The Rolex 24 at Daytona qualifying session delivered exactly the kind of late drama that has made this race a winter staple, with Jack Aitken uncorking a clutch lap to put the Whelen Cadillac on top of the timing screens and, for a few precious hours, on pole. His charge in the No. 31 Action Express entry was the headline moment of a tense run for the grid, even as post‑session scrutiny later reshuffled the official order. In the moment, though, Aitken’s lap was the purest expression of a driver and team leaning on everything they had when it mattered most.
From my vantage point, that is what made this qualifying session stand out: it was not just about raw speed, it was about how Aitken and Cadillac handled pressure, adapted to evolving conditions, and stared down heavyweight rivals from Acura, Porsche and BMW. The lap that initially secured the top spot crystallized months of preparation into a single, committed run that set the tone for the 64th running of the Rolex 24.
Aitken’s late flyer and the Whelen Cadillac statement
What impressed me first was how late Aitken chose to show his hand. Rather than banking an early time and sitting on it, he built up to a final attack in the closing minutes, when the track was at its quickest and the risk was highest. In that window he delivered the lap that put the Whelen Cadillac on top of the GTP pile, confirming that the No. 31 Action Express program had found a sweet spot in its setup and execution at exactly the right time. The run capped a qualifying session in which Jack Aitken was already threading the needle between aggression and restraint, knowing that one mistake would erase the lap and the opportunity.
The stopwatch told the story as clearly as the body language in the pit lane. The No. 31 machine, entered by Action Express Racing and backed by Whelen, produced a benchmark that left rivals chasing, with the official release noting that Jack Aitken Sets, a figure that instantly became the reference for the field. That “33.939” lap was also framed as the second Rolex 24 pole for a modern Cadillac prototype since 2024, underlining how significant it was for the brand’s current GTP era. In that context, Aitken’s performance was not just a personal milestone, it was a statement that Cadillac’s latest package could still dictate terms at Daytona.
Beating Acura and the GTP heavyweights
What made Aitken’s effort feel so clutch to me was the quality of the opposition he had to beat. The Acura camp arrived at Daytona with serious momentum, and in qualifying it was the Acura of Renger van der Zande that initially looked like the car to beat. Aitken had to jump ahead of the Acura of Renger with only minutes left in the 15‑minute session, a move that required absolute confidence in the Whelen Cadillac’s grip and braking stability. That late overtake on the timing screens was the definition of a clutch play, executed with the calm of a driver who trusted both his own feel and the data coming from the pit wall.
The Acura program still emerged as a central storyline, particularly with the Renger van der entry positioned to lead the field once the dust settled. That “93” car, an Acura ARX‑06, ultimately inherited the right to bring the grid to green at the Rolex 24 at Daytona after post‑qualifying checks, which only underlined how narrow the margin was between Cadillac and Acura on outright pace. For Aitken and the Whelen crew, outpacing that level of opposition in the heat of qualifying still stands as a meaningful achievement, even if the official pole later changed hands.
Inside the Action Express push and the GTP field
From a team perspective, I see Aitken’s lap as the payoff for a very deliberate build‑up by Action Express Racing. The group behind the No. 31 has been refining its Cadillac package through the GTP era, and the way they rolled into Daytona with a car capable of such a late-session punch spoke to that continuity. The program’s own account of the day highlighted how Photo Mike Levitt captured Jack Aitken and the Action Express Cadillac at full attack, a visual shorthand for the confidence inside that garage. When a team is willing to let its driver wait until the final minutes to go for broke, it usually means the engineers are convinced they have given him a car that will respond.
Zooming out to the rest of the GTP field, the depth of competition only amplifies what the Whelen Cadillac achieved on the road. The official grid showed that Cadillac initially secured the top qualifying spot for the Rolex 24, with a tightly packed group of prototypes from Acura, Porsche and BMW stacked behind. Further back in the order, the two BMW Team WRT M Hybrid V8 entries outpaced the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR‑LMH, underlining how strong the Hybrid prototype contingent has become. In that context, Aitken’s lap was not just about beating one rival, it was about emerging on top of a manufacturer arms race that stretches across the entire GTP grid.
Penalty twist: from pole heroics to adjusted grid
As compelling as the on‑track story was, I cannot ignore how quickly it was complicated once the cars rolled through post‑qualifying inspection. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac that had just delivered that “33.939” lap did not survive the technical checks unscathed, and the result was a severe penalty that stripped the car of its starting position. The official account of the decision noted that the Story Motorsport Heiko qualifying explained how the Cadillac was moved to the back of the GTP class, a brutal swing for a team that had just celebrated a marquee achievement. For Aitken, it meant that the lap that had looked like a perfect launchpad into the race would instead be remembered as a bittersweet footnote.
The penalty forced officials to publish an Adjusted version of the Daytona 24 Hours qualifying results, reshuffling the order and elevating Acura into the top spot. In that revised table, the key column header “Pos” told a very different story from the one fans saw at the checkered flag of qualifying. The updated rundown confirmed that the No. 31 would start from the rear of its class, while the rest of the GTP field moved up a slot. For me, it was a reminder of how unforgiving the rulebook can be at this level: the stopwatch may crown a hero in the moment, but the scrutineers have the final say on who actually starts from pole.
Acura’s promotion, Porsche’s pace and the final grid picture
With the Whelen Cadillac shuffled back, the spotlight shifted to the Acura and Porsche camps that had been lurking just behind Aitken on raw pace. The manufacturer’s own summary made clear that Acura ended up on pole for the 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona, with the Renger van der Zande, #93 Acura ARX‑06 promoted to lead the field to green following post‑qualifying technical inspection. That shift turned what had been a near miss into a prime opportunity for Acura, and it also meant that the brand’s strategy for the opening hours of the race would be built around defending track position rather than attacking from behind. For a 24‑hour contest, that is a subtle but meaningful change in mindset.
More from Fast Lane Only
