Action Express Racing put one of its two Cadillacs — the one featuring NASCAR champion Chase Ellott — on the pole for the Rolex 24 at Daytona in a first-of-its-kind qualifying race for the crown jewel endurance event.
The No. 31 Cadillac DPi will be driven next week in the twice-round-the-clock race by Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani, Mike Conway and Elliott in Elliott's IMSA sports car debut.
He didn't race the car in Sunday's qualifier, which awarded 35 points to the pole-winning team. Action Express used fulltime regular drivers Nasr and Derani for the 140-minute qualifier around the winding Daytona International Speedway road course and snagged the Rolex 24 pole.
Jimmie Johnson interacts with crew members in his garage during a practice session for the Rolex 24 hour auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP PhotoJohn Raoux)
The duo later grumbled other teams didn't race for the victory and instead used the race as a glorified test for the race that begins Saturday.
"To me, it’s a joke. Just do the damn lap, show what you’ve got," Nasr said. "It makes the whole life of the series, it makes everybody’s life easier.”
The Action Express sister car did treat Sunday's race as a practice to give seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson nearly 100 minutes in the seat, and in brief wet conditions. Johnson then turned the Cadillac over to Kamui Kobayashi, who qualified the No. 48 sixth of seven cars in the top Daytona Prototype class.
The Meyer Shark Racing Acura DPi takes in laps during a practice session for the Rolex 24 hour auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP PhotoJohn Raoux)
Action Express is owned by Jim France, head of the family that owns both NASCAR and IMSA. This year he slotted Elliott as the all-star for Action Express, a perennial championship contender.
But France also teamed with Hendrick Motorsports on a second, star-studded entry just for the Rolex. The No. 48 Cadillac features Jimmie Johnson, Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud, former Rolex and LeMans winner Mike Rockenfeller and Kobayashi, the two-time reigning winner at Daytona.
Among the Hendrick personnel at Daytona assisting Action Express were Chad Knaus, crew chief of all seven of Johnson's titles, and the No. 48 it is funded by Ally, one of Hendrick's top sponsors.
Nasr was openly critical of the teams that didn't bother to race in the qualifier and he was presumably annoyed with the Acura entries from Wayne Taylor Racing and Michael Shank Racing, as well as Mazda Motorsports. Both Taylor and Shank are brand new to the Acura factory program and have exhausted their organizations by overhauling their fleets in time for Daytona.
Cadillac has four entries in the field; one from JDC-Miller Motorsports and one from Chip Ganassi Racing, which is back in IMSA after a one-year hiatus and back in the top DPi division for the first time since 2016.
The Ganassi car features Kevin Magnussen just months after losing his Formula One seat, six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon and reigning two-time Rolex winner Renger Van der Zande, but it qualified last in the seven-car class.
Derani said it was “a shame” some cars sandbagged and wondered if the points awarded were not generous enough to convince rival teams to exert effort in qualifying.
The Rolex 24 of Daytona is one of the most prestigious events in the world and draws top drivers from around the world. It's incredibly important in the sports car community, both to the manufacturers and the audience of performance vehicle enthusiasts.
“We are going into the most important race of the season next week and I think there's not much clarity,” Derani said. “We are being crystal clear with what we have.”
The Oreca LMP2 for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports won the pole for the Le Mans Prototype 2 class, a 10-car field that includes an entry from Rick Ware Racing featuring Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon and Cody Shane Ware, who is slated to run the full Cup season in NASCAR for his father's team.
Nick Tandy bettered his Corvette Racing sister car to win the pole for the GT Le Mans class. The two Corvette factory entries are part of a five-car class that includes two BMW M8 GTE's that marks Bobby Rahal's 30th season of team ownership. The GTLM class features single entries from each Ferrari and Porsche.
Turner Motorsport won the pole in the crowded GT Daytona class, which at 20 cars is the largest in the field. Bill Auberlen drove the BMW M6 to the pole; the lineup includes IndyCar breakout star Colton Herta.
A look at some of the women to watch at the Australian Open, which starts at Melbourne Park on Sunday (Saturday night EST), with money-line odds via BetMGM Sportsbook:
Seeded: 1
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Belarus
Age: 27
Career Titles: 22
Grand Slam Titles: 4 — Australian Open (2: 2023, 2024), U.S. Open (2: 2024, 2025)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-Runner-Up, 2024-Won Championship, 2023-W, 2022-Lost in 4th, 2021-4th
Aces: Reached the past three finals at Melbourne Park, winning twice and losing to Madison Keys a year ago. ... Add in the U.S. Open, and she's been to each of the last six hard-court Grand Slam finals, winning four. ... Held the No. 1 ranking since October 2024. In 2025, she joined Serena Williams and Ash Barty as the only women since 2000 to lead the WTA every week during a full calendar year. ... 19 of 22 career titles came on hard courts. ... Won 43 of her past 47 matches against players ranked outside the top 20. ... Opened 2026 with a title at a tune-up tournament in Brisbane.
