HSR Photo
– Record Eight Run Groups of Historic and Vintage Race Cars from the
Last 70 Years Compete in Succession for a Full 24 Hours in the 12th
Running of the HSR Daytona Classic 24 Hour Presented by Mission Foods
Next Saturday and Sunday
– Full Five-Day Event November 11 – 15 Includes the HSR Daytona Classic
24 Hour Presented by Mission Foods and the HSR Daytona Historics
Full-Season Championship Races
– North America’s Premier Vintage and Historic 24-Hour Race Featured in
Saturday and Sunday Livestream Coverage by Greenlight Television on
HSR’s Facebook and YouTube Pages
– Packed Event Schedule Includes Ford as the Featured Marque, Peter Auto
Sixties’ Endurance HSR Classic 24 Hour Run Group and a Solid Field of
Competitors for the Full-Season HSR Daytona Historics
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (November 6, 2026) – The Historic Sportscar
Racing (HSR) Daytona Classic 24 Hour presented by Mission Foods returns
to Daytona International Speedway (DIS) next week for the 12th running
of America’s premier vintage and historic sports car race November 11 –
15 at the “World Center of Racing.” The full weekend of competition also
features the HSR Daytona Historics, a points-paying round of HSR’s
season-long racing championships from Thursday through late Saturday
morning, wrapping up before that afternoon’s start of the HSR Classic
Daytona 24.
First run in 2014, with initial plans to be held every other year, the
immediate popularity and success of the inaugural HSR Classic 24 called
for a second running in 2015. After a year off, the 24-Hour classic race
at the “World Center of Racing” returned in 2017 to become an annual and
premier fixture on the HSR calendar and a “must-do” and “must-attend”
motorsports event for competitors and race fans alike.
Ford is the Featured Marque at this year’s HSR Classic Daytona 24 and
“Blue Oval” sports cars of every type and generation will exclusively
take to the track for a Ford Feature race Saturday at 11:30 a.m. EST.
The 30-minute exhibition race is as the final on-track event before the
start of the 12th running of the Classic 24.
Kicking things off for the official HSR Classic Daytona 24 race start at
2 p.m. EST on Saturday will be the featured guest competitors from the
Peter Auto Sixties’ Endurance group, the largest gathering of 1960s-era
GT sports cars to ever race in historic competition at DIS. The
impressive turnout is part of a collaboration between HSR and
France-based Peter Auto that began with HSR NASCAR Classic historic
stock cars competing in Peter Auto’s Le Mans Classic Legend in July.
Now, Peter Auto further bolsters the partnership between the two
organizations by bringing 20 pristine GT sports cars from the 1960s to
HSR Classic Daytona 24 Hour.
For the fourth time, HSR provides livestream Classic Daytona 24 Hour
programming with this year’s coverage returning to two days of live and
feature coverage on Saturday and Sunday. Greenlight Television returns
as the production partner for the Classic 24 livestream for the
third-straight year. This year’s Classic 24 programming is scheduled to
begin at 1:45 p.m. EST on Saturday, November 14, through 8 p.m. EST.
Coverage continues on Sunday, November 15, from approximately 7:45 a.m.
through the final checkered flag before signing off at 2 p.m. EST.
Anchor coverage of the livestream will be available on the HSR and IMSA
YouTube Channels with additional distributions and availability in the
U.S. and around the world, and the weekend’s on-air talent team, among
the additional programming announcements coming next week.
This year’s HSR Classic Daytona 24 features and all-time high eight
different Run Groups – A through G and “P” for Sixties’ Endurance –
competing in succession for a full 24 hours on the iconic Daytona
3.56-mile road course. Each Run Group – with groups A and B and C and D
sharing the track while competing for respective group honors – takes to
the track four times throughout the 24 hours with the individual
segments clocking in at just under one hour in length. It all adds up to
24 straight hours of historic and vintage sports car competition.
HSR Classic Daytona 24 Hour presented by Mission Foods Run Groups:
Group P – 1960s GT Cars Sixties’ Endurance by Peter Auto: The Sixties’
Endurance run group is the latest chapter in the collaboration announced
last year between leading historic motorsports organizations HSR and
France-based Peter Auto. That partnership first brought the all-American
HSR NASCAR Classic to Le Mans Classic Legend in July. Now, Peter Auto
brings 20 GT sports cars from the 1960s to Daytona International
Speedway. The Sixties Endurance run group will have the honor of being
the first group to start the Classic 24. Highlights entries are half a
dozen Shelby Cobras, the largest number of the iconic Ford-powered
sports, to ever compete in an HSR event. Jaguar is also strongly
represented by five E-Type 3.8 entries spanning 1963 – 1965, including
an original and rare 1965 Jaguar E Type Light Weight co-driven by HSR
regulars John Spiers and Nigel Greensall.
Group A – Pre-1972: While Group A steps aside to give the honor of the
earliest cars competing at Daytona next weekend to the guest Sixties’
Endurance division, this group has typically been home to the oldest
cars competing in the Classic 24 since the inaugural event in 2014.
