The Rolex 24 at Daytona is one of the biggest races on the endurance racing calendar and signals the kickoff for a new season in international sportcar racing. With a rich history and enormous prestige, it’s no surprise that some of the best drivers have raced – and won – at Daytona.
But which driver in this year’s field has taken the most victories? And which team taking the green flag on Saturday is the most successful? Let’s take a look. Note: the list is compiled from both overall and class wins.
The 2020 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona features a highly successful field. It includes 42 drivers with at least one previous victory, as well as 30 IMSA premier series champions. There’s also 26 drivers with a victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, six Indianapolis 500 winners (including the reigning champion in Simon Pagenaud) and a reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion in Kyle Busch.
The driver with the most wins in the Florida endurance classic is Andy Lally, driving for the #44 Team GRT Magnus squad. The 44-year-old has racked up five victories over the course of his career. The first came in the SRP2 class in 2001, driving a Lola B2K/40 for Archangel Motorsports Services. His next three wins would come in the GT class. First in 2009 with The Racer’s Group, in 2011 with TRG Motorsports and in 2012 with Magnus Racing, each time in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. His fifth win, also with Magnus Racing, would come in 2016, taking an Audi R8 LMS GT3 to GTD victory.
Runner-up in the list is Joao Barbosa, who took a GTS class win in 2003 before adding three overall wins to his tally with Action Express Racing in 2010, 2014 and 2018. The last win came under the Mustang Sampling Racing banner, for which he also competes in this year’s edition.
Third place is shared by two drivers: Scott Dixon (overall wins in 2006 and 2015, GTLM win in 2018) and Juan Pablo Montoya (three overall wins: 2007, 2008, 2013). That win record ties Montoya with Barbosa for most overall wins with three each.
Ten further drivers hold two wins, including the likes of Bill Auberlen (1997 & 1998), Antonio Garcia (2009 & 2015), Filipe Albuquerque (2013 & 2018), Sebastien Bourdais (2014 & 2017), Ryan Briscoe (2015 & 2018) and Jordan Taylor (2017 & 2019).
Porsche tops the list of team wins with five, winning in two classes in 1966 as well as wins in 1967, an overall victory in 1968 and a GTLM triumph in 2014. Second place is held down by no less than four teams. Mazda (1979, 1982, 1983), Corvette Racing (2001, 2015, 2016), Wayne Taylor Racing (2005, 2017, 2019), Action Express Racing (2010, 2014, 2018) all hold three wins each.
In terms of manufacturer wins though, nobody comes close to topping the Stuttgart might as Porsche has claimed a staggering 69 wins. This more than triples that of second placed Mazda, which holds 22 manufacturer wins. Third is held by Chevrolet: 19 wins.
Establishing a link with the other major 24-hour race on the calendar, Oliver Gavin is the most established at Le Mans in the current field. The Briton took five wins at La Sarthe, all with Corvette Racing. Nicolas Lapierre is one win down in second with his impressive LMP2 record (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019), with Corvette team-mates Antonio Garcia and Marcel Fässler each sharing three wins in third.
Furthermore, the grid features one NASCAR Cup Series champion in Kyle Busch (2014, 2019) and six Indy 500 winners. These are Helio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Simon Pagenaud.
There’s plenty of history to be found at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and this Saturday, more will be made when the green flag drops for the 58th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
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