The 52nd Rolex 24 at Daytona was an endurance sports car racing event held at the Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida, from 23 to 26 January 2014. The 52nd running of the 24 Hours of Daytona was also the inaugural race for the Tudor United SportsCar Championship as well as the newly merged International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) sanctioning body. As part of the new series, Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans GT Endurance-style cars were eligible to participate for the first time in over a decade.

The race was won by Action Express Racing, who led a sweep of the top four positions for Corvettes in the Prototype category. Brazilian Christian Fittipaldi and Portuguese João Barbosa became two-time race winners, while Frenchman Sébastien Bourdais won his first Rolex 24 after holding off the Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette by a second and a half at the finish. The GTLM was won by Porsche North America, whose 911 RSR beat out the Team RLL BMW. The Prototype Challenge category was led by CORE Autosport ahead of 8Star Motorsports. The GTD class victory was originally awarded to the Flying Lizard Motorsports Audi following a post-race penalty for Level 5 Motorsports' Ferrari, but IMSA later rescinded the penalty, promoting the Ferrari to first place in class.

An incident marred the race during its third hour when Memo Gidley's GAINSCO Corvette ran into the back of the slowed Risi Ferrari of Matteo Malucelli. Officials halted the race for approximately one hour while both drivers were extracted from their cars. Both were held at Halifax Medical Center for several days.

Background

Preview

NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., who built Daytona International Speedway in 1959, conceived of the 24 Hours of Daytona to attract European sports-car endurance racing to the United States and provide international exposure to the speedway. It is informally considered part of the Triple Crown of Endurance Racing, with the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed that the race was part of the 2014 United SportsCar Championship schedule in September 2013. It was the first year that the race was part of the series calendar, and the 62nd 12 Hours of Sebring. The race was the first of 2014's thirteen scheduled IMSA automobile endurance races, and the first of four North American Endurance Cup (NAEC) events. The race take place at the 12-turn Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida from January 25 to 26.

Qualifying

+ClassTeamTime1P99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing1:38.270_12P90 Spirit of Daytona Racing1:38.487 +0.21723P5 Action Express Racing1:38.658 +0.38834P9 Action Express Racing1:38.838 +0.56845P02 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates1:38.948 +0.67856P10 Wayne Taylor Racing1:39.023 +0.75367P0 DeltaWing Racing Cars1:39.270 +1.00078P01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates1:39.424 +1.15489P60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian1:39.761 +1.491910P6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing1:39.829 +1.5191011P31 Marsh Racing1:40.570 +2.3001112P50 Highway to Help1:41.587 +3.3171213PC54 CORE Autosport1:41.777 +3.5071314PC8 Starworks Motorsport1:41.815 +3.5451415P2 Extreme Speed Motorsports1:41.885 +3.6151516PC09 RSR Racing1:41.932 +3.6621617PC38 Performance Tech Motorsports1:42.053 +3.7831718P1 Extreme Speed Motorsports1:42.157 +3.8871819PC08 RSR Racing1:42.187 +3.9171920PC87 BAR1 Motorsports1:42.416 +4.1462021PC52 PR1/Mathiesen Motorsports1:43.156 +4.8862122P42 OAK Racing1:43.420 +5.1502223PC7 Starworks Motorsport1:44.126 +5.8562324GTLM91 SRT Motorsports1:44.506 +6.2362425GTLM911 Porsche North America1:44.582 +6.3122526GTLM93 SRT Motorsports1:44.617 +6.3472627GTLM4 Corvette Racing1:44.729 +6.4592728GTLM912 Porsche North America1:44.746 +6.4762829GTLM97 Aston Martin Racing1:45.439 +7.1692930GTLM55 BMW Team RLL1:45.657 +7.3973031GTLM56 BMW Team RLL1:45.672 +7.4023132GTLM57 Krohn Racing1:46.863 +8.5933233GTD63 Scuderia Corsa1:47.028 +8.7583334GTD65 Scuderia Corsa1:47.052 +8.7823435GTD007 TRG-AMR1:47.055 +8.7853536GTD555 Level 5 Motorsports1:47.062 +8.7923637GTD33 Riley Motorsports1:47.255 +8.9853738GTD556 Level 5 Motorsports1:47.348 +9.0783839GTD71 Park Place Motorsports1:47.354 +9.0843940GTD72 SMP/ESM Racing1:47.361 +9.0914041GTD009 TRG-AMR1:47.404 +9.1344142GTD94 Turner Motorsport1:47.418 +9.1484243GTD27 Dempsey Racing1:47.490 +9.2204344GTD18 Mühlner Motorsports America1:47.561 +9.2914445GTD44 Magnus Racing1:47.572 +9.3024546GTD22 Alex Job Racing1:47.647 +9.3774647GTD58 Snow Racing1:47.649 +9.3794748GTD30 NGT Motorsport1:47.742 +9.4724849GTD73 Park Place Motorsports1:47.749 +9.4794950GTD23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing1:47.952 +9.6825051GTD45 Flying Lizard Motorsports1:48.045 +9.7755152GTD81 GB Autosport1:48.049 +9.7795253GTD35 Flying Lizard Motorsports1:48.140 +9.8705354GTD32 GMG Racing1:48.381 +10.1115455GTD51 Spirit of Race1:48.438 +10.1685556GTD28 Dempsey Racing1:48.741 +10.4715657GTD64 Scuderia Corsa1:48.758 +10.4885758GTD19 Mühlner Motorsports America1:48.821 +10.5515859P70 Speedsource1:49.734 +11.4645960P07 Speedsource1:50.251 +11.9816061GTLM62 Risi CompetizioneDid not participate6162GTLM3 Corvette RacingDid not participate6263PC25 8Star MotorsportsDid not participate6364GTD49 Spirit of RaceDid not participate6465P78 Starworks MotorsportDid not participate6566GTD48 Paul Miller RacingDid not participate6667GTD46 Fall-Line MotorsportsDid not participate67Sources: Notes:

The No. 78 Starworks Motorsport entry was sent to the rear of the Prototype field for violating competition rules regarding the car's ride height. Additionally, the car had an unapproved aerodynamic device. The No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 was sent to the rear of the GTD field for violating competition rules regarding the car's rear wing. The No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8 was sent to the rear of the GTD field for violating competition rules regarding the car's ride height.

Race

Start and early hours

Night

Morning

Finish

Post-race

Results

Race result