DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Cadillac sports car owned by NASCAR chairman Jim France won the pole position for the Rolex 24 at Daytona but was later disqualified in inspection, moving one of the favorites to the back of the class for the start of the most prestigious endurance race in the United States.
Action Express Racing won the pole on speed Thursday with driver Jack Aitken, but the team forfeited its position when the No. 31 failed inspection because its rear skid block friction surface was beyond the allowed tolerance. The disqualification dropped the Cadillac to the back of the top-tier GTP class, while one of two Acuras owned by Meyer Shank Racing was bumped to the front for the 24-hour race that starts at 1:40 p.m. Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.
France owns NASCAR, the IMSA Sports Car Championship series, Daytona International Speedway and the AER car that was disqualified. His car for this weekend features regular drivers Aitken and Earl Bamber, as well as Frederik Vesti, who is a test driver for Mercedes in Formula 1, and Connor Zilisch, a rising star in NASCAR.
Zilisch, a 19-year-old Cup Series rookie, earned a Rolex class victory in 2024 but is racing at the top level for the first time. Gary Nelson, the AER team manager, held his breath last weekend when he sent Zilisch out for night practice because he was unsure if his experience level was high enough to manage the closing rate between the top cars and the slower classes — especially in the dark.
Zilisch was flawless.