Winning Daytona once is tough. Doing it two years in a row? Porsche Penske Motorsport pulled it off this weekend, with their number 7 car taking the top spot at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, and Laurens Vanthoor made it happen, while the number 6 car, driven by Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, and Kévin Estre, came in third. Not a bad day for the team. Read More A Tough Daytona for Ferrari’s 296 GT3 Entries It was Porsche’s 20th overall victory at Daytona. That kind of history doesn’t come easy. The race had its tense moments too. Felipe Nasr’s gutsy inside pass—one of those moves that could go very wrong—sealed the deal. It was a split-second decision, and it paid off big. Roger Penske’s team has been on a roll. Two Daytona wins in two years. A GTP title. Add back-to-back Indianapolis 500 wins and a NASCAR championship to the list, and you start to wonder if there’s anything they can’t do. This weekend was just another reminder of how good they are at what they do. Porsche Fights for Victory in a Race Full of Twists The 24 Hours of Daytona always delivers drama, but this one had a little bit of everything—late-race battles, team tension, and a finish that left Porsche celebrating and second-guessing at the same time. Felipe Nasr wasn’t going to let this one slip away. With 20 minutes left, he made his move, diving inside teammate Matt Campbell at the Le Mans Chicane to take the lead. It was bold, risky, and exactly the kind of moment that decides races. The two Penske-run Porsche 963s had spent most of the night controlling the pace, leading a combined 517 laps. But this was far from a runaway win. Just as Porsche looked set for a one-two finish, Tom Blomqvist had other plans. The Meyer Shank Racing driver, in the No. 60 Acura ARX-06, wasn’t backing down. With just over four minutes to go, he forced his way past Campbell, denying Porsche what would have been its first Daytona 1-2 since 1987. In the end, Nasr crossed the line 1.335 seconds ahead of Blomqvist, while Campbell finished third, 4.423 seconds behind the leader. The result was a mix of triumph and what-if. Porsche’s 20th overall win at Daytona was a milestone, but they’ll be replaying those final laps and wondering how close they came to making history. Nasr knew how critical that last pit stop was. The team had gambled on four fresh Michelin tires, a move that helped him keep the pace when it mattered most. "I could see that the Acura was coming quick behind us, so we had to go," he said. "I made a clean pass, and that was it." For Nick Tandy, the win carried extra weight. With this victory, he became the first driver to win all four of endurance racing’s biggest 24-hour events—Daytona, Le Mans, Nürburgring, and Spa. "To be the first person ever to do something is quite unbelievable, really," he said. Blomqvist, meanwhile, kept his streak alive. This was his fourth straight top-two finish at Daytona, proving once again that he knows how to close out a 24-hour race. "The Porsches were really strong… I didn’t think I was going to have anything for them, but you never give up, right?" he said. On the occasion, Roger Penske said, "This Porsche car we have has just been amazing, and to think we did it two years in a row is a credit to all the people from Porsche in Germany and our team here. We’re truly one organization." Battles, Chaos, and Firsts Across the Field Cadillac’s prototypes had a rough run this year. Wayne Taylor Racing’s entry, with Kamui Kobayashi at the wheel, looked strong early on. Then Saturday night happened—a mechanical issue forced the car out of the race, taking Cadillac’s best chance at a podium with it. In the LMP2 class, things were even more chaotic. Tower Motorsports’ No. 8 Oreca 07 came out on top, thanks to Sebastien Bourdais, John Farano, Sebastian Alvarez, and Job van Uitert. It wasn’t easy. The No. 8 car dodged crashes, mechanical failures, and a late-race battle with United Autosports’ No. 22 car to secure the win. The carnage started early. A multi-car collision in the eighth hour wiped out three contenders, including the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac and AO Racing’s No. 99 “Spike” car. Read More 2025 Tesla Model Y Juniper Now on Sale in US Starting at $61,630 Spike had led 280 laps but dropped out in the final 80 minutes with battery issues. Later, Era Motorsport’s No. 18 car looked like it could take the win—until a spin triggered by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports’ No. 52 car ended its run. For Bourdais, this was his third Rolex 24 win. But even he couldn’t believe how wild the race got. “It seemed for a minute that nobody wanted to win it,” he joked, likening the chaos to “Days of Thunder.” Despite it all, his team stayed steady, leading 118 laps and crossing the line ahead of United Autosports’ No. 22 and Riley Motorsports’ No. 74 to claim victory. In the GTD Pro class, Ford Mustang made its mark. The No. 65 Mustang GT3, driven by Dennis Olsen, Chris Mies, and Fred Vervisch, took its first-ever class win. Olsen made the decisive move with 38 minutes left, passing Corvette Racing’s No. 4 Z06 GT3.R on a restart. That move set the stage for the win, with Corvette’s No. 3 car finishing second and Ford’s No. 64 Mustang rounding out the podium. Not everything went smoothly. Corvette’s No. 4 car turned heads for all the wrong reasons when it spun the Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 in what looked like payback for an earlier incident. That earned Corvette a drive-through penalty but cleared the way for its No. 3 car to lock in second place. The GTD class brought a breakthrough for AWA Racing. The team’s No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, driven by Matthew Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, and Marvin Kirchhöfer, claimed its first Daytona victory. It wasn’t a simple win—AWA had to fend off challenges from Wright Motorsports’ Porsche 911 GT3 R and Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the closing laps. Source: Porsche