She Said It: “It’s tennis, it’s sport, and that’s why it’s so beautiful, because you cannot predict anything.”
Read All About It: Sabalenka is the first woman since Serena Williams with consecutive US Open titles
Odds Are: +240
Seeded: 2
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Poland
Age: 24
Career Titles: 25
Grand Slam Titles: 6 — U.S. Open (1: 2022), French Open (4: 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024), Wimbledon (1: 2025)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-SF, 2024-3rd, 2023-4th, 2022-SF, 2021-4th
Aces: The Australian Open is the lone Grand Slam tournament she hasn't won, bowing out in the semifinals a year ago and in 2022. If she adds that title to her collection, she would be the 11th woman with a career Slam. ... She is 6-0 in major finals. ... Is the first woman with at least four 60-victory seasons in a row since Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport both had their streaks end after 2001.
She Said It: “Just thinking about one swing, only tournaments in Australia. Then, after I’m done with that, I’ll think about the next one.”
Read All About It: Iga Swiatek won Wimbledon after a difficult year
Odds Are: +400
Seeded: 3
Career-Best Ranking: 2
Country: United States
Age: 21
Career Titles: 11
Grand Slam Titles: 2 — French Open (2025), U.S. Open (2023)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-QF, 2024-SF, 2023-4th, 2022-1st, 2021-2nd
Aces: Could face Venus Williams in the second round. Gauff's Grand Slam debut at age 15 in 2019 was a victory over Williams at Wimbledon. ... Had by far the most double-faults on the WTA Tour in 2025, with 431. No one else had more than 300. ... Topped Forbes' list of highest-earning female athletes for the second year in a row in 2025, with more than $30 million in prize money and endorsements. ... Last year became the youngest American woman since Serena Williams in 2002 to earn at least 10 wins against top-10 opponents.
She Said It: “I would like to go deep in all the Slams this year. Obviously, I would like to touch the No. 1 ranking.”
Read All About It: Coco Gauff reworked her serve during last year's US Open
Odds Are: +600
Seeded: 4
Career-Best Ranking: 3
Country: United States
Age: 24
Career Titles: 4
Grand Slam Titles: Zero — Best: Runner-Up, Wimbledon (2025), U.S. Open (2025)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-2nd, 2024-4th, 2023-1st, 2022-4th, 2021-Did Not Play
Aces: Reached her first two Grand Slam finals during a breakthrough 2025, finishing as the runner-up to Swiatek at Wimbledon and to Sabalenka at the U.S. Open. ... The Australian Open is now the only major where she hasn’t been past the fourth round; she’s been to at least the semifinals at all three others. ... Has big strokes and possesses what might just be the best backhand on tour.
She Said It: “It was a great year for me. I was really happy with my consistency throughout, and I feel like I had a lot of new experiences and a lot of lessons learned to go into this year.”
Read All About It: Anisimova uses wins over Osaka and Swiatek to reach the US Open final
Odds Are: +900
Seeded: 9
Career-Best Ranking: 5
Country: United States
Age: 30
Career Titles: 10
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — Australian Open (2025)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-W, 2024-DNP, 2023-3rd, 2022-SF, 2021-DNP
Aces: Captured her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open a year ago, upsetting Swiatek in the semifinals and Sabalenka in the final. ... Best career moments have come on hard courts, including a runner-up showing at the U.S. Open in 2017 and six of her total seven major semifinal appearances. ... Lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows in her most recent Grand Slam tournament.
She Said It: “I finally got to the point where (winning a major) didn’t matter anymore, and I didn’t need it anymore. And then I still got it because I wanted it.”
Read All About It: Madison Keys credits therapy for helping her on and off the tennis court
Odds Are: +2000
Ranked: 576 (Not seeded)
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: United States
Age: 45
Career Titles: 49
Grand Slam Titles: 7 — U.S. Open (2: 2000, 2001), Wimbledon (5: 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008)
Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-DNP, 2024-DNP, 2023-DNP, 2022-DNP, 2021-2nd
Aces: Hadn't played at any Grand Slam tournament in two full years until the U.S. Open last August and will be appearing in her second in a row after receiving a wild card from Tennis Australia. ... This is her 22nd appearance at Melbourne Park; the first was in 1998. She was the runner-up here to younger sister Serena in 2003 and 2017. ... After 16 months away from the tour, Williams returned to action in July at Washington, winning one match in singles and one in doubles. ... She will be the oldest player to compete in singles at the Australian Open.
She Said It: “It does not get old; it just gets more exciting.”
Read All About It: Venus Williams' return to Grand Slam tennis meant more than the result
Odds Are: Not Listed
Venus Williams of the U.S. hits a backhand to Magda Linette of Poland during her singles match of the ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)
FILE - Amanda Anisimova, of the United States, returns a shot against Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, during the women's finals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sept. 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. hits a forehand to Iga Swiatek of Poland during their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Iga Swiatek of Poland hits a backhand to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during their final match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a shot during the women's final match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
