The 2026 season kicks off with the Rolex Daytona 24 on January 24-25.
Origins
Big Bill France cooked up the Daytona Continental in 1962 to upstage the 12-hour race at Sebring, promoted by the flamboyant Alex Ullman. That first race was a 3-hour affair which Dan Gurney won. It drew 47 entries before a crowd of 14,000 fans.
The first full-fledged 24-hour race at Daytona happened on Feb 4-6, 1966. Daytona is now the world’s most important 24-hour race save for Le Mans. Last year 61 cars filled the grid, shared by 235 drivers from 31 countries before a crowd of 50,000 fans.
Roger Penske’s new team won the GT class in the initial 24-Hour race
Roger Penske started his now legendary team with this # 6 1966 L88 Corvette that was driven fresh from the factory in St. Louis. He hired Dick Guldstrand to prep the car and drive it along with his buddy George Wintersteen and Ben Moore. They came back from a crash during the night to win the GT class.
The trusty backup comes through
Two years later, the Sunray DX team brought two brand new 1968 # 29 & # 30 C3 “Shark” Corvettes to Daytona. They were expected win but problems set them back to fourth and fifth while the 1967 # 31 C2 “backup” of Jerry Grant and Dave Morgan came through to win the GT class on Feb 3-4.
First overall followed by a huge loss
The two-year-old GM Corvette Racing Team made history when Johnny O’Connell, Ron Fellows, Chris Kneifel and Franck Freon drove the # 2 C5.R Corvette to finish first in the GTS class and an incredible first overall on Feb 3-4 2001.
Andy Pilgrim, the legendary Dale Earnhardt, Kelly Collins and Dale Jr drove the # 3 C5.R Corvette to fourth overall and second in GTS.
Watch Dale Sr rave about his C5.R Corvette in this special 3-minute video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM_ol3J_PYc
Dale Sr tragically left our world for good just three weeks later in a crash in the final turn on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 behind the wheel of his # 3 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. That crash remains shrouded in mystery to this day.
Another incredible win for the Corvette Racing Team
The GM Corvette Racing Team again won the GTS class when Oliver Gavin in the # 4 C7.R Corvette edged out teammate Antonio Garcia in the # 3 C7.R Corvette in the closest finish ever on Jan 31, 2016.
A victory from last year to savor forever
The AWA team from Canada finished first among 22 cars in the GTD class with its # 13 C8 Z06 GT3.R Corvette piloted by Orey Fidani and Matt Bell on Jan 26, 2025. The surprise victory against this huge field inspired the Orlando Company, the team’s deep-pocket sponsor to spring to buy a new and retire the Daytona winner for posterity.
A win from out of nowhere
Sierra “Smokey” Drolet was matched up with John Tremblay and Vince Giomondo to drive the little-known # 96 C2 1966 Corvette that won the GT class on Feb 2, 1969. Luck was on their side as the highly touted Corvettes of Tony DeLorenzo and Jerry Thompson, backed by the Owens Corning Fiberglass Company failed to finish.
Money wins out a year later
Jerry Thompson, paired with John Mahler in the # 7 1969 O-C Corvette won the GT class in 1970. The Owens Corning brass was aghast at the black trim and insisted that star stylist Randy Wittine re-paint it for the next race at Sebring where Tony De Lorenzo and Dick Lang took the win.
Catch some race action we set to music:
Greenwood goes for broke
John Greenwood blew up his # 75 1974 monster Corvette well before the sun had set on Feb 1, 1975. John set fastest among 51 GT cars in qualifying as the manufacturers of exotic prototypes got hammered by hard times and left their cars at home.
Insiders speculated that Greenwood, who was clocked at 236 mph on the back stretch, felt that the headlines mattered more than winning. He just might have had a point!
Star actor reaches for center stage
James Garner got hooked on racing via his role playing Pete Aron, Formula 1 driver in the 1966 blockbuster movie Grand Prix.
Garner formed his American International Racing team, and like the DX Team, brought 2 new 1968 model Corvettes to Daytona. Dick Guldstrand, who in 1966 won for Penske, drove the # 44 Corvette and Scooter Patrick drove the # 45 Corvette. Both cars fared poorly and were sold off. The # 44 Corvette was discovered many years later. It is now restored to original and offered for sale.
Photo credits: Joe Trybulec, Richard Prince, Rick Montgomery, Harry Hurst, Fred Lewis
Still time to order our keepsake 2026 Corvette Racing Calendar
Photo art of thirteen C1 thru C8 Corvettes in action at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America and more. New and renewing members can order here. https://www.registryofcorvetteracecars.com/membership