By: Andy DeLay, Staff Writer
If you’ve been following endurance racing as long as I have, you remember when the grid sounded different. You remember when you could identify a car by the rumble in your chest, and whine in your ear before you ever saw it round the banking.
For the last few years, the push for efficiency and hybrid technology… impressive as it is… has quieted the field somewhat. To my ears, approval this weekend, when the green flag drops for the 64th Rolex 24 at Daytona (January 24-25), something will be different. That difference is going to be a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12.
Here is why this year’s twice-around-the-clock classic is required viewing for every gearhead.
The Return of the “Real” Engine
The king of the headlines for 2026 is undoubtedly the Daytona debut of the Aston Martin Valkyrie.
Last year, the Heart of Racing team (running as Aston Martin THOR Team) opted to skip Daytona to develop the car, debuting it later at Sebring. That patience paid off with a podium at Petit Le Mans to close out 2025. Now, the No. 23 Valkyrie is ready to eat up the high banks.
Why does this matter to me? Because in a field dominated by turbocharged V6s and V8s, the Valkyrie is an old-school beast disguised as a spaceship. It revs to a stratospheric 11,000 RPM. It doesn’t hum; it screams. For those of us who miss the piercing wail of the Matra V12s or the Ferrari prototypes of the late 60s and early 70s, this car is a love letter to internal combustion.
Drivers Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn, Alex Riberas, and Marco Sørensen have the enviable job of taming this beast in the GTP class. Win or lose, they are going to win the wonderful war on our eardrums.
The NASCAR Invasion: The Veteran and The Prodigy
It wouldn’t be the Rolex 24 without some stock car royalty crossing over to turn right and left. This year, we have a fascinating mix of the established guard and the future of the sport.
A.J. Allmendinger returns to the top class with Meyer Shank Racing in the No. 60 Acura ARX-06. If you follow our NASCAR coverage, you know “The Dinger” is a different animal when he gets into a prototype. He has won this race overall (2012) and is one of the few drivers who can seamlessly transition from banging doors in a stock car to shaving tenths in a high-downforce prototype. Watching a 40-something A.J. hustle a GTP car is a masterclass in versatility.
On the other end of the spectrum, keep your eyes glued to the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R. That car features Connor Zilisch, the Trackhouse Racing development phenom.
If you’ve been reading my columns, you know I don’t use the word “generational” lightly. But what Zilisch has done in Trans-Am, ARCA, and the old Xfinity Series suggests he is the real deal. Seeing him in a top-tier Cadillac prototype against the world’s best sports car drivers will be his biggest test yet. It’s a chance to say, “I watched him when…” before he potentially takes over the NASCAR Cup Series in the coming years.
The Golden Era Continues
We are currently living through a golden era of sports car racing. The GTP class is stacked with factory efforts from Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, Acura, and now Aston Martin.
The race starts at 1:40 PM Eastern this Saturday, January 24th. Whether you are tuning in for the scream of that Aston V12 or to see if the NASCAR boys can steal the Rolex, settle in. It’s going to be a seriously fast 24 hours.
Words from the Editor
How big is the Rolex 24? Not only myself, but several other contributors and photographers will be in attendance. I’m traveling all the way from the snowy, negative temps in Detroit down to the sandy beaches of Daytona in just two days to attend for the first time. – Tom Luttermoser, Founder, Seriously Fast Media Group