All articles tagged with #daytona
Rolex is auctioning four one-off Daytona watches, each season-themed, at Phillips in London on Sept. 28 to benefit the Federer Foundation and re:Wild. The gem-set pieces reportedly originated as a Four Seasons concept with precious metals and stones and had a retail value around CHF 4 million; charity bidding could push prices higher and potentially reshuffle Daytona valuations.
Ryan Preece captured his first official NASCAR Cup Series win at Daytona’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 after narrowly surviving an overtime restart and a dramatic late-race wreck that took out much of the field. The race finished under caution as chaos unfolded behind him, while the weekend drew Hollywood intrigue with Randy Quaid railing about Days of Thunder casting and Tom Cruise presence at the track, including calls to bring back Nicole Kidman.
Ryan Preece won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona in overtime to lock up a Cup Series playoff berth, praising RFK and his crew in a redemption-filled victory as other drivers reacted to the race’s pace, the updated rules package, and the final chance to influence the Chase picture.
Ryan Preece earned his first Cup Series win in an overtime finish at Daytona, passing Zane Smith on the last lap after a late crash and securing the final spot in the 2026 Chase. The RFK driver’s victory came in his 249th Cup start and helped complete a 16-driver playoff field, with Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric also clinching spots. Daniel Suárez finished second, followed by Tyler Reddick, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The race ended under caution after a multi-car wreck, with van Gisbergen narrowly missing the Chase as the field was set by points.
Denny Hamlin enters the NASCAR Cup Series Chase with a 25-point lead after Daytona; Ryan Preece wins the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to claim his first Cup victory and the final Chase spot, while Austin Cindric also earns a Chase berth. Shane van Gisbergen drops out of the top 16. Unofficial Daytona standings list Hamlin at 2,100 points, followed by Blaney (-25), Reddick (-35), Gibbs (-40), Briscoe (-50), Bell (-45), Larson (-55), Elliott (-60), Logano (-65), Buescher (-70), Suarez (-75), Hocevar (-80), Byron (-85), Wallace (-90), Cindric (-95), and Preece (-100).
Riley Herbst will miss the NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona due to lingering effects from last weekend’s incident at New Hampshire, with Harrison Burton stepping in to drive the No. 35 Toyota for 23XI Racing.
Heading into Daytona's Coke Zero 400, the Cup Series regular-season finale, the playoff battle narrows to four drivers for two spots (Cindric, van Gisbergen, Preece, Keselowski) while Denny Hamlin holds the top seed; experts Mike Organ, Nick Gray and Tom Kreager pick Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman and William Byron as likely winners or strong contenders in the race.
NASCAR’s Daytona package changes reduce drag and horsepower, and with rear spoiler shortened to 4 inches and no practice sessions, teams will race into the unknown at Daytona, sparking chaotic, data-starved pack racing as drivers adapt on the fly.
Motorsport.com argues NASCAR’s Daytona rules package—reducing superspeedway horsepower from 510 to 465 hp, cutting the spoiler, tweaking underbody aero, and changing drop gear ratios—will recreate earlier aero conditions and keep cars in the power band longer, promoting more passing and exciting racing rather than fuel-saving strategies, and narrowing the gap between pack and single-car runs to about 10–11 mph.
NASCAR announced Daytona’s superspeedway package will be adjusted for the Aug. 29 Coke Zero Sugar 400: the rear spoiler will shrink from 7 to 4 inches and horsepower will drop from 510 to 465 to reduce drag, with race officials predicting faster solo runs but similar speeds in packs. The goal is to create more overtaking opportunities and less track-position dependence, a move reflected in comments from Denny Hamlin and pundits, as part of broader speedway-racing tweaks including Talladega stage-length changes.
Jannik Sinner wore the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona reference 126515LN—an Everose gold, black-ceramic bezel Daytona with a Sundust dial—to celebrate back-to-back Wimbledon titles in 2025 and 2026, a watch that could join Rolex’s pantheon of nickname-worthy Daytonas, with a $44,800 MSRP and typical dealer scarcity.
Rolex debuts the Cosmograph Daytona 126502 in Rolesium, a 40mm steel-and-platinum model with a four-piece Grand Feu enamel dial and a patent-pending grey tungsten/zirconia bezel. It features an open case back to reveal caliber 4131, maintains the familiar 40mm Daytona proportions, and is priced at $57,800 off catalog. The watch marks a significant technical and stylist shift for Rolex’s sport line, echoing vintage enamel dials while showcasing new materials and finishing.
Rolex released a second teaser ahead of Watches and Wonders, showing a blue Cerachrom dive bezel, side chronograph pushers, and a white-gold case on a new sports watch—sparking talk it could be a Yacht-Master II reimagining or a brand-new model—while six other unreleased pieces appear in the video, including a steel Oyster Perpetual, a green-dial Datejust 41, a Day-Date in Everose, a steel Daytona with an open caseback (likely commemorative for the Oyster case’s 100th anniversary), and a fully brushed yellow-gold Rolesor OP; Gear Patrol will have full coverage on April 14 from Geneva.
Austin Hill dominated the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway, starting from pole and leading 78 of 120 laps, then withstood three late restarts to beat Justin Allgaier by 0.081 seconds for his 15th career win and a fifth straight Daytona triumph for Richard Childress Racing as the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series kicks off the season.
Felipe Nasr piloted the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 to a third consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona victory, edging Jack Aitken by 1.569 seconds as Nasr’s co-drivers Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich helped seal the win amid nine cautions and dense fog.