The halfway point at the 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona ©Rolex/Jensen Larson.
Long before Daytona was synonymous with endurance racing, it was defined by speed in its rawest form. In the early 20th century, Daytona Beach’s wide, compacted sands served as the world’s premier stage for land speed record attempts. Between 1904 and 1935, no fewer than 14 world records were set there, drawing drivers determined to push mechanical limits.
Rolex advertisement announcing the pioneering feats of Rolex wearer Sir Malcolm Campbell ©Rolex.
One of them was Sir Malcolm Campbell. Known as the “King of Speed”, Campbell wore a Rolex Oyster during his record attempts in the early 1930s. In 1933, he reached 272mph (438kmh) on Daytona Beach in his car, Bluebird. At the time, the Oyster — introduced in 1926 — was still a technical outlier as the world’s first waterproof wristwatch. Campbell later confirmed in a telegram to Rolex that the watch was “still going splendidly”, despite the conditions it had endured.
From Beach To Track
Sir Malcolm Campbell racing Bluebird on Daytona Beach in 1935 ©Rolex/Bettmann Corbis.
Daytona’s transformation from sand to tarmac came in 1959 with the opening of Daytona International Speedway. The venue marked a new era for motor sport, shifting the emphasis from outright speed to endurance and consistency — values that aligned closely with Rolex’s own philosophy.
Newspaper feature on the release of the Rolex Oyster ©Rolex.
Several years later, Rolex introduced the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona. Designed with professional racing drivers in mind, the chronograph featured a tachymeter bezel for measuring average speeds and a clear, legible dial optimised for use behind the wheel. It was not conceived as a lifestyle watch, but as a functional tool rooted in racing.
The Rolex 24 And The Ultimate Prize
Car-to-car action at the Rolex 24 at Daytona ©Rolex/Jensen Larson.
Rolex formalised its relationship with Daytona in 1992, becoming title sponsor of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The race quickly established itself as one of endurance racing’s defining events, testing drivers and machines over 24 continuous hours.
For those who claim the coveted prize, the reward is singular: a specially engraved Rolex Daytona. As five-time overall winner Hurley Haywood once noted, drivers from across disciplines are drawn to the race by the same goal and that is earning the right to wear the watch. Haywood’s record was later matched by fellow Rolex Testimonee Scott Pruett, cementing the Daytona’s place as a symbol of achievement rather than ornament.
Paul Newman And An Enduring Legacy
The engraved Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona will be presented to the winner of the 24H of Daytona 2026 @Rolex.
Few figures have shaped the Daytona’s cultural identity as profoundly as Paul Newman. The actor and accomplished racing driver competed at Daytona in the late 1970s and was famously inseparable from his own Daytona, engraved with the words “Drive Carefully Me”. The watch would later become one of the most recognisable and valuable timepieces in the world, reinforcing the Daytona’s status beyond the paddock.
Rolex Testimonee Jamie Chadwick was the Grand Marshall at the 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona ©Rolex/Carles Carabí.
Today, Rolex’s involvement in motor sport extends well beyond Daytona. The brand is the Official Timepiece of the International Motor Sports Association and continues its long-standing support of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Contemporary figures such as Jenson Button and Jamie Chadwick now form part of that lineage, connecting past and present through endurance racing’s most demanding stages.
Nearly a century after Rolex first accompanied a driver in pursuit of speed on Daytona Beach, the Daytona remains a measure of time earned the hard way. It is a timepiece that exemplifies precision, endurance, resilience and performance under pressure.
