Why is the Rolex 24 the win everyone wants? It’s all about the watch

What’s the greatest prize in motorsport? For IndyCar stalwarts, it’s the Borg-Warner Trophy awarded to the Indy 500 winner. In Formula 1, it’s the trophy designed by Richard Fox presented to the world champion. If you ask a NASCAR driver, they’ll likely tell you it’s the Daytona 500’s Harley J. Earl Trophy. In sports car racing, though, it feels like there’s much more of a debate to be had these days.

Off the bat, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours, and being presented the event’s iconic trophy that, for the overall winners, is over three feet tall, is the dream ticket. But in recent years, an increasing number of drivers claim “it’s all about the watch.” The watch in question is the engraved Rolex Daytona, specially crafted for the Rolex 24 At Daytona class winners each year.

Since 1992, the Swiss watchmaker has been the title sponsor of IMSA’s biggest event that opens the season, and with each passing edition of the race, the allure of winning one seems to grow within driver circles.

For some, it’s the history attached. Rolex and motorsport have been closely associated with each other since Sir Malcolm Campbell reached 272 mph to break the land speed record on Daytona Beach back in 1933, driving the world-famous Bluebird. For others, it’s the craftsmanship that goes into each timepiece that the Swiss watchmaker produces.

Universally, though, the desire to win a Rolex Daytona is attributed to its being a watch and not a trophy. It’s something you can wear as well as display. 2025 Rolex 24 GTD class winner Matt Bell, for instance, wears his every single day and takes pride in doing so.

“It’s not left my wrist at any point since last year!” he tells RACER. “To me, this is a race I’ve wanted to win my whole life, and a lot of people have worked extremely hard around me to get to the point where we got to last year. It’s a symbol, it’s the highlight of the greatest achievement of my career to date, I wear it because I’m immensely proud of what we did last year.

“Ultimately, it’s the watch – it’s the one so many people want but can’t get hold of, and for me, to cross the line and earn it with my teammates was incredible. This is a sport where we live on time, the whole job revolves around time, so it’s a natural fit to want to win this.

“I’d always said to myself that I’d never try to buy a Daytona or a Rolex; I wanted to win one. It was a life goal of mine, and I achieved it.”

It’s a similar story for Porsche factory driver Nick Tandy, who won overall last year and collected his second Rolex Daytona in the process. He wears his Rolex timepieces with pride, though not as often!

“I don’t wear a watch at home because I work on a farm a lot in the workshop, so I’d scratch it up and I’d hate that,” he says. “So I wear it on special occasions, and honestly, it makes me feel special when I do wear it.

“Everyone knows that you’ve won the watch, you’ve won that massive event in Florida that everyone’s trying to win. It’s money-can't-buy stuff.”

Not all drivers feel the same, though. Longtime Corvette factory driver Oliver Gavin won his Daytona Rolex back in 2016, after a titanic battle with his teammate Antonio Garcia in the sister car at the end of the race. To him, it’s a priceless object that evokes memories not only of that race but also of his title-winning season in GTLM that year with the C7.R.

Like many Rolex Daytona recipients, though, Gavin has never worn his watch and preserved it in its box.

“The watch itself here is such a big deal,” he explains. “It gives you that sort of stamp in your career, and it reminds you about the particular battle you had that year at that race. There’s always a story behind the winner’s watch, and each one is unique.

“For me, I decided to keep mine in pristine condition. It’s something I cherish. Yes, standing there in victory lane with the whole team was something special, but with this race and this watch, you get something tangible that you can take away and look at.

“The race here in 2016 was crazy, full of twists and turns. Every hour was like a chapter of a book. Then at the end you get the watch and to me, it’s more special than a trophy, because Rolex is very particular about how many they give out.”

He does, however, regularly wear a Rolex, one he “accidentally” won in the 2013 running of the Sebring 12 Hours. That year, all the race winners were presented with engraved GMTs on the podium, and it wasn’t until later in the season that Gavin found out it was a mistake.

“Any Rolex is phenomenal. So to have two is very special," he says. "The Sebring one is such a quirky story. I remember standing behind the podium, and rumors started spreading among us all in the pen after this covered-up stack of boxes arrived. One of the drivers quietly peeled it back and that’s when we found out we’d be receiving Rolex watches.

“Then, a number of months later, I was in a conversation with someone high up within Rolex, and they asked me about the watch and if I’d won it. I told him it was at Sebring, and he said to me: ‘Hmm. I’m not sure that was ever agreed.’ Thankfully, I was never asked to hand it back!”

On the other side of the coin are the drivers who are chasing history and pushing to win their first Rolex Daytona. Cadillac factory driver Jack Aitken is both a world-class driver and a keen watch enthusiast. For him, to win and take home a Daytona on Sunday night would be one of the proudest achievements of his career to date.

“You can’t help but notice the drivers who have won one and wear them,” he says. “Sometimes crews coordinate, and if they’ve all won one, they’ll wear them on the same day at an event.

“If I won one, I’d wear it all the time! It’s not about the money that it’s worth. It’s a beautiful thing, and we all love beautiful things, right?”