24 hours with racing’s most famous watch

For more than three decades, thousands of drivers from all corners of racing have descended upon Daytona International Speedway, lured by the chance to conquer one of motorsport’s most grueling tests: the Rolex 24. But standing on the top step of the podium earns the best drivers more than bragging rights or having their name etched in history. It also comes with the most coveted, and wearable, prize in racing: the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona.

The Rolex Daytona is maybe the Swiss brand’s most revered piece of wrist candy; a five-figures (or more) chronograph that makes watch aficionados and endurance racers alike go a bit gaga. Rolex’s history with Daytona — formerly known as the 24 Hours of Daytona — actually goes back further than the race itself. Sir Malcolm Campbell broke the World Land Speed Record on Daytona Beach while wearing a Rolex in the 1930s. When Daytona’s speedway was built in the late 1950s, the Swiss watchmaker became the official timekeeper of the track. In 1963, inspired by the venue, it brought the Daytona model to market.

Flash forward to 1992, and Rolex became the endurance race’s title sponsor, awarding watches to winners. And while those winning drivers have put in a wild 24 hours to earn their wrist-worn trophies, the dozens of Rolex Daytona watches — nearly half a million dollars worth of Swiss-made status symbols — have a busy schedule during race weekend, too. 

Here’s one very hectic day in the life of a Rolex Daytona during the Rolex 24 at Daytona. 

First stop: New York

The engraving on the back of a winner’s Rolex before the 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona

Photo by: Rolex

For the uninitiated, there are four different classes in the Rolex 24: LMP2, GTP, GTD, and GTD Pro — and the winning drivers of each class receive a watch. What makes a victor’s Rolex Daytona’s much more special than the average version is the bespoke engraving, which is handled by a single expert watchmaker at Rolex’s New York office. The caseback of each timepiece is adorned with the Rolex 24 logo, the word ‘WINNER’ and the year.

Arriving in Florida 

The Rolex 24 trophy next to a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona

Photo by: Rolex

The 2025 Rolex 24 saw 61 teams enter the race, and each is allowed to enter a maximum of five drivers (though plenty compete with only three or four). As a result, Rolex brings 20 engraved watches to Daytona to account for any result in Victory Lane. With an MSRP of more than $20,000 for each Daytona, the collection is worth nearly half a million dollars. It’s no surprise they remain under the watchful eye of security at all times.

The drivers see their spoils

Scott Pruett, Rolex testimonee (the brand’s term for ambassador), with his own Rolex Daytona

Photo by: Rolex

All Rolex 24 competitors attend a mandatory drivers meeting on Saturday morning before the race, and they’re greeted by a stack of Rolex’s iconic green boxes. In 2025, Scott Pruett, who has won the race a record five times, returned to Daytona to serve as a driver steward in race control. Before speaking to the drivers hours before the race, he proudly showed off a piece from his own impressive collection of hard-earned Rolexes.

The Daytona gets its close-up

Rolex testimonee Tom Kristensen, right, speaks with NBC Sports

Photo by: Rolex

Once the race is underway, the watches head out on a mini press tour, including an appearance on the NBC broadcast with nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, who’s also a Rolex testimonee. Viewers catch a close-up look at the steel-and-yellow gold Daytona, which features a white dial along with a yellow gold bezel.

The Daytona was designed to be a timing tool for endurance drivers, with chronographs — the three smaller dials on the face of the watch — for tracking elapsed time and a tachymetric scale on the bezel to determine average speed over a given distance. These days, no one is using their luxury watch to gather data, but the still-there functionality connects the past and the present in a tangible way. 

Preparing for the big reveal

The winners’ Rolex timepieces and champagne await the victors in Victory Lane

Photo by: Rolex

As the sun re-emerges over the horizon at Daytona on Sunday morning, the end of the 24-hour race draws closer. Behind the scenes, the watches are stored at a secure location at the speedway, where they’re polished and prepared alongside bottles of champagne, before being transported to Victory Lane.

Presenting, your new Daytona

#65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3: Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch, Dennis Olsen and Rolex USA CEO Luca Bernasconi

Photo by: Rolex

When the checkered flag waves, exhaustion is quickly replaced by elation for the winners of the 2025 Rolex 24. One by one, the drivers were presented with their priceless watches by Rolex USA CEO Luca Bernasconi. Porsche Penske Motorsport took home the overall win with the #7 Porsche 963 in the GTP class, driven by Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, and Laurens Vanthoor. 

Celebrations begin immediately after the presentation

Sebastian Alvarez of Tower Motorsports puts on his new Rolex timepiece

Photo by: Rolex

Across all four classes, more than a dozen drivers etched their names into the history books as winners at Daytona, joining a rarified group of race-winning Rolex owners. The Swiss brand makes sure that every watch is wound and set to local time, so the victors can wear their trophies to celebrate (or finally get some sleep).