The 2024 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona didn't disappoint with plenty of high-speed action in front of the biggest crowd the event has seen.
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There were plenty of disappointed drivers and teams, however, as a lot of the favorites had trouble during the night.
When it came down to the closing laps of the race, Porsche Penske Motorsport and Whelen Cadillac Racing put on a heck of a battle for the overall win.
Tom Blomqvist tried his hardest to put the No.31 Cadillac in victory lane, which would have been his third consecutive overall Rolex 24 victory, but Felipe Nasr held him off in the No. 7 Porsche.
Nasr, alongside Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell and defending Indy 500 champion, Josef Newgarden, scored the victory for not only themselves but for "The Captain" Roger Penske. A moment none will forget, as the win was the first for Penske in the Rolex 24 at Daytona since 1969.
REPOST to congratulate Porsche Penske Motorsport!
Josef Newgarden, Felipe Nasr, Dane Cameron and Matt Campbell WIN the #Rolex24 at Daytona! pic.twitter.com/NYOcqzpdsU
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 28, 2024
Penske has won nearly everything possible in motorsports, and for the team to have gone so long without winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona — a 55-year drought — seems nearly impossible to believe.
That win in 1969 came with Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons driving a Lola T70 powered by Chevrolet. Donohue meant so much to Penske given he helped Roger check off a lot of firsts in racing, including the first of his 19 Indianapolis 500 victories.
Penske was overcome with emotion while chatting with ESPN in victory lane.
"To come back here and have both cars run for 24 hours and then win the race, it's hard for me to believe," Penske said. "This goes down as one of the biggest wins we've had."
Penske then acknowledged how impressive the competition was during the race.
"When we won in 1969 with a Lola, it was a lot different in those days," Penske said. "But to think about today, the biggest crowd they've had here for a sports car race, just to see the competitiveness, a win by (eight) tenths of a second, that's unbelievable. That's what I'll say."
Cadillac may have come up short, but it certainly showed its strength. It was a Rolex 24 that won't soon be forgotten by the fans or the competitors.
