WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona saw its second quarter of relatively calm racing interrupted early Sunday morning when thick fog rolled over the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway.
Just before the 10 p.m. fireworks show, clouds began to settle, and by 1 a.m., visibility deteriorated enough to prompt the seventh full-course caution of the race, called as an extended yellow flag. The caution came less than an hour before the halfway mark at 1:40 a.m., temporarily slowing the high-speed battle across the 24-hour endurance race.
Through the fog, Porsche Penske Motorsport continued to lead both Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and the overall field. Felipe Nasr kept the pace in the No. 7 Porsche 963, which he shares with Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich. Meanwhile, the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, driven by Earl Bamber along with Jack Aitken, Frederik Vesti, and Connor Zilisch, staged a strong recovery to second place. The No. 6 Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, and Matt Campbell was third.
“A few people are cycling using new tires and used tires, going back and forth,” said Bamber. “The 7 and the 6 Porsches look pretty strong right now, but there’s still a lot of hours to go.”
While Michelin’s soft compound tires were available since 5 p.m., teams used them sparingly due to warmer track temperatures, favoring consistency over outright speed.
In Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), AO Racing dominated much of the six-hour period. Dane Cameron piloted the No. 99 ORECA LMP2 07 ahead of Gregoire Saucy’s No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA, while teammate PJ Hyett engaged in a close battle with George Kurtz in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA.
GT drivers also felt the impact of the fog. Neil Verhagen in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO and Scott McLaughlin in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R reported challenges on the back straight, where visibility was most limited. Both drivers praised spotters for keeping them informed despite the worsening conditions.
“I already got the call with about 45 minutes left in my stint,” said Verhagen. “Visibility was tricky, especially on the back straight, but the spotters were phenomenal in keeping us updated.”
Connor De Phillippi led at the 12-hour mark for GTD PRO in the No. 1 BMW, ahead of Ayhancan Guven in Manthey Racing’s “Grello” Porsche 911 GT3 R and the two Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs.
McLaughlin added, “The car feels really good. The boys are doing great pit stops. It’s a matter of putting it together. I had a couple of contacts with traffic, and visibility was tough in the second half of my stint. Adding fireworks made it crazy, but it was still fun.”
The No. 36 DXDT Corvette now leads fellow Corvette entries, including 13 Autosport’s No. 13 driven by Ben Green and Turner Motorsport’s No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO piloted by Francis Selldorff. Both Green and Selldorff are making their WeatherTech Championship debuts.
Coverage continues live on Peacock, with NBC Sports commentary domestically and IMSA Radio on the IMSA Official YouTube channel internationally. Network NBC will air the final two hours at noon ET on Sunday.
As Daytona passes the 12-hour mark, drivers and teams face not only fierce competition on track but also the added challenge of navigating one of the most unpredictable variables in endurance racing — the rolling fog of Daytona.
