Daytona International Speedway will be a hive of daily activity this month for the 64th running of the Rolex 24 endurance race that signals the annual kickoff of the major-league auto racing schedule and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
The Roar Before the Rolex 24 test session will unfold with more than 10 hours of practice on the Jan. 16-18 weekend, which also will feature Michelin Pilot Challenge testing and two VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races on Peacock.
The second week of IMSA action on Daytona’s 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course will begin Jan. 21 with Mazda MX-5 Cup and Michelin Pilot Challenge practice.
Qualifying for both series and the Rolex 24 at Daytona will take place Jan. 22, which also will feature the MX-5 Cup season opener. The series will race again Jan. 23 ahead of the four-hour season opener for the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
The green flag for the 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona will drop at 1:40 p.m. ET on Jan. 24 with coverage beginning on NBC and Peacock, which will have flag-to-flag streaming of the race (and the 2026 IMSA season).
Here are all the start times and the full schedule of all the IMSA series racing at Daytona International Speedway in January, starting with the Roar test session:
Rolex 24 Daytona daily schedule
Friday, Jan. 16
8:30-9:45 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
10-10:40 a.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge practice
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
1:15-2:45 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
3-3:40 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge practice
4-6 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
Saturday, Jan. 17
8:40-10:10 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge test session
10:25-11 a.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge qualifying
11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship test session
2-2:45 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race 1 (Peacock)
3:10-4:10 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship test session
4:30-5:30 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge test session
6:30-8:30 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship test session
Sunday, Jan. 18
9:45-10:45 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship test session
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge test session
1:20-2:05 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race 2 (Peacock)
2:30-4 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship test session
Wednesday, Jan. 21
1-1:40 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup practice
3-4 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
4:15-4:45 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup practice
Thursday, Jan. 22
8:45-9:45 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
10:05-11:35 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
11:55 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup qualifying
1:15-1:50 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying
2:10-3:25 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying (Peacock)
5:15-6 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 1
6:15-7:45 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
Friday, Jan. 23
10-10:45 a.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 2
11:05 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
1:45-5:45 p.m.: BMW M Endurance Challenge At Daytona (Peacock)
Saturday, Jan. 24
1:40 p.m.: Rolex 24 At Daytona (Peacock; NBC from 1:30-2:30 p.m.)
Sunday, Jan. 25
1:40 p.m.: Rolex 24 at Daytona concludes (Peacock; NBC from noon-2 p.m.)
