The Rolex 24 at Daytona (formerly known as the 24 Hours of Daytona) is a historic race that has been going on annually since 1962. It is a truly incredible race to get to experience up close and personal. You get to witness the teams put their cars and drivers through a full 24 hours of extremely competitive bumper to bumper racing with some of the best drivers in the sport. My dad took me to the race years ago when I had my first dslr and just an 18-55mm kit lense and it was an experience I would never forget. I knew I had to make it back for another event, and this year was the year to do so, so I packed my bags and left the 0 degree temps in Chicago and took off across the country for Florida.
As I made my way towards the pits in the morning, I started to hear the commotion from the teams running all over trying to get the cars prepared for the race and ready for weigh in. Hearing all of the crew members shouting to other crew members over the sound of power tools and roar of the engines starting up really made it set in that I was actually about to get to witness the Rolex 24 race again.
Once they were all in line for weigh in, it got progressively quieter as they began to prepare themselves mentally to endure the next 24 hours of grueling racing
The checkered flag dropped and the goosebumps rose up on my arms as the cars screamed past me into the first race of the 2019 IMSA season.
Daytime quickly turned into night and that is when the real excitement began. This was the part of the race I had been waiting for, this was when the track began to look like a scene straight out of a video game.
Glowing brakes, bright lights and the roar of the engines brought the track to life as the drivers continued on through the night.
As the race went on, mother nature was not on their side. About 12 hours in it began to pour rain and throughout the remainder of the race, the track was under a complete downpour. So bad that the race was red flagged twice. By time I woke up to head back out to shoot, the race was under the first red flag so I grabbed breakfast only to come back as soon as the second red flag began. Unfortunately throughout the last few hours the red flag was not lifted and the race ended under a red flag. I was disappointed to lose hours of shooting time but I still had a phenomenal experience and it was without a doubt an excellent way to start the year for my media trips that I have planned to bring you all the best content I can this season. I hope you all enjoyed my photos! If you are interested in viewing my full album from the event, you can find that here. Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook for frequent updates!
Tracer Media 