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Rolex 24: The big race at Daytona has answered to several different names over the years

Ken Willis, Daytona Beach News-Journal
·4 min read

As it's done for the past 32 years, the international racing season will crank to life in Daytona Beach with the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Before 1992, everything started with the SunBank 24 at Daytona. That's right: Same race, different name.

Here's a look back at all of the names (and distances) attached to Daytona's marquee endurance event since its debut in 1962.

Daytona Continental (1962-63)

Famed hot-rodder Dan Gurney was the first winner of Daytona's sports-car endurance race.
Famed hot-rodder Dan Gurney was the first winner of Daytona's sports-car endurance race.

When Bill France Sr. build his mammoth speedway on the west side of town in the late 1950s, he envisioned it playing host to more than just the NASCAR series he'd helped start a decade earlier. He wanted an international sports-car race, complete with the biggest stars from that form of racing.

His hope was formalized in 1962 when a Who's Who of international racing competed in a three-hour race over the Speedway's road course. Dan Gurney was the first winner; Pedro Rodriguez won the following year.

Daytona 2000 (1964-65)

Wanting to expand and offer something similar to another Florida sports-car classic — the 12 Hours of Sebring — Daytona extended its sports-car race to 2,000 kilometers in 1964. At that distance, the race was similar to Sebring in duration, which was still only half the length of the world's most historic endurance race in Le Mans.

24 Hours of Daytona (1966-77) *

Lloyd Ruby and Ken Miles celebrate their second straight Daytona win in 1966.
Lloyd Ruby and Ken Miles celebrate their second straight Daytona win in 1966.

Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby, who'd paired to win the previous year's Daytona 2000, won the inaugural 24-hour race at Daytona, again in a Carroll Shelby Mustang. Maybe you've seen the movie. Eventually, two-man teams would give way to rosters of three or four drivers, sometimes more.

Oh, the asterisk? In 1972, due to an international rules change on engines, and the belief that 3.0-liter engines (as opposed to the previous 5.0 liter versions) wouldn't last, the race was dramatically shortened — and won by Mario Andretti and Jacky Ickx, by the way.

That's better than what happened in 1974, when the race was cancelled altogether during the 1973-74 fuel crisis and gas rationing. That same year, the Daytona 500 was shortened to 450 miles as the auto racing bodies made concessions to the political climate.

The gas lines of 1974 affected everyone with an internally combusted motor.
The gas lines of 1974 affected everyone with an internally combusted motor.

24 Hour Pepsi Challenge (1978-83)

Pepsi was a key partner for Bill France in the mid-'50s as he was cobbling together the funding needed to build his big speedway. From Daytona's opening in 1959 through 2007, Pepsi remained the official soft drink of DIS and its products were the only sodas available at concession stands.

When time came to add title sponsorship to the 24-hour race in 1978, no one was surprised at the initial name.

SunBank 24 at Daytona (1984-91)

SunBank was formed in the early 1970s through a merger of banks and was a familiar brand throughout Florida for over a decade, before another merger brought us SunTrust, which is now Truist.

Rolex 24 At Daytona (1992-present)

At first blush, it's a natural fit — a world renowned time piece slapping its name on a race based on time. Two laps around the clock, specifically.

At Daytona, Victory Lane isn't just about champagne and trophies, but new Rolex watches for all the winners.
At Daytona, Victory Lane isn't just about champagne and trophies, but new Rolex watches for all the winners.

Over the years, Rolex and Daytona became a more fitting marriage, as the caliber of international sports-car machinery grew by leaps and bounds, leading to today's hyper-technical prototypes and wide array of "stock" racers in the GTD categories — including the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini.

The tradition of presenting a Rolex watch to every winning driver — yes, in each class of cars, and also in all major Daytona races — has added to the cachet of winning at Daytona, while proving that a Rolex isn't just a sought-after timepiece, but one that can withstand a champagne bath.

And yes, for copyright purposes, though not necessarily elsewhere, that's an upper-case A in Rolex 24 At Daytona.

When is the Rolex 24?

  • Start time: 1:40 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 27

  • End time: 1:40 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 28

  • How to watch: All 24 hours on Peacock. 1:30-2:30 p.m. (NBC). 2:30-8 p.m. (USA). 10 p.m.-midnight (USA). 6 a.m.-noon (USA). Noon-2 p.m. (NBC)

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Rolex 24 At Daytona wasn't always Rolex and wasn't always 24; SunBank?