Joins Grand Marshal Jamie Chadwick for pre-race festivities before the twice-around-the-clock marathon begins
Daytona Beach, Fla. (Jan. 22, 2025) – Daytona International Speedway announced today that newly-crowned Miss America Abbie Stockard will serve as an honorary event official adding to the glam of the Rolex 24 weekend. She joins grand marshal Jamie Chadwick for the pre-race festivities before the iconic twice-around-the-clock marathon begins.
“It’s truly an honor to have Miss America as our honorary event official alongside grand marshal Jamie Chadwick for what is set to be another spectacle during the Rolex 24,” said Daytona International Speedway President Frank Kelleher. “Abbie and Jamie are empowering women and both have been at the forefront of promoting inclusivity in their respective careers. It will be extremely special to have them here for all the festivities before another prestigious Rolex 24.”
Stockard was crowned Miss America in this year’s competition. Stockard is a 22-year-old nursing student from Auburn University and was named Miss Alabama last June before the start of her senior year. Stockard was crowned by outgoing Miss America Madison Marsh of Colorado, who held the role of honorary pace car driver for the 66th running of the DAYTONA 500 last year.
“I’m thrilled to be attending the Rolex 24-hour race in Daytona, Florida! It’s my first time there, and I can’t wait to experience the perfect blend of Miss America and Rolex glamour and the empowering, high-intensity 24-hour race that pushes drivers to their limits,” said Miss America.
Jamie Chadwick will serve as grand marshal for the Rolex 24 and will have the honor of saying the most famous words in motorsports prior to the green flag. Chadwick will compete in the 2025 European Le Mans Series. She previously raced for Andretti Global in Indy NXT and won the inaugural W Series season in 2019, going on to retain her title in 2021 and 2022. Chadwick is also a development driver for the Williams Formula One team along with being a test driver for Jaguar’s Formula E team.
“It is an honor to be Grand Marshal of the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA and, as the spiritual home of Rolex and motor sport, I am looking forward to reflecting on the history, while watching some great racing. I’m excited to be involved and hope to join the line up at Daytona in the future,” said Chadwick.
There will be no shortage of stars competing in the 63rd running of the historic Rolex 24 this year. Two of NASCAR’s rising stars in Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen will be teammates on the No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the GTD PRO class.
Zilisch had an extremely successful 2024 on road courses. He collected a Rolex watch last January with a win in LMP2 during his debut in the twice-around-the-clock endurance event, before also collecting an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champonship win at Sebring. He then won his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International last year in his series debut. For his part, van Gisbergen has three career Xfinity Series wins along with a NASCAR Cup Series win in his series debut at the Chicago Street Race.
They will be teamed up with seven-time IndyCar winner Scott McLaughlin and veteran Ben Keating, who has Rolex 24 and 24 Hours of Le Mans wins on his resume.
2022 DAYTONA 500 winner Austin Cindric is set to drive the No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 in the GTD PRO class. Cindric has previously competed in five different Rolex 24 races and grew up road course racing and will drive alongside Mike Rockenfeller and Sebastian Priaulx.
Cindric is looking to join exclusive company as both a Rolex 24 and DAYTONA 500 champion. Only Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt, Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon have captured the rare pair of hardware.
Recently retired NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman will also contend for a Rolex. And endurance racing star brothers Jordan and Ricky Taylor, who have Rolex watches of their own and hail from nearby Orlando, Florida, are back in sister cars at Wayne Taylor Racing.
Additional stars of open-wheel racing including six-time IndyCar champion, Scott Dixon, reigning and three-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou, Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen, Colton Herta, Felipe Massa, and James Hinchcliffe will take their turns behind the wheel in the Rolex 24.
Guests can experience 24 hours of intense on-track battles during the historic Rolex 24 At DAYTONA starting on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 1:40 p.m. ET and continuing through the wave of the checkered flag on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Fans can get up close and personal to the cars, teams, and drivers as admission includes garage access for all four days of IMSA action. Tickets are available for the 2025 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.
About Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a state-of-the-art motorsports facility and was awarded the SportsBusiness Journal’s prestigious Sports Business Award for Sports Facility of the Year in 2016. Daytona International Speedway is the home of The Great American Race – the DAYTONA 500. Though the season-opening NASCAR Cup Series event garners most of the attention – as well as the largest audience in motorsports – the approximately 500-acre motorsports complex, also known as the World Center of Racing, boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe. Some of the exciting racing events include January’s Rolex 24 At DAYTONA and Roar Before The Rolex 24, February’s DAYTONA 500 and Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth, March’s Bike Week At DAYTONA Presented By Monster Energy, featuring DAYTONA Supercross and the DAYTONA 200, the August Coke Zero Sugar 400 weekend, and much more. The Speedway grounds are also used extensively for other events that include concerts (Welcome to Rockville, Heroes Honor Festival, etc.), sporting events (DAYTONA Soccer Fest, CLASH DAYTONA, etc.) civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training.
Featured image: Miss America Pagent