Group A showcases the legendary and early FIA-era prototype and GT
machines that raced in various national series and world championship
competition. This year’s battle looks to be between three original Lola
T70 MkIII B coupes, perennial HSR Classic Endurance race winner Toni
Seiler in an open-top 1970 Lola T165 and the always quick 1966
Superformance GT40 of Dan Long and Olthoff Racing owner and driver
Dennis Olthoff. The trio of T70s will be driven by Willis Woerheide, the
Alegra Motorsports entry for Carlos de Quesada and Nick Padmore and the
AJR Heritage Motorsports Lola for Dean DeSantis and Josh Tuggle. Group A
shares on-track sessions with Group B as each division competes for
group and overall honors.
Group B – 1973 to 1982: Even the “newest” cars in Group B are now over
40 years old in a division that has evolved in the Classic 24 over the
past decade plus. Along with a unique 1981 Frisbee GB-2 Can-Am car,
Group B is a priceless collection of 1970’s era production car favorites
such as IROC and RSR 911-based Porsche GT cars and a 1973 Datsun 240Z
and a 1972 BMW CSL. The group also includes 1980’s era Porsche 944 Turbo
Cup and S2 models and in-period BMW M3 and 330 models. Group B shares
on-track sessions with Group A as each division competes for group and
overall honors.
Group C – 1983 to 1993: Appropriately named, Group C features a debuting
1991 Nissan R90C prototype, but the rest of the eye catchers include a
must-see lineup of production-based GT cars. A highlight is three
Porsche 935s, including the ex-Whittington Brothers 935 K3 of de Quesada
and professional coach and co-driver Billy Johnson. A similar K3, which
displays the famous Jagermeister colors, returns to the Classic 24 with
veteran competitor Dr. Mike Smith. Other unique entries include a 1990
Audi Quattro 90 GTO, the 1987 Porsche 944 GTR Turbo of Colin Dougherty
and a pair of quick 1992 Porsche 964 Cup and RSR entries. Group C shares
on-track sessions with Group D as each division competes for group and
overall honors.
Group D – 1994 to 2003: Group D shares the track with Group C and the
divisions are similar in that what should be a “ringer” prototype should
step up to lead another stout field of memorable GT machines. While the
Nissan R90c is expected to be the rabbit in Group C, the pacesetter in
the D division ranks is likely the 2006 Riley XX Daytona Prototype of
David Smith. Primed for an upset, however, is packed field of GT cars
from earlier in this decade and before, including a class-leading lineup
of 996 and 997 Porsche GT3 Cup cars. The 997 contenders include the
father-and-son entry for Buz McCall and Brad McCall. David MacNeil and
his Rolex 24 winning son Cooper MacNeil will also take part in a little
family life in the fastlane in their truly classic 1996 Porsche 993 RSR.
The mix also includes a 2008 Ferrari 360 Challenge, a 2005 Corvette C6.R
and a 2003 Panoz Esperante GT2 driven by DeQuesada – this year’s Classic
24 iron man running in three different groups – and his teammate Catesby
Jones. Group D shares on-track sessions with Group C as each division
competes for group and overall honors.
Group E – 2004 to 2021 Modern-Era GT: Nothing short of a cage match of
familiar GT machinery retired from contemporary competition, many
competitors in the popular HSR Mission GT Challenge presented by Pirelli
series also step up for their biggest race of the year in Group E at the
Classic 24. Since becoming a modern GT showcase a few years ago, Group E
has delivered some of the closest and most competitive races in Classic
24 history. Type 991 and 992 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and Cup Cars anchor the
entry as usual but stout challengers include contenders such as the Audi
R8 LMS, Mercedes-AMG GT3, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 and Super Trofeo, BMW
M6 and Z4, McLaren 650S and a four-strong group of Trans Am TA2 that
can’t be counted out.
Group F – Through 2021 Modern-Era Prototype: The fastest run group in
the Classic 24, Group F features top tier LMP1 and final-generation DPi
prototypes that have been retired from competition for at least five
years. The main battle should come down to a three-way 2017 Cadillac
Dallara DPi battle featuring the Matador Motorsports No. 01 of Pierce
Marshall and Eric Foss, the No. 31 of JC France, Tim Rivers and former
DP champion Joao Barbosa and the GMT Racing No. 81 of Juan Gonzalez,
Roberto Gonzalez and recently inducted IMSA Hall of Famer Butch
Leitzinger. The 2016 Honda ARX 04 of Mark Drain and Alfie Briggs is also
more than capable of upsetting the Cadillac trio. Ready to pounce if the
big boys all encounter trouble is a field of nearly 10 LMP3 prototype
entries.
Group G – Through 2021 Modern-Era GT3/GT4: Group G is another modern GT
battle ground of early examples of current GT3 and GT4 cars as well as
machines from contemporary single-make series. Once again, Porsche GT3
Cup and Cayman GT4 Clubsports make up the most entries but a BMW M3,
Aston Martin Vantage and a Mercedes-AMG GT4 are all up to the challenge.
For additional information on both the HSR Daytona Classic 24 and HSR
Daytona Historics events, including entry lists, ticket purchases, the
event schedule and more, please click here [1].
For a direct link to HSR Daytona Classic 24 race tickets, please click
here:
https://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/event-calendar/