and Cadillac (Chip Ganassi Racing, Action Express Racing) will be joined by Porsche Motorsport (with Team Penske) and BMW (with Rahal Letterman Lanigan) in fielding LMDh prototypes.

This is more details to be aware of before the Daytona International Speedway IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener on January 27–28:

Who will be racing in Daytona in the Rolex 24?

Grand Touring Prototype (GTP, 10 cars), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2, 13 cars), GT Daytona Pro (GTD Pro, 12 cars), and GT Daytona (GTD, 24 cars) are the four categories in which the 59 cars competing at the Rolex 24 race will be divided.

A number of Formula One veterans will be competing in the race, including Jenson Button, the 2009 champion (driving a Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Acura in GTP), and Felipe Massa, the former Ferrari winner (driving a Riley 74 Ranch Resort in LMP2), who is making his Daytona debut.

IndyCar drivers will field at least 12 full-time competitors in the Rolex 24. Superstar crossovers include last year’s Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who will be making his second Rolex 24 start but his first in the elite GTP class, and defending series champion Alex Palou, who is driving the No. 01 Cadillac Racing entry, owned by his team in IndyCar.

Other IndyCar drivers who will be racing the GTP hybrid prototype at this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona include six-time champion Scott Dixon (Cadillac Racing), seven-time winner Colton Herta (WTR Andretti), 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson (WTR Andretti), and Tom Blomqvist (Action Express Cadillac). IndyCar will transition to hybrid powerplants in the latter part of the 2024 season.

The following other IndyCar winners are in the field: Alexander Rossi (GTD Pro, Pfaff Motorsports), Kyle Kirkwood (GTD Pro, Vasser Sullivan), Felix Rosenqvist (LMP2 United Autosports), Pato O’Ward (LMP2 United Autosports) and Scott McLaughlin (LMP2, Tower Motorsports).

Who won at Daytona last year in the Rolex 24?

Meyer Shank Racing won the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona after starting on pole position. Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, and Simon Pagenaud partnered for the victory.

But the group won’t be able to hold onto the championship. Following a significant fine for altering tyre pressures during the race the previous year, MSR decided to withdraw its IMSA squad for 2024 and focus solely on the NTT IndyCar Series.

Are any drivers from NASCAR competing in the Rolex 24 this year?

This year is the first time in recent memory that there aren’t any full-time NASCAR drivers competing in the Rolex 24. For the previous two seasons, Austin Cindric, the winner of the 2022 Daytona 500, was the only driver representing NASCAR in the race.

Bubba Wallace and John Hunter Nemecheck, two drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, will compete in the four-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge warmup race on January 26. Together, NASCAR racers Harrison Burton and Zane Smith won the Daytona BMW M Endurance Challenge the previous year.

How many miles and laps are run in the Daytona Rolex 24?

How many laps are completed within the window determines the distance in this 24-hour timed event.

The top four finishers at Daytona International Speedway’s 3.56-mile infield road track last year completed 783 laps and over 2,700 miles. For 87 laps, the race was stopped by 15 caution flags.

What is awarded to Rolex 24 winners?

The grand marshal of the event as well as the drivers who place first in each of the four categories will also get a steel and yellow gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona (with a white dial). The retail price of the watch exceeds $10,000.

The tradition started in 1992.

HOW CAN You VIEW THE ROLEX 24 IN 2024?

The NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com, and Peacock will all stream the 62nd Rolex 24 at Daytona, providing flag-to-flag coverage of the race.

The race will be televised live on NBC and Peacock on Saturday, January 27 at 1:30 p.m. ET. From 2:30 to 8 p.m., the coverage will shift to USA Network and Peacock, and from 8 to 10 p.m., it will only be available on Peacock and IMSA.TV. After returning to Peacock and USA Network from 10 p.m. to midnight, the coverage will shift to Peacock/IMSA.TV till 6 a.m.

On Sunday, January 28, Rolex 24 coverage will air on USA Network from 6 a.m. until noon. On NBC, the Rolex 24 finale will air from noon to two p.m.

Along with announcers Calvin Fish and Townsend Bell, Leigh Diffey, Brian Till, and Dave Burns will announce the race.

IndyCar on NBC analyst James Hinchcliffe (who is also participating in the event) and NASCAR on NBC commentators Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton will join Marty Snider as they anchor coverage from the Peacock Pit Box.

The pit reporters are Kevin Lee, Parker Kligerman, Dillon Welch, and Hannah Newhouse.

Other January events that Peacock from Daytona will stream (all hours ET):

Jan. 20: IMSA VP Racing Sports Car Challenge, 2:05 p.m.
Jan. 21: IMSA VP Racing Sports Car Challenge, 12:20 p.m.
Jan. 21: IMSA Rolex 24 qualifying, 1:50 p.m.
Jan. 26: BMW M Endurance Michelin Pilot Challenge, 1:45 p.m.

ROLEX 24-HOUR SCHEDULE, START TIMES

This is an overview of all the events that took place at Daytona International Speedway during the final two weeks of January, beginning with the Roar test session. Start and complete times for Rolex 24:

Friday, Jan. 19

7 a.m.: Garages open
8:45-9:15 a.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge practice
9:30-10:45 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
1:45-2:15 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge practice
2:30-4 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
4:15-6 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice

Saturday, Jan. 20

8:40-9:15 a.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge qualifying
9:30-11 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
2:05-2:50 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Race 1 (Peacock)
3:10 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
4:30-5:30 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
6:30-8:30 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice

Sunday, Jan. 21

10-11:15 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
12:20-1:05 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Race 2 (Peacock)
1:25-1:50 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
1:55-3 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Rolex 24 qualifying (Peacock)

Wednesday, Jan. 24

1-1:45 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 practice
3:05-4:05 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
4:20-5:05 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 practice

Thursday, Jan. 25

8:45-9:45 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
10:05-11:35 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
11:55 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 qualifying
1:15-1:50 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying
2:10-3:55 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
4:15-5 p.m.: Mazda MX-5, Race 1
6:35-8:05 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice

Friday, Jan. 26

9:25-9:55 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
10:15-11 a.m.: Mazda MX-5, Race 2
11:20 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
1:45-5:45 p.m.: BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona, Michelin Pilot Challenge (Peacock)

Saturday, Jan. 27